In what may have been a masterstroke political play, Councilman Michael Russo stunned the City Council and the public when he pivoted on a decisive vote approving a design vendor for Sinatra Drive: Kimley Horn and Associates in a 5-3 vote.

The approval in the end for the 107K design contract pitted Russo on the other side of the Old Guard council where a 4-4 vote would have been sufficient to stop the Administration’s RFP selection.

The Fund for a Better Waterfront sent in five people to speak against the design firm including Executive Director Ron Hine, Jim Vance and Ines Garcia Keim.  Their complaints ranged from questioning the scoring in the RFP process to FBW not being permitted to attend a committee meeting the previous night on the firm selection.  Lots of criticism was made especially by Hine about a design plan that did not exist. Read More...

The final City Council meeting for 2013 ends the year long plus obstruction in the efforts by the Old Guard council underwritten by the Mason family to stop progress and block the ninth and open council seat.

With the elevation of councilman-elect Jim Doyle, more than a year of obstruction fails on January 4th when the will of the people will trump Beth Mason and her allies Michael Russo, Terry Castellano and Timmy Occhipinti.

On the agenda tonight, a year end resolution to transfer funds within accounts. Among more than 500 municipalities in New Jersey, this is done in ten minutes but in Hoboken it’s become a bruising battle in the attempt to force a tax increase. Read More...

The verdict arrived in the Alicea discrimination lawsuit against the City and it’s a whopper.  The Hudson County jury of six women and two men awarded $440,000 to Alicea who was eventually replaced by the current Public Safety Director Jon Tooke.

The City’s record of winning or settling over 90% of its cases in recent years just took one on the chin.

The verdict was divided into two parts.  In the first part of the decision involving Mayor Dawn Zimmer, the jury said the mayor had not discriminated against Angel Alicea. Read More...

The Jersey Sting, the state’s largest corruption sweep in its history back in 2009 took its place front and center in the discrimination trial of former Public Safety Director Angel Alicia.

The discrimination suit alleged by Alicia claims he was victimized due to the issue of his efforts to institute drug testing in the Hoboken Police Department. A September 2009 Jersey Journal article however uncovered Alicia meeting with Dwek back when he was a council candidate on Peter Cammarano’s ticket earlier that year. Read More...