Secaucus repeals plastic bag ban following new state law

May 25, 2022

Secaucus has officially repealed its single-use plastic carry out bag ban, although the move follows the state of New Jersey’s ban and only seeks to remove the now-superfluous ordinance.

The town was one of the first in Hudson County to enact a ban in 2019 when it first adopted its ordinance prohibiting the use of single-use plastic carry out bags in retail establishments and promoting the use of reusable carry out bags to reduce plastic pollution.

Now Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Secaucus Town Council have determined that the ordinance should be repealed as current laws and regulations have been enacted by the state address this. The state’s new law took effect on May 4, and includes a ban on polystyrene foam food service products and mandates plastic straws by-request-only on top of banning single-use plastic carry out bags.

According to the ordinance, the council will now support the new law through the education of local businesses and residents and enforcement efforts. As a certified Sustainable Jersey community, the town strives to promote environmentally-friendly practices and sustainable growth through a variety of initiatives.

The council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance repealing its single-use plastic carry out bag ban ordinance. After the meeting, Town Administrator Gary Jeffas confirmed the ordinance was being repealed since it was now trumped by the state law.

“We did ours a couple of years ago,” Jeffas said. “So now the state’s takes over.”

Read the ordinance online at: secaucusnj.gov/government/meeting-documents/2022-mayor-council-meeting-documents/2022-agendas-mayor-council/981-05-24-2022-mayor-council-meeting-agenda/file.

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 introduces 2022 calendar year budget

Hudson Reporter

May 18, 2022

05secbudget26 — The Secaucus Town Council meets in person in the council chambers nearly twice each month.

Secaucus has introduced its 2022 calendar year budget. This year’s budget totals $64,203,932.17.

The Secaucus Town Council voted unanimously to introduce the roughly $64 million budget at its May 10 meeting. The public hearing on the budget will be on June 28 at 7 p.m. in the municipal chambers of Town Hall at 1203 Paterson Plank Road in Secaucus. For more information, go to secaucusnj.gov.

Town still coping with revenue loss

Following the introduction of the budget, Town Administrator Gary Jeffas broke down budget in an interview with the Hudson Reporter. Jeffas said the council can now adjust the budget if they so choose.

“Our budget is introduced, so it goes to the council now,” Jeffas said. “It’s their budget now and if they want to cut anything else from it they can.”

According to Jeffas, the town is still coping with revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, like last year, the town will use $1,145,754.33, the other half of its $2,291,508.66 total American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. Previously, the town applied the first half, $1,145,754.33, to the 2021 budget back in October.

“We are going to use our American Rescue Plan funds for revenue losses from our hotel tax and our parking lot taxes,” Jeffas said. “Those revenues were hit hard. So we are using those funds in this year’s budget.”

Small tax increase incoming?

Jeffas said there would likely be a tax increase this year, although that isn’t set in stone as the council is now reviewing it.

“There is going to be a tax increase, but that’s not finalized because now the budget goes to the council,” Jeffas said. “They need to look at it, and determine if there’s anything else they want to cut or change. I think there will definitely be a small tax increase. And most of that is related to COVID-19, contractual salary increases, and increases in our health insurance.”

Overall, Jeffas said the town was in a good position all things considered.

“The budget looks pretty good so far for this year,” Jeffas said. “As of now, the final number won’t be set until they hold the budget hearing and adopt it.”

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 reopens refurbished McEldowney Field

Hudson Reporter

May 17, 2022

05wnypark26 — An aerial view of the upgraded park, via the Town of West New York.

West New York has officially reopened Patricia McEldowney Field following recent renovations. Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez, Commissioner Cosmo Cirillo, and Commissioner Victor Barrera among other officials joined residents and local youth to cut the ribbon on the refurbished park.

“We are happy to welcome everybody back to McEldowney Field,” Rodriguez said in a video put out by the town commemorating the reopening.

