Cryan Resolution Urges MVC Officials To Reopen Elizabeth Facility

Closure of Motor Vehicles Office Has Put Hardship on Local Residents

TRENTON – The Senate today endorsed a Senate resolution authored by Senator Joe Cryan that urges the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission to reopen the MVC facility in Elizabeth that is needed to provide services to a large, low-income community that is now forced to travel to distant offices to acquire the licenses, registrations and other documents that are required for operating a motor vehicle.

The 2010 closure by the previous administration left Elizabeth, the fourth-largest municipality in the state, without a motor vehicles office. The Senate today voted in support of Senator Cryan’s resolution, SR-57, that “respectfully urges the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to reopen the office in Elizabeth.”

“Since the closure of the Elizabeth MVC office, our residents have been forced to travel to other locations where they wait hours for services and go back numerous times to get their paperwork processed,” said Senator Cryan. “The closure has created increased customer volume at the nearby MVC locations, causing significant and inconvenient wait times.”

The MVC office was closed at the end of 2010 forcing Elizabeth residents who rely on public transportation to travel to the Newark or Rahway offices that are not easily accessible. The now-closed office was conveniently located near a number of public transit access points which provided easy access for the residents of Elizabeth.

“Elizabeth is a city of hard working people who go to work every day and care for their families,” said Senator Cryan, D-Union. “It is a diverse community with a large number of low-income residents who support themselves and their families on limited resources. Forcing them to travel to Newark, Rahway or other MVC facilities to get the documents they need to have is worse than an inconvenience – it can be a hardship that is unfair and unjustified.”

The average median household income in Elizabeth is $43,831, almost $30,000 less than the state average of $73,702.

“I would like the current officials at the MVC to review the situation and the circumstances,” said Senator Cryan. “I would hope that they would agree that the best decision for the interest of Elizabeth, the nearby communities and for the role of the motor vehicles agency is to reopen the Elizabeth facility.”

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