Year: 2013

News

Old Guard council wins slashing additional $196,500 funds in budget amendment

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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The Old Guard council scored a major success last night when their budget amendment passed 5-4 with  Council President Peter Cunningham joining to keep the city finances in order moving toward a final budget.

The alternative amendment put forward by council finance chair Jen Giattino failed on a party line 4-4 vote with Jim Doyle sidelined sitting in the audience as the OG lawsuit appeal funded by the Mason family reaped major benefits for them politically but at the expense of funding items in the City. Read More...

News

Mayor Zimmer’s statement on Budget Amendment

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Office of the mayor announces:

=&0=& “I am extremely gratified that the City Council came together and finally introduced a budget amendment last night. As a result, we will be in a position to adopt both the amendment and the final 2013 budget at a special hearing that was scheduled for next Wednesday, June 26th.

The amended Budget retains the flat tax levy included in the Budget introduced by the Administration in March. However, it defers certain expenses and investments in order to offset the decision by some Council Members to include retirement benefits in full in this year’s budget. The introduced budget anticipated that these $950,000 of costs, which are not current operating expenses attributable to this year, but costs that built up over the lifetime of the employees’ service, would be financed over five years as permitted by State law. Read More...

News

Showdown: “War of the Budget Amendments” in City Council @ 7:00

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading



Video streaming by Ustream

Live video for mobile from Ustream
Tonight Hoboken’s budget war will continue since the City is denied the ninth vote in Jim Doyle who is sidelined due to the Mason family appeals on behalf of the Hoboken Sopranos.

So the fun and games will continue with budget amendments from the Finance Chair Jen Giattino and for MORTe Timmy Occhipinti.

Later a non-binding resolution on the BoE and its 4% tax increase will see much grandstanding by its sponsor Michael Russo and his allies.  There won’t be any calls for layoffs of teachers or budget specifics (heaven forbid) in the City Council let alone at the BoE itself, that’s not in the grandstanding playbook.  Kvetching is and tonight, they will kvetch.  A lot. Read More...

News

City prevails seeing rent control class action suit dismissed

by SmartyJones2 Min Reading
Agency Logo
Wednesday June 19, 2013

City of Hoboken
   

Community: City of Hoboken Prevails in Dismissing Class Action Lawsuit

Superior Court Judge Mary K. Costello, the Presiding Judge of the Civil Division in Hudson County, has dismissed a class action lawsuit against the City surrounding the administration of its rent control ordinance.

The suit was brought in 2010 by Gina DeNardo who alleged that the City misapplied the ordinance over a number of years to the detriment of landlords. The City has vigorously defended against this class action lawsuit for the last three years and steadfastly held to its position that the City and its officers have followed and administered the rent control ordinance in good faith for all resident landlords and tenants alike.

Over the last two decades, rent control in the City has been the subject of numerous court cases. Accordingly, the City argued in its summary judgment motion that it had faithfully applied the ordinance in light of the outcomes of those lawsuits. Judge Costello agreed with Hoboken that the Mayor and Rent Regulation Officer faithfully administered the ordinance in light of the lawsuits that have guided its application. She dismissed the class action lawsuit in its entirety based upon qualified immunity grounds stemming from the City’s good faith reliance on court decisions that guided the scope of the ordinance.

“I am very pleased with this decision that confirms that the City has acted properly with regard to the administration of our rent control laws,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “This latest court victory demonstrates once again the importance of making the necessary investment to vigorously defend the City’s interests.”

The City was represented by Victor A. Afanador and Jeffrey A. Shooman of Lite DePalma Greenberg, LLC in Newark.
News

Deconstructing the Hoboken411 by Terry Castellano

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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Hoboken411 the cybersewer where politics is guided by Beth Mason’s iron fisted seal of censorship is the vehicle for pumping out massive fabrications once again – apparently in the hope to knock down Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s high approval ratings leading into the November election.

