By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal

The Jersey City school board voted to relieve Schools Superintendent Marcia V. Lyles of her duties on Thursday night, one day after Lyles filed a federal lawsuit accusing the board and the local teachers union of harassing and defaming her.

The action was taken during the board?s regular meeting at School 26 in front of a crowd of more than 150 teachers, some waving ?Lyles go now!!!? signs. It represents a major victory for the Jersey City Education Association teachers union, which has been itching for Lyles? removal for years.

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When we bought our circa 1840's house in the Heights, I went to the tax assessor's office and got a copy of a photo taken in the 1930's for a WPA project. I believe they photographed all the houses in the city. I planted a tree just like the one in the photo - still there today! It was a really cool look back. You may want to try the historical records found at the JC library in downtown, too.

By Craig McCarthy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

For months, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has denied knowing her office was investigating a rape case involving two high-profile members of Gov. Phil Murphy?s election campaign.

But copies of what appear to be inter-office emails obtained by NJ Advance Media show the prosecutor was included on a chain of messages laying out the accusations, three days after the alleged rape of campaign volunteer Katie Brennan by Albert J. Alvarez ? then the campaign?s outreach director for Muslim and Latino communities in April 2017.

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(Speaking of kosher, if Alvarez is so innocent, why has this question not been answered yet? It does make one go hmmm.)

By Tom Moran tmoran@starledger.com
Columnist, The Star-Ledger

Brendan Gill wants to be clear about one thing: It wasn't him.

He is not the guy who was behind the decision to hire Al Alvarez to a senior job in the Murphy administration after Katie Brennan accused Alvarez of sexually assaulting her. The rumors, he says, are dead wrong.

"I had no communication with anyone to encourage the hiring of Alvarez," said Gill, who was Murphy's campaign manager, and serves as a freeholder in Essex County. "I was not involved in the transition or hiring practices of the administration."

So, the mystery lives. It is amazing to me that no one in the Murphy administration has stepped up and admitted to this mistake. And it's even more amazing that the governor allows the question to drag on, week after week.

"This is so silly," says Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, the co-chair of the committee. "All the governor has to do is tell us."

Maybe he doesn't know. But if that's the case, why hasn't he called all his people into a big conference room and pounded his fist on the table, demanding to know?

Instead, we heard a parade of Murphy's senior people swear oaths before the Legislative committee investigating this case, and claim that it wasn't them, leaving legislators exasperated.

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Nor should it.

(I always wondered how this program worked out - here's a great story illustrating its effectiveness...)



When a man collapsed in a restaurant, help was nearby thanks to app-based program
Updated 3:50 PM; Posted 3:50 PM

By Patrick Villanova | The Jersey Journal
When a man collapsed on the floor of a Chinese takeout restaurant in Jersey City and went into cardiac arrest earlier this month, help was surprisingly close by.

Lipa Berkowitz, a United Rescue volunteer who was driving along Ocean Avenue at the time, got word of the emergency and sprang into action.

Berkowitz, 30, quickly parked and responded to the restaurant where he found the 61-year-old man unconscious on the floor. As the initial first responder at the scene, Berkowitz used his automated external defibrillator (AED) to try to restart the man?s heart.

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"Jersey City Police Cease Fire units were on the scene of a shots fired incident with property damage reported on a street in the city on Saturday morning.

According to preliminary reports, police responded to reports of shots fired in the vicinity of 225 Van Horne Street shortly before 5:30 a.m. where officers arrived and began to canvas the scene for evidence and injured victims.

Police immediately located one shell casing during their search but after canvassing the area, officers found that bullets smashed through the windows of two residences according to reports."

More - RLS Media

By Samantha Marcussmarcus@njadvancemedia.com
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

State lawmakers investigating how Gov. Phil Murphy?s office handled rape allegations against a senior administration staffer are locked in a fight with Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez?s office over e-mails that may raise questions about Suarez?s claims she had no knowledge of the case, NJ Advance Media has learned.

