Breaking news: Traffic nightmares

When new NJ Transit buses on routes into Manhattan emitted screeching noises from the rear brakes, then-transportation reporter Dan Sforza said, "What, me worry?"

Editor Marty Gottlieb's exact route to the Woodland Park newsroom and his means of conveyance are top secret lest he encounter a commuter who demands to know why The Record is ignoring the dismal state of mass transit.

Gottlieb, a sophisticated New Yorker who spent many years at The New York Times, seems awed by North Jersey's colossal traffic jams, such as the Route 3 meltdown he put at the bottom of Page 1 today.

But horrendous traffic is the norm in North Jersey, and it has worsened under the pro-car administration of Governor Christie.

Car lovers

Gottlieb's editors, columnists and reporters commute to work by car. They know nothing about crowded trains and buses, and could care less.

Does Gottlieb know NJ Transit has added rail cars to accommodate riders, and many trains are too long for platforms, so conductors warn riders in the last two or three cars to run forward to exit?  

This will last at least another decade -- until new rail tunnels are built to replace those Christie killed, citing the long walk his wife would have to make to reach the subway in Manhattan.

The trains are so crowded, NJ Transit is moving at a glacial pace to allow riders to bring their bicycles on board (A-4).

'Mr. Honda' is family

The so-called commuting columnist, Road Warrior John Cichowski, never leaves the office, relying on reader e-mails for column ideas.

He's actually named his car, and calls it part of his family. Now, that's sick. 

Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza was at one time the No. 2 transportation reporter, but he ignored defective NJ Transit cruiser buses to write about "highways of the future."

Puck the reader

Gottlieb appears to be more excited about pro hockey than a looming budget crisis, now that the Supreme Court has blocked Christie's affordable-housing and higher-education initiatives (A-1).

In head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section, there is no municipal news from Hackensack, Teaneck or Englewood.

Bridges to far

Staff Writer Evonne Coutros has another in a series of stories about a decrepit bridge in a wealthy Bergen County suburb (L-1).

Sykes and Coutros claim the bridge situation in Upper Saddle River, Ho-Ho-Kus and other towns has hampered their coverage of local news.

Sykes cites the rebuilding of the Court Street Bridge as a factor in the limited amount of Hackensack news.