HCCC Director of Cultural Affairs for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commemorates 20th Anniversary of 9/11

December 14, 2021

To those in New York and New Jersey art circles, she is renowned as WOOLPUNK®, but at Hudson County Community College (HCCC) she is Michelle Vitale, the Director of Cultural Affairs for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. WOOLPUNK®’s original works, Ocufluent I & II, are being exhibited throughout the holiday season in the Oculus Transportation Hub at 2 World Trade Center in New York City. The works pay tribute to lives lost on September 11^th, and to all those who are suffering 20 years later.

To create the works, WOOLPUNK® combined her photos of the Oculus after its 2016 opening with handstitched flowers. The photos capture a sacred space where feelings of shock, terror, loss, and grief coexist with renewal; the flowers memorialize, hearten, and honor those whose lives were lost. “I strongly believe that art can heal,” WOOLPUNK® stated. “Acknowledging the painful memories of 9/11 allows for reflection, which is essential in building a stronger, more united world.”

Ocufluent I & II was originally curated by Karin Bravin of BravinLee Programs in the summerlong “RE:GROWTH” exhibition in Manhattan’s Riverside Park. The Oculus exhibit is made possible by Hudson County Community College President’s Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (PACDEI), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Karen Bravin of BravinLee Programs, all of whom want to inspire hope for the New Year.

“Hudson County Community College is very proud to help provide these works with a venue where thousands can view and appreciate them,” said HCCC President, Dr. Chris Reber. “The message this art conveys is especially meaningful, and reflects the College’s core values of diversity, equity and inclusion. As a community, we live and breathe the value of human dignity and respect as we learn, teach, and work with one another.”

“The attacks of September 11th forever altered our skyline, collective ways of living, and ways of viewing the world,” said Yeurys Pujols, HCCC Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “In the 20 years that have followed, our resilience, resolve, and compassion for one another continue to prove that no challenge can prevent our communities from prevailing. Together, there is nothing we cannot overcome and accomplish.”

Dr. Laura Auricchio, Dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center and Professor of Art History shared: “Over the summer, I spotted two WOOLPUNK® public artworks inspired by the Oculus and designed to pay homage to those who lost their lives, and those still affected by the horrific events of 9/11. Nearly 20 years after the attack on the World Trade Center, I finally brought myself to visit the Oculus for the first time. The visit brought me some peace.”

WOOLPUNK® is a New Jersey native who, inspired by an immigrant seamstress grandmother who sewed American flags for a living, machine knits fiber installations, quilt sculptures, and embroiders photographs to influence social change. She has fabricated site-specific installations for a variety of institutions, and her knitted works are part of the “Walking Palm” group exhibition that opened on December 10, 2021 at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. WOOLPUNK® has exhibited at Monira Foundation at Mana (Jersey City), Lion Brand Yarn Studio (New York), Montclair Art Museum, Object and Thought Gallery (Denver, CO), Salve Regina Gallery (Washington, DC), and other venues.

Rematch in West New York?

Hudson Reporter

December 13, 2021

12wnyroque23 — Former Mayor Dr. Felix Roque

Former West New York Mayor Dr. Felix Roque has hinted at possibly challenging incumbent Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez in the 2023 municipal election.

Rodriguez previously beat Roque in 2019 in close fight, with Roque losing a seat on the WNY Board of Commissioners by only 674 votes. According to past reporting from the Hudson Reporter, the campaign leading up to that election was brutal and left Town Hall at a standstill.

On Facebook, Roque posted multiple photos of sidewalks covered in garbage and wrote: “The organization ‘New Beginning’ headed by Mr. Gabriel Rodríguez, present mayor and who was a commissioner in my administration, I don’t think learned to respect and care for the people. We can’t allow the disaster to continue in our beloved city. If they can’t do the job then I’ll have to take the mayor’s position again. Your days are numbered. Put your batteries on and work for the people.”

In another post, Roque continued slamming Rodriguez: “[We] pay too much taxes and soon our taxes will be raised again,” Roque wrote. “Stop the abuse against residents of West New York. I don’t blame the employees of this administration, I blame the leaders who make over 100K… Enough already.”

A photo of a street in WNY posted by Roque.

Observing and waiting

Roque told the Hudson Reporter that he has been keeping on eye on Rodriguez since he took office, and criticized the current mayor over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have been observing the job that the new Administration has done in the past two years and if I had to give them a grade it would be a D for deficient,” Roque said. “As a physician it pained me to see how unprepared and unorganized they were in the response to COVID crisis. Due to their mismanagement, hundreds of West New Yorkers will be one family member less at the dinner table this Christmas. The mayor cracked under pressure and people died. End of story.”

