MSV

Hoboken BoE prepares for election battle - in November!

2012-01-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

MILE SQUARE VIEW EXCLUSIVE

Hoboken's Board of Education is preparing for a critical battle at its next meeting likely seeing approval moving its annual spring election to November. The change became possible with a law signed earlier this month by Governor Chris Christie.

The new law gives New Jersey education boards the option of moving their spring elections to November, saving local taxpayers money and offering a potential for more voters the opportunity to weigh in when larger numbers typically go to the polls.

The state and county government bear all the costs of November elections, unlike in the spring.

Last year, a back and forth chess match in the City Council on moving its elections from spring to November led to a referendum threatening to move them back to the spring. The City Council later rescinded the move with the majority not sure how it would stave off a referendum in a low turnout election. Unlike last year, 2012 is a presidential election year, and the polls will see many times the voters in a spring election.

The move to a November BoE election is available by approval of either the BoE board or a municipal governing body, in Hoboken the City Council.

Sources close to Hoboken's BoE anticipate the State law will see action at its next meeting February 14th. One BoE commissioner anticipating the law's passage at the previous BoE meeting, Francis Rhodes-Kearns, spoke strongly against a November election saying any change should only come through a referendum.

Kids First holds a 5-4 majority on the BoE, enough votes to push through any change.

Frank Raia hugs BoE commissioner Peter Biancamano on Washington Street after Christmas. He's looking forward to the next election to take on the Kids First majority no matter if it's in April or November.

Frank Raia and his "Independents for Education," slate swept the BoE election last April and tensions have risen since with Old Guard fixtures such as Michele Russo and political operatives going to meetings and openly stating they are looking forward to overturning Kids First and replacing the newly hired superintendent Dr. Mark Toback.

Commenting on a potential move to a November election, Raia spoke matter of fact against the move saying, "I think it will be totally chaos if they move it. The county's picking up the cost, but I hear there may be two different machines... so they'll be spending the same money."

Speaking on the potential for a November election, something Raia opposed earlier for the City Council financing that referendum against the move, he added, "They (Kids First) have to live with what they do. Are we better off now then we were three years ago (pre-KF majority)? It's not and no one believes it."

The State has notified BoE's across New Jersey they should approve a move by February 17th to ensure a smooth transition to a November election and suggested boards take advantage of the savings and increased voter participation with a November election.

The BoE election is designated non-partisan and will be located on a different section of the November ballot for this presidential year. Existing terms would be extended to January of 2013.

While a November election is anticipated to pose a bigger challenge of voters to any Raia backed slate, the perennial candidate and former BoE commissioner added he was not concerned, "We're going to win. Not because we're good, but because they're bad."

Talking Ed Note: A request was made for comment from Kids First member and BoE commissioner Theresa Minutillo. If a comment is forthcoming, this story will be updated.

Councilman David Mello urges participation at Thursday Southwest Redevelopment Report review

2012-01-29T14:15:00.000-05:00

From the desk of Councilman David Mello:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Beginning this Thursday, February 2, 2012, the future of our Southwest neighborhood will be a major point of discussion within the City of Hoboken. OnThursday, February 2nd, at 7:00 PM, our City Planning Board will be holding the first of four hearings and presentations of a Southwest Redevelopment Study Report. This study report could usher in major changes to our Southwest neighborhood. It's vital that all people in Hoboken, particularly those of us living in the Southwest, share our thoughts at these hearings.

Why This Is Important

Redevelopment is a confusing and daunting NJ land-use concept. A state statute created legal procedure, redevelopment designations and plans can serve as positive and effective tools used by municipalities like Hoboken to more effectively control the development process and successfully implement smart growth plans in designated areas. Redevelopment can also have negative consequences, if not handled properly. Your participation in these hearings specifically, and in this long legal process in general, is vital to ensuring that any consideration of a redevelopment designation and plan in Hoboken's Southwest has only positive ramifications on our community at-large, and takes your views, thoughts, and dreams for this neighborhood fully into consideration along the way.

History of Redevelopment Efforts in this Neighborhood

Many years ago, the City Council voted in favor of directing Hoboken's Planning Board to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine if much of our Southwest neighborhood meets the legal criteria to be deemed "an area in need of redevelopment." A legal designation as an area in need of redevelopment soon followed.

As a member of the public at the time, I opposed a resulting redevelopment plan throughout much of 2006, due to my concerns over how much development this plan called for, and how few public amenities it planned for (i.e. I viewed it as lacking adequate park space, charter school space, large family-sized residential units, appealing senior housing, significant portions of commercial and retail development, vital flood remediation components, etc). But, I was concerned with how this tool was being used in this particular case, not with the use of the redevelopment tool in-general.

In recent years, the City Council, as our City's redevelopment agency, has again taken up the redevelopment process in the Southwest. At our Council's request, Hoboken's Planning Board reinitiated a Southwest study process by hiring the planning firm Clarke Caton Hintz to help conduct a new investigation and provide a study report on the matter. I was the Council designee to the Planning Board at that time, and participated heavily in this hiring process.

The Final Southwest Redevelopment Study & Hearings

Since being hired, Clarke Caton Hintz has worked diligently to produce the Final Southwest Redevelopment Study Report, available online at this link. The following public hearings by our Planning Board are the next, crucial step in this process:

Hearing #1 - Thursday, February 2, 2012, 7:00 PM - City Hall Conference Room (Basement - Newark St. Entrance)
Hearing #2 - Thursday, February 23, 2012, 7:00 PM - Location TBD
Hearing #3 - Wednesday, February 29, 2012, 7:00 PM - Location TBD
Hearing #4 - Thursday March 1, 2012, 7:00 PM - Location TBD

Please attend each of these hearings, particularly the first, this coming Thursday. I want every member of our Planning Board to know that the people of Hoboken care deeply about the issue of properly planning our Southwest neighborhood's future, and that the needs of current and future residents should be clearly at the forefront of every decision makers' mind each step of the way. More precisely, I want our Planning Board to understand exactly what we in the Southwest, and across all of Hoboken, visualize as a smart growth future for our beloved Southwest neighborhood.

Please join me on Thursday night at 7:00 PM at the first hearing, and thank you for taking the time to read this.

Sincerely,

David

web: MelloForHoboken.com

twitter: djmello

Monday Madness: April or November - the BoE elections are war!

2012-01-28T18:15:00.002-05:00

Monday MSV will have an exclusive look at the Hoboken BoE elections in 2012 with views from both sides of the divide. The State of NJ just passed a law where local school boards can decide to continue elections in April or move them to November.

Hoboken's next Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Valentine's Day. There won't be a lot of love in the room that night. On Monday MSV will explain why from both sides of the divide.

Currently the Kids First coalition holds a slim one vote 5-4 majority. Last year the Frank Raia backed "Independents" ticket swept the three seat election and will be looking to reverse that majority whether the election is in April or in November.

The State of NJ has provided a sample resolution to consider using, pictured above, in moving to a November election. Hoboken's BoE may be on that NJ election ballot this November.

Weekend events at the Hoboken Historical and Fire Department Museum

2012-01-28T11:21:00.004-05:00

Opening Reception & Volunteer Party, Sun. Jan. 29

Holland (left), Lincoln (right) Tunnels

Driving Under the Hudson: A History of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels
This year the Holland Tunnel turns 85, and the Lincoln 75. The Museum invites you to explore the tunnels’ back story and cultural significance in Driving Under the Hudson, The History of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, opening Sunday, Jan. 29 with a free reception from 2 - 5 pm. It will be on view through July 1.
Before WWI, ferries and barges were the only way to transport goods and commuters to New York, and the Hudson & Manhattan Tubes (PATH) provided relief only for commuters--not freight--in 1908. A hard freeze in the winter of 1917-1918, followed by a Marine Workers' strike the next winter, galvanized support for a vehicular tunnel by 1919.
Completed in 1927, the Holland Tunnel, named for its chief engineer Clifford Holland, was called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Planned, funded and constructed against daunting physical and financial obstacles, their existence is a testament to the “sandhogs” who risked their lives working under extreme pressure, and to the engineers who innovated new construction techniques. The first tube of the Lincoln Tunnel opened in 1937, but the second and third were delayed due to WWII and rising real estate costs.

"Mostly Rosemary" Series by Laura Alexander

Laura Alexander's latest series

Local artist Laura Alexander's Monroe Center studio is a fixture on Hoboken's annual Artists Studio Tour. She paints striking portraits on large canvases, and the Museum invites you to see her latest series,“Mostly Rosemary,” in an exhibit in the Museum’s Upper Gallery that opens on January 29 with a free reception from 2 – 5 p.m.

The title of the show is inspired by the model who posed for the photographs that Alexander worked from in creating these 50-inch-square portraits. “They’re ‘mostly’ her,” Alexander explains, “but we changed her cosmetically for each portrait. The concept was to portray different ethnic varieties.” She adds,“These paintings speak about the many differences we perceive in one another while we still recognize our shared humanity. Real tolerance of these differences seems to be the challenge of this century.”