Rodriguez touted the upgrades to the park, the highlight of which includes a new baseball and softball field. Two new mini-soccer fields are incorporated into the design, with of them being for toddlers.

“As you can see, we revamped the field,” Rodriguez said. “It is brand new for your children and your enjoyment.”

In addition to the field after which the park is named after seeing a makeover, the adjacent courts also got a facelift.

“We’ve got new tennis courts and new pickleball courts all for you guys,” Rodriguez said.

There were also additional lighting, security, and fencing components constructed at the park. Meanwhile, the skate park at McEldowney Field was refurbished and outfitted with modern features in 2021.

Rodriguez encouraged residents to take advantage of the upgraded amenities now available to the public. The park is located off of Boulevard East near 62nd Street, with two pedestrian walkways leading down to the amenities on the Palisades cliffs.

“Come on down and enjoy the new field,” Rodriguez said. “It is open and ready.”

The park’s reopening marks the completion of three-pronged parks plan including the renovation of Miller Stadium and Centennial Field as well as McEldowney Field. Meanwhile, the town is moving forward with several other park renovations, outside of recreational fields, with estimated completion for many projects estimated to occur in 2022 and 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 [email protected].

Union City man arrested for sexual assault of 12-year-old girl

Hudson Reporter

May 16, 2022

05ucassault26 — Hermes Navarro-Cuevas, image via Prosecutor's Office

A Union City man has been arrested for sexually assaulting a minor, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Following an investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit (SVU), Hermes Navarro-Cuevas, a 26-year-old of Union City, was arrested on charges relating to the aggravated sexual assault of an underage girl.

The crimes occurred in January and February of this year when the victim was 12-years-old. The victim was known to the defendant.

On Friday, May 13, at approximately 12:40 a.m., Navarro-Cuevas was arrested by members of Homeland Security Investigations at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark.

He was turned over to members of the SVU and then remanded to the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny pending his first court appearance.

The Prosecutor’s Office has filed a detention motion which is tentatively scheduled to be heard on May 18. Navarro-Cuevas has been charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault, a first-degree crime; Sexual Assault by Contact; a second- degree crime; and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a third-
degree crime.

Following his arrest, SVU Detectives discovered that Navarro-Cuevas has an outstanding criminal warrant out of North Carolina for an armed robbery that occurred in the town of Holly Springs. He was additionally charged as a Fugitive from Justice.

The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the SVU and the Union City Police Department with the investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, the Port Authority Police Department and the Special Victims Unit with the arrest.

Anyone wishing to report a sex crime should call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 201-915-1234.

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].

Turner considers what’s next for Weehawken

Hudson Reporter

May 13, 2022

Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner recently sailed to victory in the May 10 municipal election, continuing his service to the township than began in 1990.

Entering his ninth term, Turner described upcoming initiatives to the Hudson Reporter. He said it was reaffirming to not face any challengers.

“Who knows what factors go into people not running,” Turner said. “But I think it’s an affirmation that people, or most people at least, believe that the town’s moving in the right direction. We just went through some difficult two years.”

Despite the trials and tribulations of COVID-19, Turner is proud of the township’s response and thinks residents agree.

“I think people are pleased with our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with testing and vaccinations,” Turner said. “We’ve been able to keep our municipal services going like all other towns around us. I think there’s a realization too that it’s not easy and it’s time consuming.”

And while everyone might not agree with the Turner or the township on everything, such as their rejection of the proposed protected bike lane on Boulevard East, Turner said he tries to work with everyone.

“While we run across people that have problems or don’t like something, we try to deal with them,” Turner said. “We can’t always agree with everybody, but we try and deal with it the best way we can. And I think there’s an appreciation for that.”

Early voting

This was the first time early voting was available in a municipal election in Weehawken. However, only 64 early votes were cast.

Turner said it shouldn’t be considered a case study on early voting in the township, considering the nature of the days early voting was available. The poor conditions and holiday weekend may have contributed to the low turnout for early voting.

