At their monthly meeting on Wednesday, the City Council sparred on whether some parts of the city should have parking spaces that can be paid for only by smartphone.
Resident Cheryl Fallick spoke out against the introduction of the ordinance. She said not everyone uses such a phone, and the council should vote it down in favor of aiming towards something more inclusive
The ordinance would create pay-by-phone only zones in the city.
Council members Michael DeFusco, Vanessa Falco, Tiffanie Fisher, and Ruben Ramos voted against the ordinance. Council members Michael Russo, Peter Cunningham, Jim Doyle, Emily Jabbour, and Jen Giattino voted in favor.
The 5-4 vote means it could be up for a final vote at a future meeting. The next meeting is June 6 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
The council also discussed Washington Street construction costs, the former Union Dry Dock site, and sidewalk cafes.
Union Dry Dock
The council made another move in the city’s ongoing battle to preserve the former Union Dry Dock site uptown as open space. NY Waterway wants to move its ferry operations there, and currently owns the land.
The council passed a resolution urging the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to hold a public hearing in Hoboken regarding NY Waterway’s request for a permit to repair the existing piers and permanently moor four maintenance and repair barges there.
Several residents have spoken out against the plan, saying they want a park there and that they’re concerned about possible environmental issues.
Other residents, such as Mary Ondrejka, who spoke at the meeting, are concerned that if the permit is not issued by June 1, commuter service will be disrupted.
According to the USACOE website, they deny less than 1 percent of permit applications nationwide.
Residents can voice their opinions or concerns to the USACOE regarding the site in writing until May 25. They can be reached at US Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, Jacob K. Javits Federal Building 26 Federal Plaza New York, N.Y. 10278-0090 ATIN: Regulatory Branch.
The council also passed a resolution awarding Boswell Engineering $40,500 for professional services regarding the site.
Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said among other tasks, Boswell will look into alternative locations where NY Waterway could move.
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“Not everyone has a smart phone.” –Cheryl Fallick
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Washington Street payments
The Hoboken City Council approved a resolution for $57,377 in change orders for the Washington Street Redesign Project.
The project was originally bid at $17.5 million, bringing the new total contract amount to $18.3 million, a 4.2 percent increase.
“What happens if we don’t approve the change order,” asked Councilwoman Vanessa Falco to which Assistant Business Administrator Patrick Wherry said the project would stall.
Some have complained about the time the project has been taking. It was originally to be completed in June, but is now expected to be finished by Aug. 21.
Councilman Russo said he would no longer approve any change orders for the project and suggested that perhaps the bid was intentionally too low.
He said, “It’s a not-so-sly way of ensuring you get the contract. Be the lowest bidder and ask for more money instead of looking at it and bidding properly,”
Whearry said the project is still under the city’s initial estimate of $20 million.
Council President Ruben Ramos said, “To Councilman Russo’s point, there were bidders in the $20 million range, and those bidders lost out to this bidder.”
Sidewalk cafes
In a 8-1 vote, the Hoboken city council passed a final ordinance to define specific parameters regarding the extension of sidewalk cafes. Councilman DeFusco, the sponsor, said he and other residents enjoy the al fresco dining of these spaces.
Councilman Doyle said he generally supported the ordinance but did not like that the café allows partitions in the sidewalk right-of-way for eight months out of the year, from mid March to November.
“It’s public land,” said Doyle.
He said he would support the ordinance if there was a time frame included which would require that restaurants bring in the fencing during the night.
Russo said he felt that some restaurants do a nice job with their fencing, adding planters and flowers, which beautify the neighborhood.
Ramos said he felt the ordinance was pro-business and should be passed sooner than later, as the ordinance requires a 20-day wait period before it is enacted.
DeFusco said he would look into future amendments such as bringing the fences in at night as well as perhaps adjusting the fee structure for acquiring the café permits.
Affordable housing
Resident Elizabeth Adams spoke to the council about the need of affordable housing.
She said she believes that Hoboken residents, especially those who are elderly and infirm, should be given priority when affordable housing units become available.
Hoboken’s various types of affordable housing were discussed in the May 6 cover story “Can the working class and artists stay in Hoboken?”: https://tinyurl.com/hobafford
She noted that there are 7,000 people on the waiting list for affordable housing units, and only 800 of them are Hoboken residents.
She said that people who are currently living in affordable units but who make more than the salary requirements should all have to pay a fee.
Hoboken residents get a preference for some, but not all, affordable housing units.
Resident Patricia Waiters urged the council to appoint new people to the Hoboken Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners, and said she is applying for the board. The Hoboken Housing Authority consists of 1,383 units in 28 buildings primarily on the west side of town. It is overseen by a paid executive director and a volunteer board of seven commissioners.
Proclamations for police, and Drs. Iyenger and Loh
Mayor Ravi Bhalla presented three proclamations at the beginning of the meeting.
Two were in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage month and one was in honor of National Police Week, which began under the Kennedy administration.
Mayor Ravi Bhalla presented residents Dr. Mukund Iyenger and Dr. Shi-Hong Loh proclamations honoring their contributions to the city. Iyenger is an entrepreneur, assistant professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, and an inductee into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame under former Gov. Chris Christie.
Loh practices in hematology, oncology, and acupuncture and for the past several years has provided complimentary and alternative medical therapies to people infected with HIV in Hudson County free of charge.
Bhalla presented the proclamation in honor of National Police Week to Chief Ken Ferrante.
Marilyn Baer can be reached at marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.