Volunteers keep our events going strong!

Volunteer Celebration at Opening Reception
Please join us at the opening reception on Sunday, Jan. 29, from 2 - 5 pm, if you've volunteered for the Museum in 2011, or are interested in volunteering in 2012. We rely on a small army of volunteers to staff our booths at festivals, work in the Museum and help out with our fund-raising events, like the House Tour and Tomato-Tasting Festivals.
We'll take a few moments to recognize the contributions of our volunteers, and share information about our upcoming calendar of events. Invite friends -- we always welcome new volunteers.

Member Exclusive: Summer Enrichment Programs

Ready to explore the Mile Square city

Looking for summer fun? The Hoboken Historical Museum announces the dates for the 2012 Summer Enrichment Program sessions, which booked up quickly last year. This year, we're offering a priority enrollment period for Museum members, now through February 3rd.
Each week-long session runs Monday - Friday from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, at the Museum--with field trips around town. Every day includes a little history, exploring, outdoor activities, crafts and a chance to make new friends and have lots of fun. The week costs $225 per child enrolled, Museum Members pay $190.
City Stories, June 25 – 29
For ages 5 to 7 years old
Join us at the Museum for a week of literary fun and neighborhood adventure as we jump into some of our favorite stories about city life. We’ll have arts and crafts, neighborhood walks and plenty of time outside for summer fun and games. As we explore the Museum and the neighborhood, come see what you can find in Hoboken.

Hoboken Explorers, August 6 – 10
For ages 6 to 8 years old
The Museum is full of amazing objects to explore and Hoboken has lots of history and stories to tell. We’ll work on projects, take walking trips to local fun spots, and have plenty of outdoor time for neighborhood walks and summer games. Let’s go out and explore Hoboken!

History Detectives, August 20 - 24
For ages 6 to 8 years old
From stories about immigration, to the city’s architecture and cultural festivals, Hoboken has a rich history just waiting to be discovered. Through stories, creative projects, trips to nearby points of interest, and lots of outdoor time, we will explore Hoboken history through artifacts, architecture and art.

To Enroll: Call the Museum at 201-656-2240 or email Robin Westervelt, Education Curator, ateducation@hobokenmuseum.org

Fire Department Museum Open Weekends, 12-5 pm

Family fun at the Fire Dept. Museum!

Hoboken's other best-kept secret is the Hoboken Fire Department Museum, at 213 Bloomfield Street. Come see how generations of fire fighters have battled fires in this dense urban environment. Memorabilia, including photos, hats and equipment, are arrayed floor-to-ceiling, and the fire fighters welcome visitors to climb up on the vintage fire truck.
Admission is free for children, $2 for adults. The Hoboken Historical Museum is happy to help the department staff the Museum on weekends from noon to 5 pm.

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Irish Anti-Defamation Federation: Hoboken is right to cancel "distasteful" and "crime ridden" parade day

2012-01-27T09:35:00.002-05:00

Update Duo: Now Ray Smith at the Hoboken Reporter says the Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Committee has reversed and is not moving the parade to another venue this year. Has the spokesman for the Parade Committee hit the bottle too early?

According to one Hoboken born resident who spoke at the last City Council meeting, the Hoboken Parade Committee was responsible for making it an alcohol fueled event - an example they set themselves. Previous there was a parade and no committee running it in Hoboken according to that resident.

BREAKING UPDATE: The Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Committee has announced it's going elsewhere saying a decision is being made to take the parade to another location.

The story was announced on the Jersey Journal. Earlier a Philadelphia based Irish group announced its opposition to the faux St. Patrick's Day in Hoboken and its agreement that the parade would not take place the first Saturday of March.

The Hoboken based parade group has now demonstrated its intent to take their ball and not go home after all.

Talking Ed Note: How much do you wanna bet it will be on a Saturday? Congratulations to all the bar owners in the new unannounced location.

----

A Philadelphia based organization, the Irish Anti-Defamation Federation is weighing in on the recent cancellation of the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Irish eyes are smiling on their decision, unlike their counterparts who run the parade committee in Hoboken.

Countering the veiled "intolerance" charge against Mayor Dawn Zimmer by one committee member, John R. Howe a former Grand Marshall, the Philadelphia based group issued a statement countering that charge saying,

"The Officers and Members of the Irish Anti-Defamation Federation... would like to support Hoboken's Mayor Dawn Zimmer in her decision to cancel the St. Patrick's Day Parade in her town" and went on to describe the event as "distasteful, dangerous and crime ridden..."

The committee actually erred in stating the cancellation came from the mayor. The Hoboken parade committee cancelled the annual event after declining to see it return to a weekday.

Mary Beth Phillips, a recording officer for the year old group told the Jersey Journal, "It's not against the parade committee of Hoboken, not against any parades but against the attendant 'celebrations' and this who take advantage of events like this for their money-making interests."

The group's website calls for its members to present a united front on behalf of Irish interests and encourages members to spread the word on the truth of St. Patrick and Irish history.

The rest of the group's statement reads:

"Although we are saddened by the loss of this tradition (what should be an all-generations, family-friendly celebration of Ireland's patron saint, and display of our Irish heritage and culture for those claiming Irish roots), we think Mayor Zimmer was wise to put a stop to the distasteful, dangerous, and crime-ridden activities that have accompanied the parade, especially since last year's parade-associated crimes included three reports of rape."

"Mayor Zimmer is sending a strong signal to all, whether Irish-American supporters of the Hoboken parade, revelers in the bars, and even spectators, that things are out of control. Her necessary cancellation of the parade is just one step towards fixing a dreadful batch of problems."

"We applaud her decision to try to make St. Patrick's Day the pride-filled celebration and holiday it should be. Mayor Zimmer does not want, and cannot afford, for Hoboken to be New Orleans at Mardi Gras, even if it means drastic changes are needed this particular year."

"For all those who disagree with her, we at the IADF recommend ways to create a family-friendly celebration once more, one that will not tax the police and other services required of the citizens of Hoboken."

Based on the statement it appears the Irish group is familiar with the letter that appeared in the Hudson Reporter by John R. Howe. That letter caused a controversy, eliciting strong reactions to its claim the parade was moved from Saturday due to "intolerance." It reads:

My family first came to America from Ireland in 1850, fleeing hunger and an oppressive regime. They have resided in Hoboken for over 125 years. I was a policeman here and I have been a participant in the Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day Parade since its inception in 1986. In 1997 I was honored to be selected at the Parade’s 10th Grand Marshal. On the first Saturday in March 1997 I, along with my late father, my son and grand-nephew proudly led the parade down Washington St. It was a chilly, rainy dismal day but, hundreds of people still lined Washington St. to see the parade. Whenever I look at pictures from that day I can see the pride in my father’s eyes as he marched with four generations of his family.

I always thought that this tradition would continue and that other descendants of Irish Immigrants would be able to share my experience. But, apparently intolerance has once again reared its ugly head. The Irish, the first big group of refugees ever to come to the United States, have born the brunt of American resentment before and prevailed. They paved the way for the waves of immigrants that followed in their footsteps. In the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

John R. Howe
Grand Marshall 1997
Hoboken St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

According to the Jersey Journal story, the Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Committee did not comment on the Irish Anti-Defamation Federation's statement. A marketing effort is underway to bring visitors to Hoboken the first Saturday of March in part by "Eat, Drink Hoboken" owner David Liebler along with Hoboken bar owners.

Facebook pages claim to have commitments from thousands to attend the day and the City of Hoboken is preparing additional measures including arrests for criminal activity that will see offenders taken to Kearny the location of the Hudson County jail.

St. Patrick's Day tradition? An Irish group has come out decrying the denigration of St. Patrick calling Hoboken's faux St. Patrick's Day "distasteful" and "crime ridden." A midday muffin top casualty outside a Hoboken bar lives up to the "standard" of the day the group opposes.

Talking Ed Note: The St. Patrick's Parade Committee has not seen any support from MORTe other than a Tim Occhipinti pretending not to know how the mayor was able to move the parade from a Saturday. Occhipinti is the only member of MORTe to come out and say anything in any detail on the parade. Occhipinti has received campaign contributions from one bar owner in town the Elysian who has been a strong supporter of Old Guard interests in opposition to Mayor Dawn Zimmer.

Horse Sense: Flash Notes on State of the City

2012-01-26T08:54:00.001-05:00

The biggest takeaway from Mayor Zimmer's State of the City was a clear comfort level and confidence coming from a hugely successful 2011. The mayor's ease and confidence was evident and not solely to a mostly supportive audience in attendance.

The quick takeaways: Of close to two dozen interruptions of applause, the loudest was one unexpected to the announcement that on the first Saturday of March, the mardi gras party being pushed by bar promoters will not be overlooked. Offending lawbreakers "when appropriate will be arrested and detained immediately."

Jon Tooke, Public Safety Director stated after the speech a process was well underway with the NJ Attorney General's Office along with Hudson County to put a new step in place for serious lawbreaking. He expressed confidence the review would be completed in time for March. Handcuffing and a visit to Kearny, location of the county jail await.

