Tonight’s meeting will be slamming and not just for July.  There’s big legislation on deck and the public will get a chance to weigh in on much of it as it’s up for final approval.

From ordinances on Corner Cars to Campaign Finance Reform to Class II Officers, lifting hiring restrictions from within Hoboken and moving municipal elections to November, this is going to be one hot summer night.

The last two items promise some fireworks.  The Old Guard is not keen on seeing higher voter turnout in the fall.  After all they have a limited pool to draw votes and the best way for them to get the results they seek is keep apathy high on a nice summer like spring day when their voters turn out as if their lives depended on it.  Sometimes they are right, they do depend on it. Read More...

Several young people wearing the same red t-shirts, saying “Preserve quality health care …and access to our hospital,” were seen in midtown Hoboken.

Asked where they got the t-shirts, “the nurse’s union,” was the reply.
Another witness said they were from Bayonne.

They also seemed somewhat camera shy, as in very.

The big public meeting is tomorrow. It looks like ther’s an effort to rig the game. People should show up and speak on the matter.

It’s important HOBOKEN residents do so. Read More...

Mayor Dawn Zimmer issued a letter to the City Council on the issue of the county grant and the application of a current grant and the option for a park in the southwest part of town:

MSV will be following up on this issue having interviewed more of the players who are speaking to each other versus issuing press releases without doing any work on the matter whatsoever.

Memo Zimmer Council 7-20-11 Read More...

Don’t put this in the can you believe this one file, but Councilwoman Beth Mason issued one of her patented less than accurate email blasts and this one clearly has Target Sabotage written on it.

Mason is encouraging people to come speak on the hospital tomorrow, but it’s not to save it.  Instead she complains the contract calls for only 75% of the jobs to be saved.  The truth is the contact calls for a minimum of 75% of the jobs to be maintained in any sale with Bayonne’s Holdco. Read More...

