Mayor Nicholas Sacco and North Bergen officials swear in four new police officers on Jan. 26.
The North Bergen Board of Commissioners has introduced an ordinance that would amend the hiring practices for entry-level law enforcement officers, essentially making it easier to become a police officer.
According to the ordinance, the hiring practices of the township are governed by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission and the New Jersey Administrative Code. On Feb. 4, 2021, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law amending the Civil Service Act to permit municipalities to hire police officers who have not taken the civil service law enforcement examination, but are otherwise qualified.
New hiring practices for entry-level officers
“That allowed towns to hire police officers, even if they hadn’t taken the civil service exam, provided they take a course that is known as the full Basic Police Course for Police Officers,” Township Counsel Tom Kobin said at the Jan. 26 meeting.
Under the new state law, which took effect in August of 2021, hiring authorities will be permitted to appoint candidates who have successfully completed a full Basic Police Course for Police Officers training course at a school approved and authorized by the New Jersey Police Training Commission.
“So if someone had taken that course, we can hire them even though they didn’t take the civil service exam,” Kobin said.
According to the ordinance, the township and police department are in compliance with the law’s requirements to have adopted conflict of interest and nepotism policies. The township is seeking to enact this new police officer hiring option “for the health and safety of its residents, to fill critical positions, and to further enhance the North Bergen Police Department’s existing diversity.”
New law amended recently
According to Kobin, in Jan. 18, 2022, the legislature amended the law, and opened it up to include other positions.
“Last week, they modified that law in a couple ways,” Kobin said. “They opened it up to sheriff’s officers, to corrections officers, county police, and other law enforcement. The other thing they did is they said that we can hire officers before they take that course that’s approved by the state police commission.”
Under the amended law, Kobin said that the township can hire officers prior to them taking the full Basic Police Course for Police Officers. They would be temporary employees standing for the force with pay. Then, when they complete the course, if they meet all other requirements, the township can convert them to a permanent employee.
However, the amended law doesn’t kick in until later in the year. So the ordinance will phase in when it becomes effective, according to Kobin.
“The law passed last week doesn’t become effective until six months from now,” Kobin said. “So the ordinance we’re introducing we’ve got to consider and incorporate into it, the new law.”
‘More reflective of the community’
Mayor Nicholas Sacco said the ordinance aims to help the police department better represent residents.
“The genesis of the law is to make the force more reflective of the community,” Sacco said.
According to Sacco, the township already has a residency requirement for the police force. However, North Bergen is looking to bring more residents onto the force “without having to go through the strenuous test,” he said, adding that it would be on a case-by-case basis.
“We’re pretty diverse as it is right now,” Sacco said. “This doesn’t hurt us, it helps us.”
“I think it’ll help us tremendously,” Police Chief Peter Fasilis added.
The ordinance will be up for a public hearing and vote at the next meeting of the North Bergen Board of Commissioners. The commissioners will meet next on Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Municipal Building at 4233 Kennedy Boulevard. For more information, go to northbergen.org and click on the link 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].
A rendering of the planned playground for Washington Park in West New York.
West New York is planning an ambitious program of park renovations throughout 2022 and 2023.
Special Projects Manager Jonathan Castaneda laid out the new and ongoing initiatives during the Capital Plan Midterm Review for capital projects, including the park upgrades at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Jan. 12. Castaneda said the town has been proud to renovate parks, working to increase the total available parkland open space for residents.
“We fixed about 75 percent of our available open space, with renovations that have a direct impact on not just the lives of our residents, but most importantly, the lives of our youth.”
According to Castaneda, the town has replaced all of the backboards on all of the town’s basketball courts and is working to fix the playground surfacing of some parks. While some of the commissioners on the board had considered these upgrades during the administration of former Mayor Dr. Felix Roque, they did not move forward until Rodriguez came to power, he said.
“In the past, these projects had been at the forefront of Mayor Rodriguez, Commissioner [Margarita] Guzman, and the Board of Commissioners,” Castaneda said. “But we’ve only had the ability to tackle this due to the support of the governing body over the course of the last two years.”
Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez said that the COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of things on hold that are now kicking back into gear.
