hobokenhorse.com

Official release:

    Dear friends and neighbors,  

It was because of so many of you – your letters, emails, phone calls and presence – that today we received a second bite at the apple.  The resolution to approve NJ Transit’s acquisition of the Union Dry Dock site from NY Waterway was removed from the agenda due to lack of support from voting board members.  So no vote was taken.  This was our second choice; first choice would have been a decided “No” vote.  But both get us to the same place which is a much needed pause so we can have an opportunity to find a better solution for all stakeholders Read More...

The following video report comes courtesy of The Hudson County View:

City of Hoboken issued this release on today’s event:

=&0=& Today the NJ Transit Board of Directors was scheduled to vote on purchasing the Union Dry Dock property and leasing the property back to NY Waterway for use as a ferry maintenance and refueling facility. The meeting was abruptly cancelled due to a lack of quorum. Following the cancelled meeting, NJ Transit issued a notice for a rescheduled board meeting at 10am on Friday, January 12, 2018.

“Today was a tremendous victory for Hoboken, and more importantly, for good government,” said Mayor Ravinder S. Bhalla. “Hitting the pause button on this rushed and ill-conceived plan provides NJ Transit the opportunity, under the leadership of the incoming Murphy Administration, to begin a deliberative and transparent planning process that considers input from all stakeholders, including the public.  Any further attempts to subvert this process will be met with fierce resistance from me, and I pledge to use every resource at my disposal to protect Hoboken’s interests. Read More...

According to a report by the Hoboken Resistance & Advocate, today’s NJ transit hearing to approve the purchase of the Union Dry Dock for use by NY Waterway is suspended.

Almost 100 members of the Hoboken public joined Mayor Ravi Bhalla with Council President Ruben Ramos and council members Tiffanie Fisher, Jen Giattino, Vanessa Falco and Jim Doyle united in opposition to the NJ Transit plan to purchase and give NY Waterway use of the location. Former councilman Dave Mello also joined the effort. Read More...

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The delayed NJ Transit vote last week rescheduled for Friday is postponed to Monday.

Or is it.

The governor-elect came out on Saturday criticizing the late vote before he assumes office following an earlier action seeking the resignations of top officials in the agency.

From the Saturday NJ.com article:

Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has demanded that NJ Transit postpone a vote scheduled for Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on the controversial purchase of Hoboken waterfront property for use as a ferry maintenance yard. The article outlines the divide on NJ Transit paving the way for New York Waterway to use the former Union Dry Dock site: The measure being considered by NJ Transit’s board of directors would authorize staffers to purchase the 3-acre Union Dry Dock site from New York Waterway, then lease the site back to the company for its use as a ferry maintenance yard. New York Waterway purchased the property in November for $11.5 million from the company that formerly operated the dry dock — Hoboken’s last working shipyard — and NJ Transit was expected to pay about the same price. New York Waterway says it ferries about 30,000 daily commuters between New Jersey and New York, and NJ Transit says the ferry system is a key component of the trans-Hudson transportation network, both on a regular basis and during emergency situations like last year’s “Summer of Hell” rail service restrictions at Penn Station New York. 

The NJ governor-elect came to Hoboken today on his scheduled stops in Jersey City and North Bergen to discuss transportation issues. Here’s Phil Murphy pictured with Mayor Ravi Bhalla and Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro. Hoboken council members were aware of the visit but apparently only his slate members Jim Doyle and Emily Jabbour were invited. Isn’t the election campaign over?

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It was the barber on Jackson Street by way of Camden and south Jersey who got Beth Mason the appointment to a seat on the Hoboken Housing Authority.

If not a full Sweeney Todd production, a reliable source at the state level says “Sweeney was the one who got her (Beth Mason) the appointment. The favor was for Sweeney.”

The reference is to the powerful southern NJ State Senator Steve Sweeney (D-3) who also serves as the state majority leader.

For years, Beth Mason funded the political aspirations of the powerful State Senator’s and would host parties in Atlantic City during the annual League of Municipalities conference. Read More...

The Hoboken Resistance & Advocate returns with an overview of the new Bhalla Administration in week one.

No one should find a first week definitive of course but there’s notable highlights and some of concern.

First, the mayor’s office is seeing a rapid, dramatic expansion with a significant increase in cost. The mayor’s aides are a major expansion both in cost and headcount. The HR&A notes there are two people replacing the former and initial Chief of Staff under Dawn Zimmer – at multiples in cost higher. Read More...

Appearing for the first time after his two terms and eight and half years as a Hoboken city councilman,  Dave Mello spoke in public portion to urge the legislative body allow voters to decide if they want to see runoff elections reinstated in November.

Out of the gate, Dave Mello remarks how he learned in the early am hours of June 20th on a local website Mayor Dawn Zimmer was backing out of running for another term. While he doesn’t name the website, it’s fairly obvious it’s MSV. Read More...