Quote:

Hey - I'm just quoting the papers.

NO MERCY - Gets the max - 25 years - for shooting cops in station

Saturday, March 10, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A judge yesterday threw the book at the man who shot two cops after smuggling a gun into a Jersey City police station in 2005, sentencing him to 25 years in prison with no chance of parole until 2028.

"The message to you and others is there will be no break given to anyone who commits a crime like this," said state Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan, sitting in Jersey City.

Corey Harley, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder in October for shooting Officer Patrick Kirwin and Sgt. Tim Harmon in the Communipaw Avenue station on June 15, 2005. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a gun by a felon.

Yesterday's sentence includes prison terms for an unrelated drug dealing offense and a firearms offense that were pending against Harley at the time of the shooting. He still faces a federal charge that involves a gun, said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Davis Elston. Harley was in prison from June 15, 2001 to Dec. 30, 2003 for aggravated assault and a weapons offense.

Because of his record, Harley faced an extended sentence of 20 to 25 years.

"The only question is, is it better to protect the people of this city for 20 years or 25 years," Harmon said in addressing the court.

He said he has trouble talking about the shooting, but after the hearing he said: "I've never been in a situation like that - total chaos."

On the night of the shooting, Harley's girlfriend and her three children were at the police station getting a restraining order against him. Two officers found Harley at her home and brought him to the police station - somehow missing the fact that he had a gun.

Kirwin was shot in the back, but his bulletproof vest stopped the bullet; Harmon was struck in the belly, but the bullet hit no vital organs as it passed through his body. Both are back on duty.

Before the sentencing yesterday, Harley's mother, Denise Brown, asked the judge for leniency, saying Harley has been shot more than 30 times during his life and still has eight bullets in him.

"I'd like you to know, regardless of what other people say, my son is a good person and he was raised beautifully," Brown told the court.

Harley apologized to everyone, even the judge, and said the officers were very nice to him just before he opened fire. He said the whole thing was a misunderstanding that "could have been prevented."

Callahan said the shooting was a crime against the officers, the people they are sworn to protect, and the entire system.

Interesting.

So legitimate criticism of public figures is now "potshots".

OK.

There was another glaring no-show : the Guardian Angels.

Maybe we should take "potshots" at them too.

The Jersey Journal Politicial Insider Column

Many deciders in Doria decision to bow out
Saturday, March 10, 2007

Bayonne Mayor and state Sen. Joseph Doria is the first pawn taken off the Hudson County Democratic Party chess game board.

Yesterday, Bayonne Mayor Joe Doria announced in a public statement that he will not seek re-election to the Senate in the 31st District.

"At this stage of my life, I would like to focus on things closer to home," Doria announced. "I want to spend more time with my wife and young daughter, and to concentrate on the important issues that I have to deal with as mayor of the City of Bayonne."

After speaking with Bayonne's chief executive yesterday, it seems he may genuinely feel this way after serving 28 years in the state Legislature and seeing nearly 300 of his bills become law, but his true take on why he is leaving state politics may be in another quotation in his release.

"In the present political atmosphere, it's difficult to deal with issues," Doria said in his release. "Politics seems to be taking priority over issues this year. Political dialogue needs to be more thoughtful and less contentious."

Yesterday's column had the Hudson County Democratic Organization leaders trying to develop an exit strategy in trying to unite the warring factions of the party - at least that is what they told everyone.

The truth was that they had been planning the political assassination of Doria - one of their own - for most of this strategic battle against Union City Mayor and Assemblyman Brian P. Stack, a candidate for the Senate in the 33rd District. Doria was willing to run with Stack, who wants the seat of Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny of Hoboken.

The group that met included the usual suspects, County Executive Tom DeGise, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy (apparently during the half-time of a basketball game), West New York Mayor and Assemblyman Sal Vega, North Bergen Mayor and Sen. Nick Sacco, Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts, Kenny and Doria.

Now say hello to Sandra Bolden Cunningham, widow of Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, and the person who is expected to be named - possibly as early as Monday - by the HCDO as the party's candidate for the Senate in the 31st District.