“We have been very, very patient in wanting to do some of these projects that have been put on pause, obviously due to the pandemic,” Rodriguez said. “But now that things are moving forward, and we’re starting a new calendar year, I am happy to come share our plans with the community.”
Miller Park
Miller Park, located on Jackson Street across from Miller Stadium, is slated for an overhaul. The commissioners introduced an ordinance that would bond $2 million toward the second phase of the project.
“It is the largest park in town by far, and one of the largest municipal owned parks in the county,” Castaneda said. “It is in complete disrepair.”
The overhauled park will include a special needs playground area, something Castaneda said is new to the town, a passive green open space, a dog park, a mini-soccer field, and security upgrades. He estimates the project to complete in September of this year.
Some residents and members of the public, such as Hailey Benson of NB Earth Talks, urged the town to establish a community garden as well as compost bins: “North Bergen’s compost bins has diverted over a ton of food waste since the beginning of August.” She added that in addition to the compost bins in Braddock Park, North Bergen is contemplating a community garden as well: “It’s a really great opportunity for West New York.”
In response to the requests for a community garden, Castaneda announced that plans for Miller Park include a community garden. While there are no plans for compost bins, the town redirected Benson to discuss the topic further with Environmental Co-ordinator Rosemarie Suarez.
West New York’s plan for Washington Park.
Washington Park and Weigand Park
According to Castaneda, the town has been working to renovate Washington Park, located between 66th Street and 67th Street and Palisade Avenue and Hudson Avenue.
“Weve been working very hard to get this to a point of construction and we’re very very soon nearing that juncture,” he said.
The initial design includes a general maintenance, improvements to the retaining wall, a conversion of the playground to the north to a turf half soccer field, and a conversion of the southern playground and expansion of that playground to where the water features are outlaid.
“The water features have been defunct for over 10 years and we’re very excited to get this project going,” Castaneda said.
Between the water park and the playground, there will be a rock climbing feature. Castaneda said the project is estimated to be completed spring of 2023. The introduced ordinance would bond $3,812,036 toward the renovations with $537,964 covered by Green Acres funds.
Castaneda added that Weigand Park will also be getting an upgrade. Weigand Park is a smaller park in West New York between 53rd and 54th Street and Broadway and Park Avenue.
“Weigand Park is one of the smaller parks, but in my opinion, one of the most beautiful because of the outlay of the trees,” Castaneda said.
The project will include a new playground, fixing the trellis and the fan, and a couple of other upgrades. The renovations are estimated to be complete by August of this year.
Plans to renovate Weigand Park are slated for the upcoming year.
Pedestrian walkway and McEldowney Field
The town is also looking at some improvements to the pedestrian walkway that is connected with Port Imperial. The planned upgrades include upgraded stair access, safety enhancements, and a diversion of the natural creek formation that will prevent the accumulation of water. The current wooden stairs will be removed and replaced.
“The installation of new and modern stairs that will support pedestrian transit and incentivize economic, cultural and social activity between the waterfront and the upland,” Castaneda said. He said the town hopes to have this completed or near completion by the winter of 2023.
Meanwhile, improvements to the Patricia McEldowney Field between Boulevard East and Anthony Defino Way, including to the tennis courts and skate park, have been underway. Significant investments were made to the park due to the topology of the area, according to Castaneda.
“This is a very important park for Boulevard East residents and really all residents of the town because of its magnitude and possible uses,” he said.
The skate park at the back of the northern end of the park has been refurbished and outfitted with modern features. When McEldowney Field is completed, the park will also include a new softball field with two new mini-soccer fields, one of them being for toddlers, new tennis courts, new handball courts, and new pickleball courts. There will also be new lighting and security components.
There’s still some items pending, including the fencing of the park, but Castaneda is estimating it will be completed by April of this year.
The completed renovations were included in the presentation to the commissioners on Jan. 12.
Centennial Field and Miller Stadium
Castaneda highlghted the town’s investment in youth recreation through the completed renovations to Centennial Field on Port Imperial Boulevard.
“This is our field on the waterfront,” Castaneda said. “It supports not only a recreation soccer team, but also our travel team. It also supports our high school soccer team in practices.”