Roque again said that the streets in town were dirty and added that rents were high.

“Most of my patients live in West New York and it is disheartening to hear the complaints of higher rent and filthy streets,” Roque said. “In a time where residents are hurting to make an honest living the administration voted to give themselves a 15K raise. Their priorities are not in line with the people’s priorities.”

Roque is referring to an introduced ordinance that would increase salary ranges and raise the minimum wage to $15 for a number of town employees. However, despite the flagrant criticisms of the Rodriguez Administration, Roque has not yet decided for certain if he will run again.

Rodriguez not phased

In a statement to the Hudson Reporter, Rodriguez was not paying Roque any mind.

“The health, safety, and quality of life of our residents is and will always be our top priority,” Rodriguez said. “With all that is going on in the world today, to entertain this nonsense is ridiculous and distracts from addressing what is most important, our community’s needs, something Roque was not good at and clearly knows nothing about.”

Instead of responding to Roque’s allegations, Rodriguez instead promoted the COVID-19 vaccine site in town, apparently taking the higher road.

“For those who are interested in obtaining a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot at our Memorial High School Gym, please use the Holy Name Medical Center link below to make your appointment,” Rodriguez said.

For more information, go to https://vaccine.holyname.org/C19VACWNY.

Meanwhile, the NJ Attorney General’s Office has sought to revoke Roque’s license to practice medicine and surgery after he allegedly inappropriately wrote prescriptions for high dosages of the powerful opioid and cancer pain medication “Subsys,” after allegedly receiving substantial payments from the drug’s manufacturer, Insys Therapeutics, Inc.

From 2013 through 2015, Roque allegedly accepted more than $53,000 in “speaker’s fee” payments, meals and travel from Insys, including allegedly attending a conference in Arizona. According to the Attorney General’s Office, one of Roque’s patients allegedly overdosed on a Subsys prescription he allegedly wrote.

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

Weehawken introduces $48 million budget for 2022

Hudson Reporter

December 10, 2021

12weebudget16 — The budget hearing will be held at Weehawken Town Hall on Dec. 22. Image via Google Maps

The Weehawken Township Council has introduced its fiscal year 2022 budget. If approved by the state, the council will hold a public hearing and vote on its budget at its next meeting on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Chambers at Town Hall at 400 Park Avenue. For more information, go to weehawken-nj.us.

The council introduced the $48,632,319 budget at its Nov. 22 meeting. It is now awaiting approval from the state Local Finance Board in Trenton before the township can adopt it.

This year’s budget is a 1.25 percent increase since last year’s budget, according to Mayor Richard Turner. Since the 2019-2020 budget, it has decreased by 5.5 percent, Turner told the Hudson Reporter.

“I guess we could say faring better,” he said. “You know we ended the first year of COVID-19 with a $3 million deficit. This year we’re ending with a $2 million deficit.”

Revenue loss

The deficit was largely caused by a major loss in revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For 18 months, our parking revenues were nonexistent,” Turner said. “We get a lot of parking revenue from the waterfront, but UBS is working from home. There’s no parking revenues.”

In addition to lost parking tax revenue, there was also a decline in revenue related to construction.

“Building permits and fees were nonexistent now since Memorial Day,” Turner said. “There was no construction going on. The developers are only starting now to get back to things that they already got approval for. So that just picked up a little bit. It’s been a very chaotic almost two years now… We had all these revenue losses: the parking tax, tax fees and permits.”

Revenue from the hotel tax also decreased as the hospitality industry was hit hard by the pandemic.

“We receive almost $1 million in hotel tax from the Sheraton and the On view and that was non existent,” Turner said. “That’s starting to come back, so we’re managing the deficit very well. The state of New Jersey has helped a lot. Senator Brian Stack has helped a lot, making sure this legislation gets through because it helps the whole state.”

Spreading out the deficit

According to Turner, the state has let municipalities spread out their deficit over a number of years.

“The state has allowed towns to adjust for the deficit, so you don’t hit the taxpayers with everything upfront,” he said. We’ve been very good at managing that. The state has put laws in place so we can take care of the deficits.”

Because of that, the township was able to keep tax rates “extremely stable,” according to Turner.

And as the deficit decreases to $2 million, Turner hopes to keep bringing it down in the next budget. That is, if the new Omicron variant of the virus doesn’t ruin those plans.