Parks are a prime focus for 2012. The mayor appeared to promise Councilman Dave Mello substantial progress on the long desired effort to have a park in southwest Hoboken. It was that Councilman's loudest applause of the evening.

Crime is down 16% since the mayor took office in 2009. There's a lot of publicity recently on burglaries and last year, pronouncements about a crime wave. The Hoboken Police Department received positive support for their effort. The question is who is releasing information to the larger public day to day and week to week? Sgt. Williams is heading communications to the media and public there.

Pedestrian accidents with vehicles down substantially: 2009 - 60 collisions, 2010 56 and 2011 37 incidents with motorized vehicles and pedestrians.

Bike accidents: 2009 - 21 collisions, 2010 - 10 and in 2011 - 8.

In addition to 1600 Park, a number of parks, all dog runs will see an overhaul including the heavily used Church Square Park. The mayor thanked Project Play for their fundraising contribution there. The crown jewel of Hoboken, Sinatra Park has obtained necessary approvals and is slated for completion this year. It will be important for that milestone to be achieved and a RFP is out for bidding for to see the repairs completed pending City Council approval.

Another unexpected surprise was the reaction to development or rather overdevelopment, failed promises on commitments by same and the organized effort to stop the Monarch Project. The audience expressed a stronger reaction on this last 2012 objective, appearing to catch the mayor by surprise towards the end of her speech.

The Hertz Connect Corner Cars program: it's off the hook now reaching 2000 users in town and just shy of 100 residents turning in their car permits specifically for the program. That's more than twice the number of cars taken off the street for vehicles made available.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer coming off a year of huge accomplishments in 2011 with a 10% tax reduction and saving the hospital showed an ease and confidence that only comes with experience.

Talking Ed Note: Councilwoman Beth Mason was present, sitting alone and taking notes during most of the presentation. What she saw and heard could not have given her, Assemblyman Ruben Ramos or others coveting the mayor's chair much hope to unseat her. The accomplishments are clearly long, substantial and growing.

No other members of MORTe were present: Terry Castellano, Michael Russo and Tim Occhipinti. Of the three, only Occhipinti attended last year. Perhaps Occhipinti was out working in Jersey City looking to identify graffiti he'd like co-worker Steve Fulop, a Jersey City councilman to remove.

Former Mayor Dave Roberts and former State Senator Bernard Kenny were both in attendance. Their presence was significant in ways that MORTe's absence wasn't.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer's 2nd Annual State of the City

2012-01-25T22:23:00.000-05:00

The following is the complete, unedited video of the proceedings held at Stevens:

Mayor Dawn Zimmer State of the City Speech - it's a real humdinger

2012-01-25T20:00:00.000-05:00

HOBOKEN STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

Remarks of Mayor Dawn Zimmer

As Prepared for Delivery

Wednesday, January 25^th, 2012

DeBaun Auditorium, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ

Welcome everyone. Thank you all for joining us tonight. I want to thank Stevens and President Farvardin so much for hosting tonight’s 2^nd annual State of the City.

I am extremely pleased to announce that under Dr. Farvardin’s leadership, the partnership between Hoboken and Stevens continues to grow stronger than ever.

Most recently, we are partnering on a very exciting project that could make Hoboken the nation’s first truly “smart city.” Through this innovative program, residents would be able to have immediate access and input on the array of services that impact their daily lives.

Thank you to Dr. Ali Mostashari and all of the Stevens staff and students who are working with us on this project, along with the many other essential infrastructure projects by Stevens students.

Thank you again to all of the Stevens students whose volunteerism during Hurricane Irene helped to protect our community, students who volunteered to help beautify our City, and also those who volunteered to help with our many cultural events. Hoboken is so lucky to have the Stevens community as a part of our City.

I also want to say a huge thank you to the City Council, all those who have served and continue to serve on our many boards, and volunteers for our Community Emergency Response Team. We don’t always agree on everything but all of these individuals devote an enormous amount of time and energy to serving our City, and their contributions deserve to be recognized.

A special thank you to my directors, chiefs, and employees for your dedication to our City.

Now I must say, 2011 was one heck of a year! Together we overcame tremendous challenges. At times I feared we could be destroyed financially if the sale of the hospital failed - let alone the challenges we faced from the hurricanes, the blizzards, the shipworms that ate away at our piers, and the unexpected earthquake. I want to give a huge thank you to all of our public safety members who saw us through quite a tumultuous year.

Despite the fact that the challenges have never stopped, we not only survived, but we thrived on many fronts in 2011.

First, we were able to achieve a 10 percent municipal tax reduction, the 6^th largest in the State.

Secondly, together we saved our City from financial destruction with the successful sale of Hoboken University Medical Center to the principal owners of Bayonne Medical Center. The sale was crucial for our City both because of the incredibly important role the hospital plays, and also because we had a $52 million bond backing the hospital. The hospital was bankrupt, and had the sale not been completed, we would have lost our hospital and faced a fiscal crisis on a frightening scale.

Saving our hospital consumed more of my time than I could have ever imagined, but the results demonstrate that what seems impossible can be achieved. Thank you so much to everyone who worked tirelessly to save our hospital. In particular, I’d like to thank and recognize Toni Tomarazzo, the Chair of the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority board and all of the Authority members. They are the heroes of Hoboken. Without your unwavering support and perseverance we could never have succeeded.

Thank you to the Hoboken Women’s Auxiliary for their tremendous support of the hospital. Over the years they raised more than $1 million dollars for the hospital.

I also want to thank Senator Kenny and Mayor Roberts who are here with us tonight – I called both of them on that exciting Friday afternoon when the sale finally went through. As I told each of them on the phone, while many, including me, questioned the wisdom of the City’s bailout of the hospital in 2007, without that bailout we would not have had a hospital to save in 2011.

Under the strong leadership of Phil Schaengold, the new CEO of HUMC, the hospital’s future is very bright. Just last week, HUMC hired a highly regarded neurosurgeon from New York University. We welcome Dr. Ramesh Babu and look forward to the highest level of care that he and all of the doctors and dedicated staff at HUMC offer to our community.

Another essential achievement of 2011: My Administration worked closely with North Hudson Sewerage Authority to finally get the Observer Highway flood pump online. This essential infrastructure is already helping to alleviate our City’s 100-year old flooding problem. Congratulations to Chairman Richard Wolff, Executive Director Fred Pocci, and the entire board of North Hudson Sewerage Authority. Thank you to John Nastasi, a Stevens professor, architect, and Hoboken resident, for working with the City and North Hudson to design the exterior of the pump.

As a Councilperson, I advocated strongly to make certain that this was the first pump to be built. The original 4-pump plan scheduled this most important pump last, meaning the Southwest, the area with the worst flooding would have had to wait in line to receive the relief it needed. This pump is important, but we are going to keep going to solve our City’s flooding problem completely. That’s why I brought in EmNet to install sensors, and now we have data before and after the pump was installed. The data the sensors have provided will save our City millions as we create affordable and effective flooding solutions.

A third important achievement this year was the transition to single stream recycling. Under the leadership of our Recycling Coordinator, David Calamoneri, we have increased our City’s recycling by more than fifty percent! Thank you to David and thank you to everyone that is actively working to recycle! Not only does this save the City money, but it is plain and simply the right thing to do and our community’s responsibility.

In addition to going green, we’ve been working to restore your faith in our City’s government. This year we passed anti-wheeling campaign finance reform, which banned the practice of circumventing our pay-to-play laws and other contribution limits by funneling contributions through third parties. Given Hoboken’s recent history, this reform is a vital step to ensure that the politics of the future do not emulate our unfortunate politics of the past.

Very soon we will be announcing that a world-class company will be coming to Hoboken, creating hundreds of jobs and spurring economic development. Last week was the grand opening of Office Depot. I went over to congratulate, welcome and ask the President of Office Depot why they decided to locate in Hoboken. He confirmed my intuition: major companies such as his recognize that Hoboken is a fantastic place to locate their business with our high quality of life and direct access to New York City.

Last year was also a tough year of evaluation and change for our Police, Fire and other departments. I know it was difficult for everyone, but through it all we were able to reach fair agreements with our Police and Fire Departments. These contracts provide our public safety personnel with the security of agreements going into the future for the first time in many, many years. Thank you to our Police and Fire Departments for protecting our community each and every day.

After years of delay, we were able to complete and open Pier C Park for our community. Thank you to everyone who was involved in developing and bringing this beautiful waterfront park to our City. It is great to see so many residents and visitors enjoying this spectacular addition to our City’s network of parks.

Last year we also added a desperately needed air conditioning and heating system to our Multi-Service center that serves our seniors. This was a long overlooked project, and I am proud that we were able to work together to get this crucial infrastructure upgrade completed.

Parking is always a difficult issue in Hoboken. No matter what we do we won’t have enough supply to meet the demand. However, we need to continue to do everything we can to alleviate the problem. We must make it easier to get around Hoboken with and without a car.

