=&0=& =&1=&

Dozens of comments have appeared on MSV in recent days discussing various views on the impending Washington Street redesign.

A special meeting on the Washington Street redesign is set for Monday night at City Hall.

Central to those comments is the possible negative impact, some say severe with the inclusion of bicycle lanes and reducing two car lanes on Washington Street.

Bike lanes on Washington to be or not to be, that is the question.

One commenter, Indiecom summed up the dozens of views earlier today thusly:

I guess I don’t understand why so much time has been wasted trying to market, promote, convince everyone that bike lanes are so critical and so necessary for Washington Street – not to mention thousands of dollars paid to consultants. How many of us see tons and tons and tons of bicycles on Washington Street (road or sidewalk?) I’d say the answer is: none of us. There is no critical mass happening here; no overwhelming cry from the community; it’s just something the Mayor, the girl scouts, Bike Hoboken, the many “professionals” that will get lucrative contracts want.  


On the other hand, I don’t think anyone in town questions the need to fix the infrastructure, the overhead traffic signals and the paving of Washington Street. Interest in having these things done is absolutely at critical mass.  


So the question is – why not separate out that on which there is universal agreement and pass a resolution without the bike lanes. At this point it appears that the physical barriers have been removed so they truly could be added at a later time – no harm, no fowl. I’d also suggest pulling out the 1mm for the sidewalks; that can be done at a later time as well.  


It is not relevant whether NYC have them or Seattle, or (insert any city name) have them. There simply is no emergency reason to bundle the controversial/contested item into the resolution. Let’s face it, there are questions about traffic congestion and a little research would probably demonstrate that there are places where narrowing the streets for bike lanes has caused this. No one wants to be sitting in traffic, on a bus, on their way to NYC for work, while staring at empty bike lanes.  Read More...

Next Tuesday a herd of donkeys is set to announce their arrival on the Mile Square scene with an event at the popular Garden Street destination on at Fifth St. – Moran’s Pub.

With the Iowa primary in the rear view mirror all eyes are on New Hampshire this Tuesday night and the Hoboken Democratic Social Club debuts with it.

Some special guests not including the Donald are expected to make surprise appearances. The fun is set to start at 7:00.

The Hoboken Democratic Social Club Facebook page is available at:=&0=&

Hoboken has recovered from the record snowfall and thawed out nicely. The cleanup has gone splendidly and a horse aided the thaw vacuuming up a downtown bounty of initial justice.

Spring has not sprung; only the beginning.

From the desk of Councilman Ravi Bhalla:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

If you have an opinion about Washington Street and want to learn about its potential future design, I hope you’ll come to a special City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall (94 Washington St.). The meeting will include a presentation by T&M Associates, the engineering firm developing the final design for our City’s main street.  The City Council will then be asked to vote on a resolution to approve a final design at a meeting on Feb. 17. Washington Street is one of the treasures of our City, but it is in need of major upgrades.  It is one of the City’s most dangerous streets, with more than 300 crashes between 2013 and 2015, according to City data. In addition to paving the road, the new plan would include pedestrian countdown timers, curb extensions, protected bike lanes, optimized traffic signals to increase travel times, and more. Click here to view information on the proposed plan. The presentation will reflect the results of multiple community meetings and workshops about shaping our most popular thoroughfare. I hope to see you there! If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like to provide comments, please feel free to e-mail me at councilmanbhalla@gmail.com. Other Updates
– I wanted to spread the word about a new group called the Hoboken Democratic Social Club. On February 9 at 7 p.m., the group will host their first event at Moran’s (corner of 5th St. and Garden St.) to watch the New Hampshire Primary Results. The group was recently formed to bring together Democrats in Hoboken to meet, socialize, and generate ideas to advance our community! For more information, click here.  – In the wake of the tragic death of a young man on our waterfront, I wanted to extend my condolences to the Genovese family for the loss of Matthew. As an elected official, I look forward to speaking with other officials in our City about how we can ensure we have an effective camera system on our waterfront so that our police officers have the tools necessary to do their job. Thank you to the Hoboken Police Department for their work in this case as well, as I believe it is important to recognize the impact these tragedies have on all those involved. If you have any questions about any issues, please feel free to contact me at councilmanbhalla@gmail.com. I hope to see you all next Monday and Tuesday. Sincerely, Councilman Ravinder S. Bhalla

=&0=& =&1=& =&2=& =&3=& Mayor Dawn Zimmer invites all members of the community to attend her sixth State of the City address. The event will take place on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at 7:00 pm at the DeBaun Auditorium in Edwin A. Stevens Hall on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology. Seating is open to the public and tickets are not needed to attend.

The main entrance is on 5th Street directly across from Stevens Park. The wheelchair entrance is located in the rear entrance of the building on River Street with handicapped parking located behind the two buildings (McLean & Babbio) located directly across the street from the ramp. For additional information, visit:http://ugstudentlife.stevens.edu/org/debauncenter/DeBaun_Auditorium_Directions. Read More...

Beth Mason will attempt once again to get a pound of flesh with her trial set against MSV this Friday.


Her criminal allegations are now outstanding for almost a year and a half, a remnant of the hangover from court approved subpoenas to her and Richard Mason in a failed political operation: the Bajardi v. Pincus SLAPP-suit.

Thanks for all the kind wishes and support as we gear up again for justice. =&0=&

Community: Community Invited to Special Council Meeting on Washington Street Plan Dear Horsey & MSV readers, All members of the Hoboken community are invited to attend a special meeting to be held on Monday, February 8, 2016 at 7:30pm in City Council chambers to discuss the final design for the Washington Street plan. The meeting will include a presentation by T&M Associates, the engineering firm developing the final design. A resolution to approve the final design will be on the Council agenda for Wednesday, February 17. Once a final design is approved, final engineering drawings and bid specifications will be completed, and the project will be bid out for construction. Washington Street is Hoboken’s most dangerous corridor, with more than 300 crashes between 2013 and 2015, including a pedestrian fatality. The final design incorporates complete streets principles and builds upon the conceptual design developed in 2014 through an extensive community planning process. The plan will also modernize all elements of infrastructure along Washington Street. The 100-year-old water main will be replaced, green infrastructure will be incorporated to capture stormwater runoff and alleviate flooding as part of the Rebuild by Design strategy, and conduit for the backbone of a microgrid will be installed to improve energy resiliency for critical infrastructure. In addition to the complete repaving of the roadway, key highlights of the plan include: • Complete streets design provides safe access for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. • Pedestrian countdown timers, curb extensions, ADA ramps, and new brighter street lights improve pedestrian safety. • Corridor travel times and emergency response times are expected to improve 12% to 15% through new optimized traffic signals and an emergency vehicle preemption system. • Protected bicycle lanes take bikes off sidewalks by providing safe access for all skill levels. Retail sales have been shown to increase after adding protected bike lanes to retail corridors. • The addition of loading zones, short-term parking spaces, and other policy changes increase parking availability for commercial activity and reduce the amount of double parking by delivery vehicles and those running quick errands • Parking capacity is preserved by increasing the angle of parking on the east side of the street (uptown) and relocating fire hydrants to corners as part of the water main replacement. Typical cross section and plan views for the downtown and uptown segments of the road can be viewed at: www.hobokennj.org/docs/transportation/Washington-Street-Plan.pdf.