(The Star-Ledger published the following story by Maryann Spoto on its website on July 28.)
NEWARK, N.J. — For two years, New Jersey fishermen and scuba divers watched longingly as old New York City subway cars floated by on barges, headed for points south where they would serve as artificial reefs hosting hundreds of species of aquatic life.
Finally this summer, scores of the old cars are ending their runs at the Jersey Shore. Three batches of 50 cars each have been sunk off the state’s coastline, adding to New Jersey’s system of artificial reefs that provide habitat for fish and destinations for divers.
In all, 250 of the old “Redbird” cars, which were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s and ran for many years on the IRT subway line, are being dropped on the reefs this summer after the state reached a compromise to allay the concerns of environmentalists.
“These subway cars are an environmental and economic boon for New Jersey,” said state Environmental Commissioner Bradley Campbell, whose office oversees the artificial reef program. “New fishing and diving opportunities will enhance our shore economy, while our marine ecosystems will gain new habitat.”
While welcoming the cars, fishing and diving enthusiasts are not happy with the compromise, which imposes an eight-year moratorium on any more subway car sinkings while an advisory committee monitors the durability of the cars and their effect on marine life.
Since 1984, New Jersey has constructed artificial reefs, composed of many kinds of objects that provide nooks and crannies for fish and other animals to make their homes — ranging from piles of old tires weighted down with concrete, to decommissioned Navy ships. The state has 14 such reefs, some close to a mile long, covering about 25 square miles of ocean floor in all.
The New York Transit Authority two years ago offered more than 1,000 decommissioned subway cars to any state that would take them, and 650 of them were reserved for New Jersey. But then-acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco turned them down, deferring to concerns of the Highlands-based environmental group Clean Ocean Action about asbestos in the walls of the cars. The group said it was concerned that if the cars deteriorated underwater, they could spread the hazardous substance.
Proponents of the reef program argued the asbestos posed no risk, but in the meantime 400 of the subway cars that originally were earmarked for New Jersey ended up going to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Georgia.”To us, it’s a quality of life issue,” said Tom Fote, legislative chairman for the Jersey Coast Anglers Association. “It’s of economic importance to New Jersey recreation fishing and also to the commercial fishing industry.” He estimated that one out of every five fish that recreational fishermen in New Jersey take home come from an artificial reef.
In April, the McGreevey administration said it would take the remaining 250 cars for five of its 14 reefs, while revising its reef policy to address the concerns of Clean Ocean Action.The new policy establishes an advisory committee to monitor the reefs and puts a hold on any more subway car deployments until the committee issues its report in eight years.Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, said that’s a compromise that satisfies her organization.”The scope of the project was unprecedented with a material that was questionable,” she said. “It would have set a standard with a material that raised a lot of red flags.”
Fishermen and scuba divers, still upset over the Redbirds that got away, say the study is unnecessary because subway cars have proved durable at other locations.
“They went overboard when it really wasn’t necessary,” said Ed Bogaert, a board member of the National Council of Dive Clubs. He said he’s seen from his dives on old Philadelphia SEPTA subway cars dumped on the Sea Girt Reef 10 years ago that the cars have held up well and are teeming with fish.
The retired New York City subway cars are each about 51 feet long and 9 feet wide and high. Before they are dumped, the transit authority is responsible for stripping them of all tanks, plastics, degradable material, floatable items, and grease to avoid possible contamination of marine life. The transit authority also removes the wheel assemblies and the undercarriages, which it sells as scrap metal.The DEP deployed the first batch of 50 subway cars at Cape May Reef on July 3 and a second batch at Deep Water Reef off Ocean City on July 16. On Friday, another 50 were dropped 12 miles off Atlantic City. The remaining 100 cars will be divided equally between Garden State North Reef off Harvey Cedars and Shark River Reef off Manasquan.Phil Celmer, a recreational fisherman and diver, said he’s excited about the new cars, but not about the strings attached to them.
“We finally have 250 cars, but at what price?” he said. “For eight years we’re shafted now.”