A Dog Park in Downtown Hoboken, and More....

With summer (finally) here, I wanted to quickly update you with what's going on around Hoboken and in City Hall.  From a new dog park in the first ward and plans underway for Court Street to standing up for equality and good government, it's been a busy spring!  

BUDGET IN THE BAG

In May, the City Council approved a $118.6 million budget that was exactly the amount requested by the mayor, but we were able to tighten up spending and reallocate funds to secure needed funding for:

• A new city engineer and construction manager for all our infrastructure projects.

• Technology upgrades to help modernize our recreation and rent control departments

• Safety at intersections to study and install more stop signs

• Historic preservation design guidelines - a long overdue first step in preserving our historic architecture.  

And though I advocate for all of Hoboken, I am specifically elected to represent my home district, the First Ward -- and fighting for the first, I was able to secure funding for two important neighborhood projects, a new First Ward dog park and improvements to Court Street....

A conceptual rendering of what the dog park could look like. Please submit your thoughts on the project by clicking here.  

 A DOG PARK ON HUDSON STREET @ GARAGE “B”

For too long dog owners in the dense southeast have not had an adequate place for our K9 companions to play, and as a result we’ve seen an uptick in dog waste along our streets.

In this years budget I've advocated for and City Council approved money to turn currently underutilized city property on Hudson between 1st and 2nd and turn it into a much needed dog run. Unlike other municipal dog runs, this one will be covered in permeable turf and not gravel so our dogs won’t come home covered in mud. This combined with the rollout of new garbage cans should help the administration combat rogue dog waste.  

More detail will be made available as planning gets underway, in the meantime -- please submit your thoughts on the project by clicking here. 

 

REHABBING COURT STREET

After we earmarked money in last year’s budget, the City will finally begin fixing the sidewalks abutting court street this summer.  The disrepair of the sidewalks has long been a detriment to seniors, families with strollers, the disabled...and just about everyone that walks by.  Additionally, in this year’s budget, I secured funding for a complete engineering study of Court Street - a long overdue action plan on how to best repair and preserve our city's most historic street.  I will keep you up to date  as planning gets underway. 

 

THE TAX INCREASE NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT

As I mentioned, the City Council approved the mayor's request of $118.6 million and you’ve always known me to be upfront and honest with you, so I’m going to say something you won’t hear from anyone else  -- our taxes went up.

You won’t see any impact to your individual tax bill though and the reason is something you need to be aware of as we move forward -- the City added $1.6 million in new residential construction over the past year and for the first time in eight years, we dipped into our “rainy day fund” by $1.4 million.  So the rise in taxes was covered by more residents using practically the same amount of city services while tapping into our emergency savings.  

The biggest cost-driver was health insurance, which increased almost $3 million.  In response, the Council passed a resolution urging the mayor to go to market and solicit competitive bids and see if our current broker remains the best deal for the City.  Surprisingly, the last time we shopped around for a competitive insurance contract was over four years ago and if the mayor is interested in cutting costs, we should start here.  Also of note, the mayor’s office substantially increased it’s operating line by 30 percent — the first major increase in almost eight years.  Contrary to state hiring limits, the mayor onboarded a political supporter to act in the newly created and questionably needed roll of “deputy chief of staff”, even though he already had a “chief of staff”.  Carving out city jobs for political patronage at the taxpayers expense is everything that’s wrong with local politics.

COUNCIL STOPS ILLEGAL PAY TO PLAY, ACTS AS WATCHDOG WITH MAYORS SECOND JOB

I endeavor to work with everyone, whether I agree with them politically or not, to ensure that policy always comes before politics.  Though I prefer to keep my goals set on ideas and collaboration, sometimes the reality of Soprano-state politics  confounds me and I simply refuse to stay quiet.

In April, I spoke out against Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s acceptance of a donation that wasn’t just over campaign finance limits, but also because he attempted to give that very same vendor a $50,000 City Contract -- which if approved, would have been a stunning breach of pay-to-play.  The City’s legal department not only failed to catch the campaign finance violation, but the mayor himself didn’t disclose the information and acknowledged fault only after I spoke publicly about the conflict.  The same department that failed to catch this violation are the same lawyers that are charged with acting as an oversight authority and ensuring the mayor’s second job at a politically connected zoning and land use law firm.  Given the mayors unprecedented decision to hold this second job, I will be introducing an ordinance at tonight's meeting to create transparency and see what, if any, conflict Mayor Bhalla's very active legal career has with his position as our mayor.  