The Cunningham play has been in the work for many weeks. Let us just say this whole scenario has more to do with protecting Healy than protecting the HCDO.

The HCDO gang took a little jaunt out to Washington several weeks ago ostensibly to discuss some federal grants - that could have easily been done by phone. They did stop at the Senate office building. DeGise acknowledged meeting Menendez as well as other federal legislators.

The county executive said Menendez joked about having been gone from Hudson County only a short while and already things were falling apart. More than likely, there were other discussions.

Menendez's right-hand man and political operative, attorney Donald Scarinci, has been telling everyone that he was staying out of the Hudson Dems' civil war. Yet Scarinci is very much invested in Cunningham's success. He has been a big contributor to the Cunningham foundation and has influenced others to donate. The partner of the politically connected law firm Scarinci & Hollenbeck of Lyndhurst has indicated that supporting Cunningham's future political aspirations was "the right thing to do."

The question is why would Healy want a potential mayoral rival as part of the HCDO ticket?

The answer is that by eliminating Doria, he believes he also gets rid of his biggest headache, state Assemblyman Louis Manzo, a Doria running mate and friend of Stack. Down the line, Healy also expects to get Freeholder Jeff Dublin as an Assembly candidate to run with Cunningham.

To placate Doria, the HCDO may give the Bayonne mayor the chance to select the other Assembly candidate, and this means Cunningham's choice, Bayonne Councilman Anthony Chiappone, is the odd man out.

Jersey City sources say Healy believes he has a deal with Cunningham, a promise that there will be support from the black community for the incumbent mayor's re-election bid. In return, Healy will throw his support to Cunningham for mayor after completing his own second term in office.

Someone had better read the fable of "The Scorpion and the Frog" to the mayor. The betting here is that the widow Cunningham runs for mayor before her term in the Senate ends.

Advisors close to Stack and Manzo say they will go ahead and run in the June primary outside the HCDO line and, for the moment, incumbent Vega will not be an Assembly candidate with Stack, a heavy favorite to carry the 33rd District. Hoboken City Councilman Ruben Ramos will remain on the Stack line as an Assembly candidate, an awkward situation since Kenny has told his fellow HCDO members at the "exit strategy" meeting that he is still running.

Bill targets gangs' recruiting of kids

Saturday, March 10, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Legislation that would make recruiting for street gangs a crime with stiff penalties is making its way through the state Legislature - and a Hudson County assemblyman says he believes it will become law within 90 days.

"Gangs are the most pressing crime issue right now in New Jersey, if not the nation," said Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, a sponsor of the bill.

Manzo said members of street gangs recruit juveniles and "face no penalty at all."

The measure would make recruiting minors to join street gangs for the purpose of committing crimes an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The legislation also includes penalties for recruiting adults, recruiting in jail, and using threats or violence in recruiting.

The measure has cleared the Assembly, and on Monday, the Senate Law and Public Safety and Veterans Affairs Committee approved it for a vote by the full Senate, which could happen next week.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said the legislation is a positive step and well intended - but won't be easy to prosecute.

"I think it's an attempt to reduce membership solicitation into criminal street gangs, but it goes beyond just trying to recruit someone into a gang," he said. "You have to show that the person was recruited to specifically engage in criminal activity. Recruitment into gang membership, of itself, would not be sufficient to prove this crime. That's the way I read it."

The gang recruiting measure is co-sponsored by Assemblyman Brian P. Stack, D-Union City.

EPPS: ANOTHER TURN RUNNING SCHOOLS?

Saturday, March 10, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Soon after deciding not to seek re-election as a state assemblyman, Jersey City's schools chief, Charles T. Epps Jr., has apparently set his sights on another term as superintendent.

"He (Epps) told me he and the (state Education) Commissioner (Lucille Davy) would be speaking about a new contract," Jersey City Board of Education Chairman William DeRosa said yesterday. "Yes, he indicated he would want that."

Appointed by the state to run the Jersey City public school system in 2000, Epps is in the middle of a three-year contract that ends June 30, 2008. In 2005, Epps, who earns about $230,000 a year as superintendent, was elected state assemblyman for the 31st District, which pays $49,000 a year.

