News

Hoboken Board of Ed race launched!

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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It’s August but the deadline for filing for trustee on the Hoboken Board of Ed race is over and done. The City Council petition deadline is August 31 when the the full Hoboken election sweepstakes will be officially underway.

Which means like it or not, election season is upon us even if it’s a sleepy summer August. Let’s flip into a higher gear approaching the backstretch and break down the details of how the BoE race may play into the critical six of nine City Council seats up for election this November. Read More...

News

Beth Mason phone poll contagion spreads in the Mile Square

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Reports continue to come in to MSV the Beth Mason poll contagion is spreading in the Mile Square.

Panic and fear have gripped residents as the second ward infection seeks to spread malicious Big Lies onto unsuspecting citizens who are attempting to enjoy their summer.

The northeast sector of Hoboken is believed most infected in Applied Housing buildings with the highest concentration of the queen virus specimen reported at upper Hudson Street and the political section of an office at 12th and Washington posing as a charity. Read More...

News

Beth Mason poll deploys the Big Lie on taxes against Mayor Zimmer

by SmartyJones3 Min Reading

The Beth Mason poll already plagued with its lack of any scientific requirement within the second ward is now traveling outside the ward like an out of control contagion.

One objective of the poll is pushing misinformation about Mayor Zimmer on the issue of taxes. (Don’t ask why, this is Beth Mason.) Under Mayor Zimmer millions in spending have been reduced in the Hoboken budget and  municipal taxes are down.  =&1=& =&2=& =&1=&
Beth Mason’s scorched-earth tactics and politics of personal
destruction has moved on from supporting the notorious SLAPP-suit
against Hoboken residents with a citywide poll selling Big Lies.
However, many taxpayers don’t look at the breakdown on their overall tax bill. Looking at the pillaging being done to the Mile Square City by HudCo, =&5=& The Hudson County tax bill reigns over Hobokenites and is the highest of the three tax portions: municipal, county and schools. Since most Hoboken taxpayers are working when the County Freeloaders make their hit at 6:00 pm and can’t find a go phone in their $500 million plus budget to broadcast their hijack meetings, Hoboken is quite literally suffering a blackout of a headache on all fronts.  All of which is giving one fish and the team of Beth Mason political operatives visions of, well it’s hard to imagine what they think they’re doing. Beth Mason will not be running for any citywide position in Hoboken ever again other than maybe dogcatcher.  The Beth Mason polling is scientifically useless, not only in the second ward but doubly so for the Mile Square as a whole. (The Mason family continues to keep bad political operatives employed, so there’s that.) Some of the new questions in the Beth Mason poll places BoE trustee Peter Biancamano in the mix of second ward candidates. This should come as great news to Biancamano who will be pleased to hear third ward residents are getting word about him possibly being a City Council candidate in another ward. Is there any new way for reckless political operatives to waste a candidate’s money? The new Mason questions are designed to refurbish her scorched-earth image. After her support for a three year SLAPP-suit scalded by Hudson Superior Court, here’s what the Mason henchmen have concocted:
  • The Mason poll claims Beth Mason led the charge against Mayor Zimmer “raising taxes.”
  • As a council president (for all of eight months before being booted) Beth Mason “oversaw” the greatest repaving of roads “ever.” (The County will be thrilled to hear she’s taking credit again for their earlier efforts.)
  • Voted against a high density tower near PATH. No one is sure if Beth Mason’s political operatives are talking about a possible downtown hotel or NJ Transit. One of the few issues over many years in agreement was opposition to a towering NJ Transit sky scrapper.
And that’s it. Mason has nothing else to make-up and no =&6=& record of doing anything: not in the second ward and certainly not for Hoboken. Well, she did valiantly attempt to shutter the century old Hoboken hospital and ruin the City’s finances. Her political operatives lauded that opportunity as seen in their own emails: 

BENCH SLAPPED – LAST CALL TO “DESTROY THE ADMINISTRATION” & HUMC Read More...

News

PolitickerNJ: Roman Brice and Nancy Pincus are “First Amendment superstars and protectors of cyber-speech”

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

In a column featured today on PolitickerNJ, “The Hoboken Horse That Roared!” Donald Scarinci, a managing partner of law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck is sure to add to the dismay and misery of attempted First Amendment SLAPPers and Old Guard corruptocrats and their servile supporters.