The field was upgraded recently to include a new drainage system, he said: “Those who have played at the field know that this is a field that flooded on numerous occasions. It really prohibited our youth and our soccer team from practicing on this field. The new field highlights our colors. It’s a new turf field that includes two half soccer fields which allows for expanded use for our soccer teams to play in.”
Castaneda also highlighted recently completed upgrades to Miller Stadium, between 57th Street and 59th Street and Jackson Street and Madison Street. The upgrades included a new turf baseball field, new locker rooms, new concession stands, upgrades to the bathrooms, and other upgrades that will “allow the stadium to survive yet another one hundred years.”
“Historic Miller Stadium on 57th Street is not only the home of the Memorial High School baseball team, but it also has a historical significance because of the memories that this place has,” Castaneda said. “Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig both played here, and Bruce Springsteen recorded his ‘Glory Days’ song in this very stadium. This is one of the last urban ballparks in New Jersey, perhaps one of the last several urban ballparks in the country.”
He stressed the importance of the stadium not only to the town but to the community: “It was in disarray when this administration took over, but we have worked to bring this multi-million dollar project and this ever-important historic Miller Stadium back to its glory days. No pun intended.”
An ordinance bonding for some of the new park upgrades will be up for a public hearing and vote at the February meeting of the West New York Board of Commissioners. The board will meet on Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, go to westnewyorknj.org and click on the link 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].
Erick Solis appeared by videoconference on Jan. 20, as opposed to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Courthouse in Newark.
A Weehawken man has been charged with enticing a minor victim online to produce images and videos of sexually explicit conduct, and producing child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.
Erick Solis, 25, is charged by complaint with one count of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual conduct and one count of production of child pornography. He appeared by video conference on Jan. 20 before U.S. Magistrate Judge André Espinosa.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court, from July 2020 to February 2021, Solis used a social media application to engage with two underage victims in sexually explicit conversations.
Solis ultimately instructed both victims to take sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves and send them to him. At least on one occasion, one of the victims complied.
The count of online enticement carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The count of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents with the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to these charges. He also thanked the Weehawken Police Department and Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dong Joo Lee of the Violent Crimes Unit.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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].
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
A West New York man and a Newark physician face charges of defrauding New Jersey state and local health benefits programs and other insurers out of more than $3.4 million by submitting false claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions, according to U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger.
Kaival Patel, a 53-year-old of West New York, and Saurabh Patel, 51-year-old of Woodbridge, are charged in a 12-count indictment with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and wire fraud, and four counts of health care fraud. Kaival Patel is also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, substantive counts of money laundering, and making false statements to federal agents.
The defendants appeared on Jan. 21 by video conference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sharon King and were released on $250,000 each unsecured bond.
Health care fraud conspiracy
According to the indictment, Kaival Patel and his wife, referred to in the indictment as “Individual 1,” operated a company called ABC Healthy Living LLC (ABC) to market medical products and services, including compound prescription medications.
Saurabh Patel is a medical doctor who owned and operated a clinic, referred to in the indictment as “Medical Practice 1,” in Newark. Saurabh Patel is related to Kaival Patel and Individual 1, according to Sellinger.
Paul Camarda, a pharmaceutical sales representative who is listed as a conspirator, pleaded guilty before Judge Kugler in Camden federal court on July 6, 2021, to health care conspiracy and conspiring to commit money laundering and obstruct justice and is awaiting sentencing.
Compounded medications are specialty medications mixed by a pharmacist to meet the specific medical needs of an individual patient. Although compounded drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they are properly prescribed when a physician determines that an FDA-approved medication does not meet the health needs of a particular patient, such as if a patient is allergic to a dye or other ingredient.
According to Sellinger, Kaival Patel, Saurabh Patel, Camarda, and others learned that certain state and local government employees had insurance that would reimburse up to thousands of dollars for a one-month supply of certain compounded medications. The defendants allegedly submitted fraudulent insurance claims for prescription compounded medications to a pharmacy benefits administrator, which provided management services for certain insurance plans that covered state and local government employees.
The defendants steered individuals recruited to receive medications from the compounding pharmacies to Saurabh Patel’s medical practice, which enabled him to fraudulently receive insurance payments for those patient visits and procedures. The conduct caused the benefits administrator to pay out $3.4 million in fraudulent claims.
