Readers care more about deer than slain Paterson girl

The owner of this former Shell gas station property on Cedar Lane and River Road will be receiving a Teaneck Township Council commendation for maintaining an eyesore longer than many others. But The Record's local editors have warned their reporters not to waste their time writing about Cedar Lane or other struggling downtowns in North Jersey. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Editor Martin Gottlieb of The Record goes tabloid today with a Page 1 story on the slaying of a 12-year-old Hispanic girl on the violent streets of Paterson.

But you know he ran the story against the advice of his local editors, who urged him to play up the divisions in wealthy Allendale over 45 deer that are terrorizing residents (L-1).

The account of Genesis Rincon's death "just after sunset on Saturday" doesn't explain why the story wasn't on Page 1 of Sunday's paper.

Where are cops?

And there is a lot missing, including background on Governor Christie's state aid cuts to Paterson and other poor cities and whether police were laid off as a result. 

In fact, there is no mention of what a poor job the Police Department is doing to protect residents of the 4th Ward, which accounted for nearly half of the city's 31 reported shootings in the first four months of this year (A-1).

In 2013, there were 19 gun-related homicides in Paterson, according to the Passaic County Prosecutor's Office, compared to 28 murders on the island of Montreal, which has a population of 1.9 million (A-6).

Today's column on Christie's visit to Paterson -- by clueless Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin -- doesn't even mention whether the GOP bully's aid cuts accelerated gun violence in the Silk City (A-9).

Venison for poor

Meanwhile, in Allendale, residents and officials are divided over a proposal to allow bow hunting in the Celery Farm Natural Area to stop "marauding deer" (L-1).

Why not round up gunmen in Paterson, take them to the Celery Farm and kill the deer to provide food to hungry Paterson residents?

Second look

I hope commuters who read Sunday's front-page Road Warrior column didn't  jump into their cars this morning and start looking for hitchhikers in Fort Lee, hoping to save $6 for carpooling across the George Washington Bridge.

The addled John Cichowski left out a good deal of information on getting the carpool discount, which is far from automatic, even if you have the required two passengers.

First, you have to register your E-ZPass with the agency that issued it, and before you cross the bridge, you have to stop in a CASH/E-ZPass lane and ask for the discount so the toll taker can verify there are three people in your vehicle (dummies and dead bodies might work, too).

You save 24/7

One you have complied with those requirements, the carpool discount is available at any time 24/7, not just during the rush hour.

See the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers for the full rundown on Cichowski's retread:

Beware worthless advice from the Road Warrior

Road Warrior column is another retread

The Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers.

Editor's note: If Road Warrior John Cichowski recognizes any other mode of commuting besides the car, he isn't letting on. His latest column -- on the carpool discount at the Hudson River crossings -- was full of problems, according to a concerned reader, who has e-mailed The Record's management and Cichowski to that effect.

Wow!  It's the Road Warrior's first article of the new year and already he is providing misleading, miscalculated and false information -- along with key omissions of relevant items that leave readers guessing about car pools and discounts at the GWB bridge.


What makes matter's worse is that the Jan. 2 column is basically a retread of The Record's June 20, 2012, news report -- including some of the same characters -- that had  much better and more accurate information.
 
To add insult to injury, previous Road Warrior columns addressed this same issue, which now seems to appear as a fantastic discovery by the Road Warrior in his 1/2/13 column.


The Record or Road Warrior should make appropriate corrections and updates in a future column and ensure better coverage of this topic. 


1)  Misleading false statement - "Budget-minded drivers have been soliciting enough budget-minded passengers [right before the GW Bridge in Fprt Lee] to take advantage of the Port Authority's E-ZPass car-pool toll rates — now $4.25.  For drivers, this bargain amounts to a $6-a-day discount — big, but small compared with free rides for passengers."

CORRECT FACTS - Road Warrior also indicated passengers would have to pay $2 to take a bus to cross the GW Bridge.  Therefore, passengers are saving only $2-a-day.  For most people, a "big" $6-a-day discount is NOT "small" compared to a savings of $2-a-day for free rides.


2)  Misleading false statement- "Police last year [2012] began ticketing drivers looking for passengers at this [GW Bridge] stop."

