Month: October 2017

News

Ravi Bhalla: Eminent domain of Union Dry Dock is “urgent”

The following story comes courtesy of the Hudson County View:

The Hoboken City Council approved the 1st reading of an ordinance that would allow the city to acquire the Union Dry Dock property through eminent domain, though the catch is that the second reading won’t occur until after the municipal elections.  While this was the first reading of the ordinance, which typically has no discussion from the public or the council, Councilman-at-Large Ravi Bhalla, a mayoral candidate, expressed his opinion that this was an urgent matter and therefore would be against pushing it until after the November 7th municipal elections.

=&0=& For the complete story, please see the Hudson County View. =&0=&=&2=&: While Councilman Ravi Bhalla declares the eminent domain vote of Union Dry Dock “urgent” he made no such argument proving the substance of such a claim. City Council President Jen Giattino bent over backwards to allow the ordinance late on to the agenda even as she expressed in her conversation late afternoon with the mayor, there was no such urgency requested.  Eminent domain is not an immediate process and will require months if not longer than a year. The City of Hoboken can execute the initial phase and there’s no barrier to them doing so. 

Adding an item to the City Council agenda after the Thursday deadline requires an urgent reason. Councilman Bhalla had no reason other than TBD, to be determined later. 

The only “urgent” matter here is the Ravi Bhalla mayoral campaign needing this as a wedge issue against his mayoral rival Jen Giattino. #FAIL

News

Eminent Domain passes on first reading, second reading November 13th

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The first reading for eminent domain against the Union Dry Dock in uptown Hoboken passed easily 8-1 Wednesday night. The next and critical second reading will not be held as typically anticipated in two weeks but on November 13th – after Hoboken’s heavily contested mayoral election.

The vote as it turns out was anti-climatic. All of the candidates running this election cycle voted on first reading for approval: City Council President Jen Giattino and council members Ravi Bhalla, Mike DeFusco, Dave Mello and Jim Doyle. The vote however was preceded with less than the usual official reading of the ordinance with no discussion. Read More...

News

Mayoral candidate Karen Nason urges no on eminent domain of Union Dry Dock

Official release:

Karen Nason – Better Water Front from Macallan.Productions on Vimeo.

Karen Nason adds a note with the video:


In my choice of words the idea that “Fund for A Better Waterfront” does not own Union Dry Dock is not apparent in my message.  It is and has always been very clear that they do not own which is why I said Ron Hine knows the purchase price is between 10-13 million, probably more.  I know this as I have asked the purchase price for a developer in NYC.  Please forgive the words not conveying properly.  Let’s hope they will acquire not on Eminent Domain. Read More...

News

Mayor sidesteps City Council in eminent domain bid with dozens of tweets

The end of term effort by Mayor Zimmer to push for using eminent domain against Union Dry Dock became a hotter issue leading into the council meeting tonight with a massive Trumpian twitter dump.

Mayor Zimmer who has yet to confer with the City Council on the issue after cancelling meetings sought with her on the north end of Hoboken, launched a massive twitter dump yesterday pushing for eminent domain. In one among dozens posted yesterday she states:

I’ve been proceeding cautiously, gathering info to make informed decisions. Last month we learned new info which gives this matter urgency.

— Dawn Zimmer (@dawnzimmernj) October 3, 2017 Read More...

News

Hoboken resident rejects Ravi Bhalla’s cynical divisive mailer

This comment originally appeared on the Hudson County View under mayoral candidate Karen Nason’s letter slamming her opponent Ravi Bhalla for the mailer as seen below. 


It’s noteworthy as it speaks to the cynical and divisive political mailer by Councilman Ravi Bhalla.
The divisive cynical mailer is backfiring with people of color.


I was really disappointed when we received this mailer last week it’s so divisive.
This post will be a good dinner table discussion with our kids tonight. Read More...

News

Las Vegas nightmare: 50 dead, 200 injured as alleged murderer killed

Photo of alleged killer Stephen Paddock

The UK Record reports on the shooting attack last night in Las Vegas at the Harvest country music festivals from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. The alleged killer Stephen Paddock is dead.

Stephen Craig Paddock was killed inside a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Police said the shooter was a “local individual” who was firing from his hotel room above the concert area. He was killed after a police SWAT team blew the hotel door open and then shot him dead.

One unconfirmed report on twitter alleged a woman told the crowd, “they will die tonight.”

