The Secaucus Police Department recommended the changes to extra-duty service fees.
Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Secaucus Town Council introduced an ordinance at the council’s May 24 meeting updating police fees for extra-duty service.
Extra-duty employment includes police related employment not performed during regular duty hours. The extra-duty service is conditioned on the actual or potential use of law enforcement powers by a police officer, including but not limited to, traffic details and side jobs paid through the Secaucus Police Department.
Under the proposed ordinance, the current fees for extra-duty employment services provided by the Secaucus Police Department would be kept on file in the Town Clerk’s Office. The fee for extra-duty employment shall be paid by the person or entity requesting the services and an itemized invoice shall be provided by the Department.
The ordinance also allows for the establishment of fees for records and documents. After the meeting, Town Administrator Gary Jeffas described the introduced ordinance in an interview with the Hudson Reporter. Jeffas said was spurred by interactions between the town’s police department and PSE&G.
“When PSE&G does a job, they pay our police back for the time that they spend having their cars on the site and protecting the traffic,” Jeffas said. “So we’re allowed to have an administrative fee. And PSE&G essentially said: ‘If your administrative fee is from an outside company that you’ve hired, we’re not paying that company fee. You can’t pass that through to us, but if your municipal employees do the work, you can pass their administrative fee on.'”
According to Jeffas, Secaucus did not fall under the aforementioned scenario, but wanted to make that clear to PSE&G.
“Our employees do it, and always have,” Jeffas said. “So we’re just passing a resolution to kind of make that clear to PSE&G, that if they’re getting billing from Secaucus, that’s all in house being performed. Because they don’t want an outside agency having exorbitant fees and just people passing it off to them.”
This ordinance, along with two others regarding licenses for both vaping and food establishments, will be up for a public hearing and final passage at the next council meeting on June 28. For more information, go to secaucusnj.gov 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 disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
Cars seen parking on Boulevard East in Braddock Park outside the North Bergen pre-school. Image via Google Maps.
North Bergen has altered parking regulations in and around James J. Braddock North Hudson County Park.
The township previously adopted an ordinance regulating parking permits and courtesy parking permits. Based on a recommendation from the North Bergen Parking Authority, there is a need to amend the times parking permits are required in Braddock Park, as well as clarify that violations of courtesy parking requirements in the township is prohibited.
As such, Mayor Nicholas Sacco and the Board of Commissioners have adopted an ordinance doing so.
Per the ordinance, all streets in the park will now allow permit parking from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., seven days a week. This applies only to residential permits and includes Boulevard East, Park Drive, Park Drive North, and Park Drive South.
From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., three hour courtesy parking is allowed, now able to be enforced by the township. Parking in excess of the aforementioned provisions is considered a violation.
North Bergen Parking Authority Executive Director Robert Basilice explained the changes at the May 25 meeting.
“We are implementing inside the park, a couple of ordinances,” Basilice said. “One being the Parking Authority being able to enforce the three-hour limit in the park that the county imposes on people that are in the park. Another is residential parking, which the mayor, commissioners, and commissioner [Anthony] Vainieri were able to get the park to be used by residents overnight, as long as they have residential parking permits. So they’re able to park in the park now.“
Sacco added: “We have parking pretty much everywhere in the park.”
Street sweeping schedule altered
The township has also previously adopted and amended ordinances prohibiting parking on portions of specified streets at specified times for street sweeping. This ordinances amends previous ordinances to add the streets in Braddock Park.
Street sweeping will occur on all streets within the park, on the west and south sides of the streets on Mondays from 8 to 10 a.m. by the county. Street sweeping will occur on the same streets but on the east and north sides on Thursdays from 8 to 10 a.m. This will be suspended on state and federal legal holidays.
“From eight to ten is the county sweeping in the park,” Basilice said. “Outside the park is where we are sweeping, and we’re going to be changing the hours along Boulevard East to be later.”
Basilice noted the street sweeping changes on streets outside the park would be made later at another date date, likely changing the time to be 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the future. He noted coordination was ongoing with the county to ensure that parking for the pre-school in Braddock Park is unaffected on Boulevard East.
“We coordinated with the county, because when we do the sweeper outside, the people that are outside have to find parking somewhere else,” Basilice said. “So we want them to park inside the park. Then on the days that there isn’t parking inside due to street sweeping, they have to be able to park somewhere outside. We’re trying to coordinate it so that whenever there is street sweeping, whether it’s the county or us, our residents have somewhere to park.”
Sacco said the times can change for the sweeping depending on how things go, to which Basilice agreed.
“The two places that may be affected are Riverview North and South,” Basilice said. “If those two areas are affected, we can always adjust enforcement around there.”
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
Secaucus has recently renamed a road to honor a late local faith leader.