It’s the second time in recent months Castellano has a “letter” attached to her name appearing on Beth Mason’s notorious vehicle attacking anyone seen in the way of  her power and agenda.  Even the manager of Hoboken’s temporary post Sandy resource center was attacked in recent months in a hateful screed of lies by the notorious Masonista website. Read More...

News

Mayor to hold fundraiser/celebration TONITE downtown at Texas Arizona

by SmartyJones2 Min Reading
Share This:    
Dear Friends,

Please join me for a fundraiser/celebration on Tuesday, June 18

at Texas Arizona (76 River Street Hoboken) from 6:30 – 8:30.
There will be delicious hors d’oeuvres, open bar (beer and wine),
great company and an opportunity to hear about all the positive
things that are happening in our town.  The suggested donation
is $150 per person ($200 per couple).

My campaign is gearing up for another tough race this November.

While my one opponent so far, Ruben Ramos, is focusing on trying to
get politicians from outside Hoboken to “support” his campaign, I believe,
as I always have, that Hoboken elections should and will be decided by
Hoboken’s own residents.  County or State machine politicians pursuing
their own outside agendas should not decide our future.

I ask you to stand with me and my Council team to preserve and
build on the enormous progress we’ve made over the past four years in
restoring integrity in our government, reducing taxes, improving quality
of life, making smarter development decisions and so much more.    

We have had two successful fundraisers in the past few months, but

still have a long way to go. 
Please join me to celebrate all that we have achieved, and come
together to rally for a strong win this November.
The more the merrier so please spread the word to all your friends!

See you next Tuesday!

Dawn


P.S.  If you can’t attend, please send a contribution anyway. A check should
be made out to Friends of Dawn Zimmer Hoboken Mayor and sent to:
Friends of Dawn Zimmer Hoboken Mayor
 45 Essex Street, Suite 204, 2nd Floor
Hackensack, NJ 07601
News

Grist for the Mill: Anthony “Stick” Romano gets his 15 minutes in Vision 20/20

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Anthony “Stick” Romano is getting his 15 minutes in local attention as he ponders much like Hamlet his future and the desire to sit on the second floor mayoral chair at City Hall.

Over the weekend, he shared his Hamletian thoughts on running clearly showing with the summer months ahead in Hoboken and most looking elsewhere, he’s not going to bow out until his full 15 minutes is up.

Romano didn’t show much inclination to convince himself of taking on Hoboken’s popular mayor in the form of Mayor Dawn Zimmer.  He sounded more like a man looking for a reason to not run but if there’s anything on his wish list, he can’t get it at City Hall if he doesn’t run. Read More...

News

A Hoboken tableau

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
Hoboken’s charm and beauty must not be sold out for back door deals and shore homes – that’s their vision in 20/20.

Photo courtesy Jhnny Newman – 8th and Washington – click to enlarge

News

HHA brings a message to the City Council

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

At the last City Council meeting, HHA residents came for the second time to press for approval on a plan that did not exist, offered no redevelopment details and no communication to the impact on neighborhoods and the City at large.

Of course this is Vision 20/20, a plan limited to presenting more than doubling the size of the existing HHA with over 1800 units with higher density.  HHA ED Carmelo Garcia’s claim the HHA Board has options fails to show there was only ONE visual presentation offered to Hoboken – the one with 1850 plus units from the existing 806 units in the HHA downtown in a 2012 HHA meeting presentation. Read More...

News

Trying to do the professional role of a HHA commissioner in Vision 20/20

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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Commentary from last night’s meeting from the front lines:

Last night’s HHA meeting was on the sedate side. There was about three dozen HHA residents among the thousands in the authority in attendance and nary a Mason thug or political operative on her payroll in sight.

The significant agenda item was the fifth attempt of the HHA Executive Director to force through the reappointment of the HHA legal counsel. It’s akin to a bad movie watching this process unfold like a scene cut off the cutting room floor of the movie Groundhog Day. Read More...