August 19: We had members at both of NJ Transit’s hearings on Kingsland Station. Before the morning session, Legislative Director Vito Havrilla stopped by the station—and saw notices posted by advocates, not formal NJT notices, and met riders who were unaware and disturbed about the possible closing. Many residents attended the weekday/weekday evening hearings, some probably on their lunch hour from nearby businesses—and almost all spoke against the closure, with clear reasons. We’ll update this page as we join local residents in their opposition to the closure—we say #SaveKingslandStation!
August 6: NJ Transit has announced plans to close Kingsland Station. We are opposed. We have seen 30 or 40 people disembarking from a train at Kingsland, and it is right in the business district on Ridge Road, with a #76 bus stop right outside the station. Yes, the station building has been closed for years, but closed buildings can be reopened. Yes, Kingsland is not ADA-compliant—but neither are many NJT stations, and the agency has just spent millions on renovating Brick Church, Elizabeth, and Perth Amboy—what is wrong with Kingsland? Don’t riders at Kingsland Station deserve as much? Two small elevators would cover the major issue of those long staircases.
The Coalition has passed a resolution stating our opposition to the closing of Kingsland Station and our rationales, which you can find on our forum. We have already submitted our resolution to NJ Transit via their e-mail address for comments, kingsland@njtransit.com.
