Dust Bunnies: NJ Transit, Cathcart and basketball, City fined

Gavett Place was reopened to traffic on Monday . . .

. . . as crews secured a restored historic end cap
on the Park Avenue overpass.

 

A few bits of Plainfield news, too small for a full post, but interesting none the less.

NJ Transit overpasses. Work continues apace on the replacement of the Park and Watchung Avenue overpasses. Gavett Place was reopened Monday to the relief of NJ Transit bus drivers and the taxis which use it (though it can use a good sweeping, which I hope has been included in the deal between the city and NJT for its use).

At the same time, I noticed the end cap on the south side of the Park Avenue overpass has been put in place. The originals are being restored and will ultimately frame both overpasses. While the newly constructed inner bays will actually carry the trains, the outer bays, which will be faced with the restored end caps, appear to be non-weight bearing.

This has been a huge project -- and a large investment in Plainfield by NJT -- and it will benefit the city for years to come.

Upcoming work will include Roosevelt and Leland Avenues and Berckman Street overpasses. Plainfield has more overpasses than any other community on the Raritan Valley Line.

Cathcart and basketball. The on-again, off-again status of longtime basketball maven Lenny Cathcart took another twist on Monday.

After announcing last year that he would not return to the Recreation Division's basketball program this year, Cathcart then changed his mind and stirred a fuss to get back on board, embarrassing a sitting Council member in the process.

After Mayor Mapp graciously accommodated him, Cathcart abruptly resigned yesterday in a one-sentence email, without giving any reason.

Hopefully the drama is over.

City fined. Turns out Plainfield homeowners aren't the only ones who can face penalties when their taxes or sewer charges aren't paid on time.

While the city does not pay taxes, it is responsible for collecting the county's tax assessment from Plainfield taxpayers and forwarding same to the county on a regular basis, as are all other municipalities in Union County.

Hillside got some attention from the Ledger recently (see here) when it was fined more than $12,000 for being late on its payment.

Buried in the article was a mention that Roselle and Plainfield had also been penalized with light fines for being a day late in last August's payments.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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