There is a better way I tell you, I have seen the future. I would ask you to take the way you do your grocery shopping and re-think it, because I have figured out a way to buy things I use everyday that makes much more sense to me. Let’s see, let’s start with apples. When I buy apples I take about three weeks to prepare. First thing I do is find a group of people like myself who like Granny Smith apples, but have a particular aversion to Golden Delicious. We get together, have a house parties, drink wine and eat cheese, catch up on old times, tell our war stories about how silly Golden Delicious apples are, and how there ought be more Granny Smith Apples in the world, and of course about how insightful we all are for having come to this conclusion.  Over the course of these few weeks, we make a special point of reading everything the distributors of the various kinds of apples have to say in the aggrandizement of the particular kind of apple they are promoting to help pay their mortgages. Then, on the big day, we take a bus trip to a station about ten miles away, call a taxi, fight our way through a sea of picket lines of people indifferently promoting the Golden Delicious  as they give looks askance to the people in picket lines across the street indifferently promoting Granny Smith apples. Upon arrival at the supermarket, I then proudly buy a two years supply of Granny Smith apples AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE, get back in the cab and go home. And I better hurry, because there is another dedicated shopping trip by bus and cab to do in three weeks, and it turns out that Valencia Oranges, which I just love and know a lot of people that love, are going to have quite the run for their money against these crazy, badly motivated, upstart distributors for Navel Oranges. And I can’t wait to get to that Valencia Orange house party, because I just got a  most cheerful new outfit, and just EVERYONE will be at the party to see and be seen.  I also am anticipating a couple of glasses of a good vintage Chablis for my trouble. But remember, on that big day when we get on the bus to the cab to go to the same store, we are to buy a two years supply of oranges and NOTHING MORE, as no other system makes sense, and we have no interest in having any of these myriad trips to the store have any  of the efficiencies of scale.  After all, who cares how much these trips to the store cost, and perish the thought, we might inadvertently compare apples to oranges. This, basically in a nutshell, and I do mean NUT shell is why the Old Guard would have you believe that the people of Hoboken should go to the same polling machine many, many times each year, instead of holding all elections in November. Makes sense to me. I know nobody asked me, but my two cents is that I believe at this juncture the important work of the Reform majority (or whatever tent name that should be) is furthering the agenda of good government as possible while concurrently creating and maintaining a sustainable power base, so progress can continue in such framework. So, let’s talk about that framework. About those different kinds of city council seats.  Those ward seats, boy, I’ll tell you, what a quaint little set-up. In my mind, the ward seats served a function at one time, which they largely do not anymore. The agenda of any one ward varies only very slightly at best from other wards. It is the worst kept secret in Hoboken that through whatever legal or possibly illegal means, the outcome of ward elections has been manipulated to create outcomes based on infiltration of the ward by special (esp. moneyed) interests controlling the vote. The operative dynamic is the authorities either are unaware, indifferent, or unable to reign in the alleged foul play. Hence, we have a broken, slanted system, which no one seems able to rectify; all the while election after election takes place in this unrepresentative, skewed system. So it would seem the only effective course of remedy in order to return to the equities of a “one man/ one vote” system is to eliminate the ward seats, and have them all be council-at-large seats. If anyone has a better idea, I’m all ears.  Now the Old Guard is starting to make noises about eliminating at-large seats. There is no wondering why. Concurrent with the Old Guard forwarding that agenda, Reform should roll out such a “eliminate the ward seats” initiative as described above. End result is most likely to be that at the end of the day nothing changes, but in the absence of that opposing force, the Old Guard might just get some of these downgrades to truly representative democracy through, because there will be no counter-initiative inertia in place. Net result: loss of ground. Yes, this may be a bunch of political bullshit, posturing, gnashing of teeth and wasting of energies, but Reform needs to start stepping up to the tactical rules of engagement that exist, or the likelihood of losing ground increases as the assault volleys keep coming in. So I guess I am not talking about offense vs defense, but offensive vs counter-offensive. Simple cause and effect negotiation dynamics.   Reform should have a roadmap to success at the ballot box. Get a SUSTAINABLE powerbase going. That is and will continue to be what Reform is up against, and the world we live in, like it or not. I may be wrong, but I often think Reform does not “get” this or finds it too distasteful to engage in or discuss. I can and do respect that. But the aforementioned is the kind of number being done on Reform and to survive and prosper, IMO Reform must step up. Or make peace with being a “message” party as in: also ran, meaning too naive, too squeamish or too ivory tower righteous to go for the win. You pick ’em. ********** p1ywood has an opinion about everything it seems. These opinions are solely those of p1ywood and not necessarily Da Horsey and MSV.  p1ywood is currently taking bookings for a whimsical, gag-laden, fifteen-minute floor show for wood industry trade shows. Please don’t capitalize p1ywood. Twitter: p1ywood, Facebook : Ply Wood. Yeah, I know, I know, those guys at Facebook MAKE ME capitalize it. You all get home safe, now.

