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Another Multi Trillion Dollar Debt Ceiling Extension

Reader Submitted

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January 18, 2023

Another Multi Trillion Dollar Debt Ceiling Extension

Dear Editor:

The debate has begun in Washington between the President and Congress about permitting raising our national debt ceiling limit, so it will be able to grow even more. What’s another trillion or two between friends? Our national debt has now reached $31.494 trillion. Many economists believe that it is on a path to grow by trillions more for years to come. Today’s tab averages $94,210 per citizen or $246,870 per taxpayer. (Source: January 17, 2023 National Debt Clock)

President Biden and Congress should freeze overall spending. Any extension of the debt ceiling should be matched by corresponding real cuts in spending.

Implement “pay as you go” budgeting, means testing for all government assistance and sunset provisions for agencies and programs that have completed their missions. End pork-barrel member item spending, stop paying farmers to not grow crops and abolish corporate welfare subsides via tax exemptions.

Close down obsolete military bases abroad. Reduce United Nations and foreign aid to those who offer no support when needed.

Ask NATO members to match us dollar for dollar in aid to Ukraine.

Have the IRS accelerate the collection of several hundred billion in uncollected back taxes owed by deadbeat individuals and corporations along with suspending billions in future tax refunds to those who continue failing to pay long overdue taxes or student loans.

Stop wasting billions on the war on drugs

Everyone needs to do their fair share in bringing the budget deficit under control. It is time for government to destroy its own credit cards.

Democrats and Republicans have morphed into one Washington inside-the-Beltway party dedicated to staying in power regardless of the cost to taxpayers. Their philosophy is to increase spending above the rate of inflation. Liberals won’t say no to more social welfare programs. Conservatives love any defense spending. Both support farmers and corporate welfare subsidies.

It is time to install a national debt clock with daily updates in both Congress and the White House. They can see how much they are adding to long term debt every time they pass spending bills dependent upon borrowing to pay the tab.

Who is going to bail out Uncle Sam to pay for this? Government, the private sector and citizens must make difficult financial decisions on how to use existing resources. Americans prioritize their own family budgets. They make the hard choices in how existing household financial resources will be spent. The President and Congress should do likewise.

The world’s favored currency is our dollar. This could end if Washington will not control annual increases in spending and debt. If things continue the way they are, China may surpass us, and the yuan becomes the world’s favored currency. Mismanagement of our economy could result in a decline of our standard of living. It may also end our reign as the worlds super power as we become the world super debtor nation.

It is time for President Biden and Congress to come together on bipartisan basis and end this madness.

Larry Penner

Hoboken landlords and tenants frustrated with new rent control ordinance

Jordan Coll, Staff Writer

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January 19, 2023

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Hoboken landlords and tenants frustrated with new rent control ordinance

Landlords and tenants in Hoboken were charged up against changes to the 50-year-old Rent Control proposed ordinance at the Jan. 18 City Council meeting.

According to the ordinance intended to amend the city’s current Chapter 155 rental control laws, it would clarify various provisions, including how properties that fall under the legal status of rent control are legally calculated, and if those units or properties would fall under an exemption.

“Unfortunately, due to some very bad decision making on the part of the administration we once again find ourselves in a quagmire when it comes to tenant protections,” said Cheryl Fallick, a resident of Hoboken and a former member of the city’s rent leveling and stabilization board, since October 2022

“Our laws on the books are fairly protective, but no one would know by the way they have been historically administered, including a complete lack of enforcement.”

She shared a letter filed by the city’s Rent Leveling Office under Suzanne Hetman, the former Rent Regulation Officer, showing a legal rent calculation done by the city’s Rent Leveling Office back in Oct. 2,2020.

A 400 square foot Bloomfield Street apartment was determined to have a legal base rent of $4,831.00 without added surcharges according to Fallick. “There is no such thing as a rent control law that if properly administered would result in anything that remotely resembles this.”

Under the new provisions, tenants would pay their base rent on top of the added surcharge charged by landlords. In the past, the base rent would be summed up according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and then would have the added surcharge.

The newly proposed ordinance passed first reading with a 6-3 vote, with council members Jennifer Giattino (6th Ward), Ruben Ramos (4th Ward), and Tiffanie Fisher (2nd Ward) voting on a motion to carry or table the ordinance.

“I would hope that we come together and have a piece legislation that all nine members can get behind,” said council member Tiffanie Fisher. “I think it’s important for our city council to have a debate on this.”

The newly proposed changes would make new buildings with four or more units exempt from the ordinance for 30 years. But they would be required to file the necessary paperwork for the building to receive a certificate of occupancy, or any legal permits required, and landlords must notify renters if the property is under rent control before they move in.

The changes would also reduce their price cap on the maximum yearly increase from 7.5 percent to 5 percent, according to the ordinance.

Last year, the council approved a contract with retired Judge Barry Sarkisian to review Hoboken’s rent control laws. Members of the public asked about some of the implications of the contract but direct responses were not forthcoming.

The Hudson Reporter reached out to the Schumann Hanlon Margulies law firm to ask about the rent control ordinance, and no statement has been provided so far.

Council member James Doyle, who currently serves on the city’s Planning Board under the Community Development subcommittee, said the idea that this ordinance would weaken tenant protections is an “unfortunate characterization,” and “untrue.”

“The rent control ordinance is really something in my view, and many may disagree but its about protecting the inventory of apartments, not just the existing tenant today,” said Doyle.

