Bayonne votes for mayor next Monday. We sent all three candidates — Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski, Loyad Booker, and Mary Jane Desmond — a 10-question questionnaire on housing, PILOTs, BRT, Vision Zero, and parks.
All three responded. We’ve published every answer verbatim, side by side, so you can compare for yourself before you vote.
Better Blocks NJ sent the same questionnaire to Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. and Mussab Ali ahead of the June 2 Democratic primary. Both responded to all 16 questions. You can read the full side-by-side comparison here:
They agree on most things — LIHTC expansion, Section 8 entitlement, BRT on JFK Boulevard, SS4A funding, MUTCD reform.
But there were some areas of disagreement too:
NEPA reform (Q5): Both check Support, but Ali backs categorical exclusions for transit in existing rights-of-way. Menendez explicitly opposes categorical exclusions on environmental justice grounds.
PATH under FTA (Q7): Both support moving PATH to FTA, but Menendez conditions his position on stakeholder discussions with labor to resolve pension and benefit issues.
Penn Station through-running (Q8): Ali supported while Menendez calls for further study.
Expanding NYC MTA to Hudson County (Q9): Both support a system expansion but Menendez specifies New York should fund the expansion through congestion pricing revenues.
NJ Transit funding (Q10): Ali attacks Menendez for opposing congestion pricing. Menendez cites ~$40M in project-specific funding he's brought back.
Highway funding tied to pedestrian safety targets (Q13): Ali checks Support. Menendez doesn't check either box.
Full responses are unedited. We just formatted them side-by-side so you can more easily compare them yourself.
New Jersey’s politicians have spent two years fighting New York’s congestion pricing instead of asking a simpler question: how do we fix congestion on New Jersey’s highways and fund NJ Transit at the same time?
Our latest piece makes the case for designating High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes on parts of the Turnpike, Parkway, I-78, and I-80 — dynamically priced express lanes that reduce congestion, reward carpoolers, and generate dedicated revenue for NJ Transit without requiring any federal approval from a hostile Trump administration.
Virginia has been doing this on I-66 since 2017. And their commuter choice program has sent over $150 million to transit projects in the DC suburbs. Carpooling and bus use up 105%. Ten other states have similar HOT lane programs that have proven political popular after implementation because they successfully manage highway congestion.
NJ has better lane infrastructure and already has much of the toll collection backbone in place.
Read our full piece on HOT lanes and explore our interactive revenue model to see how New Jersey can fix its highways and fund NJTransit.