OBSERVER HIGHWAY... FLOOD WALL?

 
Hoboken is planning to construct an eleven-foot tall industrial flood wall parallel to Observer Highway over the next two years. This levy will be funded by $230 million in federal grants with the goal of making our city more flood resilient. Though it is imperative that we remain committed to protecting Hoboken against future storm surges — the placement of the wall is ill conceived.

I am advocating to see this plan amended to simply set the wall back from the roadway and allow for a future pedestrian promenade and East-West waterfront connectivity. Placing the wall closer to Observer may also prevent Hoboken Terminal from being reimagined as a European-style market as the approved rail-yard redevelopment would literally be walled off. If we leave the plan as it is, all we’d get is, well...a wall.  Please click

 

DOING SOMETHING ABOUT PREDATORY PARKING ENFORCEMENT

After helping countless neighbors who had been incorrectly written parking tickets with time left on their meter, the Council recently passed my ordinance to safeguard against this unsavory practice.  The new law now requires the Parking Authority to wait two minutes from the time a meter expires before writing a ticket, thus ensuring that all data has been correctly relayed to and received by parking enforcement officers. It also is a signal to the administration that the City Council discourages what many like myself believe to be predatory parking enforcement.  This is not by any means “free parking” rather a check on administrative authority to ensure all relevant information has been considered before writing a ticket.

 

STANDING UP FOR EQUALITY  

When I first took my seat on City Council our Human Rights Campaign: Municipal Equality Index score was 51% -- second lowest in the state next to Patterson.  After speaking out about this failing score and butting heads with the previous administration about it, I’m happy that we’re now at 92% and stand to score a perfect 100% this year.

In April the City Council passed an ordinance sponsored by myself and Councilwoman Jabbour requiring all single-user bathrooms to be gender neutral. Concurrently, I was proud to sponsor a resolution with Councilwoman Giattino for more city services geared towards LGBTQ senior citizens and the transgender community. I was also happy to see Mayor Bhalla do what the last administration failed to — show support to the transgender community and sign an executive order acknowledging that gender identity is not a choice.  

I don’t play identity politics because there’s no gay, straight or trans way to fix a pothole. I may not agree with Mayor Bhalla politically and am deeply disappointed that he excluded me from speaking at the recent LGBTQ flag raising, but together we are products of Hoboken’s inclusive spirit and agree on equality....for everyone.

 

EXPANDING SIDEWALK CAFES

Dining alfresco is synonymous with summer in the city, but believe it or not the bureaucracy and dated zoning governing sidewalk cafes has prevented many from opening up.  I am proud to have worked with Council President Ramos and the administration on a long overdue ordinance that now gives restaurants more flexibility in establishing outdoor service areas.  Doing so helps small businesses succeed and gives us all more opportunities to enjoy our city’s streets this summer.

Have some fun in the sun!

What's Happening in Hoboken

With spring here and temperatures on the rise, I want to quickly update you with what’s been going on in City Hall and across Hoboken.

A Hilton Hotel Near Hoboken Terminal

On the Southern waterfront, directly behind the U.S. Post Office at 89 River Street, is a surface parking lot which I've long advocated to become a world-class Hilton Hotel.  Such a project would not only activate an underutilized portion of the southern waterfront, steps from mass transportation but also generate $1.7 million in yearly revenue for the City and create over 120 permanent jobs.  With new costs like Union Dry Dock and the Northwest Resiliency Park on the horizon, we need smart revenue generators like this for the City.  

With the proposed hotel site sitting squarely in the First Ward, my home district, I've worked for the past two years with the neighborhood and all stakeholders to design a plan that activates the waterfront with ground floor retail, meeting and event space, as well as a one of a kind rooftop restaurant.  Additionally, working with my Council colleagues Jen Giattino and Peter Cunningham, we addressed core issues like parking, traffic congestion and pedestrian safety. Further, to protect neighborhood quality of life, I specifically required the plan to be set back along Newark Street to allow more light and air at street level while protecting views towards the Hudson River.  