Earlier this month, Epps - who's been heavily criticized for juggling the job of running the state's second largest school system with his two-days-a-week Trenton post - announced he will not seek re-election to the Assembly in order to concentrate on shepherding the district through a state review process that could return it to local control.

Even though DeRosa and three other board members said they understood Epps would be seeking to renew his contract, Epps said yesterday he hadn't made up his mind.

"I have no idea," he said. "It's a little early to start discussing that. I would like to see the district through this extraordinary time and the possibility of the district returning to local control."

School board member and former Jersey City Mayor Anthony Cucci said he'd welcome Epps back.

"This man has put together a crackerjack team to run the district," Cucci said. "He (Epps) clearly said he's giving up the Assembly spot and staying entirely in education."

Residents question police in the Heights
Over 150 attend public safety rally and discuss Civilian Review Board

Ricardo Kaulessar -- Hudson Reporter -- 03/09

Over 150 people were in attendance at a church on Bowers Street in Jersey City Heights on Wednesday night to ask questions of Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey and other top police brass.

It was officially advertised by community groups in that neighborhood as a "citywide public safety rally" with the slogan "High Taxes, High Crime. Where's the Protection?"

Various community groups based in the Heights section of the city and nearby sections helped organize the rally to deal with two key issues - the operation of the Jersey City Police Department, and the proposed creation of a Jersey City Civilian Review Board to oversee how police carry out their duties.

However, there was a glaring no-show among the invited guests - Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

It was announced before the meeting began that Healy had opted instead to attend a championship basketball game between Jersey City high school powerhouse St. Anthony and St. Patrick's of Elizabeth (which St. Anthony's lost). Healy received in absentia criticism from various residents about his choice.

Also in attendance included several City Council members, Hudson County Freeholder Jeffrey Dublin, and Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

Chief on police efforts

Advertisement

Comey said Wednesday night that he "had no problem bearing responsibility" for the problem of crime in the city, and he could address the issue without the mayor being present.

Comey opened the meeting by pointing out that Jersey City, which he sees as the fastest-growing city in the state, has "400 less police officers" than in Newark. Jersey City has 897 police officers currently on the force.

But he said despite that limitation, crime is on the decrease.

"I can tell you outright as a police agency, we are bucking the national trend," said Comey. "We are going down, and perhaps it is perception, in all major elements of crime."

Comey said the police department recovered 32 percent more handguns in 2006 than in 2005. After the meeting, Police Capt. Hugh Donaghue showed statistics put together for district commanders that showed precipitous decreases in domestic burglaries and rape.

Comey also cited his efforts in making the police more proactive and working more closely with the community.

"When I became chief, I said I had to do two things - I had to improve the quality of life and decrease crime, they go hand and hand - and I had to narrow the gap with the community," said Comey. "We have now become throughout this city a major influence in every block association we can get into."

Comey added, "But apparently that message, if you are all here, isn't strong enough."

Community wants answers

But that is not always enough. Last year, 47-year old Fidelina Claros was murdered inside the G&P Deli that she owned on the corner of Ferry Street and Webster Avenue in the Heights. That unsolved murder along with other violent incidents across the city played a role in bringing about the rally.

At Wednesday's meeting, several audience members, some of whom represented block associations, were chosen ahead of time by the organizers of the rally to pose questions to the city's police.

Vincent McNamara of the Heights Hope Neighborhood Association inquired as to why there is overtime spent on current police personnel when the money can be spent on hiring new police officers.

Police Director Samuel Jefferson said he would love to see "1,150 cops" like when he joined the police force over 30 years ago. He also encouraged those in attendance to help the police in hiring more officers by contacting state and federal legislators.

"We need some letter writing from all of you people out there that we need more policing so that the tax [rate] won't go up here," said Jefferson.

George Semier, who resides a few blocks from the Abundant Joy Community Church, cited occasions where there were kids in a group hanging out late on his block and he saw various police cars passing by without the cars telling them to disperse.

