Maplewood Concierge Company Faces Uncertain Future

When the Maplewood concierge service was first introduced at the town's train station in 1998, it was hailed as a unique private/public partnership and the first in the state.

Run by the Maplewood Concierge Company (MCC), the initiative offers services for commuters including drop-off/pick up dry cleaning and shoe repair, jitney and other permits, holding packages, hailing taxicabs and connecting customers to businesses and services throughout town. 

"Whatever they need from me, I provide it," said Candy Naraine, assistant manager. Naraine has even helped commuters find their cars when they have forgotten where they parked.

Now, the MCC is in a public bidding process with New Jersey Transit, from which it leases the space, that will determine whether the company will continue to operate the service it helped pioneer.

It would be a "damn shame" for the MCC to lose the concession, said president Art Christensen, speaking at a Dec. 4 Maplewood Township Committee meeting at which he asked for a letter of support to NJ Transit. DeLuca countered the MCC was not a "real organization" anymore. Christensen disputed that, though he said the MCC had for the last six years been on "life support." 

Since then, the men have smoothed things over. "The mayor apologized to me," said Christensen. (DeLuca also issued a public apology at Tuesday night's township committee meeting.)

"I still don't support his application, but my comments about the bid being only for coffee and newspapers were in error and based on outdated information," said DeLuca in a phone interview earlier this week. However, he still believes it is inappropriate for the town to support any one bidder in the process. There are reportedly five bidders.

Christensen said he accepts the mayor's decision, although he disagrees with it.

"Why not represent all the merchants who put this together," said Christensen. "This is a community program, why would you not want to support that?"

NJ Transit will make its decision at the end of the month, although it could take until the spring for changes to take effect. After Dec. 31, MCC's lease will go month to month until a final decision is made.

When the concierge began, 80 local merchants contributed $50,000 in start up costs. Over the years, though, many merchants dropped out of the program and customer usage dwindled. Currently, around 20 merchants are active participants. 

The demand is still there, said Christensen, but the company needs money to better promote its services. 

"Many residents have no clue it even exists," he said.

Joyce Reynolds, who subleases the Heavenly Scent coffee concession from the MCC, is retiring at the end of the year. Christensen attempted to evict Reynolds a few years ago, contending that she was not fulfilling the terms of her lease. 

If the MCC wins the bid, the company would bring back cable TV, bring in WiFi, purchase a delivery van, and possibly bring in a UPS service, said Christensen. The company also brings in local pastries and coffee to the concession, the income from which could help support the service.

"I want the concierge company to be a model for train stations throughout the state," he said.