In May, Mayor Gonnelli accompanied by Councilman Bill McKeever, Councilwoman Orietta Tringali, Didi Krishna Kumari and several residents gathered to rename the driveway leading to the Secaucus Animal Shelter. A tour of the animal shelter took place prior to the unveiling.
The street was dedicated to the late Rev. Dada Vaswani of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, an avid animal lover who has been an activist for the animal rights for decades. Vaswani has also long supported the humane treatment of animals at the Secaucus shelter, making the street renaming fitting.
Gonnelli and Kumari led the street renaming and street sign unveiling ceremony. A psalm was sang prior to the unveiling, with pictures of Vaswani accompanying the song. Additionally, a coconut was broken on a fence post adjacent to the street sign as a ceremonial offering.
The street is now known as Rev. Dada Vaswani Way. That sign is blue, his favorite color. A hymn was sung following the unveiling. Then a ribbon to open the road was cut.
Members of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission sing amid the sign unveiling for the late Rev. Dada Vaswani.
This was followed by another sign unveiling. This one is green, the typical street sign color. Another hymn was sung following this unveiling.
Afterwards, Mayor Michael Gonnelli, spoke briefly. He noted the Secaucus Town Council would soon pass a resolution to rename the street.
Gonnelli said: “I don’t know what to say. This is a wonderful day. It is wonderful for all us. I pray for Dada every day of the year.”
“It’s a great day,” McKeever said. “It’s great to see everyone come out. It’s a great honor to have this in Secaucus.”
Mayor Michael Gonnelli praised the late faith leader of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission at the street renaming in his honor.
Later in the day, those in attendance gathered for the official groundbreaking for the Joy and Peace Garden, which will be constructed on Meadowlands Parkway. Members of the Native Plant Society and the Secaucus Environmental Department planted native flowering plants to mark the official start of construction on the garden. The space will have community garden plots and a variety of plants and walking paths, of which the Sadhu Vaswani Mission has in part contributed toward its inception.
The events culminated at the Sadhu Vaswani Meditation Garden at the Recreation Center on Koelle Boulevard where children sang songs and presented recitations. The faith-filled day ended with a lunch for all who attended.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
The approved resolution states that the tax bills must be prepared and mailed by August 1. Photo by Mark Koosau.
The Jersey City Council has unanimously passed a resolution to authorize preparation and mailing of estimated tax bills for the third quarter of this year that will reflect an increase in the estimated tax rate.
Under the resolution, the estimated tax rate will increase from 1.604 percent to 1.889 percent, which will lead to an increased levy from $635.6 million to $773.8 million. The changes reflect the increase in the Jersey City school’s district adopted budget from earlier this month.
“Basically, we have recurring expenses that are ongoing, but if we don’t have the revenues coming in to match it, we have some problems,” said Acting Chief Financial Officer Jack Scura at a May 23 caucus meeting.
The estimated tax levy will see about 45 percent of it at $352 million going to the school district. $217.8 million will be for the city, and $184.9 million is for Hudson County. For the rest of the categories, $15.1 million is for the public libraries, and $1.02 million will be for arts and culture, and open space each.
Earlier in the month, the Board of Education adopted a $973 million budget that will have a tax levy of $283.6 million. Scura said that he estimates about $85 million will be paid to the district in August to help “keep flowing” the cash.
“We used the actual Board of Education approved budget number in there because it’s known and measurable right now,” he said. “I just built in a little bit for inflation.”
Jersey City has not proposed its 2022-2023 municipal budget as of yet, but Business Administrator John Metro said that they will present it at the next council meeting, explaining that they’re waiting to hear back from FEMA reimbursements and American Rescue Plan funds.
“We’ll give it to the council at the next council meeting, and we’ll also send it to the state so they can start doing their approval process,” he said. “Then we’ll start scheduling all of our budget hearings within the next two-to-three weeks.”
The tax collector will need to prepare and mail the tax bills by August 1.
For updates on this and other stories, check hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at mkoosau@hudsonreporter.com or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.
Holly Smith and a number of students from McNair formed the Coles Kamala Korps as a club for Ms. Marvel. Photo by Mark Koosau.
Jersey City is known by many for a lot of things: one of the most diverse cities in the country, the (debatable) sixth borough of New York City, the heart of Hudson County politics for many, and so forth.
But for some high school students and others, it’s the home of the city’s own superhero, Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, a Marvel superhero which they take great pride in.
“When I first heard about Ms. Marvel being this brown teenage girl, I thought it was really cool that we’re finally represented,” said Shreeya Shankerdas, a freshman at McNair Academic High School.
Shreeya and other students at McNair are part of a club called the Coles Kamala Korps, named after the school that Kamala goes to. “On top of that, we were represented in the Marvel Universe, and I thought that was really cool, because it’s a big company,” continued Shreeya.