Councilwoman Jennifer Giattino, spoke afterwards saying that changes had been made prior to the meeting that she was not made aware of, along with several other members of the council.

“Well, I didn’t know that was gone,” said Giattino. “I am not trusting the word of anyone on this council without reading it myself.”

Last month the council approved on first reading an ordinance which would lower of the annual maximum rent increase for units falling under rent control from 7.5 percent to 4 percent, supported by both then Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour, who sponsored the measure and Councilman-at-Large James Doyle.

Prior to the city council meeting this week the Hoboken Fair Housing Association (HFHA), a nonprofit organization which leans on the right of tenants to have fair tenant housing protections, released a statement prior to the council meeting, stating that “Hoboken’s rent control laws are decidedly nuanced, and our local rent control history is rife with a tangled web of fires, displacements, referendums, court challenges, accusations, and contentious ballot questions. Over the 50 years that Hoboken has had rent control in place, it has gone from a centerpiece on the platform of aspiring local political candidates to a topic that candidates and elected officials do.”

An email sent out to the Hudson Reporter, the HFHA wrote “No outreach was done to Hoboken renters, rent control activists or the rent leveling board members in connection with crafting the proposal.”

Ron Simoncini, the executive director of the Mile Square Taxpayers Association, a group of landlords and property owners, spoke at the meeting on the proposed amendments brought by the rent control ordinance.

“I do not think the language in there is absolutely correct or clear,” he said, “we need to go way further in figuring out Hoboken rent control regime.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Jordan Coll can be reached at jcoll@hudsonreporter.com.

Judge temporarily blocks part of N.J.’s new gun law over constitutional concerns

NJ MONITOR

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January 9, 2023

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Judge temporarily blocks part of N.J.’s new gun law over constitutional concerns

By: Sophie Nieto-Munoz, NJ MONITOR

Parts of New Jersey’s newly implemented gun control law were blocked Monday by a federal judge who said barring people from carrying firearms in certain places could lead to “considerable constitutional problems.”

The temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Renee Marie Bumb blocks the section of the law that prohibits guns from being carried into public libraries, museums, bars, restaurants that serve alcohol, and entertainment facilities like stadiums, concerts, and theaters.

Bumb also barred the state from enforcing the law’s ban on guns on private property without the property owner’s consent and its prohibition on firearms in vehicles.

In the 60-page decision, Bumb said the law “essentially renders the entire state of New Jersey a ‘sensitive place’ where firearms are prohibited.”

“The deprivation of plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights, as the holders of valid permits from the state to conceal carry handguns, constitutes irreparable injury, and neither the state nor the public has an interest in enforcing unconstitutional laws,” said Bumb, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.

Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement he is “disappointed by the court’s ruling, which is inconsistent with the Second Amendment and will make New Jerseyans considerably less safe. But this temporary order is just that: temporary.”

Platkin said he plans to appeal as the case continues.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s office is working closely with the Attorney General’s Office to “correct this errant decision,” said Murphy spokesman Tyler Jones.

“While we are pleased that most of our concealed carry law remains in effect, we are disappointed that a right-wing federal judge, without any serious justification, has chosen to invalidate common sense restrictions around the right to carry a firearm in certain public spaces,” Jones said in a statement.

Democrats fast-tracked the new gun law last year after a Supreme Court ruling in June overturned a New York law that placed restrictions on who can obtain concealed carry permits. Murphy signed the bill into law in December.

Previously, New Jerseyans who wanted to carry a gun in public needed to provide a justifiable need before they could obtain a permit.

The Supreme Court’s decision said governments can bar firearms in “sensitive places,” though it declined to define them. New Jersey’s law bans firearms in a wide swath of public and private property, including polling places, beaches, casinos, movie theaters, government buildings, courthouses, day care centers and schools, and hospitals.

New Jersey lawmakers have said they believed the law would face legal challenges, but they said they worked with Murphy administration attorneys when crafting the bill.

Bumb suggests the administration “should have been better prepared to defend the legislation’s constitutionality,” considering they anticipated these challenges. During an oral argument, the state could not produce evidence showing that concealed carry permit holders are responsible for an increase in gun crimes, Bumb’s decision says.

“Defendants must do more than promise they will justify the constitutional basis for its legislation later,” she wrote.

The suit was filed by Ronald Koons, Nicholas Gaudio, and Jeffrey Muller — along with groups including the New Jersey Second Amendment Society and the Firearms Policy Coalition Inc. — the same day the bill was signed into law.

The gun rights advocates who filed the lawsuit say they were no longer able to carry their firearms in places they could before the law was signed — in supermarkets, at church services, or while driving their cars.

“For example, because Mr. Koons regularly meets for breakfast at restaurants that occasionally have liquor licenses, he now leaves his firearm at home,” Monday’s decision says.

Another legal challenge filed by the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs is still pending.

Republicans in the Legislature commended the judge’s decision, with one mocking Democrats by saying, “I told you so.”

“We knew the law was likely unconstitutional since it copied major portions of a New York law that has already suffered serious setbacks in federal court,” said Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris) in a statement. “Despite all of our warnings, Governor Murphy and Trenton Democrats plowed ahead and enacted an obviously flawed proposal. Yet again, the Legislature will have to revisit one of their bad laws to fix the mess they created.”

Sen. Steve Oroho (R-Sussex) added that he looks forward to “offending provisions of the law being permanently struck down.”

