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The HHA Chairman Jake Stuiver requested as allowed under law, an analysis of the awarding of its legal counsel contract last month to the Hoboken Corporation Counsel Melissa Longo. The memo, subject of much discussion but no public examination is released for the very first time here on MSV.
HHA counsel Charlie Daglian submitted his own memo in reply. Both are included below.
HHA Executive Director Carmelo Garcia’s defense rushes to throw mayor, Stuiver and MSV under the bus
Garcia had himself obtained the position of Director of Health and Human Services in 2001 according to one source by using the threat of Hispanic protests at City Hall to convince former Mayor Dave Roberts to back his appointment to the municipal position. “He’s not ashamed of how he played that card, he’s proud of it,” said the source.
Tim Occhipinti, the occupant of the fourth ward council seat in Hoboken wanted to put on a show at the Hoboken Housing Authority last Thursday night. The resolution topic for the public to speak on here in this video was the release of a memo by Corporation Counsel Melissa Longo.
Tim Occhipinti poses rhetorical questions and vehemently argues AGAINST the public document’s release which outlined a legal conflict by HHA counsel Charles Daglian who participated extensively at the HHA meeting on a contract for himself as the sole agenda item of a special meeting. He incorrectly alleges Longo needs the City Council’s approval to render a requested legal opinion to the HHA. The legal approval came in the request by Chairman Stuiver.
At the HHA meeting, Da Horsey had the surprising pleasure to chat with Timothy Carroll in attendance. A former reporter at the local paper, PolitikerNJ and communications maven for NJ State Senators, Carroll’s currently working for Assemblyman Ruben Ramos so Hoboken may see him back in these parts leading into the mayoral election.
Carroll wrote a PolitickerNJ story back in late 2010 on the astronomical “coincidence” of paper ballots for the army of ‘campaign workers’ in the Tim Occhipinti campaign referencing a MSV story.
Affordable housing squatter Michele Russo, wife of former mayor and felon Anthony Russo spoke at the HHA meeting last Thursday. She directed her pointed criticism at Chairman Jake Stuiver.
The infamous Russo couple, the first clan of corruption has cleaned up in Hoboken “making” untold millions (even while holding a debt to Hoboken of over $300,000) while living in Church Towers, a tax subsidized centrally located series of building where minorities are notoriously absent and no one gets in as residents there whisper without their approval.The HHA’s approximately 4,000 residents consist of mostly minorities. Those who see their income status improve are never given opportunity to move “uptown” as they call it to Church Towers.
The attack here on Jake Stuiver is less personal and more about green as in the loot. The 20/20 plan came up more than once that evening, a desperately sought cash cow bonanza for Old Guard connected developers, realtors, brokers, construction firms and of course – the OG themselves.Executive Director Carmelo Garcia is expected to deliver that bounty. Initially, he eagerly proposed a gigantic monolith of buildings, dwarfing the current HHA area double in size and even more density – with no open space or parks. It was wall to wall towering cement blocks maximizing profit – for those connected to the Old Guard.
The battle in Hoboken over rent control took another turn with an appeal by rent control advocate Cheryl Fallick last week. MSV heard from both sides.
