Only Councilman Jim Doyle voted no, so why the scare tactics telling the public they had to go to the council meeting on the Hilton Hotel plan?

Doyle elected not to flip-flop on the hotel, unlike his running mate Ravi Bhalla. Enough people were scammed into going last night with Bhalla’s construct the vote was in doubt.

Why the scam?

Well, what else, politics with a dash of vote buying, construction union influence, campaign money and well, see below. Plenty more of this is coming to Hoboken, courtesy of Mayor Ravi Bhalla. Read More...

Official release: US Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey

A Hudson County, New Jersey woman was indicted today for promoting a voter bribery scheme by use of the U.S. mail. Today’s indictment of Lizaida Camis, 55, of Hoboken, adds one count of conspiracy to use the mails to promote a voter bribery scheme to the original count of using the mails in a voter bribery scheme, as described in the press release of Sept. 20, 2018.

Hudson County, New Jersey, Woman Charged With Using U.S. Mails To Promote Voter Bribery Scheme 

NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey woman was arrested and charged today for promoting a voter bribery scheme by use of the U.S. mail, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Lizaida Camis, 55, of Hoboken, is charged by complaint with a violation of the Travel Act for causing the mails to be used to aid voter bribery contrary to New Jersey state law. She is scheduled to have her initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Falk in Newark federal court. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Under New Jersey law, registered voters are permitted to cast a ballot by mail rather than in person. To receive a mail-in ballot, voters must complete and submit to their county clerk’s office an Application for Vote By Mail Ballot (VBM Application). After the application is processed, voters receive a mail-in ballot. From October 2013 through November 2013, Camis agreed to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 each if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2013 Hoboken municipal election. Camis provided these voters with VBM Applications and then delivered the completed applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office. After the mail-in ballots were delivered to the voters, Camis went to their apartments and, in some cases, instructed the voters to vote for the candidates for whom Camis was working. Camis promised the voters that they would be paid $50 for casting their mail-in ballots and told them that they could pick up their checks after the election at an office on Jefferson Street in Hoboken. Bank records show that voters living in Hoboken received $50 checks from entities associated with the campaigns that employed Camis. Camis faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina Scaringi, with the investigation leading to today’s arrest. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Farrell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Agarwal, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division. The charge and allegations in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Related: How MSV broked the exclusive story in November of 2013 reporting live from the west side of Hoboken: https://hobokenhorse.com/2013/11/520-jefferson-st-playoffs-for-votes.html Read More...

Official release:

Dear friends and neighbors, Upon reading the Mayor’s last email I realized there must be some confusion in the Mayor’s office. Just last Friday the Mayor and Post Office Hotel sub-committee (Councilmembers Cunningham, DeFusco, Giattino, Fisher) issued a joint press release with the subject line stating:
HOBOKEN MAYOR BHALLA AND CITY COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE AGREE TO REDEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR HILTON HOTEL, PUSH FOR 9-0 VOTE

His email from today reads:  Read More...

Official release:

    Dear friends and neighbors: The mayor has just sent out an email to many of you implying that the city council will somehow be political and get in the way of approving the hotel project tomorrow night.   I am so incredibly angry about this email that I don’t know how to even respond.   Mainly because at a time when we have been working so hard to come together, our mayor only wants to continue to divide us.  And it is insulting to the hard work that our City Council subcommittee has undertaken over the past two weeks to ensure that we get the best outcome for our community.  And also because it is so telling that our mayor is so comfortable sending out disparaging and false propaganda emails to his extensive email list with his bullhorn.  All I can do is try to refute it.   Apparently the mayor doesn’t believe his own JOINT PUBLIC STATEMENT (click link or read full text below) that his office sent out on Friday showing our combined support for the project.  Let me be very clear – and please circulate this widely:     We have five locked in votes for the project and I am confident based upon prior support that we will get to either an 8-1 or 9-0 vote fairly easily.  (Councilman Doyle has been firm in the past about his views that the hotel is out of scale for Hoboken, and this being 20% bigger I am not sure where he will get to).   You are welcome to come to the meeting to advocate, or give away your email via signing a petition – and you know that I always say more voices are better – but if you are doing so because you are in any way concerned the project won’t get approved because of his propaganda email, save your energy for the next fight the mayor will pick.   We are all still working on final changes to make sure that the deal that the mayor sold to our community, is actually what is reflected in the legal agreement.  Things like:

Ensuring that the $2M of funds that the mayor’s chief of staff promised to board members of the Y to restore the Y, actually in fact go to the Y.  The mayor has proposed in the actual agreement that it go to the city and only MAYBE go to restore the Y which is not what was agreed.  