“Next year we hope to eliminate it if everything continues to go forward, except for the new variant,” he said.

New variant worries

“Everything was starting to pick up, revenues are coming in more and more,” Turner said. “We were looking forward to next year. Now we have to see what happens with the new variant.”

In terms of costs and expenses, the township slashed as much as it could to cope with the revenue loss, according to Turner.

“We have kept our expenditures down,” he said. “They are well below what they were. It’s all just a question of will everything continue to move forward or will we have a little backsliding because of the new variant? We’re approaching two years of the pandemic and things were picking up. Now we’ll see what happens.”

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

Union City introduces 2022 budget totaling over $160 million

Hudson Reporter

December 9, 2021

12ucboc16 — Mayor Brian Stack and the Union City Board of Commissioners met on Dec. 7.

The Union City Board of Commissioners have voted to introduce the city’s Fiscal Year 2022 Budget.

The board voted unanimously to do so at its Dec. 7 meeting at Colin Powell Elementary at 1500 New York Avenue. This year, the budget totals $160,508,491. This marks a 5.84 percent increase, or $8,856,555 from last year’s total budget of $151,651,935.

The $160,508,491 in revenues is made up of $2,500,000 in surplus, $16,902,353 in local revenue, $45,575,162 in state aid, $16,066,276 in state and federal grants, $47,780 in delinquent tax, $77,863,025 in local tax, and $1,553,893.

Everything is up from last year’s budget, except for delinquent tax which dropped by 96.5 percent, or $1,163,062, from $1,210,843. The surplus saw a notable increase of 100.84 percent or $1,255,203, increasing from $1,244,796 in 2021.

The local tax levy increased by 1.96 percent or $1,499,852 from $76,363,172 in 2021 to $77,863,025. The local tax rate increased by .0976 percent from 4.9689 percent in 2021 to 5.0665 percent.

The 160,508,491 in appropriations consists of $44,678,926 in salaries and wage, $70,427,813 in other expenses, $10,843,018 in statutory and deferred charges, $16,227,777 in state and federal grants, $4,800,000 in capital, $12,966,511 in debt service, and $564,443 in reserve for uncollected taxes. Everything increased except for statutory and deferred charges, which decreased by 28.61 percent or $4,345,000 from $15,188,019 in 2020, and reserve for uncollected taxes which decreased by 55.12 percent or $693,160 from $1,257,603 in 2021.

Included in this budget is the $13,309,091 that Union City received in federal COVID-19 recovery funds from the American Rescue Plan.

Budget breakdown

At the meeting, the board held a public hearing on the budget. During the hearing, Chief Financial Officer Tammy Zucca shared details about this year’s budget. According to Zucca, this year’s budget is currently looking good.

“The budget is in balance,” she said. “It looks like it’s on the right track.”

While the board introduced and held a public hearing on the budget, it did not adopt it as it is under review by the Local Finance Board.

“It won’t be adopted until next year,” she said. “We need to get the state approval for us to adopt.”

Following that, the city can tweak the budget as it needs, she said: “After it’s adopted, we will make amendments to it.”

According to Zucca, there were some increases in health insurance costs to $23,956,278.

“We had some increases in health insurance, nothing out of the ordinary. I feel like it’s going to stay where it needs to stay. With COVID we had some issues, but we’re recovering from it.”

Approval soon

Mayor Brian Stack thanked Zucca as well as the Finance Department for collaborating on the city’s budget.

“I’d like to thank the Finance Department for their work on the budget,” he said. “I worked with them closely them on this and I thank them for their work.”

The board will vote to approve the budget sometime in January next year, following state approval. Read a copy of the introduced budget on the city’s website at: https://www.ucnj.com/_Content/pdf/budgets/Introduced-2022-Budget.pdf.

The next Union City Board of Commissioners meeting will be on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. at Veterans’ Memorial Elementary School at 1401 Central Avenue. For more information, go to the ucnj.com and click on the event on the calendar webpage.

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

Secaucus ordinance would encourage electric vehicle parking

Hudson Reporter

December 2, 2021

12seccouncil09 — From left to right: Mayor Michael Gonnelli and Town Administrator Gary Jeffas at the Nov. 23 meeting

The Secaucus Town Council has voted to introduce an ordinance that would promote the construction of electric vehicle parking spaces.