Some headway we have made includes new multi-meters that have added an estimated 150 additional parking spaces and made parking easier now that you do not need to search your pockets for quarters. It has also made our parking meters impossible to steal from, something that we now know was occurring not so long ago.

Corner Cars has been an unambiguous, unbelievable success. Over 2,000 Hoboken residents have taken advantage of this program, and 99 people have surrendered their permits. This program has made it far easier to live in Hoboken without a car. It has without question, made more parking available. Is it a solution by itself? Of course not, but has it helped? Absolutely, without question, and that is why five major cities are looking to Hoboken as a model for car-sharing and part of the reason we received a Sustainable Jersey award this year.

We worked with the business community to provide new discounted parking in our municipal garages. Over 300 businesses have partnered with us, leaving more space for valued customers to park on the street.

An additional 200 cars are off the street thanks to the new “Monthly Limited” parking option – a discounted rate for resident commuters who don’t need to park in the garage during the day.

Last year we also implemented a three-route Hop transportation system, which has had 120,000 passengers since its launch, and is filled to capacity during peak commuter periods. We are looking to update the fleet with modern buses and working on partnering with the business community to expand Hop service on the weekends and evenings this year. After all, we’ve got great shopping here in Hoboken, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to shop local and enjoy everything that our City has to offer.

Most recently we worked with Councilman Cunningham and our public safety officials to pass legislation that will allow parking close to some curbs, bringing 850 new parking spaces to the City without compromising on pedestrian safety.

Hoboken is also becoming more bike-friendly every year. We doubled the number of bike racks near the PATH, installed our first bike repair station, and passed a plan for ten miles of new bike lanes, which we’ll be striping in the year ahead.

As a result of our many pedestrian safety measures, pedestrian-car collisions are down nearly 30 percent since I took office. Bicycle-car collisions are down by more than 60 percent.

This year we want to work with the community to create a parking master plan, and we look forward to hearing all your ideas on this very important issue.

In addition to all that we have achieved in 2011, we’ve also got a tremendous number of important projects that we will complete this year.

This week our Chinese community is celebrating the New Year – the Year of the Dragon. I believe in Hoboken, 2012 will be known as the Year of Parks. We will be opening a new park in North Hoboken, currently known as 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove. The plans are being finalized now, and this long awaited park will be a fantastic addition to our community.

We finally have the approvals we need, and Frank Sinatra Park and Castle Point will be reopened in 2012. We will be bidding out Frank Sinatra Cafe to transform it and make it a go-to destination for our residents and visitors.

We have a contractor in place to upgrade the playgrounds at Jackson Street Park, Jefferson Park, and Legion Park on Willow Avenue. At Stevens Park, we’re looking to resurface the little league field, upgrade the playground, and install an indoor batting cage. Church Square Park, Mamma Johnson Field, and all our dog runs will all be upgraded this year.

Thank you to all the community members who have helped to make this happen, and particularly thanks to the moms from Project Play and the Hoboken Family Alliance who raised $50,000 for the renovation of Church Square Park.

Many of you know that I started my political career fighting for a park in Southwest Hoboken where I live. So I am particularly happy that in 2012 we will be making a down payment on that Southwest Park by acquiring a substantial piece of property using a $3 million county grant and a portion of the $20 million park bond approved by the City Council.

As you know, the most important role of government is maintaining the public safety. This is something that must be focused on each and every day and can never be characterized as something which has been fully achieved.

The total crime rate in Hoboken declined once again in 2011. Since I took office in 2009, total crime is down by 16 percent. Crime is now at its lowest in a generation, and I want to congratulate Chief Falco and thank the hard work of the members of the Hoboken Police Department.

But we’re ever mindful that decreasing crime is not good enough. As long as there is any crime, we still have hard work to do.

It is never possible for our law enforcement officers to be everywhere at all times. But as we all know, quality of life offenses are most common during late night hours on weekends and in places where large numbers of people tend to congregate.

In response to this, Police Chief Falco has reassigned and redeployed his personnel in more close alignment with the time and days of these offenses. We will also be adding more eyes on the streets with Class II officers during peak activity hours on weekends and events.

Maintaining the public safety sometimes involves making difficult choices. Unfortunately the public safety problems that have arisen in connection with the events surrounding Hoboken’s St. Patrick’s Day in recent years have resulted in the City’s decision that the parade would have to be held on a weekday, and the parade committee’s decision to cancel the parade all together.

The loss of the parade is a loss for Hoboken, but at the end of the day, the safety and quality of life of our residents is more important than scheduling a parade on a particular day. Even with the parade cancelled, our public safety department will be fully mobilized. Our zero tolerance policy will be in full effect, and this year disorderly people will not merely be ticketed, but when appropriate will be arrested and detained immediately.

The City is also moving ahead with planning an event that honors Hoboken’s Irish heritage.

We’ve talked about the past, and now it is time to look to the future of Hoboken.

Hoboken has great public transportation. Thousands of Hobokenites and other commuters take the PATH train or the ferry every day. We have more residents per capita using public transportation than any other City in the country. But if our City is to grow in a sustainable way, we need more public transportation.

As some of you may have heard, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed extending New York’s Number 7 train into New Jersey, most likely with a direct stop in Secaucus.

I have strongly advocated, both with Governor Christie and Mayor Bloomberg’s staff, for a Number 7 train stop in north Hoboken. South Hoboken has both the PATH and the beautiful new ferry terminal, and a stop there is extremely unlikely due to the enormous cost of extending the tunnel in that direction.

A north Hoboken stop would be more cost effective and better for Hoboken. It could be combined with a proposed light rail stop to make it an even stronger transportation connection.

I have had productive discussions with Governor Christie and Mayor Bloomberg’s staff, and I am fully committed to doing everything I can to make this a reality for our City.

In addition to improving our transportation infrastructure, we are working to improve our communications infrastructure to make our City government more effective and user friendly. For example, starting this month, you can now get your parking permits online.

We are also launching an online service request system so residents can report and get updates on everything from pot holes to graffiti to flooding. In addition to a one-stop informational website, we will also be launching an iPhone app to let you report problems from wherever you are. And we look forward to launching a 311 call center to support this system once the rewiring of City Hall is completed.

We also recently added a Reverse 911 system so we can reach Hoboken residents during emergencies such as snow storms and hurricanes.

Finally, perhaps the most important issue pertaining to Hoboken’s future is the question of development. Unlike many other places, we do not need new development to “transform our City” into something new and better. Our City is already a great City and developers are privileged to have the opportunity to build here. My Administration will always do everything it can to ensure that new development is done in a way that does not put unacceptable additional strain on our infrastructure or transform our City from the one we love into somebody else’s development dream.

New development can bring and has brought important benefits to our community. For example, my Administration worked closely to ensure that the artists’ community in the Monroe Center was protected through a bankruptcy process and sale to a new owner. Many of us would not live here without the development that has occurred over the past 20 years. However, Hoboken today has more choices and more leverage than we did 20 years ago, and we need to use that leverage and make our choices wisely to protect the character of our community.

We also have to make sure that the commitments that are made to our City and its residents, when development is approved, are real commitments that will be kept.

Currently, there are applications for approvals pending for a developer to build two eleven story buildings on a pier where that same developer had promised to build tennis courts as a condition of a prior approval.

I have recused myself from the Planning Board process because I do not want to create any confusion between the independent role of the Planning Board and my responsibility to protect the interests of Hoboken residents as mayor.

My Administration will continue to fully use the power of its office and exercise all of the legal tools available to ensure that this developers’ commitment and all other commitments, past, present, and future, made to the people of Hoboken, are kept. That is why, without hesitation, we are appealing the DEP’s approval of this pier project in north Hoboken.

This speech is about the State of our City, but I want to say a few words about the State of our State. Over the last two years, Governor Christie, working in a bipartisan way with many Democrats, has accomplished some important things that will go a long way to help stabilize the finances of our City. When I have agreed with the Governor, as I did with the 2 percent tax cap, and pension and healthcare reform, I have not hesitated to make my voice heard.

When I do not agree, it is my responsibility to voice my views.

While I applaud Governor Christie for nominating the first openly gay judge to the state Supreme Court, I strongly urge him to change his mind and sign the Marriage Equality Act when it is passed by the legislature. It is simply the right thing to do.

Now I’ve done a lot of talking tonight about government, but the true strength of our City lies not in the halls of government but in its people, a wonderful generous community. Whether it was volunteering during emergencies, helping neighbors pump out a basement after Hurricane Irene, or fundraising for the victims of a fire, our community is the foundation upon which our great City flourishes.

I want to thank all of you, and all of our residents for the important work that you do. I urge you to stay involved in our community.

Join our Community Emergency Response Team, adopt a park, join the PTSO, volunteer at the homeless shelter, volunteer for a board, organize around an issue that you care about, participate in a neighborhood cleanup, tutor a student at the Jubilee Center, participate in community meetings, and most importantly, be informed about what is happening in our town.