Interestingly, after voting against the redevelopment plan and publicly campaigning against the project last year, Mayor Bhalla has suddenly switched stances and joined the City Council in supporting the balanced project that we always knew it would be. The new plan advocated by the mayor reduces the height of the building by roughly 50 feet, but eliminates the setback -- creating a wider building with nearly identical square footage and bulk as the original plan. Though the mayor’s flip-flop on this will certainly be noteworthy to his supporters, I want to assure everyone that this is the right direction for Hoboken. I look forward to continued work with the administration, stakeholders and neighborhood to see the project forward.  For more information, click here -- please let me know your thoughts.

Connecting Our Waterfront at Union Dry Dock

Union Dry Dock is the last remaining industrial maritime use in Hoboken and the final piece to the puzzle of connecting our entire riverfront.  Unfortunately, due to years of inaction to  acquire the land at fair market value by the city, the Zimmer-Bhalla did not purchase the land when given the chance and the land was sold to ferry operator New York Waterway in November for $11.5 million.  The intended use is now a repair and refueling facility for their ferry fleet, which in my opinion, and in the opinion of the entire City Council, is incongruent with the nearby neighborhood and antithetical to connecting our waterfront.  

In response, the City Council authorized the purchase of the land for $11.63 million -- a fair market price which is over $100k more than what NY Waterway paid for the property less than five months ago.  I have personally urged the administration to work with New York Waterway to ensure they find an adequate home and after similar pushback from Governor Murphy's office, Mayor Bhalla has vowed not to use eminent domain to acquire the property.  After all, a protracted legal fight like the one we had to acquire the southwest plaza would adversely impact ferry schedules and fares while obligating our City to pay millions more in legal fees. 

There has been much conversation about a meeting of New Jersey Transit's board to purchase the property, and what that means for the site.  Both Governor Christie and now Governor Murphy have both seemingly viewed the sale of the property to the NJT as a way of protecting land essential for NYWW's operations and state-wide transportation infrastructure from being taken by eminent domain. Such an action was in response to both Mayor Zimmer and Mayor Bhalla's failing to have open and professional dialogue with New York Waterway. This breakdown in communication was never shared with City Council either when Mayor Zimmer originally asked for the tool of eminent domain, or when Mayor Bhalla made an offer to acquire the property; and in doing so, they each escalated an already tense situation.   At the request of Governor Murphy, Mayor Bhalla requested the Council to rescind eminent domain power, we  followed suit in a 9-0 vote and New Jersey Transit has canceled the meeting to purchase.  Now we're back to square one.  

Where this goes from here is uncertain -- but one thing remains clear, the City is unified in our desire to see the space become parkland and NY Waterways still owns the site and remains firm in their desire to use it for ferry fueling operations.  There is a proposal to relocate refueling to Bayonne, at this juncture it is merely a proposal and beginning later this spring refueling will unfortunately commence until further notice at Union Dry Dock.   For more on the back history visit the Fund for a Better Waterfront

Mayor Bhalla Accepts Job at Another Politically Connected Law Firm

While on the topic of broken campaign promises, you may recall when former Councilman Bhalla’s employment with one of the state’s most politically-connected law firms was a major topic of discussion during the mayoral campaign.  As public concern mounted, he announced that if elected he would leave his firm to be a full-time mayor. But now, Mayor Bhalla has changed course and accepted a job as an attorney at the law firm Lavery, Selvaggi, Abromitis & Cohen -- a real estate, land use and zoning law firm that’s just as much a part of the establishment political patronage network as his former firm.  

Front page of The Jersey Journal featuring the story, which can be read here

Despite paying our mayor $116,100 -- the highest in Hudson County and one of the top mayoral salaries in the entire state, our mayor's second job will compensate him $60k base salary from his side job but more alarmingly, unlimited commissions on all new business he brings to the law firm.  

In Jersey politics, this sadly only means one thing -- peddling and trading professional contracts for personal and political gain. In his own words, Mayor Bhalla “has no specific responsibilities” at the law firm and “is not expected to spend any time” at his second job.  Why would any employer want a no-show employee without any specific responsibilities?  The truth is that Ravi Bhalla has been hired to use his notoriety as our Mayor to benefit his new firm. If he secures a new client for his firm, maybe another entity that does business with Hoboken for example, he'll be compensated for it.  And if a client needs a favor in Hudson County, they've got a Mayor on the payroll. It's the oldest play in the book for the political establishment, and the losers are taxpayers like us who get hit with the bill.