“The federal judge’s ruling, which validates what we have been saying, is a victory for the Second Amendment and the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves both in public and in private.”

This report is reprinted with permission from NJ Monitor under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

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Union votes to spend $50k to assist embattled assemblyman

Daniel Israel, Staff Writer

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January 9, 2023

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Union votes to spend $50k to assist embattled assemblyman

The International Longshoreman’s Association Local 1588 has voted to help their member, State Assemblyman for the 31st Legislative District William Sampson, get his job on the waterfront back.

Sampson was removed from the workplace and his crane operator license was revoked for failing to meet the work and work availability requirements in January to June of 2022.

Sampson, a 33-year-old legislator first sworn in back in 2022 to the applause of local Democrats, represents the district encompassing Bayonne and parts of Jersey City as part of the trio of African-American lawmakers including State Senator Sandra Cunningham and State Assemblywoman Angela McKnight.

He is the first African-American person from Bayonne to hold the position and replaced then-Assembly Whip Nicholas Chiaravalloti, who had an unspecified falling out with Mayor James Davis, who has final say over the official Hudson County Democratic Organization endorsement for that Assembly seat.

Regardless, Sampson vowed to keep his job as longshoreman while working in the legislature, he told the Bayonne Community News during a phone interview from the cockpit of the crane he was operating at the time in 2021. It appears that may no longer be possible, but his local union is trying to help him do so.

The union voted to spend $50,000 to help him get his crane operator license back after the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor revoked it and removed him from his longshoreman position on the waterfront. Citing “excessive absenteeism,” the Waterfront Commission argued that there was no excuse for Sampson’s repeated absences in 2022 and made their decision in December of last year.

Meanwhile Sampson first argued in a statement to BCN that the Waterfront Commission was taking its anger out on Sampson over issues that are above his pay grade. New Jersey, under Governor Phil Murphy, has sought to withdraw from the Waterfront Commission, founded in the 1950s to combat organized crime at the ports.

However, New York has sued to stop the withdrawal, sending the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, and a support brief from the United States has been filed in support of New Jersey’s decision. Sampson said that he was getting caught in the crossfire over the Commission’s dissatisfaction with the situation.

Following that, Sampson put out another statement to BCN that he was appealing to the Waterfront Commission to change their minds and that his work as a State Assemblyman justified his absenteeism. On January 4, Sampson’s attorney Robert Flagella further argued that Sampson’s duties in the General Assembly are also part of serving his union, according to a PoliticoPro subscriber exclusive story.

The argument comes after the Waterfront Commission wrote in their initial ruling revoking Sampson’s license that his duties as a state legislator did not meet “good cause” for repeated absences for his job as a crane operator at Global Container Terminals. He apparently could not rectify the absences and other issues raised by the Waterfront Commission in 2022, leading to the action.

In the wake of the appeal before the Waterfront Commission, Sampson’s union voted to approve a resolution on January 4 to spend $50,000 to help Sampson out. Anonymous sources told the Hudson County View the union approved the resolution at an emergency meeting at The Chandelier restaurant and catering at 1081 Broadway.

According to the sources, the resolution was not put in writing. However, it indicated that the $50,000 would be spent on legal expenses for Sampson’s appeal and or public relation services related to the incident.

Sources told HCV Sampson’s lawyer Fagella is also the counsel for the ILA and membership, raising questions over if Sampson or the union was paying him. Amid the embroiled Assemblyman’s pleas for a reversal, the Waterfront Commission is set to decide the matter by the end of the month.

“I along with the ILA International will be working to appeal this decision to allow me to continue working in the industry as I have my whole life,” Sampson previously said in a statement. “I believe that this decision is not only legally incorrect but contains numerous factual errors.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

Hoboken school board fields questions to start the year

Jordan Coll, Staff Writer

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January 11, 2023

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Hoboken school board fields questions to start the year

The rejected $241 million new high school, masking policy, and school district procedures in emergencies were some of the questions addressed to the Hoboken Board of Education during its first meeting of the year.

The meeting started off by recognizing students who were nominated for academic and school performance based awards such as Student of the Month for December of last year, followed by a report of some of the activities and student led events from the Hoboken Middle and High School Student Government Representative groups.

Newly elected members from the “Leadership That Listens” slate who won in the midterm elections last year took their seats for the first time. The team consists of Leslie Norwood, Antonio Graña, and Alex de la Torre Jr, who is a current trustee of the board.

A grant from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Local Recreational Improvement of “up to $100,000” according to Superintendent Dr. Christine Johnson, is intended for “pool upgrades” for the Hoboken High School, if approved.

She said new equipment would be installed throughout the district’s building complying with the standards of a state statute called “Alyssa’s Law.” She said, “I am happy to say that our maintenance department and our technology staff members worked diligently over the winter break with a vendor to install equipment necessary for our district to comply with this law.”

According to the law, all primary and secondary schools within the State of New Jersey to install a “Panic Alarm” device that can silently and directly notify law enforcement of a life-threatening or emergency situation requiring their response.

The superintendent assured members of the public the installation of these devices were meant towards potential security breaches or active shooting scenarios and said the system would be “running no later than early February.”

Under curriculum items, the state of New Jersey completed the final instruction and program section of the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC), which is the Department of Education’s monitoring and district self-evaluation system for public school districts, under a three year performance review of school districts conducted by the state.

A question on masking was brought up in the meeting, in which Board President Sharyn Angley responded, “The board does not see a need to institute a masking policy at this time.” Angley added, “The district continues to operate on the basis of letting our families choose what is best for their child from a masking perspective.