Dear friends,   Please come and join a community meeting with the State Health Dept. this Thursday, 6-8 pm at Our Lady of Grace Church, to help save our hospital and save our taxpayers.       The proposed sale of the Hospital to the principal owners of Bayonne Medical Center is a huge opportunity for our City, an enormous win for all of our residents.   The transaction achieves two objectives few thought possible – it both  saves the Hospital and relieves the City of its potentially crippling $52 million loan guaranty.   I urge you to make your voice heard to help this incredible opportunity succeed. The alternative we face if this transaction doesn’t succeed is bleak.   Without this sale the hospital will close. The financial situation at the hospital is severe, and there is no time to negotiate another deal.     Opponents of this transaction, for their own personal reasonsnot reflecting the interests of Hoboken’s residents, claim that the Hospital can survive even if this transaction fails.   They are simply wrong.     Unfortunately, it is the residents of Hoboken who will pay the price for their mistake if they are successful in sabotaging the sale. The reality of HUMC‘s financial situation is that there is simply no other choice.   If the proposed sale does not succeed and the hospital is forced to close, the City will not only lose a vital institution that has served our community for 150 years, we will face the financially crippling reality of having to satisfy our $52 million bond obligation, as well as millions of dollars of additional costs associated with closing the hospital.     This will likely result in higher taxes and reduced City services, damaging both the finances and quality of life of Hoboken’s residents.       Here’s all the information for the meeting this Thursday: What: Special request from Mayor Zimmer regarding sale of Hospital   What’s involved: Speaking for 3 minutes in support of sale of HUMC to principal owners of Bayonne Medical Center   Why:  Selling HUMC will save our hospital and the taxpayers of Hoboken   When:    Thursday, July 21, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 pm   Where:   Our Lady of Grace Church, 422 Willow Avenue   Please come and speak if you can. Thanks for listening.  Dawn News Occhipinti spokesman: Let’s grandstand on a Southwest Park 07/19/201101/22/2021 by SmartyJones1 Min Reading Tim Occhipinti’s handlers issued a statement urging the Mayor and Councilman Dave Mello to act on rerouting a county grant of $3 million for a Southwest park.  The deadline for such application is tomorrow and although Occhipinti’s release was sent to the Beth Mason political apparatus Hoboken411 and other local media outlets, Tim Occhipinti didn’t say a word to anyone before the press release. The application deadline to reprogram funding is Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 and the actual grant expires on August 13, 2011. The release states, “The Southwest Park can become a reality and over the past few months the City has made progress towards the creation of the park,” said Occhipinti. “We have a golden opportunity to put unused money towards a much-needed project in the often-neglected 4th Ward and I’m afraid we are going to lose out.” The Occhipinti press release also notes, “This year Hudson County is giving municipalities a “one-time” chance to re-program unused funding from the Open Space Trust Fund for eligible projects.” Hoboken Patch posted a story earlier today quoting the mayor who said she doesn’t do business with council members via the media. Read More... News Unaccounted $52,000 from Street Money Mason and silence of the media lambs 07/19/201101/22/2021 by SmartyJones6 Min Reading Since MSV broke the story of Beth “Street Money” Mason’s 52 G’s hitting the street last month, there’s been little said by the local media and government watch dogs.   The one exception is our colleague Grafix Avenger who is becoming a snoop of sorts, part time satirical Avenger and part time muckracker.   Original Avenger Emma Peel, she kicked ass too Da Horsey loves being a muckracker being this town is sorely lacking in same and isn’t fond of sharing the moniker, but it was Grafix Avenger who broke the story on Peter Cammarano’s early departure from Club Fed, with his getting almost a third off his sentence even before becoming eligible for good behavior.   MSV was behind Grafix Avenger that day and was proud to give well deserved props.   Hoboken media is operating on a different standard.  Its editors are sympathetic to the status quo and business as usual, and maintaining access and “relationships.”   They view themselves as the gatekeepers of information and reflexively protect the Old Guard, even trotting out defenses for their criminality (don’t they have lawyers to do that) while maintaining a laser like focus when anyone remotely connected to Mayor Zimmer jaywalks or has an expired car registration sticker.   When it comes to that Old Guard corruption, it’s disinterest is apparent in non-descript headlines and burying the story.  You can almost hear their tears hitting the floor when they reluctantly are compelled to do so.   Part of the reason is not so nefarious.  The Old Guard gives them love and attention for writing nice things (or not writing certain things at all) while Reform maintains a professional demeanor and doesn’t show the love in hugs, warm embraces, or money under the table at local eateries for that matter.  Add to it, the overall intellectual dishonesty and less than veiled hostility to Reform and its leader Mayor Dawn Zimmer and the recipe makes for one ugly stew.   