"We understand that they may have other things to do, but if they are not racing somewhere with sirens on, does it really take that much energy to stop their patrol car, roll down the window, and interact with the community, and say 'Hey what are you guys doing, go home?' " asked Semier.

Comey defended that by saying how a police car passing by kids on Semier's block may be going to a more active crime area of the city, and that the police would have to know from the community "if it is not acceptable" that kids hang out on a specific block.

That soon led to a contentious dialogue between the two men that continued outside the church after the meeting.

Comey also promised Semier he would personally look into the matter of police not being responsive to complaints from Semier's neighborhood.

Rosalyn Browne of the Communipaw Avenue Block Association asked several questions including one about the creation of the civilian review board.

Comey responded, "I would like you to cite me, if you can one instance where [review board] worked... we have found from law enforcement that you are creating another political bureaucracy."

Other issues raised by the chosen speakers pertained to police officers including the chiefs staying in their positions for a sufficient period of time, getting more closed circuit security cameras in the city, the training of police operators, and taking politics out of the police force.

Feeling 'disrespected'

Heights resident Ann Marie Castrovinci, a recent homeowner, said she was hoping to see "more resolution" at the meeting as far as whom the community can go to for helping them deal with crime.

"I commend the police in the North District in that they respond immediately to any 911 calls, but there is still concern about walking home at night," said Castrovinci.

Castrovinci said she felt "disrespected" by Healy not showing up.

"There are working people who came to this meeting looking for answers from him, some of whom voted for him," said Castrovinci.

City spokesperson Stan Eason defended the mayor's decision to attend the St. Anthony's basketball game, saying the lead organizer of the rally, Michael Yun, president of the Central Avenue Special Improvement District (S.I.D.), knew well in advance that the mayor would not attend.

The meeting was originally scheduled for Feb. 20 but that was when Mayor Healy held his State of the City Address, so it was rescheduled by the rally's organizers to Wednesday's date.

"This rally was an orchestrated ambush," said Eason. "It was out and out deception and [Yun] knew that the mayor would not be attending."

Eason also scolded Yun for not mentioning during the meeting that there were four members of the Mayor's Action Bureau on hand to address any complaints that would have been pointed toward Healy.

He complained that Yun had an "agenda" to make Healy look bad.

The Jersey City Pride Committee, an organization chaired by Yun and other business owners and residents in the Heights, struck back at Eason's comments in an e-mail.

"After having rescheduled the rally from its original date of Feb. 20, the mayor's office confirmed his attendance to the rally scheduled for March 7," said the e-mail. "Like everyone else in the room, Yun did NOT realize the mayor would be absent until Chief Comey made an announcement five minutes after the meeting was scheduled to start."

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

Althea

As I have said before -- I like Fulop! The title was just taken from the first sentence of the Journal -- did you read the article? The tone is not my bias.

Quote:

Avent is on the list. We use Avent, although we mostly breast feed. I feel a lot of guilt now. Parents just never catch a break!

http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/ ... eports/toxic-baby-bottles

Not wanting to create a new 'subject' thread and since this related to education and children, I have added this here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winter and children's cold go hand in hand, so when I came across this article in the newspaper I thought some parents might be interested.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2030851,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1

There was an article some days back that highlighted a number of baby bottles that were evaluated as being unsafe due to the plastics used to manufacture them. I do recall the name of 'gerber' and other brands. We use 'avent' for our little man, and it was not on the list.

I just can't understand how these pharmaceutical companys and baby product manufacturers, put profit or cut corners with children's health.

Quote:

Amen!

The View Will Be Fine From This ?Green' Building
Architecture

By JILL CULORA
Special to the Sun
March 9, 2007


Lindsay Newman Architecture and Design

Just across the Hudson River, in Jersey City, N.J., construction is under way on a golf clubhouse that may be more green than the fairways outside. Liberty National Golf Course clubhouse, which will be a soaring glass addition to the New York Harbor skyline, is designed to meet the standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. The aggressive requirements ? set by the U.S. Green Building Council ? are aimed at improving the overall energy performance of new buildings.