The council voted unanimously to introduce the ordinance at its Nov. 23 meeting. The ordinance would encourage “electric vehicle supply/service equipment” as well as “make-ready parking spaces,” which are normal parking spaces that can be converted to electric parking spaces later on.

Town Administrator Gary Jeffas broke down the details of the ordinance to the Hudson Reporter.

Following the model ordinance

“So the reason we did that is that the state recently passed a statute and the municipality is pretty much adopting what they did at the state level,” he said. “It requires builders, when they’re constructing, to put in a certain amount of electric vehicle parking spots.”

The introduced ordinance, based off of a model ordinance unveiled by Gov. Phil Murphy, aims to makes it easier for people to drive electric by streamlining the local approval process for installing convenient and cost-effective charging infrastructure.

The ordinance provides minimum requirements and consistent guidance for electric vehicle parking. According to Jeffas, the ordinance would also make it so that electric vehicles would count for double the parking requirement when developers are constructing parking.

“Under the state guidelines which we adopted, there’s a provision in there that if you put in one electric vehicle parking spot, it would count as two parking spots,” he said. “It helps a builder out, because if you’re building something that requires 50 parking spots, if you put in some electric vehicle spots, they count as two spots.”

In addition, make-ready spots would also count toward the requirement.

“The make-ready is a spot that you can get credit for as long as it’s ready to pull the trigger on,” he said. “It’s an easy conversion into an electric vehicle spot.”

Overall, Jeffas said it would be a good way to incentivize constructing electric parking spots.

“It’s kind of a way to encourage more implementation and building of electric vehicle parking,” he said. “It’s just kind of a good incentive for builders to consider that in all of their projects.”

Changing one-way roads

Another matter regarding vehicles and traffic was also introduced at the meeting, specifically an ordinance reversing the direction of two one-way roads in town. Per Mayor Michael Gonnelli’s request, Jeffas explained the change at the Nov. 23 meeting.

“We are just changing the directions,” Jeffas said at the meeting, referring to portions of Second Street and Fourth Street.

According to Jeffas, the shift is occurring after suggestions from the neighborhood.

“Just based on resident requests, and the mayor and councilmen knocking on doors and speaking with the residents, there was just a request to change the one-way directions between First Street and Fourth Street,” he said. “Now First Street will be coming out towards Flannigan Way. Second Street will going in toward Centre Avenue. Third Street will be coming out and Fourth Street will be going in.”

The move was not being done without consideration for current traffic, according to Jeffas.

“It will be a cleaner traffic flow,” he said. “The police did a study of the area. That was the recommendation to have the smoothest flow of traffic throughout those blocks.”

After the meeting, Jeffas told the Hudson Reporter said it wouldn’t be implemented immediately, but likely within the next month or so.

“We’ll give it a number of weeks because we have to get all of our signage done, as well as if there’s any painting that needs to be done on the street,” he said. “We’ll usually send a notice in advance out to the residents on those blocks to let them know we’re in the process of making the change and we expect that on such date it’s going to be changed.”

Upcoming public hearings

A public hearing for both of the ordinances will be held at the council’s next meeting in December. The Secaucus Town Council will meet on Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. in the council chambers at Town Hall at 1203 Paterson Plank Road.

Residents can attend in person or watch a recording of the meeting posted to the town’s website afterwards. For more information, go to secaucusnj.gov and click on the event on the calendar webpage.

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

West New York’s 57th Street parking deck project moves to construction phase

Hudson Reporter

November 27, 2021

12wnyboc02 — The parking lot on 57th Street will be renovated to become a parking deck. Image via Google Maps.

West New York’s Board of Commissioners has approved a resolution authorizing an increase in the contract for the construction of the parking deck project on 57th Street.

The project was first authorized by the commissioners back in 2019. That resolution authorized the design of a parking deck at the municipal parking lot at 57th Street and another at the lot on 67th Street, estimated to bring in over a combined 400 parking spaces to town.

The move to initiate the parking deck installment was the town’s first major project following the dissolution of the West New York Parking Authority. In addition to those, the town is also renovating the municipal parking lot on 51st Street to become a two-story parking deck with 300 more spaces as part of Phase 1 of its Parking Deck program.

Construction commencing?

Special Projects Manager Jonathan Castaneda detailed the current status of the project at the November board meeting. The town already has a contract with Clarke Caton Hintz for $350,000 for this year as Special Project Architects in addition to the contract for this project.

“So the initial award of the contract was for the design,” Castaneda said. “We’re now moving into a construction phase or a preliminary construction phase.”