With your help, Hoboken will always thrive as a community that we are proud to call our home.

Thank you.

Will Hoboken411 make a rare public appearance at State of the City address?

2012-01-25T13:40:00.001-05:00

Perry Klaussen the reported proprietor of Hoboken411, although some suggest that may not in fact be completely true, is an uncertain attendee to the State of the City tonight.

Rarely seen at any Hoboken event is never a problem for Hoboken411 to write about said events. He doesn't do much of the political writing and was largely dormant the past six months quaking in fear when best bud Patrick Ricciardi was nabbed by the Feds last May. That was his best conduit to information illicit and otherwise including pictures other than his Masonite ghostwriter, who pens the angry screeds packed with the usual assortment of lies, half-lies, distortions and the always present self-perpetuating rumors.

Last year, Das Klaussen made a rare public appearance at the State of the City but ever the recluse went upstairs to an empty balcony taking photos of his hated Zimmertinis below.

He pointed his camera repeatedly toward the Horsey and fired away but was met in kind by our trusty camera that captured the essence of his character as seen below where he's raising his middle finger.

Perry Klaussen of Hoboken411 made a rare public appearance at last year's SOTC address. And by appearance, he showed up, took photos of people to smear on his site later and left before the event started. Typical Klaussen.

Beth Mason, a longtime backer of the website that smears and censors everyone except her was recently known to have sat down with her lackey at the Elysian. Some wonder about the nature of the business relationship. To be in favor at Hoboken411, all that is required is to be on the right side with Beth Mason or is it passing an envelope? Michael Russo was a bad guy years ago, but now a Mason ally, he's "a good guy" on Hoboken411.

A lot has happened since last year's SOTC. Hoboken411 has degenerated into self-parody with his ranting hatreds of Mason's and his nemesis - Mayor Zimmer, to the point it's difficult to know if he hates Hoboken and everyone in it or just anyone who doesn't pay him. Last May, he illegally voted in the 5th ward council election even though he lives around the corner in the 2nd ward from Beth Mason, thus proving that hatred drives him more than allegiance to his paymaster.

Here's a video of Councilwoman Beth Mason who failed to get him on the City dole, but it is oppossed with no support from anyone but her. Maybe that's why Perry Klaussen chose to vote illegally in another election rather than for Beth Mason.

Perhaps tonight Hoboken's smearmeister king will sit with his benefactor Beth Mason. Now that would be novel.

Fighting off savage attacks and saving the hospital and Hoboken with it, what does Mayor Zimmer do for an encore?

2012-01-25T09:50:00.002-05:00

Mayor Zimmer will be giving a State of the City speech tonight at 7:00 and observers will be interested in not only her reflections of the past year but the roadmap she sees ahead. After beating back a savage battle for the life of the City and its hospital, she knows her opponents will stop at nothing to undermine her, even if it means bankrupting Hoboken.

Aware of that political reality, Mayor Zimmer knows there is no compromising with the forces of darkness led by the Beth Russo hydra. In her first two years she attempted to work with a nine member City Council; she found out their intentions to undermine her at all costs and see her ejected from office in failure. The experience added more steel to her spine, but her opponents from all quarters refuse to acknowledge it. That's not likely to change with the scrambling for her chair already underway.

In the practical space of budgeting, the mayor is sitting on a $4 million hole from the end of last year, courtesy of MORTe who lept at the opportunity to cynically hurt Hoboken (again) denying a simple refinance of the midtown garage with great savings to the City. Those costs along with other financial challenges will force Hoboken to make choices in 2012. MORTe can explain further layoffs to their people as they whine about it the whole way. After the hospital, they've become accustomed to lying to their face.

This mayor has shown enormous restraint, curbing spending at every turn while attempting to maintain and increase services serving the wider community and reducing taxes more than 8%. It's unclear how she can continue to do so, so tonight we'll have a better glimpse of where her budget priorities stand. The irony, she looks to do what she feels is best for all of Hoboken and any reduction in services hurts MORTe's base more than hers. None of this matters to MORTe. Their craven face is clear to anyone who watched the hospital sale war and it was nothing short of a war. It was the ugliest action in Hoboken since the arsons decades back.

The mayor has undergone a rough two years working to keep Hoboken above water and she scores an A for those efforts, especially for the miracle of saving the hospital and with it, the Hoboken taxpayer. She's remained true to her principles and worked honorably throughout which only emboldened her opponents who live for nothing but their unquenchable ambition for power and the taxpayer's dime. Now the mayor must look ahead in a practical manner with a working coalition on the council to push Hoboken ahead. It's her vision the audience will be most curious to see this evening.

Tonight's speech will not only be a State of the City but a roadmap to the politics of Hoboken leading into the spring 2013 mayoral election. The mayor has walked an independent line on behalf of all of Hoboken against the forces of corruption, the status quo, and the Hudson County Machine. Her citizen led lawsuit on behalf of Hoboken voter rights places her once again in their sights. But that's hardly news anymore.

Tonight the mayor must pivot off the enormous challenges overcome in the past two years and show everyone where she wishes to take the City. Construction can finally commence on Sinatra Park (after an RFP process) and open space is one of her main priorities both short and long term. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess what choices she'll make. We're as curious as everyone else.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer will be giving a State of the City tonight. After a two year period of fighting off disasters, it's her vision for Hoboken people will be most interested in hearing.

From the City release: The event will take place on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the DeBaun Auditorium in Edwin A. Stevens Hall on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology.

The main entrance is on 5th Street directly across from the Stevens Park. The wheelchair entrance is located in the rear entrance of the building on River Street with handicapped parking located behind the two buildings (McLean & Babbio) located directly across the street from the ramp. For additional information, visit:http://www.debaun.org/Directions.html

The latest on the resistance to the Monarch Project from HobokenRPW

2012-01-25T09:01:00.001-05:00

Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront announce:

1) Hoboken MAYOR DAWN ZIMMER invited all members of our group to attend her STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS on Wednesday evening, January 25, 2012 at 7pm. The address will be made in DeBaun Auditorium in the Edwin A. Stevens Hall on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology. The main entrance to use is on 5th Street across from Stevens Park, while the handicapped accessible entrance is located in the rear of the building on River Street. The Mayor has stressed how important it is to defeat the Monarch project (http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/17245976/article-Zimmer-reports-on-quality-of-life-issues?instance=hoboken_letters_story_left_column) and we hope to hear a good deal about her plan in Wednesday evening's speech.

2) The HUDSON COUNTY PLANNING BOARD will hold a special meeting in the next 30 days to handle the overflow of concerned citizens who signed up at the first meeting to speak out against the project (http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/01/hudson_county_planning_board_t_1.html). Kevin Coakley, legal counsel representing Shipyard Associates, attempted to silence our protest by arguing residents of the Hudson Tea buildings could not make public comments because the condo association's legal counsel had already spoken. The Board quickly denied Mr. Coakley's request and decided a special meeting would be needed to hear the overwhelming negative public outcry. We will keep you updated when we know when this meeting will be held. The more vocal public support we receive the better.

3) The HOBOKEN PLANNING BOARD has notified us the Monarch project will be on the agenda for their meeting on Tuesday evening, March 6, 2012 at 7pm. The Hoboken Planning Board is our greatest opportunity to defeat this project. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! We must ensure the room is filled and overflowing into the hallway with residents opposing the project. 11 years ago this same developer withdrew his application to develop the uptown piers after a strong showing of opposition from local citizens (http://betterwaterfront.org/?p=1022). It has been communicated to our group numerous times by many public officials that a strong showing of opposition at public hearings is imperative to defeating this project. Please plan to attend this meeting.

Regards,

Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hoboken-public-waterfront/

www.facebook.com/HobokenRPW

@HobokenRPW on Twitter

The FBI, Hoboken's Boys of Summer in Newark: Lights out 2012 season on tap

2012-01-24T10:59:00.003-05:00

The turn of the year with the calendar flipping to 2012 gives a false sense of security to some among the Old Guard, but the lull should not give them too much respite much longer.

The biggest concern here was Thanksgiving would come and the Old Guard would enter the holiday with joy and little fear there was anything standing in their way to continue their march of bad governance and worse behavior. It would have had a demoralizing impact on impatient people in Reform and decent Hoboken people across the spectrum. With the IT manager's arrest in early November, those concerns absolved themselves and 2012 is going to be eventful. For the record, that's an understatement.

Here's why.

The FBI is going to be busy in Hoboken in 2012. Pull up the wagon and load 'em up!

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Mason insider shocker: Beth Mason will resign

2012-01-24T00:01:00.000-05:00

From the desk of the Ba-job-seeker, the not paid for friendship Mason minion :

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BETH MASON TO RESIGN COUNCIL SEAT AFTER HER PROTEGE, GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM CONGRESS

Jan. 23, 2012
For more information, contact the Minion Maestro himself, the Dapper
Douche, the Ba-job-seeking Ba-job-seeker, Lane Ba-job-seeker, at
bludiamonds.bludiamonds@gmail.com

Councilwoman Beth Mason announced this morning she will step down from the Second Ward seat on the Hoboken City Council in deference to her protege, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-AZ, who looked to Counte$$ Ma$on for hope and inspiration following Rep. Giffords' ordeal at the hands of a crazed gunman last year.