The report detailed the allegation of the woman writing: “A woman pushed her way to the front of a concert and told people they were going to die about 45 minutes before a gunman opened fire killing at least 50 people. 

The woman of interest who is a roommate of Paddock is “located” based on this UK Independent report. Her name is Marilou Danley.

According to the same UK Daily Record report, the 50 people killed exceeds that of Islamic terrorist Omar Saddiqui Matteen who killed 49 In June 2016: The worst previous incident took place in June 2016 when Omar Saddiqui Matteen, 29, killed 49 people inside gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida.

Update: The UK Independent in a bizarre twist says ISIS takes responsibility for the attack claiming Paddock converted to Islam several months ago. Authorities however have not confirmed any such details to their claim.
Update 2: The FBI denies reports of an ISIS connection.
Update 3: Rumors all day are circulating online the alleged murderer attended an anti-Trump rally in Las Vegas last month and another says Antifa literature was found in his hotel room. Paddock’s father was a convicted bank robber and lived “off the grid” as an outlaw, declared a psychopath by the FBI and placed on the FBI’s Top Ten Wanted List. A brother in an interview gave a less than credible performance claiming Stephen Paddock’s life was all open and available. NBC reports he gambled large sums in the $10,000 and up category. Paddock told people he made his living as a gambler. Doesn’t pass the smell test. Read More...

News

Mayoral candidate Karen Nason slams Ravi Bhalla mailer as “divisive” & “everything this country does not need”

Karen Nason, a Hoboken mayoral candidate submitted this in response to Rhavi Bhalla’s mailer “I’m everything that Trump hates. A brown man wearing a turban.”

Her letter is in response to the comments in Ravi Bhalla’s mailer which she states, “I believe are divisive and everything this country does not need to engage in at this time.  This country needs to come together!” The Ravi Bhalla Mailer mailer in limited circulation:

Official release:

Dear fellow Republican, With all the campaign garbage so many put out, election season seems never ending. That’s why, as the only loud and proud Republican Mayoral candidate, I have refrained from wasting your time with empty adverts and nonsense promises. I have stuck to real issues – from creating a pro-small-business climate that will fill up empty storefronts, ending the tax/bond and spend philosophy coming from City Hall, ceasing the social engineering that is the anti-car crusade and bike lane obsession, fighting the cost of life increases those in City Hall inexplicably love to create when they negotiate bad contracts like the Suez deal, and more. As a small business entrepreneur and singer, I have always had friends across the political spectrum. Today I’m writing you, my fellow Republican, because of our shared values. For too long we have seen the regressive Zimmerites negotiate bad contracts that raise our cost of living, prioritize bikes over parking, abuse eminent domain to build a southwest park (between some of the most unsafe intersections in the City), build benches for the growing number of beggars, and promote more big government bad ideas. In short, we have seen the social engineering our party and values are against because we believe in individual freedom, personal property rights, and the duty of government to get out of our lives and refrain from making living more expensive. Every other mayoral campaign includes and/or praises Zimmerites – I am the only candidate who doesn’t want to double down on the mistakes of the past. While many office seekers would advise you only to vote for those who have aligned with them, I’m not like other candidates. I’m recommending Republicans vote for Joshua Einstein, Angelo Valente, and Michael Flett for City Council. Each one of these candidates is a Republican who has supported our values and contributed to growing the party. Einstein is a grass roots party activist who was recently elected to the Republican State Committee, a policy writer who brings clarity and common sense to the opinion pages, and has stood up for our values loudly and proudly. Valente, a longtime Republican leader in Hoboken, was elected to the City Council in the early 1980’s, served as the youngest City Council member at age 23, and once ran for NJ State Assembly on our GOP ticket for District 33. Flett has contributed to the success of the GOP by putting his money where his mouth is – he has donated to both Senator Rand Paul and President Donald Trump. In the coming weeks, the cacophony of campaign mailers, calls, and door knocking will increase but despite the special interest politics and spending programs my mayoral competitors are all offering, the facts will remain the same. I was the first to declare my run – even before Mayor Zimmer announced her departure from Hoboken politics. I am the only mayoral candidate unafraid to run as a Republican, the only one hasn’t endorsed a former member of the Zimmerite coalition, and the only one who has correctly identified the issues. Our City has a government that is too large and intrusive, that is detached from the needs of the people, and that makes life more difficult and more expensive for residents. On November 7, vote Karen Nason 1-H for Mayor, and Joshua Einstein 1-I, Angelo Valente 3-I, and Michael Flett 5-I for City Council.

Read More...