CORRECT FACTS - As previously reported in the 6/20/12 news article, police began ticketing more drivers in 2011, which is NOT last year.  To make his reported statement look even more foolish, the Road Warrior then reports in the next sentence "The crackdown began after E-ZPass tolls rose from $8 to $9.50 in September 2011"
3) Unfulfilled reporting - Road Warrior opens his column with "Want a bargain?", but NEVER answers for drivers how they can get that bargain.

Key Omissions - Unfortunately, the Road Warrior leaves readers in the dark by FAILING to mention that drivers should go to http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/e-zpass.html#carpool for more info. What good is the Road Warrior if he mentions a bargain, but does not mention the critical info below.


  - E-ZPass drivers must preregister for PA Carpool Discount Plan in order to use it
  - Must use an E-ZPass booth with a toll collector, who checks number of passengers
  - Need at least 2 passengers to qualify for car pool discount.


The Road Warrior should also be aware that:


  - All-day E-ZPass car pool toll of $4.25 is $6 discount for peak hours and $4 off-peak.
  - Discount NOT available if you have E-ZPass from another state besides NY or NJ.
4) Questionable quoted answer - "How do I know if a bus driver isn't drunk?"

SCREENING FOR BETTER ANSWERS - This should NOT be the last thoughtless reason at the end of his column about the relative danger of getting into a car with an unknown driver. Perhaps, we should ask how do we know if the quoted commuter was not drunk when he made such a statement.


The Road Warrior Jan. 2 column is the 28^th article with transportation reporting problems, starting with his 9/12/12 article, about which I've notified The Record's management & Road Warrior without substantive results or any preventive actions to address these problems and very few published corrections.

Here's hoping for change in the coming new year and better fact checking, corrections, reviewing (Googling?), and better coverage by The Record's editors, columnists, & reporters based on more reliable, accurate, and common sense info prior to publication.
 

Will 2013 bring honesty or more B.S.?

The Record fled Hackensack for the boondocks in 2009, but the Borgs continue to keep residents in the dark on their plans for 20 acres they own along River Street.

Does anybody but all those greedy Republicans  read the boring column by Staff Writer Charles Stile, whose speculation about "a big year ahead for Jersey politics" is on Page 1 of The Record today?

Since Governor Christie took office nearly three years ago, Stile has sounded a lot more like the GOP bully's personal public relations flack and a lot less like the journalist he pretends to be.

Today, he looks into his crystal ball and reports "Christie ... will find himself under the microscope from voters, journalists and political operatives around the country ...."

Wait a minute. Christie took office in January 2010, so why is it just now that he'll find himself "under the microscope" of journalists? What a joke.

Stile says the governor has "star power." 

For whom? His conservative supporters, who are counting on him to preserve tax breaks for millionaires and other regressive policies. 

Reporter leaves office

On the Local front today, Road Warrior John Cichowski's column appears to be based on his own reporting -- not e-mails from readers who want to see their names in print and not all those statistics he obsesses over.

Cichowski actually got in his car and drove to the Fort Lee side of the George Washington Bridge, where commuters get a free ride to the city from drivers seeking a carpool toll of $4.25 for having two passengers in their cars.

Readers in dark

But the so-called commuting columnist fails to tell readers that all of them can register their E-ZPasses once and then pay the same low carpool toll at all hours at Hudson River crossings -- a savings of up to $6.

All they have to do is stop in a cash lane so the toll collector can confirm they have two passengers -- their wives, kids, friends, it doesn't matter. 

A couple of dead bodies or dummies might qualify, if it's dark.

Threepeats

On L-2 today, a story about the cushiest job in local policing reports the retiring Alpine police chief was paid $172,000 this year -- one of the few making less than Christie.

The local staff under head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza, appears to be obsessed with the number 3, even though it is Jan. 2.

According to L-1 headlines, "3 violent incidents open 2013" and "Three babies are born in first 3 minutes of 2013."

On L-2, the Alpine police chief is retiring after 30 years -- that's 3 times 10.

On L-3, a headline says the "year begins with only a few [3] DWI arrests" and another reports "3-vehicle Hillsdale accident puts 3 in the hospital."