Hoboken's biggest website exposing corruption and bad pols
The following report comes courtesy of John Heinis at the Hudson County View:
The Hoboken City Council unanimously voted against (8-0) settling six lawsuits with prominent developer Shipyard Associates, which would’ve stopped the Monarch project but also added an extra 79 units to 800 Monroe St.
For the full story, please see the Hudson County View:
http://hudsoncountyview.com/hoboken-council-sinks-monarch-project-settlement-with-shipyard-associates/
Hoboken residents many from the west side of town packed the council chambers and proceeded to demolish a proposed legal settlement up for approval putting tens of millions into the pockets of the Barry brothers and rewarding them after years of litigation after their reneging on an earlier contract.
The proposed settlement would have forestalled the illicitly proposed Monarch Project towers in the northeast corner and shoved over 70 additional units of density into 800 Monroe where 186 units may be built with a 10% affordable housing component.
From the desk of Councilman Ravi Bhalla:
Dear Friends & Neighbors, Since last Wednesday, I have heard from so many concerned residents about the results of the Presidential election. They worry about what’s in store for America. Some fear for their own civil rights, others worry about their friends, and some are still shaking their heads, wondering how this happened. I myself have seen the hatred of this new political climate earlier this year, when a Hudson County resident and supporter of President-elect Trump called me a “terrorist” and said I do not belong in this country. But amidst the fear, there’s been an encouraging question I’ve received over and over from good people in this community, which is, “How do I get involved?” On this day, two things come to mind. First, as you may know, I am a Sikh American. Today is a special holiday for Sikhs, the day of the birth of the founder of our faith, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Guru Nanak advocated against prejudice based on race, religion, gender, and social status. Guru Nanak said, “See the brotherhood of all humankind as the highest order; conquer your mind, and conquer the world.” Guru Nanak was also an advocate of equality of women and all humankind, back in the 15th Century, in accordance with our core values as Americans today. On this day, we should both remember Guru Nanak and seek guidance from his message to the world, as we confront the challenges of our current political climate. “Fear none, frighten none,” is another core tenet of Sikh philosophy that we can draw upon when gracefully resisting injustices and unprovoked attacks on our rights and liberties as Americans. Finally, at the end of the Sikh daily prayer, we say “Nanak naam Chardi Kala, tere bhane sarbat da bhala,” which means that with the name of the Almighty comes rising and optimistic spirits, and that we pray that everyone in the world may prosper and be in peace. These are high ideals, but as a Sikh, I wanted to share them with you and hope they provide some inspiration that at the end of the day, as Hobokenites, Americans, and world citizens, we’re in this together. We must reach out, understand, and most importantly, activate! Let us start organizing at the local level, as real change starts from the bottom up. The key to a powerful party across the state and nation are tight-knit communities full of smart, committed people who will no longer stand on the sidelines and choose to instead build a grassroots effort that spreads the promise of hope and a more progressive future, instead of buying into fear. It would be easy to tune out politics now if you’re unhappy with the results of the election. But it wouldn’t be the right thing to do, and it most certainly is an un-American response. The President and Hillary Clinton have called for us to root for the success of our country despite our discomfort with Mr. Trump as our president. That’s the right message, but we won’t accept or support initiatives that perpetuate discrimination and are in direct violation of our own personal principles. And while we want a prosperous nation, in my America, we won’t turn a blind eye to hatred or accept bullies as part of life – we stand up to them. If you’d like to get involved, learn a bit more about how you can help, or just be around like-minded people who want to figure out how to make a difference, there is a group of Democrats meeting tonight, Nov. 14 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Pilsener Haus & Biergarten at 1422 Grand St. in Hoboken. The group is called New Jersey Awakens, and Dana Wefer of Hoboken is spearheading the effort to organize locally to make an impact nationally. If you can’t make the meeting but are curious as to how you can get involved and use your talents to improve our community, state, or country, e-mail me at councilmanbhalla@gmail.com, and I’d be happy to talk to you! Sincerely, Ravinder S. Bhalla Councilman-at-LargeTonight is an unusual scheduled meeting of the Hoboken City Council with the annual League of Municipalities convening later this week in Atlantic City.
On the agenda is the proposed settlement agreement on the Monarch Project with Applied, re: the Barry family. The City is looking to end the litigation by trading on higher density moving dozens of proposed units to west Hoboken at 800 Monroe.
At the last City Council meeting, dozens of Hoboken residents rose in opposition to the proposed settlement announcement displeased in what they conclude as caving in to the illicit actions of Applied and urging the Hoboken City Council to vote against it.
New Jersey Awakens announces:
LOCAL DEMOCRATS TO ORGANIZE IN WAKE OF TRUMP VICTORY
Three days ago, a Facebook page called “New Jersey Awakens” was formed. Despite how new it is, the group already expects to draw a crowd of nearly 100 tonight in Hoboken at the Pilsner Haus Biergarten, with more than 200 indicating they may come. The election of Donald Trump to the presidency has led to groups of disaffected Democrats and Independents springing up all over the country to meet, commiserate, and plan for the future. =&0=&
City of Hoboken announces:
=&0=& On Veterans Day, Mayor Dawn Zimmer and American Legion Post 107 Commander John Carey announced the winners of the City of Hoboken’s second annual Veterans Day essay contest for students.| (Pictured: Vincent Wassermann, Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Arianna Santiago, Commander John Carey, City Clerk James Farina) |
While I know some of us were disappointed with the results of the national elections, on a local level it was refreshing that so many people got involved in the school board election. Seeing a number of new parents and volunteers invested in the campaign made me feel especially great about the future of our schools. No matter which candidates you supported on Tuesday, I’m confident all parents, residents and school board members will work collaboratively together to make our schools an even better educational experience for our children.
Here are the VBM totals in the Hoboken Board of Education Race:
Jennifer Evans: 659
Sheillah Dallara: 496
Jessica Nelson: 515
Irene Sobolov: 467
Jennifer Rossini: 492
Francis Benway: 459
The number of overvotes is 99 and the undervotes total 816.
These numbers while unofficial suggest there will be no impact on the BoE election results.
As Tuesday night’s election dragged into the early am hours, it became clear the winner would not be declared on the airwaves. It was the print media forced to break the news as the Associated Press made the call on Pennsylvania with 99% of the vote in and was promptly ignored.
So too, the electoral map which many online sources fail to update as of today. As it stands, Minnesota went narrowly to Hillary Clinton and she leads by 0.2% in New Hampshire which may stand.
Here’s the updated electoral map. President-elect Donald Trump will have over 300 electoral votes no matter what the final tallies are in New Hampshire.