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Horsey’s Timely News Posts

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Occhipinti criticizes temporary soccer field at 1500 Park

Occhipinti for Council announces:

=&0=& No water station, no rest rooms, no benches, and barely enough room to play soccer. Hoboken soccer moms are fuming over conditions at the temporary soccer field at 1500 Park Avenue and the city’s response to their concerns. Rather than trying to help, officials warned parents to pick up after themselves and to stay out of nearby buildings. During a visit to the supposedly temporary soccer field at 1500 Park Avenue, 4th Ward City Council candidate Tim Occhipinti met with moms who complained that the city has ignored their calls for action on the field, which has no restroom facilities, no place for families to sit, and has become a bare patch of dirt. “This is appalling. This administration has literally dropped the ball when it comes to soccer for our youngest kids,” said Occhipinti. “They’ve done nothing to bring the soccer field at Sinatra Park back on line, and they have done nothing to make this supposedly temporary field any more user friendly for soccer families. These moms have every right to be livid, and deserve to know where their tax dollars, not to mention their new $25 per child recreation fee, are going.” Occhipinti said, to add insult to injury, parents were told this weekend to stay out of nearby private buildings, which they are sometimes forced to use if their young child has to go to the bathroom. Then, they were threatened with tickets if they double-parked, despite the lack of adequate parking near the field. Lastly, they were reminded to “clean up” after themselves. Over a year ago, the Zimmer administration closed Sinatra Field to the public because a portion of the pier had collapsed. Despite the installation of large protective sheet barriers that have shielded the park from any further damage, plans for further repairs at Sinatra have been frozen as the city council majority, led by 4th Ward Councilman Michael Lenz, bungled the project.

“Instead of creating opportunities for new soccer fields, Michael Lenz is supporting a flawed plan for Western Edge redevelopment that includes NO space for recreation fields,” Occhipinti added. “Michael Lenz has also done nothing to move a plan for a Southwest Park forward. The 4th ward deserves a real park large enough for our kids to play ball on. He has claimed to support such a plan for years when it has served his political agenda, but has done absolutely zero to make it happen.” Read More...

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Lenz campaign: ‘Occhipinti continuing the Cammarano legacy’

Lenz for Council announces:

=&0=& Today, former Mayor and convicted felon Peter Cammarano is going to jail.  It ends another sad corrupt chapter in Hoboken’s recent history but under the Zimmer Administration, with the support of the city council majority, we are finally moving Hoboken in the right direction.  In an earlier press release, Tim Occhipinti said it’s unfair to bring attention to his association with Peter Cammarano because many residents of our great city voted for Mr. Cammarano in 2009. While it is true that many good people with great intentions supported Cammarano, only 1 of those 6000 voters, Tim Occhipinti, has made the decision to surround himself with the same core Cammarano campaign team who somehow didn’t notice that their boss was willing to sell out our city’s future for envelopes full of cash. Only Tim has brought back together that same Cammarano inner circle (Maurice Fitzgibbons, Michael Novak, Michael Goldberg, Perry Belfiore, Frank Raia, Matt Callichio, Nick Callichio, Ryan Yacco, and many others) to run his so-called “Independent” campaign.  Despite saying in his own press release that “without proper checks and balances, [candidates] feel no need to work in the public interest,” Only Tim has refused to sign a Clean Campaign Pledge and run a race that doesn’t pay for votes or disrespect the voters and residents of the 4th Ward. The night before Peter Cammarano was arrested by the FBI for selling zoning variances, Tim Occhipinti was one of a handful of people in front of the city council fighting to give Peter absolute power over….=&1=&    Many former Cammarano supporters have learned from Peter’s despicable attempts to sell our city to developers, but Tim is not one of them.  Peter Cammarano going to jail may end a sad chapter in Hoboken’s history, but Tim Occhipinti is trying to write the sequel.  ELEC filings are due today and the Mike Lenz Campaign has submitted complete forms and posted them on our website (http://lenzforcouncil.com/pdf/29%20Day%20ELEC%20-%20Mike%20Lenz.pdf).  On the other hand, Tim Occhipinti has yet to call out Michael Novak, a high-ranking member of the Occhipinti/Cammarano Campaign Team, for not filing his legally required ELEC forms from his council run in 2009. With all of the problems that Team Cammarano had, including accepting bribes, not filing ELEC forms, and leaving themselves open to charges of vote buying for their massive use of “vote by mail” ballots by paid workers, we once again call on Tim to respect the voters of the 4th Ward and sign the Clean Campaign Pledge. The Mike Lenz Campaign is getting out in the community to talk about Mike’s plans to lower taxes, support balanced development, improve our quality of life, end flooding, and finally bring a southwest park.  Just as important though, past campaigns have raised serious questions about the integrity of our election process.  We are running a campaign that respects the voters, the integrity of the process and the law.  We call on Tim Occhipinti to disavow the unsavory tactics that have been used in the past and do the same.
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Lenz for Council launches events Monday & Tuesday

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 Meet and Greet for Mike Lenz TONIGHT

Hosted by: Scott Madison and Becky Newsom
Former Councilman-at-Large Tony Soares
91 Jackson St.
7 pm
Development decisions made over the next few months will layout what Hoboken will be for the next 100 years. Mike will stand up for the people of Hoboken and only support balanced, Hoboken Friendly Development that gives back to the community and pays its fair share.
Come meet 4th Ward Councilman Mike Lenz and learn about his campaign to lower taxes, bring balanced development, fix flooding, improve our quality of life, and finally build a Southwest Park.

Light Refreshments provided


Chat with Mayor Zimmer and 4th Ward Councilman Mike Lenz
Tuesday, October 5th | 7 pm — 9 pm
Campaign HQ – 60 Madison St

There have been many positive changes at City Hall over the last few months and there is still plenty more to do. Come share your thoughts, suggestions, and concerns with Mayor Zimmer and Councilman Lenz at this Meet and Greet.