They and the teacher that oversees the club, Holly Smith, have been longtime fans of Ms. Marvel, and they couldn’t be more excited for the debut of the Ms. Marvel TV show, the upcoming entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will be premiering on Disney+ in June.
Jersey City’s own hero
Kamala Khan is a Marvel superhero who was introduced in 2013, with the original comic book series being launched in 2014 by G. Willow Wilson, a New Jersey native, and drawn by Adrian Alphona.
In the comics, Kamala gets superpowers that allows her to shapeshift, and going by moniker of Ms. Marvel, she fight crimes in her home of Jersey City, all while balancing her life such as school, her family, and her identity as a Pakistani American and a Muslim American.
Since then, she’s become well-known and popular in the superhero fandom, and eventually a television series was announced for the MCU, with Iman Vellani starring as Kamala.
Kamala Khan first debuted in the comics in 2014 and is one of the most popular superheroes in the Marvel franchise. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios.
The students in the club got interested in Ms. Marvel in part from their shared backgrounds, both identity-wise and the school that they go to, with Coles Academic High School, the school that Kamala goes to, being loosely based on McNair.
“I was introduced to Ms. Marvel, when I was in eighth grade,” said Pariza Hassan, a junior who’s Pakistani American. “My teacher had the whole series in her library, so I was able to read through it, and I found out it was about my future high school.”
Many said that they can relate to the experiences that Kamala goes through. For Ayush Patel, a junior, what stuck out to him was the teenage perspective in an urban environment, similar to Spider-Man.
“We never really had to go through how religion can affect your perspective on what you do, right?” he said. “A lot of times of the comics, they showed that she had a big strain between who she was a superhero and who she was as person.”
The other part that he relates to is the the academic factor, especially when it comes to McNair, which is considered one of the most prestigious schools in Jersey City.
Councilman Yousef Saleh said that the Ms. Marvel show will be an important moment in representation for the Muslim community. Photo by Mark Koosau.
“It’s time[s] like that we’re just like ‘how would a superhero have time to go out and do anything, when you just have to stay in and read your books or understand your graphs or things like that?'” he said.
Smith, who’s also an alumni of McNair, said that the creation of the club was in concept for a long time, and that they launched it this year to build hype for the upcoming show.
“We’ve always done Kamala stuff, but the idea of a formal group that was actually planning things was newer,” she said. “Kind of in response to not just the show coming out, but also The Marvels is coming out next July,” referencing the upcoming movie where Kamala will also star in.
Representation matters
Since her introduction into the Marvel Universe, Ms. Marvel has been praised for the positive representation she brings for the Muslim American community.
Councilman Yousef Saleh, who’s Muslim American and another McNair alumni, said that the upcoming show is a critical point in TV culture. “We’re not really used to seeing people that are portrayed as heroes in any film,” he said. “Usually we’re portrayed as the bad guys.”
Saleh added that since 9/11, he felt that it was incumbent to himself to show that Muslims are members of the community and that are doing the best for community service, and for himself, he wanted to be the best representation by entering politics.
Kamala Khan has been praised for the positive representation she brings for the Muslim communities. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios.
Pariza also said that she enjoys how a Pakistani character is represented on a big scale compared to other media, as well as how Muslim characters are portrayed.
“It can either be like, ‘Oh, the girls oppressed. Oh, the girls dealing with this issues’,” she said. “I really enjoyed seeing this new perspective on a Muslim character in a positive manner, especially from such a big company.”
With the days counting down before the premiere, the club is ready to spread awareness about Ms. Marvel and see how the show turns out. “I’m just really waiting to get the entire community at McNair and tell them ‘Look at this!'” said Barbara Gochis, a sophomore. “We want them to know about her because it’s important.”
“I’m excited that there’s going to be a Marvel superhero that is a Muslim woman that’s going to inspire the next generation,” said Saleh. “It’s about time”
Ms. Marvel will debut on Disney+ on June 8.
For updates on this and other stories, check hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at mkoosau@hudsonreporter.com or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.
Mario Lopez Esquit, image via Prosecutor's Office.
On Tuesday, May 24, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit filed charges against a Union City man for recording a woman inside of her home without her consent.
24-year-old Mario Lopez Esquit is charged with one count of Invasion of Privacy, a crime of the third degree.
He was processed at the Hudson County Correctional Facility where he is currently being detained on other charges.
Lopez Esquit is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the latest charge on May 25.
The Prosecutor’s Office has also filed a motion for detention which is tentatively scheduled to be heard on Tuesday, May 31.
Lopez Esquit was previously arrested on January 18, of this year for possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the New Jersey State Police, and the Union City Police Department with the investigation.
The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent 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 disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
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.”
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
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 disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
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 disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
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 disrael@hudsonreporter.com.
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