NBC TO MOVE 1,000 TO N.J.

NBC is finding a way to avoid at least some of Manhattan’s traffic-jam tax bill – by shifting as many as 1,000 people from its Midtown headquarters in Rockefeller Center across the Hudson to New Jersey.

The network – already squeezed for space in the tight floors of the 30 Rock landmark – is gaining needed elbow room and simultaneously changing commuting habits of many employees.

Almost all of NBC’s digital employees, from online units such as iVillage and NBC Weather Plus, as well as the stations group operations division are being relocated from Midtown to a new digital campus at a corporate park in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., just blocks from the George Washington Bridge.

The two-building campus, already home to CNBC and other operations, will be finished by early next year.

NBC will transport everyone in and out of Manhattan with a fleet of 18 buses.

One insider said the reverse commute for Manhattan dwellers would be a good way for them to beat the congestion tax if it gets levied on their auto use. Also, most morning traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge are clogged by cars coming into the city – not going out. Another perk for making the digital campus commute: access to priority child care.