“It’s not a good test case because it was a lousy weekend,” Turner said. “Friday it was rainy, cold, damp, and windy. Saturday, it was even rainier, damp, and windy. Then Sunday was Mother’s Day. So it’s not a really good test.”

However, Turner expects early voting to be utilized by more residents in future elections.

“I think there will be other opportunities, since early voting is part of the system now, to have a better test of it. But when you’re uncontested and you have really lousy weather, people are not going to come out to vote early. Tuesday was a nice day, so people came out and voted on that day.”

Plans in the pipeline

Turner touted a number of projects the township is going to move forward with in his upcoming term. The first he mentioned was an overhaul of Park Avenue.

“We’ve applied for a federal grant, I don’t know if we’re going to get it or not, to start improvements to Park Avenue,” Turner said. “The first thing we’re going to do is all our traffic lights. They are all antiquated on Park Avneue. There is a joint Union City-Weehawken road. The traffic lights are all antiquated. It’s getting harder and harder to find parts to fix them. So we’ve applied for a grant to start refurbishing Park Avenue with new traffic lights. Then we’ll go from there to sidewalks, curbs, and paving.”

Another thing Turner looks to accomplish in his next term is the completion of the municipal waterfront recreation complex.

“We’re going to have some form of an ice skating rink,” Turner said. “I don’t think it will be as elaborate as we first proposed because that cost much more money than we had available.“

Other aspects of the complex include a bridge connecting the waterfront walkways over a lagoon, among other things.

“Then we have other amenities on the side and a bridge connecting one side of the lagoon to the other,” Turner said. “We have funds for a bridge that’s connected to that.”

He continued: “The ice skating rink is a bit reduced. We have to fix the rip rap around it, so we got a lot of construction work to do around the pool complex, but that’s a major goal.”

Those are the final touches on the complex, otherwise, Turner noted. He touted the project as being a gem on the Hudson River.

“That will complete over 15 acres of contiguous passive and active recreation, which is the biggest waterfront park recreation site in Hudson County other than Liberty State Park,” Turner said. “It’s a mammoth undertaking.”

Electrifying the fleet

One of the other initiatives Turner is eyeing is the adoption of electric vehicle parking spaces to support the electrification of the municipal fleet, including for the Police Department, the Department of Public Works, and other such vehicles.

“One of our big new initiatives is going to be getting electric charging stations where we can, electrifying more of our fleet for municipal vehicles, police, and the DPW,” Turner said. “We’re looking to buy some electric vehicles for the Parking Authority. That’s a major initiative, switching over from the diesel to electric. And it’s expensive, but everything from police cars to traffic enforcement to DPW to garbage trucks, you get everything electric and there’s grants out there to do it, so we’re going to make a major initiative of electrifying our fleet and also providing electric charging stations throughout the township.”

For residents, Turner said that means working with redevelopers to include electric vehicle parking spaces in their new projects.

“As construction takes place, we have a private construction project in front of the Waterfront Park and we’re going to work with the developer to put in place some charging stations down there, which would be a big help,” Turner said.

And according to Turner, the initiative is already somewhat in motion with the acquisition of electric and gasoline hybrid vehicles.

“We’ve purchased our first police vehicles that are hybrid,” Turner said. “At least with the hybrid, you’re getting 40 to 50 miles a gallon, as opposed to a regular police car which probably gets 15 or 18 miles a gallon at best.”

Other upcoming initiatives

“Refurbishing Park Avenue, finishing the recreation complex, and electrifying the fleet and providing charging stations are the larger initiatives,” Turner said. “The smaller ones are our playgrounds need some repairs and revamping, doing some intersection improvements where we can do them. That’s some ongoing stuff that’s been postponed for two years.”

Turner also said he looks to start the refurbishing of a lot of playgrounds, which was not possible over the last two years due to COVID-19. He also noted the township recently renovated Weehawken Stadium, too.

“We just put artificial turf after 12 years,” Turner said. “New artificial turf will be at Weehawken Stadium. So we’re applying for a number of grants for a lot of things.”