Designed by Lindsay Newman Architecture and Design, a Lower Manhattan firm, the $30 million clubhouse is part of a project conceived by Willowbend Development LLC that will include three nearby residential towers to be completed in 2009. The Liberty National golf course ? operated by Liberty National Golf Club ? is located on nearly a mile of New Jersey waterfront on the western shores of the Hudson River. The $129 million golf course opened in June 2006 and is expected to vie for major championships such as the US Open, Ryder Cup, and President's Cup.

The look of the course's ultramodern clubhouse was inspired by the vistas that will make it an unrivaled attraction: "The views were the overall form giver," partner Cat Lindsay said.

In their design, Ms. Lindsay and partner John Newman strove to create a structure that not only maximizes the expansive views, but uses them to enhance the functional needs of the club. With three different vistas, the sailshaped building will offer space for distinct uses: the area that has a view of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty will house a bar and restaurant that will be open to the public; the ocean-view space will be reserved for private functions, and the golf course view will house the pro shop, library, and deck.

The clubhouse, Ms. Lindsay said, was designed to be the "jewel at the end of a path," referring to the half mile driveway and seemingly demure stature ? from the driveway it looks about the size of a large house, 75 feet wide and 35 feet tall. But from the water the building is 250 feet long and 73 feet tall.

"You don't want to give it all away at the beginning. The entryway purposely appears small," Ms Lindsay said. "But after being greeted by the concierge, members and guests enter rooms with 30-foot-high ceilings with panoramic views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazano Bridge, and the 18th fairway of the Liberty National Golf Course."

Part of the entryway has led to tension between design and execution: Two curved glass panels each measuring 16 feet tall have pushed the limits for shaping glass with curves about 90 degrees each. "The size is the constraint we are wrestling," Mr. Newman said. "Anyone can heat up a piece of glass and bend it. It is more challenging to heat and manipulate this size of glass and get it to the site and installed with both the manufacturer and installer warrantying it."

The panels will be formed by Barcelona-based Cricursa, an architectural glass producer that specializes in curved glass. Cricursa marketing director Joan Tarrus said these panels would be especially complex to make because they involved laminating layers of glass as well as forming the dramatic curves. In the production process, the company uses annealing and tempering equipment and techniques to ensure the glass is strong enough to withstand building and environmental stresses. "There is a nice reference where such a panel can be seen in New York City," Mr. Tarrus said. "It's in a high-end residential building at 497 Greenwich St. where the fa?ade folds several times, inboard and outboard."

According to Mr. Newman, the interior of the four-story building will be elegant, but not extravagant, in an effort to lead the eye to the grand views.

In a second phase of the Willowbend development, located at former Caven Point Army Terminal adjacent to Liberty State Park, three residential towers with a total of 1,000 units will be built with construction beginning on the first tower early next year. When complete the towers will contain 3 million square feet of luxurious living space. And the fact that the towers will overlook the clubhouse introduced design challenges.

"The roof material had to be pristine ? without any visible penetration ? because it's a prominent feature from the towers," he said.

Mr. Newman said the tall glass plates of the clubhouse windows would withstand hurricane winds because of the heavy steel holding the glass in place and the roof tiedowns. Protection from solar exposure included sloped walls, glass coatings, and cantilevered eaves.

But it's not only the effect of the environment on the building that was considered. The LEED standards are concerned with how the building impacts the environment: LEED is based on an approach sustainability that recognizing performance in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. The Cond? Nast building at 4 Times Square became the first LEED-certified high-rise building in America in 1999. Many government and corporate entities are adopting LEED standards, but few buildings have met the requirements. If it works here, it may be proof that while golf courses might not be environmentally friendly, the clubhouses can be.

Quote:

The issue is with "that rag" the JJ opening their article with this paragraph, entirely on speculation (since they did not speak to the developers):

"To a father/son development team, the two-family house going up at 91 Gifford Ave. in Jersey City represents a good investment and a home where they might someday live."

Quote:

Agreed. But the city being asleep at the wheel and refusing to enforce its own building standards does not make it any less callous for a developer (or the historic home-owner who sold off the plot) to drop a ground-floor-garage pink-brick monstrosity in the middle of that block.