The Hoboken Fair Housing Association announces:
=&0=& Hoboken, New Jersey, March 15, 2013. With the full support of Hoboken Fair Housing Association (HFHA), Ms. Cheryl Fallick has filed an appeal of New Jersey Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington’s ruling to overturn the results of last November’s vote on Hoboken Public Question # 2 (HPQ2). Ms. Fallick was the campaign manager for HFHA’s successful effort to defeat HPQ2, a ballot initiative sponsored by a small well-funded group of landlords, developers and realtors, the Mile Square Taxpayers Association (MSTA), that asked voters to approve the elimination of Hoboken Rent Control protections for all new tenants. The judge’s ruling revokes the certified results and orders a re-vote to be held on either November 5, 2013 or in an earlier special election. =&1=& When the results were in on election night, the “NO” vote prevailed on the machines by 560 votes. Afterthe Vote-by-Mail ballots were counted, the lead dropped, but HPQ2 was defeated by 52 votes. The final tally was 8,248 to 8,196. In December, fifteen supporters of MSTA filed an election contest to overturn the result. Ms. Fallick originally filed a motion pro se (without an attorney) to intervene in this case because HFHA lacked funds to afford legal representation. Ms. Fallick’s position was that she had a separate and substantial interest in the outcome of the election contest, and that neither her own interests nor those of HFHA and the 8,248 residents that voted to maintain existing rent control protections were being adequately represented by defendants specified by the MSTA lawsuit. These defendants, the City of Hoboken, Hudson County, and the State of New Jersey, stated that they had no interest in the election outcome but only a fair election result. By denying Ms. Fallick the right to intervene, Judge Farrington denied the voters of Hoboken the right to have representation that would have demanded an evidentiary hearing and questioned Hoboken’s vote-by-mail tally. Unfortunately, neither the defendants nor the Judge challenged the flawed arguments or lack of legitimate evidence that the MSTA plaintiffs presented to the Court to support their motion to overturn the election. It is HFHA’s position that Judge Farrington’s ruling to overturn the election result is egregious and is based on the false assertion that 114 voters who voted provisionally outside of Hoboken were denied their right to vote on HPQ2. Neither the Judge nor the defendants questioned the plaintiffs’ false claim that these voters had the right to vote outside of Hoboken on a Hoboken issue. =&2=&
The City of Hoboken announces:
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Community: Mayor Zimmer Announces Proposed Agreement to Create New Park at Pino Site
The City of Hoboken is considering a proposal from Bijou Properties that would donate to the City a 1 acre property, known as the Pino site, for a park in Western Hoboken as part of an agreement to continue the redevelopment of the Monroe Center site. “We have a historic opportunity to preserve one of the last undeveloped parts of Hoboken as open space,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “This new park near the Jubilee Center, Monroe Center for the Arts, and a growing residential neighborhood, would bring much-needed open space to Western Hoboken. I thank Larry Bijou for making this proposal that would transform unused land into a community open space that will benefit the neighborhood and Hoboken for years to come.” Larry Bijou is under contract to purchase property at 700 Monroe Street, which is in a Redevelopment Area, as well as the Pino property, located at 7th Street and Jackson Street. He has proposed donating the Pino site to the City for a park in exchange for an effective transfer of development rights from the Pino site to the adjacent property at 700 Monroe Street, with an additional 14 dwelling units, and 90 automated parking spaces. The result would be the creation of a new 1-acre park and a LEED-Gold Certified building at 700 Monroe Street that would incorporate a green roof, grey-water system, and cogeneration. At the next Council meeting, the City Council will be asked to approve an interim cost agreement. Mayor Zimmer thanks Zoning and Economic Development Chair David Mello for working with her on this proposal. She also discussed the proposal with Third Ward Councilman Michael Russo and appreciates that he expressed his support for moving forward. If approved, Mr. Bijou would pay for the costs for the City to vet the feasibility of his proposal for a new park and transfer of development rights, including a financial, environmental, and planning analysis. All aspects of the proposal would be subject to negotiation for inclusion in the Redevelopment Agreement, which would require City Council approval. Finally, any necessary environmental cleanup would take place and a community process would begin to design the new park. Southwest Park Henkel/Cognis/BASF The City Council will be fully briefed on the status of all land acquisition negotiations during closed session on Wednesday, April 20 from 6-7:30pm. The regular Council meeting will begin at 7:30pm. |
At a contentious Hoboken Housing Authority meeting, a late agenda item to terminate the contract of Executive Director Carmelo Garcia was introduced but later withdrawn in favor of negotiations to change terms on the completion of the agreement.
Here’s the key portion of the meeting after the recess:
Voice at the two minute mark from the audience is Hoboken resident Perry Belfiore. Others in attendance: former councilman Chris Campos who hijacked the proceedings numerous times with inappropriate and out or order “point of order” interruptions, Council members Terry Castellano, Ravi Bhalla and Tim Occhipinti (also yelling out of order at the chair).
The Hoboken Housing Authority meeting tonight appears to have an additional item added to the agenda – Executive Director Carmelo Garcia has been served a Rice notice.
Rice notices are required by law to be given to public employees prior to any discussion of their job. Carmelo Garcia is the self-described “sole appointing authority” who guided a severely problematic and legally conflicted six month process to hire counsel for the HHA. HUD’s response to the numerous procurement problems and possible illegal actions were documented in a letter earlier this month. (See MSV’s Wednesday exclusive story below.)