During her miraculous recovery, Rep. Giffords was inspired and motivated by tales of the similar ordeals of the Counte$$ here in Hoboken, who stood up for the public's right to sit down and shut up about her six--figure street money and wheeling operations, even in the face of perils such as bloggers satirizing her and exposing her corruption. One such blog even went so far as to publish a satirical rendition of a fascist propaganda film that offended Counte$$ to her core.

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords announced she is resigning. Not to be outdone, Beth Mason has decided she will not sit idly by and allow Giffords national attention as a victim. Here Beth Mason flashed her prop, a photo of her transposed on a famous propaganda movie poster on the Nazi government at last April's city council debates.

The fact that Counte$$ went on to spend the next eight months wielding the City
Council Presidency as if she was at the helm of a fascist dictatorship and attempted to ruthlessly control and micromanage what people could say at council meetings is in no way ironic in the context of her outrage at being depicted in such a manner. In last year's City Council ward-election debates, Counte$$ Ma$on employed her usual subtlety in planting an "audience question" (by way of yours truly) asking who the candidates identify with most closely, and then held up, literally, the blog post in question as an example of why $he and Rep. Giffords are kindred spirits who underwent comparable torments -- Rep. Giffords having been shot in the face and through the head in a deadly shooting spree that left her incapacitated for nearly a year, and Counte$$ having been made fun of on local blogs.

"Rep. Giffords clearly held me up as a model of inspiration, integrity and unwavering determination in the face of the unspeakable adversity of being written about on local blogs," Counte$$ said in a statement. "Although she has never actually reached out to me, or returned any of my phone calls, and although I have received cease-and-desist letters from her attorney with regard to my comparisons, I have the utmost confidence that it was my many ordeals here in Hoboken that inspired
Rep. Giffords to recover as fully as she has, and made her the strong woman that she is today. I thereby feel compelled to give up my public office out of respect for Rep. Giffords' decision to do the same. I thank the residents of the Second Ward for their support and will be invoicing Applied Housing residents for a pro-rated amount of the 3/4 of their votes I will in effect not be using and no longer be needing. Please remit payment upon receipt. Thank you very much."

Counte$$ Ma$on added that with all due respect rumors she has put in an offer on a house in Arizona's 8th Congressional district are pure conjecture and premature to respond to.

Bludiamonds is not paid for this announcement or for friendship with Beth Mason.

Talking Ed Note: Bludiamonds is a nut but holds the claim to being the funniest fruit in Hoboken. That's saying a lot considering all the competition.

2012-01-23T12:36:00.002-05:00

PUBLIC INVITED TO HOBOKEN STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

All members of the public are invited to join Mayor Dawn Zimmer for her second State of the City address.

The event will take place on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 7:00 pm at the DeBaun Auditorium in Edwin A. Stevens Hall on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology.

Get the latest Hoboken news:

Beth Mason cameraman identified filming mayor at former City employee's court hearing

2012-01-23T08:43:00.002-05:00

MSV Exclusive Investigative Feature

Hijacking an individual lawsuit for political gain is no crime. Anyone can go down to Hoboken municipal court and watch the drama unfold of traffic violations or petty crimes as they are quickly move along during a typical municipal court day and offer their legal services. But what if you wanted to film a case, say an ex-municipal employee's hearing against the City of Hoboken? Or better yet, how about having the employee's lawyer cite the major political attacks you've used in the past year against the City of Hoboken and its lead elected official, re: the mayor at that hearing?

Councilwoman Beth Mason is aiding a former city employee in a lawsuit against the City of Hoboken; her paid videographer recorded his recent court hearing of almost four hours and posted it on the website where she runs her political operations - Hoboken411.

For the never ending self-promoting Mason, this is a normal if not unsurprising progression. She sided with the nurse's union against Hoboken and its taxpayers (the bondholders) during the lengthy process of the hospital sale where the stakes were nothing less than the City of Hoboken's bankruptcy and closure of the hospital. When the nurse's union defected from her objective and went on to reach a settlement agreement with the hospital, Mason worked feverishly to undermine the sale and see the hospital closed anyway, coming within days of seeing the institution run out of money before the sale could be completed.

So to aid a former city employee against the City of Hoboken by having his lawyer, Catherine Elston push the Mason narrative about City press releases being politically problematic claiming they did not have the same "political tone" as she claims is not surprising but the root of the comparison actually is.

The voiced legal complaint parroting similar Mason assaults at the City Council last April in the dismissal of a City public information officer is made by Elston positing the same theme of inappropriate politicization. She claims her client Bill Campbell would not agree to this activity and press releases from the City before and after his employment will prove the case. This in short to any independent observer seeing the enormous increase in useful public information both direct and delivered on the city website is wishful thinking, and does no service whatsoever to her client.

Elston also cites a state board investigating the mayor in an election complaint. She references a weak political complaint making it the equivalent of accepting a bribe on video. (Someone please get Mr. Campbell legal representation because his case is being hijacked and woefully so.) In the short video clip below, the attorney representing the City states the hearing is becoming a case of Russo vs. Zimmer taking the hearing's basis far afield of its intent.

The comparison Elston references has hardly been a hot button issue since it was an election complaint that generated hardly a whimper in Hoboken's political atmosphere by Russo-Mason candidate Scott Delea. This is the credibility issue she hopes to wield against the mayor who had a transcript of the Michael Russo FBI surveillance tape with Solomon Dwek made available on the city website. Elston claims the analogy, a complaint vociferously made by Beth Mason in defense of her ally Councilman Michael Russo will be useful in her client's case to question the mayor's credibility, a specious point at best.

The judge impassively looks less than impressed and directs the attorney, Catherine Elston to produce the press releases and move on. Elston comments unhappily she will after the judge's ruling where he says, "I've heard enough." Later the judge will further discipline the lawyer barking, "Enough Ms. Elston," as he tells her it's not necessary "to badger the mayor" about the number of demotions after the police reorganization as it's a matter of record.

In this short clip above, the judge rules against Campbell's lawyer who argues that the mayor put up a transcript of Councilman Mike Russo's meeting in a Jersey City restaurant with FBI informant Solomon Dwek agreeing to accept a bribe, but she didn't put on the City website a complaint against an election committee she supported last spring made by Scott Delea.

The Delea complaint has come and gone and will go nowhere although he's quoted as recently saying he believes it's being investigated and isn't riddled with holes like Swiss cheese. (Read the Hudson Reporter story by Ray Smith, who actually called the board in question, NJ ELEC and reveals how transparently weak the complaint filed by Scott Delea was during the council elections last spring.) The NJ ELEC review is going nowhere anytime soon before disappearing into the ether with the only reverberation being the symbolic measure when Scott Delea exposed himself being a political tool of Beth Mason and Michael Russo.

This charge of politicizing the city website actually began in April 2011, oddly right around the time of the FBI surveillance tape's release showing Michael Russo with Solomon Dwek and other Jersey City crooks who took the Dwek loot. As he would co-sponsor with the then brief Council Presidency of Beth Mason the same charge. Their resolution requested all the emails of the mayor's aides going back to January 2010:

The actual language taken from the April 2011 resolution by Beth Mason, co-sponsored by Mike Russo.

No evidence was presented by Beth Mason or Mike Russo showing even a modicum of evidence to their charge. But oddly, this resolution pointed to the EXACT SAME TIME as the FBI noted City IT manager Patrick Ricciardi began intercepting emails of the mayor and the mayor's staff!

So who was the videographer witnessed at the deposition of the mayor with the resulting tape that soon found its way to the Hudson Reporter and then the website infamous for running a screed of pathological lies in service to Beth Mason?

MSV can confirm it is in fact the same person seen here in the photo below, wearing the exact same jacket as shown with the gray interior. MSV earlier welcomed the videographer Tim during a City Council meeting as Beth Mason's cameraman. When Da Horsey said Beth Mason's cameraman was "shooting for Hoboken411" Mason went into a tizzy interrupting the five minutes of public portion at least a half-dozen times. Her videographer Tim is clearly visible in the background, video camera in hand.

Beth Mason's videographer Tim at a late 2011 City Council meeting. He was witnessed making the video recording at the deposition of Mayor Dawn Zimmer in an employee lawsuit against the City of Hoboken that was provided to the Hudson Reporter and then broadcast on Hoboken411.

Hoboken411 posted Tim's edited video as orchestrated by Beth Mason proving MSV had it 100% right all along. (Thank you Beth.)

At last week's City Council meeting, MSV was looking to find out more about the troika of efforts between Beth Mason, her videographer Tim and Hoboken411 but Mason did not attend.