The new police annex is another thing stalled by COVID-19 that the township is looking to complete.

“There’s a police annex we’re going to open up and it’s held up because we can’t get the computer chips to make everything work,” Turner said. “So we’re waiting on the computer chips to come in.

Turner said he was excited to get things moving again with the council.

“We’ve made a lot of progress. When most of us first got elected, we had 10 acres of recreation and park space. We now have over 50 acres. We’ve created new parks and playgrounds throughout the township. We mandated the waterfront walkway even before the state mandated it… One of the other things we want to do is continue the cooperative relations with the school system. We have a great school system and we work together on everything. The town complements what the school system does.”

Guiding the township, steadfast and steady

Moving into the future, Turner seeks to keep the progress up in Weehawken as the world continues to navigate through the pandemic. He and his council slate will be sworn in on July 1.

Turner concluded: “It’s all part of the country catching up to everything that was stalled for two years under COVID-19.”

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 enters shared services agreement with library

Hudson Reporter

May 13, 2022

05weecouncil19 — The Weehawken Township Council meets in-person and remotely every other week.

The Township Council has voted unanimously to enter into a shared services agreement with the Weehawken Public Library. Mayor Richard Turner explained that the agreement loaned the library the services of the township’s labor attorney. The idea is to help the library as it overhauls Human Resources.

“The library has to update all their HR materials,” Turner said. “So we’re going to loan them the services without any extra costs of the town labor attorney.”

The rather dry meeting was mostly taken up by a Rent Leveling Board meeting, which is the same as the Township Council. However, of note, the council also approved a resolution to accept a $1,349 in grant funds.

The township council voted to accept the Weehawken Municipal Alliance grant. According to Turner, it’s for the Weehawken’s D.A.R.E. program.

The council voted unanimously to approve both resolutions. The next Weehawken council meeting will be held on May 25 at 7 p.m. both in person and with remote viewing options. For more information, go to weehawken-nj.us.

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].

Appointments and other items make up Jersey City Council meeting

Hudson Reporter

May 12, 2022

The Jersey City Council had a grab bag of resolutions at their May 11 meeting. Photo by Mark Koosau.

The Jersey City Council has passed a number of resolutions for various items, including promoting the assistant business administrator to a new role, making appointments for the Women’s Advisory Board, and sponsoring a state bill for a reparations task force.

The first order of the May 11 meeting was the council unanimously appointing Assistant Business Administrator Barkha Patel as the director of the new Department of Infrastructure, which was created at the last city council meeting as part of the reshuffling of departments.

“I feel really honored and excited to take on this new job,” said Patel. “I just want to say that the job has been unbelievably fulfilling, and I’ve enjoyed so many aspects of it. I couldn’t have done it without the support and respect of all of you and everyone in the room here today.”

Mayor Steven Fulop was there to subsequently swear in Patel to her new role. “At the end of the day, it really is the woman’s perspective that drives the day to day operations of Jersey City, and it really is a privilege to be here to swear you in to be part of that group of distinguished women,” he said.

Barkha Patel was appointed as the city’s new director of the Department of Infrastructure. Photo by Mark Koosau.

The council then unanimously voted to appoint 11 women to the newly created Women’s Advisory Board, which was established to “help women improve the status of women in Jersey City and create awareness of women’s issues within the city,” and will advise the mayor and council on women’s issues and recommend policy and guidelines.

The 11 women appointed were Bishnu Maya Pariyar, Alice O’Kane, Sherry Singh, Tami Weaver-Henry, Chelsea Duffy, Ann Andrews, Nokeima Jones, Eiko La Boria, Terri Reynolds Hinton, Xiomara Gonzalez and Neida Rivera.

“This is just a testament, and I’m saying again, to who we are as a city,” said Council President Joyce Watterman, who became the city’s first ever female Black council president back in 2019. “We are diverse, and it’s so important for us to unite and work together to bring diversity closer.”