The increase in the contract for the parking deck is the result of the additional cost of the construction management portion. While this wasn’t in the initial contract, the town is adding it in now as things move from the design phase to shovels in the ground.

“We didn’t initially put that into the award, but we’re adjusting that now as we move towards the construction phase,” Castaneda said.

According to Castaneda, the resolution authorizes an increase in the contract not to exceed $45,000. A contract has not yet been awarded for the deck planned at the 67th Street lot. Meanwhile, in March a contract for renovations to the pre-existing 62nd Street parking deck was awarded to Sealcrete Contracting, LLC for $264,840.

Addressing parking concerns

That conversation was prompted by resident Mark Bloomberg, who has been critical of the town’s repainting of parking space lines in recent months.

Bloomberg has alleged that the parking space repainting initiative, which aims to help provide more parking, has done the opposite. In addition, he contends that the repainted parking spaces are confusing considering the old space lines are still visible underneath.

At the November meeting, Bloomberg said that he recently met with Commissioner Yoleisy Yanez to further evaluate the situation. She had previously inquired about meeting with Bloomberg to investigate the issue on his block and defended the project alongside other officials.

“I want to thank the Commissioners for the many of the things that you’ve done and accomplished over the last year,” Bloomberg said. “I know I can be very vocal at times and I don’t always say thank you.”

Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez and Commissioner Yanez thanked Bloomberg for being vocal about local issues that affect him.

“It is refreshing to see,” Rodriguez said. “We know you care for this community as much as we do. To see that you are acknowledging the things that we’re doing is much appreciated.”

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

NY Waterway defends plans for expanded Weehawken facility

Hudson Reporter

November 27, 2021

12weewaterway02-1 — Images obtained by the Hudson Reporter show a rendering of the plans for a two-story building and pier at the site of the current facility in Weehawken.

NY Waterway, a ferry operator between Hudson County municipalities and New York City, has once again sparked controversy among residents over plans for a ferry facility.

“Leaked” plans show NYWW is now looking to expand its facility in Weehawken, after recently losing a lengthy legal battle with the city of Hoboken over plans to construct a maintenance and refueling facility at the Union Dry Dock. The facility in Weehawken, while decades old, was only supposed to be temporary, thus the need for the facility NYWW sought in Hoboken. Earlier this year, NYWW settled with Hoboken, agreeing to sell the 3-acre plot of land to the city for approximately $18.5 million.

Now, as Hoboken plans to convert the Union Dry Dock to open space, NYWW is looking to expand its Weehawken facility, according to images of the “leaked” plans which were sent to the Hudson Reporter on Nov. 10 by a concerned Weehawken resident. The images show schematics, renderings and plans, all from September of 2020, for the expanded ferry re-fueling and maintenance facility.

The plans for the expansion show renderings of a two-story building on a new approximately 44,000 square foot pier, allowing approximately 30 ferries to berthed at the facility. Parts of the Hudson River would have to be dredged in an approximately 276,000 square foot portion of the site, making the water just 10 feet deep at high tide, according to the plans. The plans also show the expansion would also include the construction of a support wall that juts out nearly 700 feet into the Hudson River.

NYWW defends plans

A spokesperson for NYWW, Wiley Norvell, confirmed that it was looking to renovate its current facility on the Weehawken waterfront. Norvell added that NYWW had been open about modernizing the old site on the public record for some time.

“NY Waterway has safely fueled and maintained its fleet from this Weehawken site for more than 30 years,” Norvell said. “We know our neighbors well and have always treated them with respect. As we look to upgrade this facility, we’ll work closely with public officials to ensure it meets the highest standards for environmental safety and is consistent with our long standing policy of complying with public guidelines and oversight.”

According to NYWW, it has always intended to maintain this site for refueling, as its proximity to Port Imperial makes it an essential refueling hub. The number of boats coming into the facility is unlikely to change regardless of whether the site is modernized or not, Norvell said.

NYWW said all their boats are, and have been, refueling at this one site in Weehawken for some time. During COVID, he said that NYWW birthed up to 25 boats there, according to Norvell.

Additionally, NYWW said that adding more berths in the future would be more beneficial to the environment by decreasing emissions. According to Norvell, it would enable boats to come in, turn the engine off, and stay while they’re refueling and getting maintained, as opposed to having to make fast turn-arounds where they idle the entire time, using more fuel. According to Norvell, that’s better for operations and air quality.

An image shows a rendering of a different angle of the plans for the two-story building.