20 plus years in prison?
The health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison; the health care fraud charges carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison; the false statement count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. All of these counts are also punishable by a fine of $250,000, or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.
The money laundering charges carry a maximum term of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense or not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transactions.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the IRS Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez in Newark; special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, New York Region, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone, with the investigation leading to the indictment.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christina O. Hud and R. David Walk Jr. of the Criminal Division in Camden.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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].
A Union City man has been arrested and charged for distributing child sex abuse materials, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022 members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Special Victims Unit, and the Union City Police Department arrested Mario Lopez Esquit.
Lopez Esquit, a 25-year-old from Union City, was arrested on charges involving the possession and distribution of videos depicting child sex abuse material.
On Dec. 9, 2021, the Hudson County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was notified by the New Jersey State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of a report of possible child exploitation material being shared on social media. An investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office identified Lopez Esquit as the individual associated with the distribution of the child sex abuse materials via his social media accounts.
Lopez Esquit was arrested on a warrant charging him with Endangering the Welfare of a Child for Knowingly Distributing Videos of a Child Engaged in a Prohibited Sexual Act, a crime of the second degree, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child for Knowingly Possessing Videos of a Child Engaged in a Prohibited Sexual Act, a crime of the third degree.
The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
He was remanded to the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance. Prosecutor Suarez credited the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Special Victims Unit, the New Jersey State Police, and the Union City Police Department with the investigation.
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].
The Weehawken Council met in person at the Municipal Building at 400 Park Avenue, as seen here via Google Maps
The Weehawken Township Council has adopted its fiscal year 2022 budget.
The council approved the budget at its Jan. 12 meeting, having held its hearing at the last meeting of 2021 on Dec. 22. The council introduced the $48.6 million budget at its Nov. 22 meeting.
“The state has approved our fiscal year 2022 budget,” Mayor Richard Turner said at the Jan. 12 meeting. “We had the hearing at our last meeting, so we’re now allowed to adopt it.”
The council voted unanimously to adopt the budget, which totals $48,632,319, according to Chief Financial Officer Lisa Toscano.
Decreasing the deficit
Due to COVID-19, for the second year in a row the township faced a deficit. In last year’s budget it was $3 million, and this year it’s down to $2 million.
“The $2 million deficit is the year end results of the 2021 SFY which ended June 30, 2021,” Toscano said in an email. “And yes, this was the results of revenue loss directly affected by the pandemic.”
The deficit was caused by a lack of parking and hotel tax revenue, and building permits and fees, according to Turner. However, that deficit can be spread out over the course of a few years per state law.
“The governor and state legislature passed a law allowing pandemic-related revenue deficits to be raised up to 10 years,” Toscano said. “This law allowed us to have more realistic revenue projects for the current budget year as a result of the impact of the pandemic. Many municipalities in the state were faced with the same issue and the state law also allowed them to adjust their budgets.”
“The state has allowed towns to adjust for the deficit, so you don’t hit the taxpayers with everything upfront,” she said. “We’ve been very good at managing that. The state has put laws in place so we can take care of the deficits.”
Balancing the budget
Because of that, the township was able to keep tax rates stable. However, Toscano said that was only part of the reason. Revenue is also increasing and expenditures have been dramatically cut.
“We are now able to estimate revenues closer to what we are receiving, which we expect will reduce the need for any future revenue deficits,” Toscano said. “In addition, we have reduced our appropriations by $3.6 million over the last two pandemic-effected years.”
Toscano said the appropriations and the revenues are both in balance and each are $48,632,319. This year’s budget is a 1.25 percent increase over last year’s budget, according to Turner. Since the 2019-2020 budget, it has decreased by 5.5 percent.
And as the deficit decreases to $2 million, both Toscano and Turner hope to reduce that number to zero in the next budget. That is, if COVID-19 doesn’t continue to ruin those plans.
“Next year we hope to eliminate it if everything continues to go forward,” he 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].
Residents can still get virtual permits in person at the NBPA, seen here via Google Maps
The North Bergen Parking Authority (NBPA) has made all parking permits virtual.