Quote:

Nice try, but it's one thing to racist-bait with anonymous jclist posters expressing their white-fright about the pathmark on grand. It's another thing entirely to ascribe to a named person a subtext that isn't there. The fact is that Gifford Avenue consists of an ethnically diverse group of homeowners, as does the majority of the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Those who have been conscientious stewards of this neighborhood and that block in particular hail from varied ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. And one thing a majority of these homeowners have in common is the desire to preserve the beauty of their neighborhood, and consequently, the value of their property, as is their right.

There are plenty of far "funn[ier] soundin' names" than Margaritonda in our neighborhood, and there have been for decades. The Margaritondas have no more or less of a "right" to make money than their neighbors. And their desire to put up the cheapest possible structure they can in the space will result in a windfall for them, thanks to the work of their neighbors, whose property values will suffer for it.

The city is to blame for making the zoning process the joke that it is, but the "they told us we could do it" excuse is hollow and insincere, and no amount of baseless Jersey Journal hackery can make those guys into victims.

Quote:

Ross, it's obvious that you don't know Charlene Burke. I have had the pleasure of calling her a friend and neighbour for years before I left. She is truly a person who cares about Jersey City as a whole as well as the Lincoln Park neighbourhood.

Your comment about "newcomers" with funny soundin' names just stinks. If you're trying to imply that she is a xenophobe, you're wrong.

Fact is, she's right. There are people who have lived there for years and have become stewards of the block. They could have left as many did when Lincoln Park started it's long decline but they toughed it out. These developers don't care about what they're doing, it' s all a money game but those that live there have to look at it daily, long after the Margaritondas have spent the money they'll make on ruining a beautiful block.

The Margaritondas have a right to make money but should they create eyesores for the rest of the neighbours?

Quote:

I don't understand the emphasis on their not calling the JJ. Hell, I wouldn't give that rag the chance to misquote me. Besides, they already changed their design once to try and satisfy their neighbors - they don't owe anybody an explanation.

Sure, the system is broken but these guys didn't break it. It would be different if they tried to do the work unpermitted in the dead of night.

I'm more troubled by this quote:

"You have neighbors who invested in properties and have been stewards of the block for 50 years," Burke said. "Then a newcomer comes along and the city blesses them . And that's where the problem lies.

The dreaded "newcomers" with them funny soundin' names. They don't belong here.

I love the additional title to the JJ article that GP lovingly added. No bias there.

Althea

Quote:

although I can't name two, the one on my block is owner occupied.... and what an eyesore it is.

i had told a lot of people about the original date and made plans to be there with some neighbors, but then the mayor double booked. I had work commitments on wednesday so i wasn't able to attend, but its unnacceptable that he was the reason it was moved in the first place and then didn't even bother to show.

Mouse and Grovepath

I agree with you about St Anthony?s but I respectfully disagree with regard to this situation and feel strongly about it.

This meeting was not a regular community meeting by any means, it was one that was scheduled two months ago and posted on this site several times to address the crime issue and quality of life issues throughout the city. It was a group meeting of several organized communities citywide planned around the mayor's calendar.

The meeting format decided by this group was to invite all the city council to attend but it was supposed to be a dialog with the Mayor, Police Chief, and Director. This meeting was planned nearly two months ago around the mayor?s calendar but then, the Mayor?s office scheduled the State of the City address on the same day. This group then moved it to this past Wednesday evening with the commitment that the Mayor would attend (as he was obviously the focal point).

Those who frequently attend community meetings can attest to a 150 person community meeting is not common and it occurs when there is a set agenda to be discussed that is of concern.

I am not saying that the basketball game is not important but if you compare the two meetings, one meeting is a commitment the other is an option, one meeting is focused around one person?s attendance and the other meeting is not, one deals with crime the other deals with a basketball game for a successful program.

I stand by my comments about priorities.

One more point, in this article the city hall spokesman insinuates it was some type of ?ambush?. If you think about how ridiculous that comment is in earnest .. Could all these community groups in the city and the five elected officials who attended now be involved in this plot because we knew the Mayor would decide to attend the game? That is so silly and laughable that I couldn;t help but think it is the conspiracy theory worthy of another board.