Outraged residents organized

Upon learning of NYWW’s plans, Weehawken residents have wasted no time organizing their opposition. An online group known as Weehawken Residents Against Ferry Pollution has already taken up arms in advocating against the plans for the Weehawken facility, with almost 200 members. While these plans show the expansion would preserve the waterfront walkway, which was not the case in Hoboken, the group is nonetheless concerned about the project’s impact on the environment and local community.

The group has specifically taken issue with pollution from the additional diesel engines from the ferries. According to a flyer circulated by the group, the air pollutants from the existing facility already affect residents on the waterfront as well as those up the cliff, with some reporting soot on windows, terraces and balconies.

“I currently live next to the temporary NYWW maintenance and refueling facility in Weehawken,” said resident Cassandra Porsch, who is involved with the group. “Waterfront residents have been putting up with noise and pollution from the current facility for years. Because NYWW ran a massive PR campaign that it was being ‘evicted’ from this current facility when it was trying to move to Hoboken, we all thought the facility was leaving and just needed to be patient while the company found an appropriate location. Several more industrial areas were identified as possibilities in the fight with Hoboken. Now we have found out that in the negotiations to keep the facility out of Hoboken, dealmakers have chosen the current temporary facility location in Weehawken to make a permanent, expanded facility, without seeking any input from residents who live here.”

Many like Porsch feel that the facility should not be in a residential area.

“We are begging our elected officials to not sell out the people of Weehawken in the deal to keep the facility out of Hoboken,” she said. “The facility does not belong in a waterfront residential area of Hoboken, and for the same reasons, it does not belong right on our doorsteps in Weehawken. If it’s not good for Hoboken, it’s not good for Weehawken. For the health and welfare of our families, we believe our government representatives should help move this facility to a proper industrial location.”

An image shows an aerial rendering of the plans for the expanded facility.

No official plans yet

NYWW has not yet submitted an application to the Weehawken Planning Board, according to Mayor Richard Turner. Turner, who also sits on the board, has cast doubt on any approval, calling it a “tough sell” for both council members and residents.

However, without any official plans before the planning board, the township will have to wait to see what NYWW will seek to do with the facility. In the meantime, Weehawken residents are continuing to organize against the plans, seeking assistance from elected officials at the local, county and state levels.

Regardless of the plans, NYWW will have its work cut out for it, with memories of the battle in Hoboken fresh in residents’ minds as well as the ferry operator having recently been accused of dumping sewage into the Hudson River.

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

$19 million North Bergen community center and library nears completion

Hudson Reporter

November 25, 2021

12nblibrary02-1 — The outside facade of the library is coming together. Photos courtesy of the township

In North Bergen, the approximately $19 million under construction community center and library is nearing completion.

The Hudson Reporter spoke to Mayor Nicholas Sacco and Commissioner Hugo Cabrera about the ongoing project. Cabrera, who is the Parks and Public Property Commissioner in charge of recreation programs, is excited that the project was almost done.

“It’s going to be a library in the front, then towards the back of it, it’s going to be a recreation center,” he said. “We’re going to have basketball courts, we’re going to have a track which is actually overheard, and you’re going to be able to run and exercise. We’re also going to have on the rooftop, half of a field. It’s going to have grass and we’re going to be able to have kids practice upstairs for football and soccer, but on a smaller scale.”

‘Much-needed facility’

The recreation aspect of the facility is much-needed for such activities in the township.

“Usually, what happens is we bring a lot of the kids at practice for football or basketball, we have to drive them uptown,” Cabrera said. “We have a bus that goes down there and picks them up and takes them uptown. Now what we can do is have a lot of the practices down there for some of the teams that are mostly from the kids down in that area. Then when we have the games, we will drive them uptown. But we can also have games down there too. So it’ll make it a lot easier for football and soccer practice.”

While the project, much like everything these days, has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic but is finally nearing completion.

“COVID has delayed us a little bit, but if you drive by there now you’ll see that it’s already enclosed and they’re doing a lot of the work inside,” Cabrera said. “It’s been something that’s been needed down there for a long time. And it’s something we’re all excited about.”

The inside of the building is still coming along.

The project, first initiated in 2016, evolved from just a recreation and community center to eventually include a library as well.

“We had to put the money aside and then we added the library to it, which actually helped us and that’s why we were able to move it a lot quicker,” Cabrera said. “We’re hoping we can finish soon and get it up and running. We already have a lot of plans for it. It’s something that’s really needed downtown and it’s a nice addition for the town.”