Additionally, a question submitted online by the public on live streaming meetings was raised. Angley said the board would plan on “revisiting this,” but would continue publishing the recorded sessions on their YouTube page.

A question arose about the $241 million 30-year bond issue to create the new high school that failed by a large voting margin.

“The board has said before and will say this again, we will not be making any decisions about a new plan until the public is engaged and their input is taken,” said Angley. “While there is no plan for a new school to be up for referendum at this time the district continues to explore space for our early childhood classrooms.”

Patricia Waiters, who lost running as an independent for a seat on the board, asked clarification on whether the Action Policies approved by the board, listing regulations such as bomb threats, lockdown procedures and active shooters within the school district, would fall under policies or drills.

Angley said the policies are “recognized as regulations.” Waiters asked if the information on Fire and Safety Drill reports were public record.

“What has happened with those regulations is the overall state policy manual organization has moved school districts away from putting process for those safety drills out to the public,” said Superintendent Johnson, “And basically what they’ve said is those processes need to be housed in a district’s safety plan. Meaning that a district is no longer putting in a policy manual or regulations. What steps would be taken if by some chance there were …basically said it goes into a confidential safety and security plan that is reviewed with the police department.”

Waiters expressed her concerns to the board when it came to honoring Martin Luther King Day, on Jan.16.

“You are here to represent all the people and this is when my job get hard. When I got to stand up here and ask you to please reach out to the black and brown people to live in this community for years. Let us know that a day like this that means so much to us count,” said Waiters.

The flag demonstration will take place this Friday at 11 a.m. in front of Hoboken City hall.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Jordan Coll can be reached at jcoll@hudsonreporter.com.

Bayonne First Lady to be new Deputy Hudson County Clerk

Daniel Israel, Staff Writer

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December 28, 2022

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Bayonne First Lady to be new Deputy Hudson County Clerk

Jamie Davis, the wife of Bayonne Mayor James Davis, will be the new Deputy Hudson County Clerk, according to the Hudson County Clerk’s Office.

The New Jersey Globe first reported the move on Dec. 28, following a report the day prior that the former holder of the position was not going to be reappointed.

Diane Ashe Liming, the sister of former City Council President and mayoral candidate Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski, will not be reappointed. It is not clear why, although Liming did help Ashe-Nadrowski’s challenge against Davis as her campaign treasurer for the May municipal election.

According to her LinkedIn, Liming worked at Maidenform in the city for 18 years until 2014. After that, she briefly worked as a consultant at Delta Galil USA in 2015 before eventually becoming Deputy Hudson County Clerk.

It is not clear how long Liming has been in the position, but records show she was on payroll with the county since at least 2019. This would coordinate with her having been appointed that year in the wake of the 2018 municipal election, similar to what appears to be happening now.

Meanwhile, Jamie Davis worked as a 9-1-1 dispatcher in the city for over 30 years. Prior to that, she worked the same job but in Jersey City for 2 years.

The matter is set to be approved by the Hudson County Commissioners in 2023. The appointment is officially made by Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, although the candidate is typically chosen by the Bayonne mayor.

As to why, InsiderNJ reported that “those close to Davis” claim the move to replace Liming was not in response to Ashe-Nadrowski’s mayoral run. However, the report also alluded to the Hudson County Democratic Organization being tentative to reappoint a relative of a Davis political opponent.

In the past this has happened, where a Hudson County Deputy Clerk from Bayonne is not reappointed. Trustee-elect Mary Jane Desmond, who had been serving as acting Hudson County Clerk since former Clerk Javier Inclan accepted an appointment in the Corzine administration, was not reappointed in 2008 after being in the role since 2004 following her unsuccessful run for County Clerk against Barbara Netchert that year.

Deputy Hudson County Clerk Diane Liming. Photo courtesy of the Clerk’s Office.

Desmond recently went on to run for the Bayonne Board of Education this past November on a slate with backing from Ashe-Nadrowski. She along with two other running mates won three out of four seats against a ticket officially endorsed by Davis, and she unsuccessfully challenged Davis for chair of the Bayonne City Regular Democratic Organization, too, ahead of the municipal election.

Davis did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement to Bayonne Community News by Assistant to the County Clerk Bong Dizon, the Clerk’s Office confirmed that the Deputy Clerk is an appointed position serving concurrently with the term of the County Clerk. He noted the Deputy Clerk is an at-will employee who serves at the pleasure of the County Clerk, and that the Clerk’s Office has decided to appoint Jamie Davis instead.

“Though Diane Liming (Bayonne) has served the office capably and amicably, the Clerk has decided to go in a different direction,” Dizon said. “On January 1st Jamie Davis (Bayonne) will be appointed to said position. County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado would like to thank Diane Liming for her tireless and unfaltering work on behalf of our office and wishes her nothing but good will and best wishes in all her future endeavors.”

While insiders may claim that it’s not political, it may be hard for some to see it that way. There has been some instances in Bayonne where those who previously supported Ashe-Nadrowski alleged some form of political retaliation.

The move follows previous allegations by former Ashe-Nadrowski running mate “KT” Kim Torello of political retribution in September. He is the executive director of the Police Athletic League and Day Care Center and alleged funding cuts to the nonprofit organization were political. Davis and other officials denied this was the case and said the cuts were due to overall Community Development Block Grant funds due to the city’s economic growth, which equated to the PAL and other nonprofits to lose funding. Torello insisted it was still “fishy,” although the PAL eventually applied for and was awarded extra grant funding for the teachers it needed.