The council unanimously passed a resolution to authorize the sale of a combined total of $125,870,000 in general improvement bonds. Last month, the council adopted a $131 million bond ordinance for a number of capital projects such as the Loews’ Theatre, building new police precincts, and other infrastructure projects.

They also unanimously passed a resolution to endorse the passage of the New Jersey Reparations Task Force Act, a bill in the State Legislature that would create a committee of experts to review the state’s history of slavery and systemic racism and recommend reparations for Black communities that were affected.

Councilman Frank Gilmore said that the Reparations Task Force Act is “the right thing to do.” Photo by Mark Koosau.

“If you looked at this country in how many families gain wealth, you can clearly see it was on the backs of Black/African American people,” said Councilman Frank Gilmore, who is Black. “In fact, even with reparations, we’re still gonna be at a disadvantage, so this is just something that’s the right thing to do.”

Councilman Yousef Saleh also said that as the new generation, they have to atone for the past, and pointed to past precedence for reparations such as for Japanese Americans after the interment camps during World War II.

“In order for us to not just have equality, but to give Black citizens of this country a opportunity to thrive like any other demographic, it’s incumbent upon us to do what is right, to look back on the past and say we’ve learned as a generation that we’re going to perpetually work towards making this country a more perfect union.”

Jersey City joins other municipalities such as Newark and Montclair that have supported the act.

For updates on this and other stories, check hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at [email protected] or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.

North Bergen adopts 2022 budget totaling over $106 million

Hudson Reporter

May 12, 2022

05nbBoC19 — The North Bergen Board of Commissioners meet in the council chambers at Town Hall at 4233 Kennedy Boulevard. Photo by Daniel Israel.

North Bergen’s Board of Commissioners has voted unanimously to adopt the 2022 calendar year budget.The budget already had state approval.

At the May 11 meeting, Township Administrator Janet Castro gave a budget presentation. According to Castro, the township is doing “fairly well” all things considered.

“We have a fairly stable budget this year,” Castro said.

The 2022 budget totals $106,036,919. This is a $4,669,007 or 4.6 percent increase from the $101,367,912 budget in 2021, which was the first year the budget topped $100 million.

The tax levy will be raised by $68,659,987, this is just shy of the $70,896,726 maximum that is allowed. In total the tax levy in the 2022 budget is $2,236,739.

The appropriations in the budget total $76,645,570, below the $78,490,239 maximum that is allowed. The remaining $1,844,669 under is available for the 2023 budget appropriations.

The number of township employees has risen to 557. This is an increase from 545 in 2021 and 540 in 2020.

Revenues recovering, but still down due to COVID-19

Revenues have been down the past two years, with a revenue loss of $1,821,100 in 2020 and a much smaller $298,636 loss in 2021. However, actual revenues only dipped from $99,729,655 in 2019, to $97,987,995 in 2020. By 2021, actual revenues were back up to $101,069,276.

“On the revenue side, we are still being impacted by COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, but less of an impact in 2021,” Castro said. “That was primarily the hotel tax and municipal court losses. Those were big contributors to that revenue loss.”

Mayor Nicholas Sacco noted that nobody was traveling and staying in hotels, and that police weren’t giving as many tickets amid the stay-at-home order. Castro confirmed this, noting: “We were at a standstill.”

North Bergen continues to maintain a “steady and effective” tax collection rate, Castro said. This year, the township hit 98.89 percent of taxes collected, the highest-ever in its history.

“That’s a pretty historic number,” Castro said. “Best-ever in the history of North Bergen.”

Revenues from payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreements continue to increase, up to a total of $4,557,000 in the 2022 budget from $4,193,630 in 2021. Since 2016, the PILOT revenues have increased by $1,886,000 or 71 percent, from $2,671,000 to the now $4,557,000.

The township is also no longer reliant on debt issuance for tax appeals. The total budget appropriations for tax appeals is down to $290,000, a decrease of $400,000 or 58 percent from $690,000 in 2021. And that is a decrease of $870,000 or 75 percent from $1,160,000 in 2017.