‘Crown of downtown’

Mayor Nicholas Sacco called the under-construction facility a “crowing achievement” of projects in the downtown area.

“People who live in that section of town always felt that they were neglected, because almost all the other facilities were north of 32nd Street,” Sacco said. “Even though there were some like the 46th park and other area that were close by, they felt that they were being cut off. So we ultimately went down and we put in the park on Paterson Plank Road with a water park and a spray area. We are fixing the 10th Street Park. We planted trees. We helped businesses open downtown. But this is the crowning achievement.”

According to Sacco, the community center and library will be an asset to the area in a number of ways.

“We’re going to have a really nice facility,” he said. “It’s going to be a really wonderful addition to downtown. It has parking there that the neighborhood will be able to take advantage of on off hours. So it’s a really big asset to that area and it fulfills the commitment that we made to spend time analyzing that section of town to see what we could bring there… We were busing people up to events. Now they won’t need to bus there, they can have the events right in their own backyards.”

According to Sacco, the new library will not only offer reading materials and other support but also more space for community events, such as citizenship classes and other helpful initiatives.

“We began to do the renovations a number of year ago,” he said. “Right now we are in the midst of completing a new building that will really let the area know that we care.”

COVID-19 and supply chain delays

The North Bergen Community Center and Library project is up to a total cost of $19,081,595. At a meeting earlier in November, the board approved a change order to the contract for the construction of the facility with Joseph A. Natoli Construction Corp. for $185,671.

According to the change order, the expenses were due to material increases for the rooftop field turf system due to national and global price increases resulting from the ongoing supply chain issues. Additionally, it also provides for “enhanced material” for the vertical screening slats at the front and side of the facades of the building.

A rendering of the what the library will look like when completed.

The $185,671 brings the total amount that the contract has been increased by to $730,595. Township Spokesperson J.P. Escobar said that this is around a three percent change.

“Based on supply chain management that is going on all over the place, for any project to come in at less than five percent is ideal,” he said. “Three percent is a home run.”

Escobar said there were some delays due to COVID-19 that were unavoidable, but that timeline is still in place to open the facility next year.

“The contractor has been more than accommodating to try to meet the timelines, he said. “However, because of the pandemic, there were some unforeseen delays, but the goal is still to open it by 2022.”

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

North Bergen ordinance would limit number of cannabis licenses

Hudson Reporter

November 24, 2021

12nbboc02 — The North Bergen Board of Commissioners introduced the ordinance at the Nov. 23 meeting.

The North Bergen Board of Commissioners has introduced an ordinance that would amend the township’s pre-existing cannabis ordinance to further define regulations and restrictions.

The ordinance would amend the original ordinance adopted in July to: set forth specific provisions for cannabis microbusinesses; set additional limits on the number of cannabis businesses in the township; include medical cannabis related businesses within various requirements of the ordinance; and provide additional factors to be considered by the Cannabis Committee in evaluating cannabis business applications.

In order to operate any cannabis business in North Bergen, an entity would first need permits or licenses from both the state and township. The township would issue its license, valid for one year, through the Cannabis Committee consisting of the Township Administrator, Chief of Police, and the Director of Community Improvement, or their designees.

Including microbusinesses

Township Counsel Tom Kobin described the changes being made to the original ordinance at the Nov. 23 meeting.

“When we adopted the initial cannabis ordinance back in July, it focused on exclusively adult use,” Kobin said. “So we are going to allow two adult use dispensaries, retail establishments. They are going to be allowed along Tonnelle Avenue, one uptown and one downtown.”

According to the ordinance, there would still be only two township-issued licenses issued to cannabis retailers, defined as establishments where “cannabis items and related supplies are sold to consumers.” But now microbusinesses and medical cannabis dispensaries will count toward the two-retailer limit.

“One of the things that came up is we didn’t define how we’re going to handle microbusinesses,” he said. “Those are smaller operations with a smaller number of employees, 2,500 sqaure feet or less. People were asking if that was considered one of the two adult-use retail places, things like that. So one of the changes we made is to say that if we have a microbusiness, it counts against the cap of authorized licenses.”

One retailer would be located north of 43rd and the other south of it. They cannot be within 1,000 feet of each other nor within the range of any school.

Limiting the number of licenses

“We didn’t put any restrictions on the number of cultivators, distributors, and wholesalers that were going to be allowed,” he said. “We did bar delivery services from their brick and mortar locations in North Bergen, but otherwise we didn’t have cap on the number of cultivators. We did bar, in the initial ordinance, cannabis consumption, which is still the case.”