Another political maneuver done in the wake of the municipal election involved the non-reappointment in July of former Business Administrator Melissa Mathews, who supported Ashe-Nadrowski in the election. She resigned before she was set to lose the position, and was replaced by now-Business Administrator Donna Russo. The move in regard to Mathews also occurred amid her ongoing current gender discrimination lawsuit against Davis and other city officials.

Regardless of the reason, the political realignment in Bayonne, and in this case by extension county positions chosen by Bayonne, continues as Davis solidifies his grip on the city in his third term. This continues as his wife will soon occupy an approximately $107,000 a year position come 2023.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

Secaucus cannabis board discusses new retail application

Daniel Israel, Staff Writer

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December 27, 2022

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Secaucus cannabis board discusses new retail application

Will Harmony Dispensary have some competition when it comes to adult-use recreational cannabis sales in Secaucus? That’s what officials are discussing.

The town’s Local Cannabis Control Board held a special meeting on Dec. 20 to discuss the application of Floro Secaucus LLC. The applicant is seeking a Class V retail license to sell recreational cannabis at 900 Castle Road, which is a warehouse-type industrial building currently home to NJ Casket Company and Pet Rest in Peace Memorial Center and Crematorium.

That address is adjacent to the location where Harmony Dispensary currently sells medical cannabis out of. After initially banning the establishments ahead of a state deadline to make a decision, Secaucus shifted gears, ironed out the details of the local industry regulations, and lifted the prohibition but limited the operation of cannabis establishments to five lots that make up a light industrial area defined by warehouses, including the one that Harmony is in.

Amid Harmony’s quest to expand from medical sales to recreational, which it succeeded in earlier this month, the town began preparing the license application process for other cannabis entities. Officials said there had been some inquiries about businesses seeking to open in town in one of the permitted warehouse lots on Castle Road, which appears to include Floro.

The board met in person at the chambers on the second floor of the municipal building, with the option to watch via Zoom. After the meeting, Town Administrator Gary Jeffas told the Hudson Reporter that no formal action was taken by the board.

“A meeting was held but no decisions were made,” Jeffas said.

Jeffas said the meeting was informational in nature. The board asked various questions of the applicant, some of which they are circling back on with the town.

“It was a meeting on the one application we had, Floro Secaucus, LLC,” Jeffas said. “The meeting was mainly an informational session. They had their attorney, the managing member of their LLC and somebody from the group that helped put together the application.”

Informational meeting

“We used it as an informational meeting to ask questions and gather more information about the company, their background, what their plan is, what their thought is for the process, and how they would operate back there if they did get a license,” Jeffas said. “But there was no action or decision made.”

According to Jeffas, the board may have another meeting to discuss Floro’s applications. The applicant is gathering more information for the board based on some of the line of questioning at the December meeting of the board, which appears to be its first gathering.

“We just advised them that the board would discuss further and have a potentially another meeting to discuss further,” Jeffas said. “They also need to collect some more information for us on some of the questions just to fill in some of the gaps on some of the questions we had.”

Jeffas said most of the questions were around the business and the level expertise that the principals had in the business. He said that the consulting group working with Floro on the application is helping them through the process.

“The consulting group would help them with their human resources, their regulatory requirements on their day-to-day operations, so just kind of understanding how they would lean on the consulting company to assist in their business,” Jeffas said. “I think the consulting company operates about 20 or so recreational cannabis facilities in the United States and Canada. So they were the ones with a bit more experience on the recreational side of it. It was a decent amount of questioning just to understand the relationship and how they would assist in their functioning and operating at Secaucus and a business plan that would work.”

Applicant returning with more information?

According to Jeffas, there were also questions raised by Police Chief Dennis Miller as to security at the proposed dispensary. He said that is another topic they are working to iron out details on.

“Then the police chief asked some stuff about their security plan that they’re going to circle back. It seems they would have an outside company handle and set up security for it,” Jeffas said. “So we agreed that if there’s more questions on security, they would have a representative from that company who could better explain how they would handle things like security, the cameras, the people they would hire and those things.”

At another potential meeting on the application that could be held in the future, Jeffas said the board can consider furthering the application. That would entail the passage of a resolution of support by the board, as well as by Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Town Council, before the applicant seeks state approval to proceed further.

“If the board decides to consider their application, we would give them a letter of support saying that the town supports their application so that when they go to the state, the state knows they have the support of the town and probably what we did with Harmony,” Jeffas said. “Then we would have the council pass a resolution saying that the mayor and Town Council are in support of the application moving forward so that the state knows they have the full backing of the town. That’s the decision-making process we’re kind of in right now.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

North Bergen zoning change prohibits smoke shops and massage parlors

North Bergen News

Daniel Israel, Staff Writer

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December 28, 2022

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North Bergen zoning change prohibits smoke shops and massage parlors

North Bergen has amended the township’s zoning ordinance to prohibit various smoke and vapor substance uses and massage parlors.

Mayor Nicholas Sacco and the Board of Commissioners adopted the ordinance at a Dec. 21 meeting after it was introduced earlier in the month.

Under the adopted ordinance, electronic and/or vapor substance inhalation shops and tobacco or smoke shops and massage parlors are prohibited in all zoning districts in North Bergen.

