Politics and public transit, horse's asses and Teaneck

In a rare nod to public transit, The Modern in Fort Lee offers tenants of the 47-story luxury tower a free shuttle to and from the New York City subway. The building overlooks the infamous George Washington Bridge access lanes shut down by the Christie administration. The Record's support for mass transit has been lukewarm at best while the owners cash in on ads from car dealers.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

After Tuesday's fatal Amtrak crash outside Philadelphia, editors of The Record and other media began wringing their hands over our unsafe, crumbling Northeast Corridor rail system.

Today, the Woodland Park daily carries two news stories and a column that blame politics for setting the stage for disaster. (A-3, A-4 and O-1).

Of course, these are the same conflicts and controversies generated by the two major parties that have defined all media coverage of elections and public policy in New Jersey and the nation for many years.

And the Record's support for public transit, including the extension of light rail to Bergen County, has been spotty.

The editors allowed Staff Writer John Cichowski more than a decade ago to turn the Road Warrior column from a champion of all commuters into a platform for drivers.

When Governor Christie cancelled the Hudson River rail tunnels in October 2010 and grabbed leftover money to fix roads and bridges to avoid raising the gasoline tax, the editors didn't blink.

The GOP bully cited potential cost overruns on the massive tunnel project, but then rubber stamped exorbitant Hudson River toll increases to cover similar cost overruns on the Port Authority's new World Trade Center.

Horse's ass

For the second time recently on the front page, Editor Martin Gottlieb delivers a good slap to residents of Teaneck by declaring the outcome of a horse race a "win" for the township (A-1).

I'm sure struggling merchants on Cedar Lane and township officials who scramble to balance their budget will receive absolutely no benefit from the owner of American Pharoah, who lives in Teaneck, proving once again that Gottlieb is a horse's ass.

Must-read list

Today's Road Warrior column ignores commuters altogether by reporting on the Port Authority's lost historic photos and other archival material (L-1).

Good luck trying to figure out the conflict between manufacturers and New Jersey car dealers in today's Business section cover story (B-1).

Of course, there is no mention that buying a new car and servicing it at the dealer is one of the worst experiences a consumer can have -- unless you buy an all-electric Model S directly from Tesla.

And that's probably because North Jersey Media Group, owner of The Record, reaps tens of millions of dollars in ad revenue from those very same dealers.

Battle ax

The upbeat profile of WNBC's New Jersey correspondent, Pat Battle, doesn't mention her total lack of interest in the 2013 City Council election in Hackensack, where a slate of reformers succeeded in ending decades of rule by the Zisa family (BL-1).

I'm surprised the Better Living editors didn't call the Teaneck resident another "win" for the township.

Don't miss The Corner Table column on everything Staff Writer Elisa Ung knows about truffles (BL-1).

And Real Estate brings us a riveting story on luxury pools costing from $100,000 to $1.5 million (R-1).

A third 'win'?

Columnist Mike Kelly also lives in Teaneck.

But he's far from a "win" as he once again suffocates readers with unnecessary background on the Amtrak crash, which has dominated the news for close to a week (O-1).

The headline is promising:

Politics derails

infrastructure Rx

And his first paragraph is hard hitting, but then readers bog down in five long paragraphs on details of the crash, including Kelly telling them he took the same train "often."

Did anyone turn the page to find out if the burned-out columnist had anything else to say?