The dispute lays bare tension between the prosecutor and the legislative oversight committee, which has been conducting hearings on how Murphy?s administration responded to allegations one state official, Katie Brennan, brought forth against another high-level staffer, Albert J. Alvarez.

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While I can understand the discomfort you've had with not feeling well, unless that hot chocolate was the only thing you consumed that day, it's a bit of reach to blame the DD in a public forum such as this. Plus, it's flu season and there's a nasty bug that comes on really fast and makes you feel like crap for a while (and includes gastro symptoms). Our whole family had it in varying degrees and almost everyone I know has been impacted by the same bug. Hope you're feeling better.

By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY ? A West Side Avenue supermarket was shut down by the city last week after health inspectors say they compiled the longest list of health code violations they have seen in recent memory.

Gross!

By Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Ten priests who spent part of their careers in New Jersey are on a new list of 50 Jesuits who have been accused of child sexual abuse...

...Nine of the ten Jesuits on the list with New Jersey ties served at either St. Peter?s Prep, St. Peter?s University or in St. Peter?s Parish in Jersey City -- one of the centers of Jesuit life and training in New Jersey. Most were at St. Peter?s briefly early in their careers.

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The list

Firing a former governor: Fulop's dumbest feud? | Editorial
Updated 6:31 AM; Posted 6:30 AM

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board eletters@starledger.com

An ex-governor who has done admirable work helping people who get out of prison find jobs and reacclimate suddenly gets fired, and nobody can figure out why.

But somewhere behind it all is Steven Fulop. The Jersey City mayor won't answer our questions. As usual when he gets into hot water, he's hiding under his desk.

All he'll say is that former Gov. Jim McGreevey was canned over accusations of "misappropriating funds." What funds? How? He won't explain.

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The scammers are out and about again. Please, please, please take a moment to warn your senior neighbors/relatives and folks that you know who may be susceptible to this type of call. The elderly are particularly easy marks.

Link

By Ron Zeitlinger | The Jersey Journal

The phone rang and the news was shocking.

A Hoboken woman was told she was going to be arrested, but there was a way out. All she had to do was withdraw all the money from her bank account, put it into gift cards and then supply the caller ? who claimed to be representing the Social Security Administration in Texas ? with the codes to transfer the money from the cards.

She followed the instructions and now she?s out $5,900 after realizing that she was never in danger of being arrested and the call was part of scam, Hoboken police said.

The woman was one of two victims who contacted the police department after falling for the same scheme, said Hoboken Lt. Edgardo Cruz, who noted that the department has received calls from residents about several types of scams recently.

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But wasn't construction completed already? Could the developer even have an ample opportunity to adequately address the default? I wonder if that will play into the legal argument. While I applaud the city's efforts to make sure that developers play by the rules, this does seem punitive. I wonder what other forces are at work here.

By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal
JERSEY CITY ? Jersey City?s council did something stunning on Wednesday. It took away a tax break from a Downtown real estate developer.

MORE (It's Shuster by the way...)

Body of an email received today from Mayor Fulop:

"When I first took office as mayor in 2013, I pledged that I would curtail Jersey City?s 30-year reliance on long term tax abatements by previous mayors. I outlined a plan in the campaign, and as I first took office, we limited tax abatements downtown. We then issued an executive order as a policy to use them only as a tool to incentivize development away from the waterfront, which was successful throughout other parts of the City. Ultimately, we further limited their use citywide.

At this point, the City has granted ZERO market rate tax abatements (anywhere in the city) for nearly two years! So our plan is working and we should all be proud.

We invested in a compliance officer to monitor previously issued tax abatements. As we go through the records and find non-fulfilled commitments by developers towards Jersey City residents, we will be moving to take aggressive action and cancel their tax abatement.

The first two cancellations will be voted on by the City Council tomorrow night. One is a cancellation of a tax abatement on the West Side and one is a cancellation of a project downtown.

There are mixed opinions on the council on whether to terminate a developer?s tax abatement for noncompliance, and while many have spoken publicly about the need to do this, tomorrow is the opportunity to take action.

We will continue to work together with you and the council in moving Jersey City forward."