Beth Mason was contacted on the odd involvement of her hired videographer surrounding this case and the resulting political operation appearing on Hoboken411 but did not respond. If that changes, this story will be updated.

A Mason political operative on Saturday calling themselves BethRocks on the wild west NJ.com Hoboken forum stated that if Beth Mason filmed the deposition of the mayor, she was merely doing "a public service."

The problem for Mason is how she uncannily sides against the interests of the City of Hoboken (even if means its bankruptcy), and how her political interests are the sole factor in any action. Which leads to the question, who's interest is attorney Catherine Elston serving, Bill Campbell or Beth Mason?

It's unclear who is footing the tab for her services. Another question someone should put to Beth Mason who did not respond to a request to answer questions for this story.

Talking Ed Note: There's another legal case at present with a paid Beth Mason political operative involved in a criminal matter with a high profile Hoboken resident. The lawyer who has been hired in that case will be familiar to some who follow Hoboken as she did work on another problematic case involving similar lawbreaking by yet another Beth Mason operative.

MSV tires of writing about all of Beth Mason's mischief and wishes others would pick up the slack. Or do you call collusion of a story spoon fed by Beth Mason similarly to Hoboken411 journalism?

The company you keep...

Beth Mason videographer coordinating her political operation with Hoboken411 in lawsuit against City of Hoboken

2012-01-21T16:44:00.002-05:00

That's the exclusive MSV story coming Monday. Mason has been contacted but as is typical in these instances, she hides from the obvious questions.

Da Horsey does not expect she will be returning a call on the story of a former City employee's lawsuit against the City of Hoboken and her latest political operation that ran on Hoboken411.

Beth Mason has kept her latest videographer busy coinciding with her political operations on Hoboken411.

Community Meeting coming on rash of Hoboken burglaries

2012-01-21T14:56:00.003-05:00

From the desk of Councilman Peter Cunningham:

Councilwoman Marsh and I will be coordinating a
community meeting with a constituent from the neighborhood, Jon Tooke,
Director of Public Safety and the Hoboken Police Department to be held
ASAP.

Please stay tuned as we develop a program based in large part on the
rash of burglaries in our neighborhoods, set a location and time. In
the interim, please forward your comments to us round out the agenda,
be sure to securely lock your doors (as you should all the time) and
be safe. I am not taking an alarmist, but a cautious approach to our
situation, and suggest we all do the same.

Thanks, Peter

--
Peter Cunningham
Cunninghamforhoboken@gmail.com

Council members Carol Marsh and Peter Cunningham (l) plan a community meeting
with the Public Safety Director and HPD.

4th ward graffiti street justice weighs in on Tim Occhipinti

2012-01-20T09:38:00.001-05:00

In the controversy over 4th ward graffiti vs. Jersey City graffiti, lower Jackson Street has spoken on the matter with this street justice notation outdoors on Tim Occhipinti:

4th ward resident sounds off on what they would like to see fixed.

Related: Grafix Avenger notes there's been blowback with her revelations of late and censorship is striking back on the NJ.com Hoboken forum.

The Machine ain't dead and shows it doesn't just have censorship control at Hoboken411.

A Hudson Tea resident comes out of the cold: Battles Mason flyer distribution outside Tea Building

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

The following report comes from an individual Hoboken citizen/Hudson Tea Building resident and MSV reader. Please note this is an individual account and does not represent the Hoboken RPW group, just one personal account.

The Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront (http://www.facebook.com/HobokenRPW ) group held a meeting on Tues 1/17 in the Hudson Tea Community room in advance of the County Planning Board meeting on Wed. Approximately 10 citizens attended (most, if not all, were Hudson Tea Residents) as well as Beth Mason and Freeholder Romano (both were surprise guests).

Long meeting, 2+ hours, much was discussed about the status of petition drive led by one Hudson Tea Resident. Little actionable content came from Mason or Romano, a lot of pontificating and deflection in my opinion, more than once attempting to lay blame at the mayor’s feet. Mason spoke about the need for the group to hire a planner to evaluate the plans and press the case that the developer will need variances from the planning board given the PUD agreement (in full disclosure, I only vaguely understand the dynamics of the planning/development process from a legal perspective).

Another note…

Earlier that evening (evening rush), there was a gentleman handing out flyers directly in front of the 1500 Washington St entrance of the HTB (see enclosed). I began to chat with this gentleman and asked him to leave (I'm not a fan strangers hanging out in front of my home) and simply cross the street, he very politely and calmly refused.

Why? "Because Beth Mason told me to hand out these flyers"

Me: "Beth Mason doesn't live here."

Gentleman: "C'mon man I'm just trying to make a couple bucks, you know"

Me: “Please just cross the street”

Gentleman: “You'll have to talk to Beth, here’s her number”

Me: “No, let’s call her now”

<he dials her number, hands the phone to me>

Me: “No, you set it up”

He speaks to someone, not Beth, and asks me my name

Me: “A Hudson Tea resident”

<Person on the phone says I can call Beth at ###.####>

We continue back and forth for a couple minutes, me asking him to leave, he politely refusing because Beth told him to be here, blah, blah, blah. The guy was not a jerk even as I grew more frustrated. But what I took from the back and forth was that he was VERY specifically told not to budge (even under the threat of calling the police, which I did, but did not follow up)…He kept coming back to “Beth told me to hand these out”

Balls man, this take a lot of balls…total disrespect and lack of concern for citizens, property owners, taxpayers, voters, etc.

The Beth Mason flyer - what is she running for again? Is "Develop or Die" dead or just for now?

Talking Ed Note: The organization Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront asked MSV to specifically note that in the battle against the Monarch Project, the group does appreciate Beth Mason's help.

January 19, 2011

Hudson County Planning Board Thursday, unconfirmed report on the Monarch Project

GuestSpeaker commenting on the Hudson County Planning Board meeting Thursday on the Monarch Project wrote:

Horsey – You are correct. Mason was at the Hudson County Planning Board meeting last night.

When it was her turn to speak she grandstanded for the better part of a ½ hour. This cost valuable time and resulted in many residents not being able to speak. She argued that the County Planning Board should table the matter because the Hoboken Planning Board had not yet ruled on it. But her argument was specious, circular and convoluted. She wound up confusing some of the Planning Board Members. This resulted in the Planning Board calling upon its Counsel to clarify to Mason what the law was – that the County Planning Board is independent of the Hoboken Planning Board and had full jurisdiction to render a verdict on matters relating to traffic and sewage as pertaining to County roads and property. Despite Counsel’s explanation she continued to grandstand. In the end she did receive an ovation. But this was more likely out of a show of unity for anyone speaking against the Monarch as opposed to anything valuable she had to add to the conversation. Furthermore, she bristled at the Planning Board’s Demands that she be required to take the Oath “to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth.” Some people in the room found that funny.

Sorry I know this is a long narrative. I was at the planning board that night and am a direct witness. I’d be happy to share more if you want but I rarely blog so I don’t know if you would be interested in learning more about the event. I’d also like to hear what others had to say.

The northeast corner of Hoboken targeted by Applied Development
for the Monarch Project

Talking Ed Note: This is an unconfirmed report. Guestspeaker, please feel free to add to this first hand account and include an email for confirmation purposes to smartyjones@me.com

Thanks,
Da Horsey

Photo courtesy NJ.com

Mayor Zimmer: "I have some real concerns about Snooki"

2012-01-19T22:39:00.000-05:00

A MSV Online Hoboken Exclusive

Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corp (HVAC) needs your help

2012-01-19T21:44:00.001-05:00

From the desk of Councilman Peter Cunningham:

All,

I usually don't send out appeals of this nature, but found this one to
be important, economical and beneficial to our community and our
safety.

The Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corp (HVAC) and Hoboken's Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT) has recently received a generous gift
from Roger Muller of Muller Insurance. After months of searching
HVAC and CERT found a rescue truck that would primarily be used for
emergency rescue missions and triage and would be shared with the CERT
team.

HVAC would provide training, garage space and maintenance for the new
Special Services Unit. Now for the ask...

HVAC is respectfully requesting tax deductible donations (tax
deductibility - please check with your accountant) to transport the
vehicle from Tampa and to outfit the vehicle. Their goal is to raise
$2,000. Any amount would be graciously accepted ($10, $20, etc).

Check can be made out and sent to:

Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps." In the memo it should say For "NEW
SPECIAL OPERATIONS VEHICLE"

Special Ops Vehicle c/o Lou Casciano

1139 Park Ave Hoboken NJ 07030

Many thanks to Lou Casciano and the CERT team for all their tireless
work as volunteers to help protect our community. Thanks to all for
your consideration, and please let me know if you have any questions
or concerns. Specific questions may be directed to Lou at
201-538-4856.

--
Peter Cunningham

City announces passage of ordinance bringing 850 parking spaces via "Extended Parking"

2012-01-19T12:14:00.003-05:00

City of Hoboken announces:

CITY CREATES 850 “EXTENDED PARKING” SPACES

Working with 5th Ward Councilman Cunningham, the Zimmer Administration addressed a common parking concern of residents by introducing legislation to bring 850 new parking spaces to Hoboken near corners without compromising on public safety or pedestrian safety. With the Council's unanimous passage of the legislation, the City will be working to develop an outreach program to help ensure residents understand the new parking options.