Surplus up, Moody’s rating remains the same, and property taxes down

The year end surplus balance from 2021 was $17,187,945. This is an increase from the $12,866,281 at the end of 2020, which only slightly decreased form the surplus of $13,584,027 in 2019.

The township holds a Moody’s Analytics Rating is at Aa2, the highest possible rating according to Castro. This rating led to a successful bond and note sale even amid inflation rates of 7.5 to 8 percent.

“We had a successful bond and note sale with ten bidders and competitive interest,” Castro said.

The local property tax levy has increased to $71,200,000 for 2022, up from $70,087,260 in 2021.

However, the local tax rate has decreased from 27.31 to 7.28 percent, due to the 2022 property tax revaluation in North Bergen. After the math, that is akin to a 7.43 percent decrease, which translates to the average homeowner seeing a decrease in property taxes by $280.

“With the reval, some will go up though,” Sacco said, noting some residents would see an increase in payment as a result of the revaluation of their property. Castro agreed, noted that the $280 was the average decrease and that some residents would actually receive an increase.

State aid remains flat, according to Castro, which Sacco called “discouraging.” The township hasn’t seen an increase in 16 years. In fact, prior to it remaining the same since 2011, state aid had decreased each year leading up to that since 2006. The decrease in state aid from $13,713,330 in 2006 to $7,185,597 in 2022 is akin to a 47.6 decrease.

Departmental highlights

Castro also highlighted programs across different township departments that were also funded by the budget.

In terms of programs being operated by Public Affairs, COVID-19 testing and vaccination centers are still available.

“The state has renewed their grants to continue with the vaccination center over at 92nd and Kennedy with that medical facility,” Castro said, touting the partnership.

The NB C.A.R.E.S. relief center is complete and in operation. North Bergen’s Senior Program is included as well, this year featuring a bingo luncheon program, free movie program, free medical transportation, mall shopping trips, and Yankee game trips, among others. The Summer Health and Green Fair family festival was also highlighted during the budget presentation.

“The family festival is returning after a three year hiatus,” Castro said. “That’s going to be in June.”

Over at Parks and Recreation, highlights include the new community center and library facility which officials anticipate will be completed this summer, as well as plans to renovate 46th Street Park which are underway.

“We had a whole lot of challenges we’ve endured, like supply chain issues, but we’re expecting August,” Castro said of when construction will complete on the new community center and library.

Other department initiatives

Additionally, the municipal pool is set to open for the summer, adhering to COVID-19 guidelines, as well as the Summer Fun program and drive-in movies, on top of many other events.

In terms of programs operated under Public Works, up to 20 various streets will be paved, the Graffiti Removal Squad is active with full gear and enhanced equipment. Pothole crews have also been back in action since April; to report a pothole, call the hotline at 201-440-7263.

For the Public Safety Department, the budget supports a full complement of 146 sworn officers. In terms of new initiatives, CCTV cameras are going to be installed in various township parks, and the township will also retrofit a U.S. military-donated trailer to become a mobile command center.

The township’s fleet saw upgrades to the tune of a new EMS ambulance, three marked police vehicles, one street sweeper for the DPW, and two pick-up trucks for the maintenance of parks.

“I think we’re doing fairly well,” Castro said.

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 launches Small Business Grant Program

Hudson Reporter

May 12, 2022

05wnygrant19 — West New York is looking to help small businesses with the new program.

West New York has launched a grant program to support small businesses. The town will accept applications through June 3 for their Small Business Grant Program. Awards of up to $5,000 per business may be granted.

Do you qualify?

In order to qualify, businesses must be owned by an individual, partnership, corporation, or limited liability company that is up-to-date with all federal and state payroll, sales, and income taxes; must be located in West New York and registered with NJ Department of Treasury; and have no more than 25 full time employees.

