$$ga0411tunnel 1 BROWN

A commuter train passes near the abandoned construction site of what would have been the entrance of the ARC Tunnel that is now filled in. This 2012 view is from Routes 1&9 looking over the site and above where the tunnel would have gone under the road. (Jennifer Brown |The Star-Ledger)

(Brown, Jennifer)

NJ Transit has been handed a victory by a state appellate court in its battle with the family of a reputed mobster over the value of 1.89 acres of land that NJ Transit officials condemned for the canceled ARC tunnel project.

The family of longtime North Jersey garbage magnate Carmine "Papa Smurf" Franco took the agency to court, contending that the triangular piece of land between Weehawken and Hoboken was worth more than the $1.35 million price that was set for it, because of the potential for it developed.

A Hudson County jury agreed in October 2012 and set a value at $8.15 million.

The appellate court panel overturned that decision and remanded the case for a new trial.

The three-judge-panel said in an Oct. 19 ruling that the higher value wasn't appropriate because it depended on the landowner approvals from the municipalities to change zoning.

The judges said attorneys for the landowners failed to show a reasonable probability that would happen.

Work starts on NJ Transit's new buses again

The landowners of record are Mary and Carol Franco, who are the wife and sister-in-law, respectively, of Franco, 78, of Ramsey, a reputed member of the Genovese Crime Family, according to a report in The Record.

Franco was sentenced to a year in prison on racketeering charges in 2014 for a scheme to control waste hauling businesses.

An NJ Transit spokesman declined to comment about the decision because the matter is still in the courts.

The land could possibly be used for Amtrak's proposed Gateway Tunnel project as a site for a ventilation fan plant and an access point for tunnel boring equipment, transit experts said.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.