Ensuring that all of the community benefit payments are actually funded before certificates of occupancy and completion are given to the developer.  Instead of the developer friendly arrangement of making the payments after the developer no longer has incentive to pay which is what the mayor negotiated.  

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Official release:

Dear friends, I wanted to update you about a few upcoming events and issues that may interest you:

Paving on Harrison Street from 4^th to Observer starts today (Oct. 16).

Voter registration deadline is today (Oct. 16) to be able to vote in the upcoming election.  If you don’t know if your registration is updated (for example if you recently moved), you can check here.  If you do need to update, you can download forms from the site and drop them off at City Hall today by 9pm.  

Southwest Park – Tomorrow night (Oct. 17, 7pm) at the City Council meeting, there will be a presentation which will include the “Interactive Structure” and the new fencing along the northern portion of the park.  Dead trees have already been removed and new trees will be planted in the coming weeks.  If you cannot join in person, you can watch the presentation on the City’s website or on Facebook Live.

Coffee with a Cop – On Saturday (Oct. 20) from 930 am – 11am at G Milz Boken Roadhouse, 61 Jackson St.  A great opportunity to meet and ask questions of our police in an informal setting.  Joining me will be Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante, Captain Gino Jacobelli, Lt. Mike DeTrizio, Sgt. Ed Drishti, and Officer Cynthia Rivera.  All residents welcome! 

New Hilton Hotel – Friday, the City Council subcommittee reached an agreement with the Mayor and the developer, KMS (read our joint statement), for the new Hilton hotel.  As a result, we have confidence there will be the requisite votes needed for it to pass when the City Council votes tomorrow night (Oct. 16).

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Lost in the buzz of ever-growing millions with the City Council taking a less than transparent Hilton Hotel process by its collar and shaking it; the finale of the downtown redevelopment took some late, unexpected turns.

The original plan intended to make Mayor Ravi Bhalla a hero and provide plenty of votes (and greenbacks to his campaign coffers) for his election… somewhere. The City Council will pass the finalized plan this Wednesday but not before some grandstanding at the mic. Public portion will be boring and/or entertaining depending on your patience. Read More...

Official release:

  Dear friends and neighbors: 
A couple of minor quick updates for this gloomy Monday morning (remember all of you who were excited about cooler weather… I was not one of them….).

• The crane that has been used for the construction of 1425 Hudson is being taken down today.  I have asked, but have not yet confirmed, for the street to be re-opened after construction hours and on the weekends once it is removed.  This would not involve restoring any street parking, but rather just to allow better street access throughout the remainder of the project.

 

The Harborside parks.  The mud is epic in both parks – children’s and dog – right now, in particular, the entrance to the new dog park.  Per the city when I enquired last week “The contractor will be on site to install the second gate early next week [this week]. We’re going to replace the mulch with gravel at the entrance to solve the mud problem, which should also be installed next week.” In terms of the hedges [pruning them to a lower height] and overall maintenance, the City is getting proposals for both and will provide a better updating on timing shortly.  

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Official release:

After weeks of deliberation, the Mayor of Hoboken and the City Council subcommittee have agreed with KMS Development on the terms for the proposed Hilton Hotel to be built on Hoboken’s southern waterfront.  The project will bring a world class hotel and operator to Hoboken, generating $1.7M in additional tax revenue, adding 200+ union jobs at fair wages with preferences for Hoboken residents, transforming our southern waterfront near our crown jewel, Pier A park, and building amenities that benefit Hoboken residents like a roof top bar and much needed banquet space. Additionally, KMS has agreed to invest $4.85 million in the Hoboken community addressing broad community priorities including public education, infrastructure, affordable housing, and recreational facilities.
In aggregate, the revised proposal will include the following public benefits: 

$2M to help establish the Hoboken Community Center, with up to 100K to be immediately available to fund their feasibility study

$1.165M for infrastructure, with $165K of this to be dedicated to the needs of the adjacent neighborhoods 

$1M to the Hoboken Public Education Foundation, which supports the Hoboken Public District Schools

$484K to the Hoboken Public Charter Schools, divided equally among the schools

$200K into Hoboken’s Affordable Housing Trust

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