Hoboken Housing Executive Director Carmelo Garcia alleged to have been the person discussed in recent weeks as taping public officials launched a bizarre counter to that emerging story with a lawsuit filed in Superior Court against Mayor Zimmer, her husband and the former HHA Chair charging among other allegations planned “ethnic cleansing” of minorities.
Hoboken Assemblyman and Mayoral Candidate Ruben Ramos today announced plans to hold scheduled monthly meetings with local business owners and form a Blue Ribbon Task Force for local business in Hoboken in order to receive input on how the city can best serve merchants in the wake of multiple recent departures and closings of small businesses.Read More...
Community: City of Hoboken Receives Court Approval for Southwest Park Acquisition
Hudson County Superior Court Assignment Judge Peter Bariso ruled on Wednesday that the City of Hoboken may acquire a nearly 1 acre property for the first phase of a Southwest Park, an important component of a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy.
“I have been involved in the fight for a Southwest Park for many years, and I am very excited that we are finally in a position to acquire the first building block of what will ultimately be a larger park,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “As soon as we deposit the check with the court, we will own the property and can begin the community planning process for this much-needed park. We are now just one vote away from turning this vision that so many have fought for into reality. The future of the Southwest Park is now in the hands of the City Council. I urge them to support this park because for most of us, parks are our shared back yards, and I believe all our residents – regardless of where they live – should have a park within a short walking distance.”
At the September Council meeting, the City Council will be asked to approve the deposit with the court for the offer amount of $2.937 million. The funding is available through a $3 million Hudson County Open Space grant. In addition, the City Council will be asked to award a contract for a planner to begin the public planning process for the Southwest Park.
“Hoboken deserves this new park,” said Hudson County Freeholder Anthony L. Romano. “Working with County Executive DeGise and my colleagues on the freeholder board, I am glad we are able to provide the grant funding to make this possible. We are proud to work with Mayor Zimmer and the Hoboken City Council as they endeavor to acquire this land.”
“This is a great day for Hoboken,” added Councilman David Mello. “We have been working towards having a park in our neighborhood as parks advocates since 2006. The acquisition of the properties on this particular block has been a top priority for me as Chair of the Community Development committee. I am confident it will serve as the ideal cornerstone for what will one day be an even larger Southwest Park.”
The Judge found that the City engaged in good faith negotiations with the property owners of Block 12, which is located between Jackson Street, Harrison Street, Observer Highway and Paterson Avenue. While the City offered $2.937 million for the property based on an appraisal, the final value would be established by an independent three-member commission appointed by the Judge.
As part of a comprehensive resiliency and readiness strategy to protect from flooding, the City is receiving $500,000 in technical assistance through the Rockefeller Foundation-funded Re.Invest Initiative to incorporate sustainable flood mitigation strategies, including underground water detention systems, into a new Southwest Park and other proposed parks in flood-prone areas. The City’s full Resiliency and Readiness Plan is available online at www.hobokennj.org/ready.
The Southwest Area has been designated an Area in Need of Rehabilitation, and if the first phase of the park is acquired, the City intends to substantially expand the park through the Rehabilitation process. For full details, view this message on the web.
Focusing on accomplishments in the last four years, Mayor Zimmer noted the extensive renovations of the parks, purchasing new land for parks, fiscal stability and the hospital being saved along with the efforts post Hurricane Sandly.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer thanked attendees, old and new supporters calling the excitement invigorating.
She first thanked Freeholder Anthony Romano, BoE Members Leon Gold, Ruth McAllister, Irene Sobelov, Jean Marie Mitchell, Council President Peter Cunningham, former council member Carol Marsh and union leader Patty Kelleher.Read More...
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We would like to welcome Dawn Zimmer to the race for Mayor. While she finally realized her re-election is 83 days away, Ruben has been hitting the streets and apartments of Hoboken since March. He has been meeting with and talking to voters, walking every inch of town possible and getting to the heart of the real issues affecting Hoboken.
Ruben is finding a town where the residents are completely dissatisfied with the direction Dawn Zimmer is taking this city in.
By every measure, Zimmer has failed Hoboken on flooding. Zimmer has failed to keep local businesses in town. She even failed on providing residents with the transparency she once sought as a candidate. As we are going along on this campaign we are starting to uncover that she is also failing the integrity test.
Hoboken’s streets are riddled with potholes so deep and sharp that people’s tires and cars are being ripped apart. When you do navigate the poorly kept streets, you still can’t find a single place to park.Read More...
BREAKING: At the campaign launch tonight at Little Town, Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced the City won the right to purchase the one acre of land in the southwest.
The victory means a years long fight and reason for entering Hoboken politics by Mayor Zimmer will be another win for Hoboken as the City enters a full blown election.
A crowd of 125 greeted the news with thunderous applause.
