The strike might not happen, but if it does, Metuchen could suffer. Watch video
METUCHEN -- The Metuchen train station is sometimes described as the town's center of gravity. Without the vital link to New York City, it's hard to imagine what this small, vibrant borough would look like.
So what happens if NJ Transit rail workers go on strike or are locked out next week amid a labor dispute? Nobody knows, but the general consensus is that it could give the Brainy Borough some serious headaches, especially for local businesses.
"We are concerned about the weekday," said Metuchen Mayor Peter Cammarano. "The station is right in the middle of downtown Metuchen. The impact it'll have on businesses is significant."
Workers could be off the job in a week, although labor leaders have said there's some progress on an agreement to keep the trains running on time by a March 13 deadline.
http://www.nj.com/traffic/index.ssf/2016/03/nj_transit_rail_unions_back_at_bargaining_table_to.html
In Metuchen, local leaders aren't just worried about the inconvenience for its commuters or the increased abundance of cars on the road. It could also deplete a customer base that hits happy hours and bakery shops after work, drops off suits at local dry cleaners, and hitches rides from a nearby taxi stand. Perhaps more than any other Middlesex County town, the effects will be evident here: Just walk around the train station around 5:30 p.m. and -- actually, on second thought, don't bother, it's too crowded with disembarking commuters.
"I can tell you that the commuters that come in here, we have a lot of them," said Moshe Atzbi, a partner at Hailey's Harp and Pub, an Irish bar right next to the station. "They're all concerned about it."
So are local merchants like Atzbi. There are a lot of variables at play; what if it keeps more people local, instead of headed into the city? But uncertainty and unpredictability are never good for business.
"All the businesses, all the business owners, are fearing change at this point," Atzbi said. "It could be good, it could be bad, but I'd rather have a steady even keel."
Metuchen's downtown carries with it no shortage of civic pride, but also civic fretting. Several businesses, including the To Be Continued bookstore and an Indian restaurant across the street, have recently gone out of business (the Mariachi Mexican restaurant, the Phattra Thai restaurant and others have opened, helping fill some of the gap).
People often point to a lack of foot traffic downtown as one of the culprits for downtown's struggles.
A brand-new housing development is about to open near where Route 27 bends at High Street toward Edison. The Woodmont development, too, will bring more people downtown. But that's a ways off, and an NJ Transit strike could exacerbate the customer shortage, at least in the short term.
"Whenever there's any kind of disruption of a customer base," said Lawrence E. McCullough, the executive director of the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce, "that affects the merchants."
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.