Steven Fulop

H & M in the Newport Mall also takes all clothing in all condition - donors receive a coupon for their donation.

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Tucker, Georgia

Hi there:

Try this:

Hudson Hospice, Jersey City, bi-monthly, CALL 201-433-6225

A wider look at NJ:

https://www.hackensackumc.org/services ... ne/bereavement-resources/

Contacting social workers at JCMC may be helpful, too. Or, connect with hospice social workers. Good luck and be well.

If they're parking on a public sidewalk or in a way that would restrict access to those with disabilities, I would think that may be an ADA violation. You can submit a complaint here:

https://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm

That may be the way around their non-compliance.

Things that make you go hmmm....

By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal tmcdonald@jjournal.com
The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY ? Whether a Jersey City administrator can legally sponsor ordinances is up for debate and the city has two different opinions depending on its audience.

The city?s legal team told council members that yes, Business Administrator Brian Platt can sponsor legislation. But when in front of Hudson County Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso, Jersey City?s legal eagles conceded that no, Platt cannot.

What a tangled web we weave...

By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal tmcdonald@jjournal.com
The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY ? Real-estate developer Mack-Cali and some of its subsidiaries are suing the state of New Jersey and Jersey City over the city?s new payroll tax, one the plaintiffs call a vague, slapdash and unconstitutional ?house of cards? that must be invalidated.

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Here's a little food for thought. This is just to make one consider the issue of consent and how one obtains it and keeps it - is a contract/app/agreement really workable?

New app lets you request consent

An open letter from all women...to LegalFling

The Problems with Sexual Consent Apps

...and I thought dating in the 80's sucked.

Thank you for the question. Here are a few of my thoughts:

1. Sexual assault needs to stop being a "man vs. woman" issue. It's a perpetrator vs. victim issue. Victims need to feel comfortable reporting a crime - but in a case of a sexual assault, it's just not that easy. It's not the laws that need changing, per se, it's the stigma and denial that happens to victims by themselves, their peers, employers, coworkers, teachers, religious leaders and families that needs to be changed. There's a lot that happens between the time an assault takes place to the time that it's reported - we need to work on that as a society.

2. Sexual assault needs to be adjudicated in a court of law - not in a sensationalist media event or in hearings. There is a procedure to follow, laws and rules of evidence. The perp, male or female, is innocent until proven guilty. That's the U.S. justice system, like it or not.

3. I cannot comment with certainty on this case in particular. But Hudson County never disappoints and often stinks. Things are covered up here at an alarming rate by people with just a little bit of power. Katie seems to have followed protocol and does make a striking allegation. She has risked enormously to put herself in the front of a media storm. I admire her tenacity and courage and really hope she gets her legitimate day in court.

4. Moving forward - talk to your children, tell them your own stories (most of us likely are or know someone who is a victim of some kind of unwanted sexual comment, groping, or assault - most often by someone we know). Role play, create a plan, a code word, open up the dialogue to your sons and daughters about what is right and wrong and empower them with tools for situations where they could become a victim. Create a loving environment where open dialogue is welcome and your kids know they have a safe harbor in a storm.

Just my two cents.

By Samantha Marcus | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com and Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey lawmakers will begin scrutinizing the first scandal of Gov. Phil Murphy?s young administration Tuesday, as the senior official accusing a former fellow top staffer of rape testifies in public.

In what promises to be a dramatic day at the Statehouse, a special legislative committee of mostly women will hear from Katie Brennan, chief of staff to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, who has said she was raped during Murphy?s campaign for governor by a top aide.

Brennan has said she went public with her allegations only after prosecutors declined to press charges and members of Murphy?s inner circle failed to take action.

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How about St. Lucy's?

Address: 619 Grove St, Jersey City, NJ 07310
Phone: (201) 656-7201

A controlled detonation will occur Friday, 11/30 near Bayonne, New Jersey. The activity is scheduled to take place at approximately 10 AM. The effects of this routine activity may be heard and visible in lower Manhattan, Staten Island, and Brooklyn.

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