That's why it's so important for the City Council to act as a watchdog on this issue and ensure that Hoboken isn't for sale. I am currently in the process of drafting a comprehensive ethics ordinance to ensure that our mayor’s second job is transparent to all citizens and that he is held to the same standard as any other City employee. 

Making our Elections Democratic Again

As you may recall, on Election Day 2017, Hoboken saw 6 candidates running for mayor and 14 running for City Council to fill 3 seats -- a political circus that confused and frustrated many voters, resulting in a mayor who won with only 32% of the electorate.  In response to residents’ concerns, an overwhelming majority (7-2) of the City Council approved a ballot referendum which would allow our community to collectively decide whether or not to re-institute runoff elections. Mayor Bhalla vetoed the ordinance, spreading half-truths and politicizing the issue, but City Council responded by overriding him (7-2) to let the people decide.

With the City Council's override of the mayor's veto, the question as to how our elections are run is now with you!  

In opposing runoffs, Mayor Bhalla is essentially limiting the viability for independents to run for political office. Without runoff elections, upstart candidates for City Council and mayor face a nearly impossible task to run for elected office without institutional support as crowded races favor the person who can raise the most money -- the incumbent. Click here to read more about why runoff elections are important and be sure to mark your calendars to vote in the referendum on Tues. Nov. 6th.  Together, I know we can continue to bring new energy and new ideas to Hoboken by encouraging the next generation of policy makers to get involved.  

Washington Street and Infrastructure Upgrades

I know the question on everyone’s minds -- what’s going on with Washington Street?   Many have expressed concern at the rate which businesses have been closing and I agree that it’s troubling.  With the introduction of the city’s Master Plan Reexamination this spring, and as chairman of the zoning subcommittee, I intend to begin working with my colleagues to update our city’s 1980’s era zoning to help small businesses and mom and pops.  In terms of the ongoing and frustrating resurfacing initiative, City Council recently hosted an open meeting with the contractor as the City is behind schedule and over $1 million over budget.   The Council took that opportunity to remind the contractor and administration that the deadline for finishing work on the street is August 21.  Further, now that the threat of frost has passed, paving along Washington from 1st through 5th Street will commence on Monday April 2.

Last but certainly not least, working with Councilwoman Fisher, I was proud to have supported the administration and sponsored a $5.2 million bond ordinance to aid in city-wide infrastructure repairs.   Though I believe bonding should be used sparingly, I do believe that using long term bonds for long term improvements, like infrastructure, is necessary especially given no other funding mechanisms are readily available.

Mayor Bhalla Breaks Campaign Promise, Joins Another Politically-Connected Law Firm

                                                Cover of the Jersey Journal 02.21.18 which can be read in full, here.

A Broken Campaign Promise

During last year’s mayoral election, Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s employment with one of the state’s most politically-connected law firms was a major topic of discussion due to the many conflicts of interest his employment could cause. His law firm counted among its clients Suez Water, the city’s water system operator, as well as NJ Transit which owns significant property in Hoboken and is in the process of being redeveloped.

During the course of the campaign, as public concern mounted about Ravi being connected with those statewide interests, he publicly announced that if elected he would, “be working full-time for the people of Hoboken, severing my employment with the firm.”   As Mayor-elect he followed through on that and resigned from his position at the firm, Florio, Perucci, Steinhardt & Fader as he prepared to be the full-time mayor he promised voters he would be.   

Source: HMag Candidate questionnaire, re-published on RaviBhalla.com 

But in February, just over a month into office, Ravi Bhalla broke his promise and taken a job as an attorney at the law firm Lavery, Selvaggi, Abromitis & Cohen -- a real estate, land use and zoning law firm that’s just as much a part of the establishment patronage network as his former firm.

Highest Paid Mayor in Hudson County

Hoboken’s mayor is paid the most in Hudson County and one of the highest in the entire state. For reference, 9 of the 12 mayors in the County make less than $33,000. Of the other three, Bayonne pays $72,000, Jersey City pays $115,600 and Hoboken tops the list at $116,100.  Additionally, the mayor receives a generous benefits package for him and his entire family which includes health coverage and retirement. The only other mayor who is in the six-figure club, Jersey City’s Steve Fulop, only holds one job - mayor - and Hoboken deserves the same. 