Drivers can now register their vehicles at a new Permit Portal located on the NBPA website at nbpaonline.org. In addition, the township has launched a new mobile app known as ParkVantage to allow visitors to the township’s commercial areas to purchase parking by credit or debit card without needing to carry change.
“We’re working hard every day to improve parking in our community, and these new virtual programs will help residents, visitors and customers at local businesses park more easily and conveniently,” Mayor Nicholas Sacco said in a newsletter regarding the virtual shift.
Get permits online
Through the use of new license plate reading technology, all residential and visitor permits are now virtual. Users upload a picture of their driver’s license and vehicle registration from any device to the new Permit Portal.
Parking permit confirmations are delivered via email. According to the township, rates have not changed.
Any car parked in a residential zone for more than three hours must be registered with the NBPA. All current residential parking permit holders are already pre-registered, but will need to create a free account to renew a permit or make changes.
Daily visitor parking permits are also now available online for guests who will be parking in a residential zone for more than three hours. Each virtual daily permit allows a visitor to park in a residential zone for 24 hours, with no tag required.
Still available in person
Virtual residential and visitor permits are available over the counter at the NBPA office at 4225 Bergen Turnpike during operating hours. For those without internet access or after office hours, pay stations are available.
According to the township, the new online system was released earlier than anticipated to provide a safe way to obtain permits during the pandemic. The NBPA is working with the developer on further refining the program to eliminate certain requirements to make it easier to use.
ParkVantage app users will be able to renew permits for longer-term parking, with a maximum of six hours instead of three. There will be a convenience fee on each transaction, and higher hourly rates will kick in after the first three hours. Traditional parking meters accepting change and metered pay stations accepting various forms of payment are still available for residents who prefer them, according to the township.
“Residential and visitor parking permits are essential for making sure that there is enough available street parking in our neighborhoods, and these new digital options will make it even easier to get vehicles registered and able to park,” said NBPA Executive Director Robert Baselice.
Change is hard
While North Bergen is trying to make parking easier, not everyone is pleased.
Outspoken resident Robert Walden argues the new parking regulations have eliminated the ability of residents to buy visitor passes in advance in recent letters-to-the-editor. According to Walden, a resident must now buy a permit after the visitor arrives, after uploading the visitor’s driver’s license, registration and plate number to the NB Parking Authority if the guest wants to park for more than three hours.
“This is not just unreasonable and difficult for everyone, it is an invasion of your and your visitor’s privacy,” he said.
However, residents can obtain virtual visitor permits ahead of time at the NBPA office and at pay stations, according to the township. Residents just need to indicate the date when entering other visitor information.
“The virtual permit has added another layer for people to be able to get permits,” Baselice said. “Everything people want to do with regards to getting permits at our office they could still do, it’s just that it’s no longer a physical hangtag. It’s more accessible.”
A work in progress
Baselice reiterated that the entire program is not completely rolled out yet.
“We went to a better system we think and many residents believe so,” Baselice said. “The machines that we purchased will allow us to limit the amount of times a plate can purchase a permit in a week because we do have people that buy are permit every day and park on our streets and then commute to New York or whatever. We haven’t gotten there yet, we needed to get the visitor permits rolled out. Then we have the visitor permit one-day rolled out. Then we will have the visitor permit where you can buy more than one at a time rolled out. Then we will have to option to buy multiple permits at one time. So we’re still in the process.”
The system was released early as a means to mitigate the virus spread.
“After all offices were closed in 2020, we had to come up with some platform and that’s what we did,” Baselice said. “Now we’re refining it. There are still some questions that are out there and I’ve been speaking to residents. We try our best to make sure that what we’re doing is in the best interests of as many people as possible. But change is difficult sometimes. We’re trying to address that.”
Officials addressing parking
Additionally, Walden said the new process encourages ‘out-of-towners’ to park in North Bergen. But he added the issue is not necessarily with visitors parking in the township, but the lack of parking in general.
“The real problem is North Bergen keeps building huge housing complexes which don’t provide enough parking for tenants and visitors,” he said. “More residents [equals] more cars. It’s also because NB doesn’t build parking garages, only small parking lots here and there.”