The column focused on Judge Patrick J. Arre’s mighty First Amendment and frivolous litigation legal decision issued earlier this month pointing to two folks caught up along with a dozen Hoboken residents in a years long vicious SLAPP-suit. Read More...

News

Councilwoman Jen Giattino on progress for a new 6-acre park, opposing County tax increases

by SmartyJones3 Min Reading
Jen Giattino 6th Ward Update

From the desk of Sixth Ward Councilwoman Jen Giattino:
PROGRESS ON ACQUISITION OF A NEW 6-ACRE PARK

Future 6-acre active recreation park designed with 5mil gallon underground storm water retention chamber.
As Councilwoman and Council President, one of my highest priorities has been securing more park space and upgrading our existing parks. I am pleased to report we have made substantial progress in both these areas, which are critical to our quality of life. 
We are moving forward with plans to acquire a new 6-acre park at the BASF site at 11th and Madison Streets along with a new multi-purpose park that will include active recreation. An underground storm water retention chamber that can hold at least 5 million gallons of water will be installed on the property. This is a key element in the City’s comprehensive flood prevention plan.

A combination of low interest financing and open space funds will be used to purchase the property and for park construction. As I said during one of the Council sessions where I pushed allocating some of the funding for the project, this is the last, best opportunity for the City of Hoboken to obtain multiple acres of contiguous open space. I am pleased to report we are seizing this opportunity.
IT IS TIME FOR THE COUNTY TO 
STOP SOAKING HOBOKEN TAXPAYERS
I worked hard, together with the Mayor and my Council Colleagues, to produce a budget with no increase in the city tax levy this year. Unfortunately, the same can not be said for our county government —which continues to raise taxes every year and saddles Hoboken with an unfair share of the burden.

The county tax levy is increasing by an unacceptably high 4.49%, with an outrageous nearly 12% increase for Hoboken due to a flawed county formula based on property values. Less than 1-out-of-ten county residents live in the City, yet more than 1-out-of-5 tax dollars to pay for county government now come from Hoboken taxpayers.

It is time to bring county government into the 21st century, putting in place needed cost-efficiencies and targeting pockets of waste. As Hoboken residents, it is time to make an extra effort to make our voice heard during next year’s county budget process.


I will be reaching out to my fellow Council members in other Hudson County cities to see if we can make common cause and prevail upon county government to hold the line on spending. In a more than $500 million county budget this is a doable task.
ROAD IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY
IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Beginning this week, Bloomfield Street, between Observer Highway and 14th Street, is being repaved. Repaving is also underway between Hudson Street and Castle Point on 8th and 9th Streets. According to the City, the work should take about 2 weeks to complete. PLEASE NOTE: The “No Parking” on Garden St. and Park Ave. has been removed until the repaving on Bloomfield St. has been completed.
News

All systems go: Michael DeFusco officially in running for Hoboken first ward city council

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
=&0=&  Neighbors,

During my two terms as a Commissioner on Hoboken’s Zoning Board of Adjustment, I’ve been honored to represent you on land use issues that impact all aspects of our community.  I’ve voted on projects that maintain our city’s scale and charm while ensuring our neighborhoods move forward responsibly.  However, over the past few years, I’ve observed serious issues facing my home district, the first ward.  Many of these problems have largely gone unaddressed by our long-time councilwoman, Terry Castellano, who in November will seek re-election to for a fifth term and ask voters to extend her time on the council past 25 years. Read More...

News

Mister Carmelo busts a move for another public gig: Sixth ward council!

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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An exclusive comprehensive feature on the recent dare doings of Mister Carmelo

Hoboken’s Carmelo Garcia, counted by many as among the most controversial of Mile Square City residents is mounting a campaign to take on sixth ward councilwoman Jen Giattino in the sixth ward.

Before continuing on, a word of warning. Hoboken election politics are not for the faint of heart. When one walks the Mile Square thinking of how the gilded bird sings so lovely, underneath is a rusted “On the Waterfront” ruin exploited at every turn by an at-the-ready Old Guard. Read More...