Residential districts would also be amended by eliminating reference to multi-family mid-rise and high-rise buildings in the R-3 Moderate Density Residential District.

Now, the ordinance refers only to multi-family dwellings, garden apartments and townhomes, with mid-rises allowed to be 3 stories and high rises allowed to be 7 stories.

That also applies to multi-family mid-rises and high-rises in all zoning districts.

Updating definitions in municipal code

The measure also updates certain definitions in the township’s municipal code in accordance with the other changes.

The ordinance defines multi-family housing as a building containing five or more dwelling units that are entirely separated from each other by vertical walls or horizontal floors.

According to the ordinance, an electronic and/or vapor substance inhalation shop is defined as businesses where customers can purchase electronic and/or vapor substance inhalation products commonly known as “e-cigarettes,” “e-pipes,” “e-hookahs,” “electronic nicotine delivery systems” and other similar devices.

A tobacco or smoke shop is similarly defined as any store, stand, booth, concession or other place that either devotes a substantial portion of its display area, 5 percent or more floor or wall space, to tobacco products, hookahs, electronic vapor devises, electronic inhalation substances or drug paraphernalia to purchasers for consumption or use, the proposed ordinance states.

According to the ordinance, a massage parlor is defined as premises that are used, in whole or part, to administer acupressure, massage, bodywork or somatic therapy, or involving the act of holding, touching, positioning, mobilizing, applying friction or pressure manually and/or by mechanical or vibratory apparatus to body tissues, including, but not limited to, employing the procedures of acupressure, reflexology, moving, striking, pounding, rubbing, manipulating, kneading and/or tapping, or the use of oil rubs, heat lamps, salt glow, hot or cold packs, vibration, percussion, medical gymnastics, heliotherapy, external application of topical preparations, or tub, shower or cabinet baths, but excluding the practice of medicine, physical therapy or chiropractic by an osteopath, medical doctor, physical therapist or chiropractor licensed to practice in the State of New Jersey.

All changes take effect 20 days after the adoption of the ordinance.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

Bayonne proposes creating Department of Planning, Zoning and Development

Daniel Israel, Staff Writer

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December 27, 2022

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Bayonne proposes creating Department of Planning, Zoning and Development

Bayonne is contemplating establishing a new department at City Hall and reorganizing other divisions under that. The City Council introduced an ordinance proposing the creation of the Department of Planning, Zoning and Development at its December meeting.

The ordinance would move the Division of Community Development, the Division of Planning and Zoning and the Municipal Housing Liaison and RCA Administrator from under the Power and Duties of the Mayor to the new department. According to the ordinance, the department would exercise the powers of the city as an authorized local public agency for purposes of any federal urban renewal or redevelopment program with the approval of the City Council.

The Department would be the sixth, next to the following: the Department of Administration, Department of Public Safety, Department of Municipal Services, Department of Public Works and Parks and the Department of Law. Just like those departments, there will be a director known as the Director of Department of Planning, Zoning and Development appointed by Mayor James Davis, and per the ordinance, they must be “qualified by education, training and experience in the process of the development of housing, commercial and industrial improvements within large urban areas.”

According to the ordinance, the Director will direct and supervise the functions necessary to assist and encourage the timely and proper improvement to real property within the city. These functions will include the acquisition of real property; the development of maps and standards governing the development of the city; the management, maintenance and operation of property owned by the city but not needed for public use; the upkeep and improvement of the city’s infrastructure, including the water and sewer systems; and the sale or lease of such property and the operation and administration of such incentive programs that may be established by the city to assist and encourage the development of property.

Division of Planning, Division of Zoning and Municipal Housing Liaison and RCA Administrator

The Division of Planning will be headed by the City Planner, Suzanne Mack, or an Assistant Planner. They have the authority to perform all the planning functions of the Division, and to supervise the administration of the planning and implementation of such community services, housing preservation and conservation and other services. The division will also supervise the administration of planning process, regulations and enforcement.

The Division of Zoning will be headed by Zoning Officer Tracey Tuohy. It has administrative oversight of the personnel employed to perform zoning and land use functions. The division has authority, through the Zoning Officer, to perform all of the functions and duties of the Division.

The Municipal Housing Liaison and RCA Administrator is part of the administrative mechanisms established for the execution of Bayonne’s responsibility to assist in the provision of affordable housing in accordance with the Fair Housing Act of 1985. Duties include handling things like affirmative marketing, household certification, affordability controls, resale and rental, processing requests from unit owners and enforcement.

“This is reallocating the planning and zoning, and it adds development, commercial development and planning, and zoning maintenance,” City Council President Gary La Pelusa told the Bayonne Community News. “What’s happening is, these are currently under the mayor right now. What’s going to happen is, they’re going to be moved to a new Department of Planning Zoning and Development.”

In addition to moving the the Division of Community Development, the Division of Planning and Zoning and the Municipal Housing Liaison and RCA Administrator into the new department, there would be the creation of two new divisions. That would be the Division of Development and Housing and the Division of Real Property and Infrastructure.

“The Department of Planning, Zoning and Development will do five things,” La Pelusa said. “It will cover planning, zoning, development and housing, the Municipal Housing Liaison, and real property infrastructure. Those things are going to be in this new department.”

Division of Development and Housing

The Division of Development and Housing will focus on development, tax abatements and housing stock.

