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Race baiting on the front page of the Hudson Reporter but it’s an old story of Hoboken racial politics

What’s really behind the front page race baiting by the pro Old Guard rag Hudson Reporter?

A Hoboken Housing Authority seat will be filled at the Wednesday City Council meeting and made the front page of the Hudson Reporter and with it, a race baiting article claiming the next chairman of the seven board body will be as it predicts “a Caucasian” in Councilman Dave Mello.

On the front top of the pro Old Guard rag is a race baiting sidebar column claiming that very few minorities hold directorships and head local boards. Also getting a mention and not unfavorably was HHA Executive Director Carmelo Garcia’s “ethnic cleansing” lawsuit thrown out of court last January.

This Wednesday the City Council will choose between current HHA commissioner Eduardo Gonzalez who has been a reflexively reliable vote for the contracted head of the agency Carmelo Garcia and David Denning a strong supporter of Reform.

Some don’t think it’s a coincidence a race baiting article appeared in the Hudson Reporter in advance of that HHA commissioner seat that may well see additional oversight pressure on the head contractor reporting to it.

The Hoboken Housing Authority has the largest public budget in Hoboken not receiving any scrutiny from reform oversight. Carmelo Garcia has sent out supporters over months to City Council meetings where they attempted to see have seated to the HHA, friendly backers who would not perform any fiduciary oversight, lacking either the will, capability or both.

HHA Executive Director Carmelo Garcia nervously confers with CFO Emil Kotherithara as a series of questions were raised on HHA contracts and purchasing practices at the last HHA meeting. The Hudson Reporter has a topical story advancing the race baiting in not one but two Carmelo Garcia civil lawsuits.  Can you see where this is going? 

Talking Ed Note: First, MSV will state the Hudson Reporter is again wrong predicting the next HHA Chairman will be Dave Mello. He’s taken a leadership role of late in the HHA but with his council work and job as a teacher in the South Bronx, he’s not able to handle the bandwidth required.

The Hudson Reporter notes the lack of “Latin Americans” in leadership roles. Eduardo Gonzalez is of Cuban extraction and David Mello is Portuguese. Does this “story” have anything to do with them, their “Latin” heritage or is the pro Old Guard rag merely race baiting in a limp action to “protect” Carmelo Garcia from further oversight with a possible upcoming change in the HHA board he theoretically reports to?

Garcia continues to push for the undocumented massive 15 acre Vision 20/20 redevelopment downtown. He however refuses to provide anyone in local government or the public the comprehensive details while the Hudson Reporter, founded by a developer, Joseph Barry who went to prison a decade back for making illegal payments re: bribes of over $100,000 to the Hudson County Executive has held a major role in seeing subsidized Hispanic families upended out of Applied housing buildings.

Joeseph Barry who was the president of the Applied Companies, which housed many low income Latino families saw many forced out after federal subsidies and state regulations were changed more than a decade ago. Carmelo Garcia was appointed by the landlord as a tenant leader during a legal fight pushing many minorities, especially Hispanics out of subsidized housing and Hoboken altogether.


Garcia reportedly emceed an event on behalf of the landlord where Applied Housing residents were encouraged to join in a rally held at Hoboken High School. Garcia led the rally on stage yelling “Viva Applied!”

How’d that “Latin American” leadership work out for Latino residents?

HHA Sidebar: At the last HHA meeting, some detailed questions were posed to Carmelo Garcia on contacts and expenditures with the federal agency. It created some nervous reactions and yelling by Carmelitos in the audience protesting a series of questions calmly posed by commissioner Dana Wefer.

The current HHA Chairman Rob Davis sees his annual run end Wednesday at an HHA reorg meeting which takes place typically before the regular meeting. Earlier this year, Davis said any attempted reorg to his being chair was due to a desire to “oust the black man.”

At the previous meeting, Rob Davis threw out this reporter, a “Caucasian” as Patricia Waiters, a Carmelo Garica employee on the payroll as his Assembly aide hijacked the meeting prior to the start of public portion to “address the audience” with a political attack on HHA commissioner Dana Wefer.

That followed on the record with reports of anti-Semitic remarks where Mayor Dawn Zimmer was accused of only hiring Jews. Those comments however did not make it into the Hudson Reporter story.

Carmelito Legal: MSV also can report the second Carmelo Garcia lawsuit, mostly thrown out of Hudson County Superior Court on the first pass earlier is facing additional scrutiny and a new challenge. The last threadbare allegation of his lawsuit may too be thrown out of court entirely when it faces legal review as his first.

Can you say Carmelo Garcia lawsuit Number Three?


Among the corrections laid bare to the low brow Hudson Reporter story is pointing out the communications director happens to be an Argentine of Latin American extraction named Juan.
Horsey can confirm rumors this Hoboken Argyle has been seen sporting a Team Argentina World Cup jersey.
The satirically barbed Grafix Avenger story is available at the link:

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