Baselice disagreed, arguing that the township has been increasing parking lots and that many buildings have parking lots that sit empty.
“I don’t necessarily agree with that,” Basilece said. “I do a lot of parking. Buildings have parking lots that are underutilized in many cases. That’s out there, we all know that… In the time that I’ve been here, we went from five parking lots to 22. There will be 22 this year. We went from 90 spaces to over 450. We put angled parking on Bergenline, we put angled parking on Broadway, and we’re going to put angled parking on Boulevard East in the near future. And we’re going to extend the angled parking on Bergenline.”
Comparing North Bergen to its neighbors, Walden suggested the township follow suit: “The new parking regulations are mean spirited and poorly thought out, unlike in Union City and Weehawken, which give their residents two re-usable visitor parking permits which don’t expire for at least a year, for free!”
‘Better system’ now in place
Addressing the comments about the new system allegedly being ‘mean-spirited and poorly thought out,’ Baselice said: “We spent many hours of conversations and many hours of meetings discussing this with residents and looking at past complaints,” he said. “We’re trying to make it better for our residents, we’re not trying to make it worse. We’re not subsidized by the township, we don’t take a penny.”
Baselice said the new virtual format is better, and said that distributing physical hang tags in that matter would not be tenable given the population.
“We believe it’s a better system,” Baselice said. “We don’t want there to be user error. We don’t want to be in a situation where there are people that want to be able to do something online. I don’t have the ability to do that, so we built it out in that fashion so now if you don’t want to come to the office, you don’t have to. You can now purchase your permits online.”
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].
The Weehawken Township Council met in person and virtually on Jan. 12.
The township of Weehawken is planning to offer early voting ahead of the May 2022 municipal election. At its January meeting, the Township Council introduced an ordinance that would allow for the early voting.
“New Jersey has allowed early voting for municipal elections,” Mayor Richard Turner said at the Jan. 12 meeting.
While the state has authorized early voting for municipal elections, in order for the township to partake, it must first pass the ordinance, according to Turner.
“We have to pass an ordinance authorizing early voting, in addition to vote-by-mail and everything else,” Turner said.
There were nine days of early voting for the General Election in 2021, but there would only be three days this time around. The three days of voting would take place the weekend prior to the election.
“It’s Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Turner said.
There would be no voting the Monday before Election Day, and voting would resume on Tuesday. The move to allow early voting for the May 2022 municipal elections follows the success of the recent early voting implemented by the state and county in 2021.
“Again, this is a new law that the state passed,” Turner said. “We’re taking advantage of it along with neighboring towns that have upcoming elections.”
If the ordinance is approved, Weehawken will join Union City in allowing early voting for the upcoming municipal elections. A public hearing and vote on the ordinance is scheduled for the Weehawken council’s next meeting.
The Township Council will meet next at 7 p.m. on Jan. 26 at the Second Floor Council Chambers at Town Hall at 400 Park Avenue. The meetings are held in person but with a virtual option via Zoom. For more information, go to weehawken-nj.us.
Mayor Turner has not yet officially announced his reelection bid, but is likely to run to keep his position. He was first elected in 1990 and last reelected in 2018, and would be seeking his ninth term. Turner, who has overseen the Weehawken for decades, last faced a challenger 20 years ago in 2002.
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 officials announced the new project and updates to several others at its Jan. 12 meeting via Zoom.
West New York officials unveiled plans for a new parking deck in town and gave updates to the status of other ongoing parking initiatives.
Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez said that the COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of things on hold that are now kicking back into gear.
“This will update the community on where we are going with parking,” Rodriguez said. “We all know that parking or lack thereof is an extremely big problem in the community. We are very excited to announce where we are going in our projects and that’s not only speaking to those that have to do with parking, but recapping everything we’ve done in the last year and more importantly, things to come.”
Special Projects Manager Jonathan Castaneda laid out the new and ongoing initiatives during the Capital Plan Midterm Review at the Jan. 12 meeting of the West New York Board of Commissioners.
“Parking is undoubtedly the priority for all West New Yorkers as a whole,” Castaneda said. “Mayor Rodriguez and the Board of Commissioners have set forth a parking and infrastructure plan that includes the construction of three new parking decks, the first investment of its kind in over 10 years.”