The development functions will include responsibility for the preparation, formulation and implementation of an overall economic development plan for the city; coordinate all program activities concerning the economic development of the city; formulate plans for attracting new business and industry into the city so that jobs are made available to alleviate or prevent conditions of unemployment, underemployment and economic dislocation; and develop and administer all programs established by the city to encourage the utilization, construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of commercial and industrial property.

Other development functions included in the ordinance will involve public officials and private citizens in analyzing local economics, defining development goals, determining project opportunities and formulating and implementing development programs; provide such other assistance as is proper and necessary to permit and encourage the development of real property for commercial and industrial purposes in a manner that is consistent with general law and local ordinance; administer and direct urban conservation, rehabilitation and renewal activities of the city; exercise the powers of the city as an authorized local public agency for purposes of any federal urban renewal or redevelopment program approved by the City Council.

In addition, the ordinance grants the division to have other development powers to with the approval of the Director and the Business Administrator, appoint or contract with technical and professional advisers and assistance as may be required and approved for any federally or state-aided planning, renewal, development or redevelopment project, provided that they do not authorize the making of any contract in excess of $2,500 without the approval of the City Council; make recommendations, in conjunction with the Law Director and the Business Administrator, to standardize certain redevelopment agreement terminology and provisions and to propose any needed changes in state legislation; and coordinate and liaison, as needed, with the Mayor, the City Council, the Law Director and all city departments, in the redevelopment process.

Tax abatement and housing stock preservation functions

The division will also have tax abatement functions to maintain in one place and ensure the security of all of the records, papers and submissions that pertain to all tax abatement and exemption financial agreements; monitor and ensure compliance with the terms of all tax abatement and exemption financial agreements following approval by the City Council; along with the Finance Department, ensure the timely submission and payment of quarterly service charge bills with applicable arrearages and interest and ensure full compliance with the terms and conditions contained within the city’s tax abatement and exemption financial agreements by conducting periodic audits; and make recommendations, in conjunction with the Law Director and the Business Administrator, to standardize certain financial agreement terminology and provisions and to propose any needed changes in state legislation.

Other tax abatement functions will be to coordinate and liaison, as needed, with the Mayor, the City Council, the Law Director and all City departments, in the tax abatement and exemption process; act as a liaison with the Business Administrator and the City Council to review and analyze the financial ramifications of each tax abatement and exemption financial agreement; and assist in the preparation of the capital budget.

Lastly, the Division will yield housing stock preservation functions to advise the director on policies to ensure the preservation and creation of housing; and maintain in one place and ensure the security of all of the records, papers and submissions that pertain to short-term rental permits.

Division of Real Property and Infrastructure

One of the new Divisions in the Department of Planning, Zoning and Development is the the Division of Real Property and Infrastructure. The Division shall manage and oversee all real property and infrastructure owned, leased and controlled by the city.

According to the ordinance, the Division of Real Property and Infrastructure will focus on the acquisition, maintenance and disposition of all real property and infrastructure. In the division, there will also be a Long Term Control Plan and Resiliency Coordinator, responsible for the creation and implementation of the city’s Long Term Control Plan and the recommendations of the Resilient New Jersey Program.

The position is being created as part of the administrative mechanisms needed for the execution of Bayonne’s responsibility to assist in creation and implementation of the Long Term Control Plan pursuant to the United States Clean Water Act and United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Combined Sewer Overflows Control Policy, issued on April 11, 1994.

The Long Term Control Plan and Resiliency Coordinator’s powers and duties include to be responsible for the development, oversight and administration of the city’s compliance with the federal and state laws concerning the Combined Sewer Overflows Controls. They will also be responsible for addressing flooding prevention and addressing climate change.

“Under the ordinance, there will be a separate Long Term Control Plan and Resiliency Coordinator,” La Pelusa said. “The mayor still would have to choose somebody who’s going to oversee that.”

According to the ordinance, The Long Term Control Plan and Resiliency Coordinator will also work toward accomplishing the goals of the Long Term Control Plan. The goals include characterization, monitoring and modeling activities as the basis for selection and design of effective Combined Sewer Overflow controls; a public participation process that actively involves the affected public in the decision-making to select long-term Combined Sewer Overflow controls; consideration of sensitive areas as the highest priority for controlling overflows; and evaluation of alternatives that will enable the permittee, in consultation with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permitting authority, Water Quality Standards authority and the public, to select Combined Sewer Overflow controls that will meet Clean Water Act requirements.

Meeting goals of the Long Term Control Plan

The Long Term Control Plan’s goals also seek cost and performance considerations to demonstrate the relationships among a comprehensive set of reasonable control alternatives; operational plan revisions to include agreed-upon long-term Combined Sewer Overflow controls; maximization of treatment at the existing Publicly Owned Treatment Works treatment plant for wet weather flows; an implementation schedule for Combined Sewer Overflow controls; and post-construction compliance monitoring program adequate to verify compliance with water quality-based Clean Water Act requirements and ascertain the effectiveness of Combined Sewer Overflow controls.

Lastly, the plan’s goals seek to provide clear levels of control that would be presumed to meet appropriate health and environmental objectives; provide sufficient flexibility to municipalities, especially those that are financially disadvantaged, to consider the site-specific nature of Combined Sewer Overflows and to determine the most cost-effective means of reducing pollutants and meeting Clean Water Act objectives and requirements; allow a phased approach for implementation of Combined Sewer Overflow controls considering a community’s financial capability; review and revise, as appropriate, water quality standards, and their implementation procedures when developing long-term Combined Sewer Overflow control plans to reflect the site-specific wet weather impacts of Combined Sewer Overflows.