Applicants must also be able to certify that their business was negatively impacted by COVID-19 because of partial closure, full closure, or major disruption to business operations. The business must also be open at the time of application and make a “good faith effort” to remain so for at least 12 months after grant receipt.

Applicants must also disclose whether they have previously received COVID-19 relief funds from any other county, state, federal, or private sector program. Non-profit organizations, real estate holding companies, home-based businesses and businesses behind on their federal tax payments are not eligible for this grant.

For more information on the program or to apply, small business can call 201-295-5100

Helping small businesses in wake of COVID-19

The program aims to alleviate the financial hardships placed on many local small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez.

“The last couple years have not been easy for our small businesses and this grant program seeks to help ease some of the financial burdens affecting our small business owners.” said Rodriguez. “Small businesses are vital to our community and we want to encourage every eligible business to apply for this grant program.”

The West New York Board of Commissioners first adopted a resolution in March authorizing a contract to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to establish the program. However, the commissioners approved another resolution in April rescinding that one and authorizing a contract for “extraordinary unspecifiable services” to establish the Small Business Grant Program using the ARP funds.

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].

Jersey City Planning Board approves Exchange Place Plaza redesign

Hudson Reporter

May 11, 2022

05jcexchange19_1 — The board reversed their decision after having previously cited concerns over potential obstruction of the Katyn Memorial. Image via Melillo ▪ Bauer ▪ Carman in planning board application.

In a reversal from two weeks ago, the Jersey City Planning Board has voted to approve the Exchange Place redesign and ruled that the overall plans are consistent with the city’s Master Plan.

The change in the board’s decision comes as the Exchange Place Alliance is looking to redesign the plaza, and after the board unanimously voted not to recommend the designs at their previous meeting on April 26.

The concerns from the board at the time came from the potential obstruction of the Katyn Memorial, where it’s proposed to have a semi-circular bench on the west side of the statue. A number of residents, including those from the Polish American community, had voiced their opposition to it’s obstruction.

The statue commemorates the 1940 massacre of more than 22,000 Polish soldiers and prisoners of war by the Soviet Union, and was planned for relocation four years ago to make way for renovations in the plaza until being called off following a backlash to the plan.

At the board’s meeting last night, Donald Pepe, who spoke on behalf of the Exchange Place Alliance, had filed a motion to reconsider, according to board counsel Santo Alampi, and that Pepe was not asking to present any other evidence or testimony.

“My point was I think that a lot of the vote that took place at the last hearing was related to design elements, specifically related to the Katyn Monument, and didn’t really get to the heart of the issue, which was [if] the plan [was] consistent with the Master Plan for Jersey City,” said Pepe.

Alampi later explained that the plan was under a Section 31 review, meaning that it’s a courtesy review on whether or not the plan was consistent, and that the applicants can go ahead with their plans no matter what the board says.

Chairman Christopher Langston, who had voted for not recommending the redesigns at the previous meeting, said that his comments back then “may be more appropriate for a site plan review rather than a Section 31 review.”

He later said that while he did have some reservations about some of the design elements, he said that the park does comply with the Master Plan. “Maybe I led the board astray with my design element concerns at the last hearing,” he said.

“I hope that your clients will look at the comments that were made by the public and adjust them, but my vote is aye for this project,” added Commissioner Joey Torres.

The board voted 5-0 to recommend the redesigns, with Council President Joyce Watterman recusing herself, as she is the City Council representative on the Exchange Place Alliance.

“We appreciate the Planning Board’s serious consideration and resulting clarification,” said EPA Executive Director Elizabeth Cain in a statement. “We are very excited to move forward with Exchange Place Plaza which will add greater vibrancy to the waterfront and become a community hub.”

Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said that the vote is “great news and will be a much-improved park for all of Jersey City as it will make Exchange Place a more aesthetic and beautiful public space.”

“The plaza will significantly improve residents’ and visitors’ experience along the waterfront while making infrastructure updates and creating public space designed to safely host large community events,” she said.

For updates on this and other stories, check hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at [email protected] or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.