Steven Fulop

"To a father/son development team, the two-family house going up at 91 Gifford Ave. in Jersey City represents a good investment and a home where they might someday live."

THEY DID NOT RETURN CALLS FOR COMMENT.

Yet in paragraph one, the JJ paints them out to be a father and son in need of a home? PUH-LEEZE, LaToya! They never even returned a call to the JJ to tell them the greatest developer lie ever told ("we're building it to maybe live in.")

Of the garage-on-bottom pink-brick monstrosities, can anybody name me more than 2 of them in the entire city that are owner-occupied?

If I were mayor, I woulda gone to the St. Anthony's game too.

(Faithful readers of the "Mouse" know this may be something of a first -- defending the Mayor. But, in this instance we should cut him a break. This is pure BS).

St. Anthony's basketball program is awesome and something Jersey City should rightfully be proud of. Coach Hurley is a treasure.

Too bad they got beaten.


-M

There are two sides to every story. In this case there were three. They failed to mention how negligent the city was in allowing this to even happen. They also paint out the Margaritonda family to look like the vicitims in all of this. They are investment developers who are just there to make a buck and move on while the rest of the block has to deal with it. Go Jersey Journal !!

Does Michael Yun own a Chinese restuarant?

Being desensitized to crime with lower expectations to crime control, have changed in the past 5 years with the influx of new residents with different values and socioeconomic means, who have made the move and investment into the downtown area. Stupid comment from Comey I think.

Heights residents call foul on absent Healy

Friday, March 09, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A neighborhood meeting about crime in the Jersey City Heights took on a pointedly political tone, with residents and one elected official taking shots at Mayor Jerramiah Healy for skipping the gathering in favor of the St. Anthony High School basketball championship game.

"The guy needs to reassess his priorities," said Councilman Steve Fulop, who attended the meeting with county Freeholder Jeff Dublin and Councilmen Bill Gaughan, Peter Brennan and Steve Lipski.

"After a 19 percent tax increase last year, the least (Healy) can do is listen to the community's concerns. It was insulting to residents, and a slap in their faces," Fulop said.

But Stan Eason, a spokesman for Jersey City, said the mayor attends many community meetings, but not all of them. And he also noted that top law enforcement personnel - including Police Chief Tom Comey, Police Director Sam Jefferson and Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio - did attend the meeting to answer questions from the public, as did members of the Mayor's Action Bureau.

The event was organized by Heights businessman Michael Yun, who called attention to the mayor's absence by telling the crowd they would delay starting on the hope Healy would show up - even though it was widely known by then that he wasn't coming.

Numerous speakers noted Healy's absence - one woman calling it "insulting" - and some dramatized it by directing questions to Healy anyway.

Eason said Healy went to the non-Public B state basketball championship, where Jersey City's St. Anthony High lost to St. Patrick's of Elizabeth.

"It's not a question of which event was more important," Eason said. "People talk about all the ills of our youth, and here the mayor had an opportunity to support the city's youth in what is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them."

Eason also blasted the event as a "malicious . orchestrated ambush."

"The fact that the organizer (Yun) continued to intentionally mislead the audience - saying 'let's give the mayor another 15 minutes,' with the full knowledge that the mayor wasn't going to be there, and the fact that he refused to announce that four members of the Mayor's Action Bureau were there, to falsely show that the mayor had no consideration about the event, shows that he had a predetermined outset, not to gather information, but to make it an antagonistic setup."

At the meeting, Comey said statistics show incidents of most types of crime have dropped in the past six months, and residents are safer now than at any time in the past five years.

Home plan is altered, but not enough for neighbors

Friday, March 09, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

To a father/son development team, the two-family house going up at 91 Gifford Ave. in Jersey City represents a good investment and a home where they might someday live.

But to Charlene Burke, president of West Bergen/Lincoln Park Neighborhood Coalition, the house is a "travesty" that will stick out like a sore thumb. She objects to the large size and the style of the house.

"How can this happen?" Burke wrote city officials in January. "One of the most beautiful and historic blocks in Jersey City. a new residence is under construction that does not share any characteristics with the housing to either side."