Councilman Mike Lenz is a key member of the Mayor’s team and is the deciding vote to lower taxes,stop out of scale developmentfix flooding, and make City Hall more efficient. Mike’s opponent is planning to turn back the clock and return to the failed policies that bankrupted our town, drastically raised taxes, sold us out to developers, and lowered our quality of life.

Come hear why this election is so important to the future of the 4th Ward and the entire city.

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Occhipinti: Cammarano’s jail time ‘ends sad chapter in Hoboken politics’

Occhipinti for Council announces:

=&0=& Today, former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano reports to federal prison, ending another chapter in the sordid tradition of corruption in Hudson County politics. More than 6,000 Hoboken voters who put their trust in Peter Cammarano were betrayed when he accepted campaign cash for influence. There is no pleasure to take from this episode. A family has been destroyed, and more members of our community have lost faith in anyone holding public office. Power corrupts, and an elected official doesn’t have to take an envelope full of cash to betray the people. When elected officials operate without proper checks and balances, they feel no need to work in the public interest. It’s in that environment that backroom deals for political appointments are made in exchange for votes on city councils and public boards. You will hear my opponent, Michael Lenz, invoke Mr. Cammarano’s name many times during this campaign. He’ll do this in the hope that the public will ignore Mr. Lenz’s own

25-year record of insider deals and influence peddling. He once called himself a reformer, but the truth is that Michael Lenz has spent more than two decades trading his political involvement for personal enrichment. It’s through one of these backroom deals that he was rewarded with a county patronage job for himself. This kind of cynical manipulation of public funds represents an ethical deficiency that, while not technically illegal, is certainly not in the interests of the people of Hoboken, and certainly doesn’t represent the actions of a reformer. Read More...

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Tim Occhipinti no Western Edge & commercial; advocates Rockefeller instead

Here’s a short video clip of Tim Occhipinti speaking against the Western Edge Plan last Wednesday night. Carefully note his support for a huge mega-developer who recently pushed for a 40 story commercial skyscraper in Hoboken as a centerpiece of a series of high rises. That 40 story building proposed by the Rockefeller Group in Hoboken would by far be the largest building in Hoboken.

So strikingly odd, Tim Occhipinti rises to complain about the commercial aspects of a mixed use plan presented in the Western Edge plan. Immediately thereafter, he says, “Rockefeller does want to have open discussions.” Really Tim, you took a meeting with the developer and they told you that? That’s so reassuring. Do they want to talk about how many stories their surrounding building should be around their 40 story mega-commercial centerpiece? Would it be 28 or 30 stories? Here’s what Rockefeller themselves planted in a NJ.com story last July: =&0=& =&1=& The current Western Edge redevelopment plan Occhipinit describes as “ill-advised” brings limited commercial aspects but the Rockefeller Group with their 40 story tower and a 100% commercial development is good – that’s the plan we should be having “open” discussions on? Well, knock me over with a feather.
A Rockefeller Group commercial prototype – Tim Occhipinti’s commercial vision for Hoboken development?
=&2=&=&3=& in one plan on the table as part of the Western Edge redevelopment =&4=& changing the entire character and skyline of Hoboken.

Let’s see if the other local media pick up on the this mega contradiction. So far they haven’t. But warning bells should be going off now in all corners of Hoboken, not just the fourth ward. Read More...

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Mike Lenz kickoff, developers prepare election assault on Hoboken

Councilman Mike Lenz kicked off the opening of his campaign headquarters on lower Madison Street earlier today. (We’ll have video later.)

The race is officially on for the fifth decisive vote on the City Council. It should be an exciting election and it’s loaded with some heavy ramifications. Already, there are elements making themselves present; elements showing the developer influence in Hoboken is neither dying, nor dead. It is reassembling and making a strong bid already to take down the independent voice of resistance in Hoboken. Considering the millions at stake, the investment in shady telephone polls and attack mailers will be a drop in the bucket. And it’s waves have been felt throughout town. Ironically, they call themselves, “Citizens for Sensible Development.” You have to applaud the raw cynicism of these developers. Read More...

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Councilman Mike Lenz launches kickoff weekend with office opening

Last weekend, Tim Occhipinti opened his corner office to kickoff his run for the 4th ward council seat special election November 2nd.  This weekend, 4th ward Councilman Mike Lenz will do the same in more modest digs.  Here’s the details:

Lenz for Council announces:

Mike Lenz for City Council Kick-Off Events
Headquarters Grand Opening Weekend
60 Madison St — Ground Floor

Saturday, October 2nd  |  11 am — Speaking @ 12 Noon
Sunday, October 3rd  |  1 pm — Speaking @ 2 pm Read More...

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Lenz to Occhipinti on flooding: Not just a “Watch the Weather Channel” solution

Lenz for Council announces:

Lenz to Occhipinti: The 4th Ward needs more than your “Watch The Weather Channel” solution.

Flooding is a big problem, and no one knows this more than Mike Lenz, a resident of the 4th Ward since 1997.  Mike has been a strong supporter of the Mayor’s efforts to find flooding solutions from day one.   In response to the Mayor’s advocacy, construction is finally underway for the 100 million gallon/day pumping station that will solve 80-85% of the flooding at no cost to the taxpayer.   Still, Mike recognizes that “the pump is a start, but there is much more to be done.  The sewers need to be fixed and maintained on a regular basis. Sewer monitoring has to be utilized to find out what’s really going on under our feet.  Once we have the facts and the pump is online, we must get action to solve the flooding problem 100%.”  Councilman Lenz sponsored the resolution to install state of the art sensor technology — a key milestone in solving flooding for good. Read More...