As a result of the new “Extended Parking Zone” law, which will go into effect in 20 days, residents will be permitted to park within 15 feet of crosswalks on outbound street segments and within 25 feet of crosswalks on inbound street segments during certain times. Parking in these "extended parking" zones is not permitted between the hours of 7am and 7pm whenever public schools are in session.

“We recognize parking remains a challenge, but we’re working to make it as easy as possible for residents who need on-street parking,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer.

New Jersey state law previously prohibited parking within 25 feet of intersections and 50 feet from stop signs on inbound street sections, however a recent change to state law permits municipalities to allow parking closer to intersections and stop signs when school is not in session.

Transportation and Parking Director Sacs and Fire Chief Blohm conducted a careful review to determine the clearances needed to ensure that fire apparatus could navigate Hoboken's narrow streets without delay in emergency response times. It was determined that parking could be permitted along "outbound" street corners up to 15 feet from intersections, rather than 25 feet. Because of the need to maintain clearances for emergency response vehicles, any vehicle parked closer than 15 feet from an intersection is subject to summons and towing if it is determined that it could impact emergency response times.

"Outbound" street segments are the portions of the street that permit a vehicle to drive away from an intersection. Parking near corners along inbound legs blocks visibility between pedestrians, bicyclists, and oncoming vehicles, posing a serious risk to all.

The City will be mailing residents with information and a diagram clarifying the new rules. The City also plans to install curb markings to further assist residents in establishing the legal distance where they may park.

Get the latest Hoboken news:

Director Ian Sacs led the months long review working with the Hoboken Fire Department to create new extended parking spaces near corners. Details will be sent to Hoboken residents allowing for more parking spaces while ensuring full access for Hoboken emergency vehicles.

The blind ironies of Tim Occhipinti

2012-01-19T08:50:00.001-05:00

Last night's Council meeting was a land speed record for time, ending before the stroke of 9:30. How you ask? Well two reasons, first Beth Mason did not attend and Tim Occhipinti arrived late, the latter saving maybe 30 minutes as Occhipinti is known for insisting on asking every question he can come up with in that space of time on anything in the financial report. This sadly due to his camera hunger and aversion to email.

The meeting was efficient like no other with passage of a number of ordinances the most prominent being changes to parking near corners after an extensive safety study on the State altered 25 foot corner law. The Fire Department was involved in this safety review over months to ensure vehicles do not impede on their vehicle's ability to turn.

It's not a Hoboken City Council meeting however without some entertainment. Earlier the slow talking, ponderous thinking occupant of the 4th ward council seat Tim Occhipinti generated publicity with a nice story in Hoboken Patch for requesting an "action plan" from the City directors on graffiti at the southern Jersey City entrance to Hoboken.

Was that an error? Did you just say Jersey City horsey? Yes, Jersey City, home of mayoral aspirant Steve Fulop who happens to work in the same company if not the same floor as Tim Occhipinti during the day and who other media sources call one of the most powerful people in all of Hudson County.

So why did Timmy not just go ask his colleague Councilman Steve Fulop of Jersey City to look into the matter of graffiti IN JERSEY CITY and ask him to fix it?

If you ask this logical question then you don't know Tim Occhipinti.

Tim Occhipinti is informed that the property he's complaining about with graffiti is owned by NJ Transit. Occhipinti has a binding relationship with transit companies; Academy Bus another said to be his landlord in a possible sweetheart tenant deal. At one NJ Transit meeting in Hoboken last year, Occhipinti ignored Hoboken residents entirely hovering near Transit head John Leo like a two year with his mommy throughout a public review.

None of this is found by Tim Occhipinti to be ironic in the slightest degree. See the video for yourself if you can manage not to jump out of your skin at the ever so slow, monotone and plodding Occhipinti. (This video is an abbreviated portion of his remarks. That's because Da Horsey shows mercy to its audience.)

Tim Occhipinti - slow, ponderous and devoid of the laughable ironies he delivers at every single meeting. If every council member followed his example, you'd be hearing about every leaf removed from a grate on camera and the meetings would run until 2:00 am every time.

Talking Ed Note: More Occhi-pintay notes: We'll spare you the portion of Occhipinti at the end of the meeting "playing dumb" about the St. Patrick's Day Parade. He claims he doesn't know how the parade was cancelled and why. Does he actually read, and no Hoboken411 another of his patrons (in service to Beth Mason) has promoted the first Saturday of March as a drinking event does not count. Occhipinti is concerned that day may be challenging. Is that right?

Well Tim, why don't you talk to your pal Perry Klaussen and ask him to stop hating on Hoboken? Hoboken411 was thanked in twitter by one of the biggest social media promoters of the mardi gras faux St. Patrick's Day.

The end of this clip also features Occhipinti complaining Monroe St. could look cleaner and he inquires on a borrowed street sweeper from Secauscus? Borrowed equipment what? Yes, Hoboken has been so neglected on basic capital improvements, it has to rent a street sweeper.

Mayor Zimmer had been trying to bond for needed capital equipment over months and months. Do you know who blocked that reasonable request for most of 2011?

Tim Occhipinti.

You can't make up this kind of hypocrisy.

Related: Grafix Avenger performs a public service with an article detailing how to help Tim Occhipinti find the fourth ward. She shows Hoboken411's Perry Klaussen is a dummkopf for his mindless promotion of Tim to rid Jersey City of graffiti on NJ Transit property.

Correction: Hoboken has been fortunate to have a good neighbor and has not had to pay a rental fee for the recent use of a street sweeper from Seacaucus. A reliable source indicates the recent usage was done as a courtesy.

Breaking: Mayor Zimmer and Councilman Mello sue Hudson County over Hoboken 4th ward voting rights

2012-01-18T21:44:00.001-05:00

The following release was issued directly from Mayor Dawn Zimmer:

Hoboken Mayor Zimmer, Councilman Mello and Others File Voting Rights Lawsuit

In order to ensure that voters in Southwest Hoboken are not again forced to
wait in hour long lines at the polls in the upcoming Presidential election,
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, City Councilman Dave Mello and two other
residents of Hoboken' s 4th Ward,2nd district, filed a lawsuit (docket # C-4-12) seeking
to compel Hudson County to comply with State law and to reduce the size of District 4-2.

The district, by far Hoboken's largest, has nearly 2500 registered voters.
New Jersey law requires that election districts generally contain between
500 and 750 registered voters. Not only are 4-2 residents crammed into an
election district more than 3 times larger than normal, they do not even
have a polling place within their district. 4-2 voters must go to a
building located in 4-3 to cast their votes, an overcrowded polling place
housing two large voting districts.

In the 2008 Presidential election, more than 1400 4-2 residents cast votes.
In the 2009 general election, more than 780 4-2 voters cast votes. Despite
the fact that State law requires that election districts be subdivided if more than
750 people cast votes in consecutive years, Hudson County did not subdivide
the district to correct the problem.

Mayor Zimmer explained that she felt it was critical that this problem be
addressed immediately, given the large turnout that will certainly occur
during the upcoming Presidential election. "In 2008 and 2009, 4-2 residents
were forced to wait in unacceptably long lines in order to exercise their
right to vote," said Mayor Zimmer. "The law is clear, and we must comply
with the law and fix the problem now before the Presidential election coming
up in November."

Councilman Mello echoed Mayor Zimmer's sentiments saying "nobody should

have to wait in line for over an hour to cast their vote. This problem can and
must be fixed now, so that residents of 4-2 do not face unreasonable
overcrowding in their polling place when they seek to cast their votes for
President this November."

Hoboken City Council meeting: months long effort on parking additions on tap tonight @ 7:00

2012-01-18T18:00:00.000-05:00

The City Council meeting tonight will have a few big items such as a parking ordinance changes up for consideration. There's been internal work reviewing options over months between parking and the legal department and Councilman Peter Cunningham is looking to now move on that front with Extended Parking Zones. The primary alteration gives some added spaces and Ian Sacs, Hoboken's legal department and the Councilman have performed due diligence within the updated State of NJ's law.

The extended parking zones will retain public safety as the primary focus.

Last weekend Councilman Cunningham also expressed an interest in tweaking the almost decade old four hour visitor parking rule. Unlike the phony politically coordinated story by former Hoboken resident and Fox NY reporter Joel Waldman and Hoboken411, there may be something positive on that front to emerge as well.

Councilwoman Jen Giattino has met with food truck vendors again and is looking to work in some additional parking hours to make the lunch and dinner time frame more economically viable for food truck vendors. There's an additional meeting on tap to iron that out before the ordinance will be brought back at the next meeting. The ongoing effort puts to rest the false claims there was no give and take on the ordinance.

Tim Occhipinti has a complaint about graffiti. This will surely provide for comic relief. More on that later.