New parking deck on 54th Street
The town will convert the 54th Street Parking Lot next to Memorial High School Freshman Academy into a parking deck.
“This is a new partnership that we’re undertaking with the Board of Education to convert the surface parking on 54th Street behind the Freshman Academy to a new parking deck,” Castaneda said.
After the renovations are complete the lot of 55 parking spaces will become a deck with over 110 parking spaces. Construction is estimated to be complete by the summer of 2023.
A rendering of the planned parking deck on 54th Street.
Earlier in the meeting, the board introduced an ordinance that would sell the parking lot at 5401 Park Avenue to the Board of Education for $1. A public hearing on the matter will be held at the next commissioners meeting on Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom; for more information go to westnewyorknj.org and click on the event on the calendar webpage.
The other two new parking decks will be built on the surface parking lots at 51st Street and 57th Street.
The 51st Street Parking Lot holds 185 spaces. After renovations, the deck will total 485. The project is expected to be completed in December of 2022, Castaneda said, but a contract has not yet been awarded.
The 57th Street Parking Lot behind Modell’s parking lot of 78 spaces will upgrade to a 210 space deck. The project has entered the construction phase, and the board advertised bids for the work at its Jan. 12 meeting. Castaneda said this project is expected to be completed by March of 2023, “bringing relief to residents in town.”
Angled parking and road resurfacing
Other projects are in the works, including conversion of parking spots on the street from regular to angled. Portions of Broadway between 52nd and 53rd Street have already udergone change. According to Castaneda, this netted the town a total of approximately six parking spaces. Meanwhile the town is also resurfacing many roads in need.
Mayor Rodriguez stands on a portion of Bergenline that has been refitted with angled parking.
“We’re aware of numerous roads that need to be resurfaced,” Castaneda said. “We have worked to priortize the most urgent roads over the course of the last two years.”
Completed roads include Bergenline Avenue; 62nd Street between Broadway and Bergenline; 54th, 56th, and 57th Streets between Kennedy and Bergenline; Broadway from 56th Street to the Union City border; and 51st Street from Broadway to Bergenline Avenue. More roads are slated to be redone in the future.
“To date, we’ve invested over $3.5 million in our roads,” Castaneda said. “The road renovations that are upcoming will include new sidewalks and curbs.
Existing parking deck upgrades, lot resurfacing, and streetscaping
West New York has already completed a number of parking initiatives that had been in motion for years. The town just finished renovating the pre-existing parking deck on 62nd Street. The deck received maintenance and security upgrades.
An aerial view of the completed streetscape project on Bergenline Avenue.
Also recently completed were renovations to the 63rd Street Parking Lot. The lot was resurfaced and green infrastructure upgrades were installed. In addition, the town has completed the renovations of the streetscape along Bergenline Avenue.
“This project was intended to not only beautify the streets, but also revitalize the economic activity along our ‘Miracle Mile,’” Castaneda said. “This project is very important for West New York. Economic investment in our businesses and our business district allows and equals jobs for our residents. The furtherance of the commercial activity that leads to the ever important economic multipliers that help West New York families access new and sustained economic opportunities moving forward.”
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].
Artist Kevin Diaz poses in front of a wall of his art. Photo by Daniel Israel
A local horror-inspired artist is clawing his way to the top of the art scene in Hudson County. Artist Kevin Diaz says his nightmare-fueled paintings have come to be part of an artistic movement among North Hudson municipalities.
Diaz was born in North Bergen, and raised in Guttenberg. An alumni of North Bergen High School, he started painting at age 18.
“I took a painting class during my senior year of high school,” he said. “I was like, ‘Ooh, I like this!’ Then I just kept doing it. I never thought I was going to be, like, an artist. But then I thought, why not?”
That was around 2013. Diaz started by making posters that he wanted to put on his walls. Now at age 25 he has his own studio in Union City.
“It’s nice to have your own space to create and do what you want to do, rather than messing up your mom’s house,” he said. Self-deprecating humor is a trademark.
First he went to Hudson County Community College and graduated with a degree in Computer Arts. Then he graduated from Arizona State University online with a Bachelor of the Arts in Art History. Now Diaz is sharing his art with the places he calls home.