Similarly, the coordinator will also seek to abide by the goals of Resilient New Jersey. The program administered by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development aims to bring together resilience experts, local leaders, community organizations, residents and regional infrastructure entities to develop solutions to reduce flood risk and build resilience.

Preparing for the future, in terms of both resiliency and redevelopment

The ordinance will create a Long Term Control Plan and Resiliency Coordinator, just 10 years after Hurricane Sandy underscored the need to develop such preventative practices. The Coordinator will play a vital role as the city has already asked for help from the state in financing its estimated over $300 million cost of implementing the plan, as well as the potential implementation of the regional Long Term Control Plan with other Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority municipalities.

“The Long Term Control Plan is something we’re all a little concerned over. It’s something we know is going to cost some money and it’s something that we are mandated to do,” La Pelusa said. “So we need somebody who can pick the right companies and that can help us save money while we still get the job done. You’ve got to capture that storm water and release it over time. There’s issues in the Long Term Control Plan about sterilizing water before you let it out in the waterway. All these things have to be addressed in that plan.”

Additionally, the move to create the Department of Planning, Zoning and Development comes as the city has completed its absorption rate study of recent redevelopment in the city. The study came at the request of Davis with the pause on most residential redevelopment until that study could be completed.

In November, La Pelusa announced the study was completed and that the study showed the newly constructed units were being occupied. While a formal presentation on the data will be brought to the council in the future, the news means that all residential redevelopment will likely move forward full steam ahead as well as the industrial redevelopment of the Constable Hook area of Bayonne that the city has been moving forward with in the meantime.

Residential redevelopment moving full steam ahead again soon?

This seems further backed by the City Council considering the reintroduction of financial agreements for project approved amid the pause, which officials previously defended could not be stopped due to prior planning approvals. This included the project that seemingly prompted the pause and study and was singled out by Davis at the time, amid the campaign for the May municipal election, which was for an 18-story and a 6-story building across the street from each other on Avenue E as part of the next phase of the Silk Lofts redevelopment and the long-term tax abatements that would support it.

The ordinance also follows the City Council contemplating this move back in October. However, La Pelusa told BCN at the time that some details of the ordinance were still being worked out. Those have since been remedied obviously as the ordinance has now been introduced.

The proposed ordinance will be up for a public hearing and vote at the City Council’s next meeting on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall at 630 Avenue C. Read the full ordinance online at bayonnenj.org/_Content/pdf/ordinances/O-14-Chapter-2-Administration-Ordinance-INTRO.pdf or go to bayonnenj.org for more information.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.

Design of new Secaucus Senior Center nearly complete

Daniel Israel, Staff Writer

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December 20, 2022

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Design of new Secaucus Senior Center nearly complete

Secaucus’s plan to construct a new Senior Center at the site of the old on Centre Avenue is moving along.

The decision to construct a new senior center came after the town realized that oil tanks underneath the old center had been leaking for a number of years. Environmental remediation work needed to be done at the three buildings that composed the old center, but because some of the contamination leached under the foundation, it was cheaper to start from scratch then to remediate the existing center.

The old center was demolished before contaminated soil that was formerly beneath the building was removed. Now that is complete, plans are in the works for the new center.

While the new building will primarily serve as a senior center during the day time, for the rest of the day and evening the facility will serve as a community center for residents to hold events and meetings. When the new senior center opens, it will be larger and more accessible to the handicapped.

The project has been in the design phase since February of this year. Following that, the town hired an architect for the project in late May. The town is now awaiting the completion of the design of the building, which is now wrapping up.

In the meantime, Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat who represents Secaucus as part of the 9th Congressional District of New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives, secured $950,000 for the project back in July. The funds will apply to any needs by the town related to the construction of the senior center.

In addition to these funds, town bonds, reserves, grants, and other money will help cover the cost of the project. Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Town Council bonded approximately $7.8 million to go toward the project in August of 2021.

In August of 2022, the council again bonded millions for the project. Construction has not yet begun, but cost overruns meant an additional approximately $1.5 million for the project.

As of late December, Town Administrator Gary Jeffas told the Hudson Reporter that Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Town Council may be ready to send out bids for the project sooner than previously anticipated.

“It’s in design, but we’re about to have it ready to go out to bid,” Jeffas said. “The architects are working through a couple of last changes and clarifications. I’m hoping the beginning of January, within the first week or so, we’ll be putting it out to bid.”

According to Jeffas, the architectural design of the center will be completed before the project is put out to bid. He said the town is aiming to go out to bid in search of a contractor to construct the new Senior Center as soon as January begins.

“The architectural work is pretty much done, so that the person who is bidding knows exactly what they’re bidding on by way of finishing the electrical and the works,” Jeffas said.

In terms of a price tag, Jeffas said they won’t know the real cost until the bids come in and a contract is awarded. He said that so far, the town has estimated a price tag of approximately $8 to $9 million, but that may fluctuate depending on the contract.

“The bids are going to be the true telling sign of the cost of the project,” Jeffas said.

While the new senior center at 101 Centre Avenue is in the works, the community center at 145 Front Street serves as an interim Senior Center. In the town’s December newsletter, Gonnelli said that construction would likely begin in Spring of 2023.

“The design of our brand-new Senior and Community Center project is well underway and making good progress,” Gonnelli said. “We are hopeful construction will begin in the Spring of 2023. I cannot wait for senior activities to be hosted there as soon as it is complete.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.