Burke added, "Creation of this monster house amid these historic structures impacts this block negatively both visually and economically. Doesn't anyone in any department responsible for construction in this city care about any neighborhood?"

Shortly after receiving Burke's letter - and complaints from others about developers snapping up large Victorian-type homes, ripping them down, and building two homes in their stead - the City Council passed an ordinance in February to enact a new R1-A zone. The ordinance requires developers to build homes in the R1 zone that fit in with the other properties on the block.

But the developers of 91 Gifford Ave. - Donald J. Margaritonda and Donald A. Margaritonda, owners of the Harrison-based DJM Group - received approvals from the zoning officer on last Nov. 16, and building permits for the project were issued on Dec. 19, according to city records.

The approved plans were governed by the existing R1 Zone, which permits construction on a normal 25-foot-wide lot.

But when local residents raised a ruckus, the Margaritondas - who didn't return phone calls seeking comment - voluntarily returned to the zoning board to make changes they felt would make the house more acceptable to their neighbors.

The proposed home is now set back 24 feet, instead of the R1 Zone standard of 10 feet. The width of the garage was reduced. The window above the front door was changed from oval to rectangle and the exterior facade became red brick, city officials said.

Since the Margaritondas didn't want to shorten the 68-foot length of their house, they applied for and were granted a rear-yard setback reduction from the standard 30 feet to 171/2 feet.

But Burke and others still aren't satisfied, and said community residents are exploring options, including finding a buyer for the property.

The city is ignoring its own ordinances requiring "in-fill" housing to follow the pattern of other houses on the block, she said.

"You have neighbors who invested in properties and have been stewards of the block for 50 years," Burke said. "Then a newcomer comes along and the city blesses them . and that's where the problem lies."

Group sues state over 9/11 memorial

Posted by The Star-Ledger March 08, 2007 9:26PM

A citizens group that lobbies for Jersey City's Liberty State Park is suing the state in a last-ditch effort to stop construction of a 9/11 memorial it says will obstruct powerful views of lower Manhattan and Ground Zero.

The lawsuit, filed with the Appellate Division in Trenton on Monday and announced today, says the state Department of Environmental Protection authorized a permit that neither fit the project nor required public comment.

"There were no hearings, no newspaper notices, no public comment, period," said Cynthia A. Hadjiyannis, an attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of The Friends of Liberty State Park, an organization of 900 volunteers. "The DEP took some shortcuts that led to the public being excluded from this process."

But John Watson, the DEP's deputy commissioner for natural resources, said the department attended a summertime meeting the friends of the park held and considered comments the public made there. He also said the department found no flaws in the permit procedure.

"The entire process was open to the public," Watson said. "This was a national design competition. We feel as though there were adequate opportunities all along the way for the public to have input."

The modernistic design for the memorial, submitted by New York architect Frederic Schwartz, is known as "Empty Sky" and will honor the 691 New Jerseyans who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It consists of two parallel stainless steel walls, each 200 feet long and rising 30 feet, that symbolize the fallen Twin Towers.

It is slated for construction on a 10-foot-high mound, near the late-1800s Central Railroad of New Jersey Train Terminal and ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will pay $7 million of the memorial's estimated $15 million to $17 million cost, and much of the balance will come from private funding, officials said.

Gov. Jon Corzine said his administration had reviewed decisions on the memorial, which were made by his predecessor, and found them agreeable.

Contributed by Russell Ben-Ali and Deborah Howlett

LINK

Thanks - I hadn't thought of yet another reassessment. When we bought this 2F it had just been converted into one, and we pay almost double in property tax than the same house next door - which is a 1 family being used as a two family. If I'm losing the income I was hoping to lower the taxes.

I agree with all of the above posts. We were looking to do the same thing and discovered that there was a possibility of reassesment which could mean a hike in our taxes. Besides, if you should decide to sell, your property might be worth more if it carried a two family status.

Step away from the phone, immediately. One familes can be worth more than two families and your taxes could go up. Also, once you reregister as a one you could have trouble converting back to a two.