“I was born and raised here, and I thought I should be catering to the local community,” he said.
“I Don’t Want to Feel Love,” by Kevin Diaz
Inspired by the darkness
Diaz draws inspiration from an array of dark and twisted topics which defined his youth.
“I would say my influences stem from dark watercolor paintings as well as the seedy underbelly of pop culture,” he said. “Horror, true crime, and performance art are also main influences on my art.”
In addition to incorporating ideas from things like the dark side of pop culture and horror movies, Diaz puts some of his own personal demons on display throughout his work.
“I’m also perpetually drawn to the idea of my anxiety being present in my work, which I exemplify with my expressionistic brush strokes, splatters, and spontaneous materials.”
While it’s an outlet to deal with his anxiety sometimes, Diaz said, “When I have anxiety I shut down and I don’t want to do anything.” But that hasn’t stopped him lately.
“This is the first year that I’m doing anything,” he said. “I was in school before and I didn’t have any friends so I didn’t do anything. After I graduated, I knew I needed to network and put myself out there.”
Show after show after show
Lately it seems like Diaz, who also goes by Slaughter DK, can’t go a week without hosting an art show. He frequently partners with local galleries or hosts art shows at his studio in Union City.
Diaz poses in front of Greenhive Studio before one of his shows opens in June of 2021.
One common venue where he hosts his displays of visual and performance art, complete with live music, is an art gallery known as Greenhive Studio.
“I started working with Greenhive through a friend,” Diaz said. “We just connected after that and we built a friendship. Now we’re associates, I like to consider myself a Greenhive bitch.”
According to Diaz, the space is more than just a gallery, it’s rather a “collective” of artists and other talent. And he falls under that other category too, incorporating performance art into his gallery exhibitions.
“I’m a huge Maria Abramovic fan, even though that’s like a minicscule part of my inspiration for performance art,” he said. “I like to shock people. I like to do controversial things.”
‘A clown at heart’
Part of that meant dressing in full clown garb at a recent show. Diaz said he has always been a clown at heart.
“I’ve always considered myself a clown on the inside, because I’m always making people laugh,” he said. “But there’s always something a little romantic about a clown. They’re paid to entertain you and make you happy, but you don’t know what’s going on behind the makeup. You don’t even know what the person looks like.”
Diaz started doing makeup this year, and it is now an important part of his art: “I’ve always been hesitant to do my makeup, because I don’t trust myself to leave the house looking a mess.”
Diaz, known in the art world as Slaughter DK, dressed at a clown at a more recent art show at Greenhive.
He has since come a long way, from being hesitant to leave the house with makeup on to going full clown. But Diaz said he would have done it anyway, regardless if he had started wearing makeup in other more casual settings, because he is proud to be a living piece of his art.
Throughout 2021, Diaz made painted a number of pieces for his various shows. However, he is also particularly proud of a table sculpture he made, utilizing in part the legs of a mannequin and a lot of candles. Another sculpture he made consists of a mannequin head on a stick wrapped like a lollipop, of which there are two.
Powering through 2022
Diaz said he is going to keep the momentum going in 2022.
“I started 2021 full steam ahead and I’m planning on starting 2022 full steam ahead,” he said.
That means continuing to contribute to enrich the local art scene. Diaz is starting with the building his art studio is located in. A former warehouse which is now rented for other commercial means, just off of Kennedy Boulevard, he is hoping to inspire other artists to move in and contribute to the scene.
“There’s not a lot of artists in this building,” he said. “There’s a lot of music artists here and a lot of businesses, but not a lot of visual artists. I’m like trying to start a revival here.”
Diaz also wants to do more for the local community than just share his art. He looks to do fundraisers and more for important causes in the future, but wants to continue to help develop the current movement first.
These lollipop heads were part of his “Fever Dreams: Ode to the Uncanny” exhibit in late October.
“I really want to do more for the community, like fundraisers and things of that nature, but I have to build a repertoire and, like, a following before I do that,” he said.
And since Diaz can muster a decent attendance at one of his exhibits while COVID-19 cases are so high, when things settle down more it is not inconceivable that his shows will draw more attendance.
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].
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