As a follow-up to the July 1 interview with Councilwoman Beth Mason, there has been no update with filings online to NJ ELEC showing a breakdown of the $52,000 in street money strewn around like campaign bagels on a Saturday morning.  Mason indicated she believed NJ ELEC erred and the complete report was filed in City Hall but in fact it has not. Not one story has appeared anywhere on this amazing amount of cash unaccounted for in one small ward race. In addition, the People for Open Government (POG) who were rightly pushing for a local compliance officer to be appointed at City Hall got their wish with Hoboken legal counsel acting in that necessary capacity.  The compliance is not being complied with, receiving zilch from the one time member who claims founding status for the organization – yes that would be Beth Mason. For weeks now, the local media has shown not a shred of interest in any of this, eerily similar to the Peter Cammarano early release story.  MSV doubts if the name behind this odd application of street loot in quantities sufficient to pave certain ward streets in gold occurred under a campaign of the current City Council President, we’d be hearing crickets.  You’d see it on the front page if that was the case. At a minimum, one would likely see a letter from POG in their story condemning the current Council President with a demand the mayor apologize for once breathing in the same room together at one time or another. Since Beth Mason flushed her reform credentials down the toilet a while ago taking a roll in the hay with the Russo clan, she’s received warmer and warmer local media coverage.  How does the local media explain this oversight?  Is $52,000 in street money alone not worth a story let alone unaccounted funds of such magnitude? Well since Beth Mason is thoroughly in league with the Old Guard nowadays, she gets more leeway.  Notice, it’s not Beth Mason that changed the Russo’s, it’s the other way around with various unethical and semi-legal funding schemes across elections around town including the family checkbook teaming up with Frank Raia to fund his ticket against Kids First in the BoE last spring as just one example. Although we’d like to believe Hoboken is an island unto itself, it’s fairly recent in its unofficial declared independence under Mayor Zimmer who has taken on all adversaries foreign and domestic while pushing change and tax reductions with gusto against the powers that been.  Both she and Reform are reviled for it. You’re messing with the status quo and the status quo ain’t none too happy about it. Well let’s toss all that aside and have another Frank Raia party while Beth Mason skates on more blatant campaign law violations.  Got transparency? New and improved: The Street Money Mason Store is open again.  There’s no explanation or ELEC compliance forthcoming from Councilwoman Beth Mason on the humongous amounts of cash strewn on Hoboken’s streets.  Hoboken media and POG have not shown any interest on such an outrageous action.  Grafix Avenger has though and has raised the issue there.  Thanks GA! =&1=& A free Street Money Mason mug to the first person who files a complaint with NJ ELEC.  Send MSV a copy to qualify.  Apparently, the current “leadership” heading POG have no interest in doing anything either.  Perhaps planning Thanksgiving dinner at the Masonic Temple on Hudson Street is more their thing. Will the Feds care to look?  Or do they need bother at this point with what they’ve already accumulated? =&2=& Councilwoman Beth Mason posted her final ELEC report and it’s not an eye opener, it’s a full scale riot.  Officially she states she contributed over $160,000 for her 2nd ward race in a self-funded spending orgy – but $52,000 of it is in street money and unaccounted for to Blue Water Operations, a firm owned by her consultant Ryan Yacco. We’ll have more on this but for now it’s important to know that there are a lot of bodies buried here, actually more than a lot. Read More... News It’s really hot, so chill 07/18/201101/22/2021 by SmartyJones1 Min Reading It’s really hot and the temps have hit the mid 90’s today.  How about easing back with a cold one?  If staying on topic is hard, surely a few cold suds will help ease the heat. It’s hot out but don’t be left out in the cold when you need a nice beverage to go with $52,000 in Beth Mason street money. Product Description: Enjoy your favorite beer or beverage in this sturdy glass stein. See your drink peeking through the printed design. Perfect as a single gift or in a set to enjoy with friends and family. Holds 16oz (475ml) Measures 6″ tall, 3.25″ diameter Heavyweight frosted glass Dishwasher and microwave safe Extra large handle Printed in the USA Here’s the rear or the front for lefty’s: Talking Ed Note: There’s been no filing showing the attachments with NJ ELEC on Beth Mason’s $52,000 in street money.  In addition, nothing of the Councilwoman’s final campaign report was submitted to the City Hall’s Clerk Office and the Compliance Officer. Read More... News What first: Feds strike Hoboken or a new Russo Association opening? 07/18/201101/22/2021 by SmartyJones1 Min Reading The clock continues to tick, foreboding ticks of the clock and with the month winding down, a John Grisham turn of events is set to occur. As people look at one another with questions, and behind closed doors pointing fingers, several new avenues have come to MSV’s attention in the Hoboken FBI criminal investigation. For the betting person, a novel over and under bet for starters.  Will the Feds strike in Hoboken first or does the homeless Russo Civic Association see an opening of its new digs?  That’s about as lighthearted as things are going to get in Hoboken this summer. Read More...