Mayor Zimmer thanked Freeholder Anthony Romano who aided the process reprogramming a $3 million county grant directed to the cost of Hoboken’s first Southwest Park. Read More...
Fresh off an overwhelming victory in the Democratic Primary for the US Senate seat, Newark Mayor Cory Booker came to Hoboken to thank voters downtown at the PATH station.
It’s not Booker’s first visit to downtown Hoboken, he’s previously attended a fundraiser for Mayor Zimmer. Today he was thanking voters who gave him a landslide win in Hoboken.
Booker will go up against Republican candidate Steve Lonegan in October to complete the term of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg.
Mayor Zimmer officially launches her re-election bid tonight with her at-large council slate at Little Town on Sinatra Drive.
US Senate Democratic candidate Cory Booker shares a moment with Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer earlier today in downtown Hoboken as a crowd of onlookers and media look on. Booker is no stranger to the mayor and headlined a fundraiser she held back in 2010.
=&0=&: What we have here is synergy. Boom, there it is.
Photo courtesy NJ.com, by arrangement
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Mayor Dawn Zimmer today unveiled her Council slate and kicked-off her re-election campaign. Running with Zimmer will be incumbent Councilmen Ravi Bhalla and David Mello, and first-time Council candidate, Jim Doyle, alongtime parks advocatewho was instrumental in the successful sale of the hospital asa Board memberof Hudson Healthcare Inc. The Zimmer Team will be introduced at a campaign launch party to be held at Littletown on the Hobokenwaterfront this evening beginning at 6:00 PM.
Mayor Zimmer said, “CouncilmenRavi Bhalla and David Mello have been with me every step of the way as we restored integrity, fiscal responsibility and accountability to City Hall, putting Hoboken back on the right path. Jim Doyle has been fighting for years as a private citizen to ensure that our City has the open space it needs and he volunteered to help lead the successful effort to save our Hospital when it was about to close. I am excited that he has decided to once again fight for our city.Together, I know we are the best team to build on this sound foundation and lead Hoboken forward.” Zimmer became Mayor in the wake of Peter Cammarano’s arrest for political corruption when Hoboken was still reeling from an 80% tax increase and under state fiscal supervision.
Zimmer noted some of her major accomplishments such as saving the city’s bankrupthospital from closing, preserving more than 1,200 jobs and relieving taxpayers from a $52 million bond guarantee and $11 million in interest payments. Other achievements cited by the Mayor were freeing the City from state fiscal supervision by putting in place responsible budget practices like the restoration of the Rainy Day Fund and holding the line on city taxes, providing a tax reduction in each of her budgets. She also noted the significant improvements and upgrades in the City’s parks.
She said that implementing her comprehensive plan to reduce flooding and prepare Hoboken for the future intense storms that are predicted because of climate change will be one of the highest priorities for the next term. Zimmer recently presented Hoboken’s Resiliency and Readiness Plan to the City Council.
Councilman Ravi Bhalla said, “We have put Hoboken on a sound fiscal path and we simply can’t afford to go back. Together with Mayor Zimmer, I will continue to work hard to ensure a bright future for the city we all love.”
Councilman David Mello continued, Together, we have improved our parks, encouraged family-friendly and balanced development, and are working to secure additional active open spaces throughout the western neighborhoods of our City that are currently under served.”
Jim Doyle added, “”We succeeded in saving our hospital. The continuing challenges are preparing for future storms and ensuring a sensible and balanced approach to development. Working on these critical issues will be my highest priorities as a Councilman.”
The Zimmer Team pledged an aggressive grassroots campaign and unveiled their campaign web site, dawnzimmer.com.
Once again, another day and another civil rights scandal in the fourth ward. Grafix Avenger recounts allegations from a woman in the HHA who has stood up to Carmelo Garcia and Vision 20/20 with a report of harassment right inside the voting polls yesterday.
The poll worker told the long time Hoboken resident (who attended Hoboken High School) she could not vote as she “didn’t live here.”
Jessica Coco, a member of the HHA tenant group “Save the Projects” recounted her voting experience yesterday. Those mentioned attempting to block her from voting are self-declared “Friends of Carmelo” re: Carmelitos and past paid recipients of Tim Occhipinti campaigns.Read More...
Back at the end of July in 2009, the newly Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer took the reins of a city after its second in last three mayors had been arrested by the Feds for corruption. Without missing a beat, she immediately began changing the status quo of low expectations and let everyone know it wasn’t going to be business as usual anymore.
This was not sweet music to the Old Guard’s ears. To them, this was nothing short of an act of war and they’ve acted hostilely seeking to hand the mayor and Hoboken a myriad of harm ever since. It’s catalogued here on MSV over the last four years: a war by the Hoboken Sopranos against Hoboken people: unyielding, unashamed, unequivocal in seeking power by any means.Read More...
