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 Undaunted
by the brusque dismissal (nothing new there) by the Port Authority
of New York & New Jersey (PA), NJ-ARP has proceeded to refine
its proposal
linking PATH's downtown Manhattan route with the New York City
Subway's No. 6 (Lexington Ave.) local line -- per the request late
last year of Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).
NJ-ARP, along
with sister organization Empire State Passengers Association (ESPA),
is lining up its next meeting with Rep. Nadler, likely to take
place in early February. Meanwhile, NJ-ARP / ESPA representative
George Haikalis also is set to meet shortly with real estate
developer Lawrence Silverstein to discuss PATH / Lex's benefits to
the 1776 Tower set to rise in lower Manhattan. And a third
meeting, targeted for Thursday, Jan. 15, will include NJ-ARP and
ESPA representatives and the New York City representative of New
York State Gov. George Pataki.
The PA,
predictably, continues to balk at PATH / Lex and, perhaps just as
predictably, seems intent on manufacturing physical
"reasons" why it can't be built. It's a good tactic,
since it buys time for the PA even as it hardens its political
position to oppose the project ("there's not enough
time" or "Gee, we're too far advanced to change course
now" being prime statements).
Nonetheless,
NJ-ARP and ESPA, assisted by knowledgeable local experts, have
answered the PA's "concerns" over the severity of track
grades, PATH clearance through the spaghetti of downtown subway
routes (more than adequate), and even encroachment on the
"footprints" of the World Trade Center towers now
destroyed (PATH / Lex can be routed to avoid these).
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