A Major Conflict of Interest

Upon learning about the mayor’s second job, the City Council voted to pass a resolution urging the mayor to disclose details of the job.  From that official inquiry, and only because the governing body publicly demanded transparency, it was disclosed that Mayor Bhalla would earn an annual salary of $60,000 for his new position, but more shockingly, unlimited commissions for all new business he brings to the firm (click here to read the agreement).  So, let’s digest this.  Our new Mayor who promised to work full time for the City is now in a business development role with a politically connected zoning and land use law firm with UNLIMITED earnings potential.  That’s not the transparency voters were promised and deserve! 

In response to the employment agreement, a majority of the City Council compelled the Mayor to respond to concerns we had over the potential conflict, and we received a short emailed response....

In his own words, Mayor Bhalla “has no specific responsibilities” at the law firm and “is not expected to spend any time” at his second job.  Why would any employer want a no-show employee without any specific responsibilities?  The truth is that Ravi Bhalla has been hired to use his notoriety as our Mayor to benefit his new firm. If he secures a new client for his firm, maybe another entity that does business with Hoboken for example, he'll be compensated for it.  And if a client needs a favor in Hudson County, they've got a Mayor on the payroll. It's the oldest play in the book for the political establishment, and the losers are taxpayers like us who get hit with the bill.  In Jersey politics, this sadly only means one thing -- peddling and trading professional contracts for personal and political gain.  It's not illegal, just ethically corrupt.  

State DCA ethics violation notice issued to Mayor-elect Bhalla for voting on a business partner's city contract while serving on City Council in 2011.  

Zero oversight

From the City Council’s official inquiry, we also learned that in responses to questions about conflicts of interest,  Mayor Bhalla has proposed that the city’s chief municipal lawyer, commonly referred to as Hoboken’s “Corporation Counsel” provide advice on potential conflicts. The person who fills this position not only reports to the mayor and serves at his pleasure, but has also contributed financially to the mayor’s election account.  Will Corporation Counsel disclose his findings to the City Council? Who will pay for the legal staff reviewing Mayor Bhalla’s business dealings?  Seeing that the City’s chief lawyer is vested in the status quo and since his ethical oversight is over his own boss — it’s like the ethical wild west.

The last time Ravi Bhalla confided in Corporation Council about a potential conflict, back in 2011, he failed to provide complete background of the case and was subsequently issued an ethics violation for voting on a business partners city contract.  The notice was ironically handed down six days after he won the mayoral election...nearly six years after the violation initially took place.  This just goes to show how long an ethics violation, once discovered and reported,  takes to be properly heard.    

 

A Republican Law Firm that Donated to Donald Trump

To make matters even worse, the new law firm that Mayor Bhalla is working for has numerous political and financial ties to his previous firm. Both firms are major contributors to a Political Action Committee called “Leadership PAC for Better Government,” an organization that has made thousands of dollars in political donations for the purpose of securing more government contracts for its founders. The PAC donated $2,000 to Donald Trump and $3,500 to Kim Guadagno. In fact, one of the principles of the firm recently served as the Chairman of the New Jersey Republican Party -- and he was replaced recently as Chairman by a partner in Ravi’s previous firm!  Considering Mayor Bhalla promise to “stand up to Trump,” it’s offensive for him to join a Republican-leaning law firm that actively supports candidates who fight harder than anyone to push Trump’s agenda in NJ. This is a clear betrayal of Hoboken’s progressive values.

Further, I am personally alarmed that Mr. Bhalla will be sharing the same title with a colleague at his new firm, former Congressman Jim Courter, who once ran as the Republican candidate for Governor, and called for limiting the rights of homosexuals to work as teachers, foster parents and camp counselors or in other jobs that put them in contact with children.   Source: The New York Times.  

What Can We Do?

The above is exactly why it's so important for the City Council to act as a watchdog on this issue and ensure that Hoboken isn't for sale. I am currently in the process of drafting a comprehensive ethics ordinance to ensure that our mayor’s second job is transparent to all citizens and that he is held to the same standard as any other City employee.