News

Reflecting on the three year anniversary of Hoboken’s massive, frivolous SLAPP-suit

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading
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Today is the three year anniversary Hoboken saw a full frontal assault on the core values of the First Amendment.

Similarly, it’s the three year anniversary of a well-funded, prodigious political operation run on the court.

On this day three years ago, Hoboken speech became the target of a vile and nefarious, perjury riddled SLAPP-suit against Hoboken residents. The intended target was not only their speech; it aimed to clobber the First Amendment rights of everyone in the Mile Square and by extension, all of NJ. Read More...

News

MAYOR ZIMMER ENCOURAGES HOBOKEN RESIDENTS TO FILE INSURANCE CLAIMS REVIEW

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Office of the Mayor announces:

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Mayor Dawn Zimmer reminds Hoboken policyholders with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) who filed a claim due to Hurricane Sandy that they have until September 15, 2015 to register to have their claim files reviewed if they believe they were underpaid.  In May of 2015, Mayor Zimmer joined Senator Cory Booker and Senator Bob Menendez in Hoboken as the Senators announced this review process to the public. Read More...

News

All over for Auggie after five decades

by SmartyJones3 Min Reading

According to a news account, another hit of double digit layoffs at the Jersey Journal caught up to the five decades career of Augie Torres.

The online political website Politico wrote:

Agustin Torres, a prominent New Jersey political columnist and longtime employee of The Jersey Journal, is set to leave the struggling Hudson County tabloid in September, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Augie Torres (l) at a HudCo event pictured with Mayor Richard Turner of Weehawken

Talking Ed Note: Torres
is a very talented writer who authored the Political Insider column since 2004. He didn’t write about Hoboken often but when he did, he
packed a punch and remarkably would often get a lot correct. 



In the summer of 2012, he
hit a grand slam out of the stadium writing of the Bajardi v Pincus now
infamous SLAPP-suit in his sidebar notes:

–– Hoboken. You hate it; you love it. What more can
anyone say about the rhetoric coming out about a $ 2 million lawsuit
less-than-shy political operative Lane Bajardi  Torres may have been less
than familiar with the details of Lane Bajardi and his wife, Kimberly Cardinal
Bajardi and their allegations in a 170 page frivolous SLAPP but – he knew of
and had encountered like many local media the obsessive frothings of Lane
Bajardi. In a rare conversation
with MSV, he did speak about his infrequent Hoboken coverage and his run-in
with the rabid Beth Mason SLAPPer. (Da Horsey was ordered to gather witnesses
for the SLAPP trial.) In the opinion of this
horse; he didn’t like him. Didn’t want anything to do with him and certainly
didn’t want him anywhere near his stuff as he called it. He knew enough to
know a political operative when he saw/dealt with one. In this instance, he
called a spade a spade. Fortunately for him, unlike others, he was never sought
out for political assasination and added to the SLAPP-suit with a bounty of
$2,000,000 placed over his head for calling Lane Bajardi a political operative.
(That was the going rate if you didn’t already know.) Torres’ political column
certainly was seen far more widely by many more readers then that reference to
Lane Bajardi made on obscure Hoboken Patch political blogs. Lucky for him, he
wasn’t a Masonic target. Torres was taken aback
when a call came his way years into the SLAPP-suit thinking Beth Mason had
given up the ghost. His departure from the scene will be a void unfulfilled as
he takes decades of stories and characters with him into the sunset after the
summer. His departure leaves Sully
at the Reporter as the senior political denizen on the scene. While that
Between the Lines column does somewhat better on Hudson County, its track
record on Hoboken falls below sea level often. It doesn’t approach the
Political Insider by a long shot. (How’s the Mayor Zimmer resignation
prediction working out? The HR editors and publishers are in an official
mourning period with the SLAPP-suit illuminated and its political column
remained totally silent with the mammoth First Amendment and frivolous
litigation result.) Torres was one of the few
columnists with enough stature to elevate the First Amendment issues
surrounding the Hoboken SLAPP-suit but chose not to. He did however offer a
golden nugget inadvertently to the defendants about a “less-than-shy”
Beth Mason political operative. He wrote the truth.

Read More...