The new ordinance would limit licenses for cannabis cultivators, distributors, manufacturers, and wholesalers permitted in the township’s industrial districts. There will be three licenses issued for each type, with one of each being a microbusiness.

“We want to make sure we proceed cautiously, with baby steps, with respect to the cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors,” he said. “We want to put a cap on those. So what this amendment does is it allows up to three of each of those categories, one of them being a microbusiness.”

Under the ordinance, microbusinesses would not be permitted to expand to a standard license. Medical cannabis cultivators or wholesalers would be permitted and also count toward the three-license limit for each type.

“We needed to handle medical cannabis licenses,” he said. “That wasn’t part of the original ordinance. So if there’s a medical license issued, zoning-wise it will be in the same zones. Medical dispensaries would be located in the Tonnelle Avenue corridor, same zone as the adult-use retail. Medical cultivators and manufacturers would be located in the industrial zone, just like the adult-use. And if there’s a medical license, it counts against our cap.”

More changes ahead?

Cannabis delivery services and consumption areas are still prohibited. In total, there would be 14 establishments including two retailers, three cultivators, three wholesalers, three manufacturers, and three distributors.

“We’re being cautious,” Mayor Nicholas Sacco said. “Many municipalities have turned down any cannabis use in their town, any retail, or growing, or cultivating. So it’s 70 percent out. We are one of the 30 percent that are in. I think it’s something that is the right thing to do. It’s allowed in New Jersey, and we should at least reap the benefits financially of having it in our borders.”

Kobin agreed with Sacco that the ordinance will likely be amended again in the future: “We will see how we go with these caps and how things play out… How this stuff plays out, and the questions that are coming up, it’s all brand new.”

A public hearing for the ordinance will be held at the next North Bergen Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. at Town Hall at 4233 Kennedy Boulevard. For more information, go to northbergen.org and click the event on the calendar webpage.

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

Union City to allow early voting for May municipal election

Hudson Reporter

November 24, 2021

12ucboc02 — The Union City Board of Commissioners adopted the ordinance on Nov. 23. Photo by Daniel Israel

The Union City Board of Commissioners has adopted an ordinance that allows for early voting for the upcoming May 2022 municipal election.

At the Nov. 23 board meeting at the Academy for Advancement and Enrichment, Mayor Brian Stack explained the ordinance. According to Stack, the early voting rolled out by the state this past November was only for the General Election.

“I was very proud to vote for that legislation in the [state] senate,” said Stack, who is also the state senator for the 33rd Legislative District which includes Union City. “We just had early voting in the November election in Union City, which was nine days.”

However, if municipalities wanted to have early voting for the upcoming municipal election, under the state law they could pass an ordinance to do so. And after the good turnout in Union City in November, Stack looks to repeat that success.

High early voter turnout

“It really has worked wonders to build up participation and the residents coming out to vote,” he said. “We saw residents come out to vote who had not come out to vote in a long time.”

Even though there was vote-by-mail and extended Election Day voting hours from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., early voting really made the difference, according to Stack.

“These additional nine days allowed, in addition to vote-by-mail, 3,156 people to vote early in Union City,” he said. “It was placed in the middle of the city on 27th Street. The most amount of people were coming from that area. So I hope we can expand that and have more residents come out to vote.”

Stack will likely seek reelection in May for another four years as Mayor, what would be his sixth term. He said that early voting benefits everyone, and applauded its expanding use.

“Speaking as someone who seeks election, maybe everyone who comes out to vote doesn’t vote for myself or the commissioners, but participation is important in the political process,” he said. “I appreciate the fact that early voting is now pouring out.”

Minor differences

The difference between the early voting in the 2022 municipal election and the recent early voting is that in May, there will be less days to vote.

“Unfortunately, there will only be three days, according to the state law,” he said. “So it would be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, prior to the Tuesday municipal election.”

Stack hoped that the early voting would bring out even more residents this time. And to help ensure that, he said there would likely be more than just one early voting site in May, possibly up to five sites in the city.

Additionally, according to the ordinance, the early voting will use electronic poll books and optical scan voting machines, or other machines that produce a verifiable paper ballot.

The board voted unanimously to approve the ordinance. The next Union City Board of Commissioners meeting is at 7 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Colin Powell Elementary School at 1500 New York Avenue. For more information, go to ucnj.com and click on the event on the calendar webpage.

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