Healy: Jersey City's response is very inspiring

By The Jersey Journal
November 15, 2012 at 6:11 AM

By MAYOR JERRAMIAH HEALY
SPECIAL TO THE JOURNAL

There isn't a single person in Jersey City who hasn't been affected by Hurricane Sandy. It struck a tremendous blow to our city and our state. My focus over the past two weeks has been squarely on looking out for the safety, security and well-being of all the people, businesses and families here in our city.

Our Office of Emergency Management staff has literally been working around the clock and side by side with the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Department of Public Works, the Incinerator Authority, the Municipal Utilities Authority, the Parking Authority, and numerous other agencies to provide assistance during and in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Communications have been numerous, including several dozen emergency alert notifications, website updates, Facebook updates, tweets, and postings to other social media. Several press conferences were held and personal visits were made to affected communities who may not have had access to media.

On Saturday, we held two "town hall" meetings with FEMA to provide information to residents who suffered damages about the process for receiving aid from the federal government. One of the most heartening moments during this disaster was when on President Barack Obama called me during the height of the storm to tell me that the federal government would do all that it could do to help our city.

A couple days after the storm, President Obama sent representatives to Jersey City to survey the damage, and FEMA representatives have been here since, working out of the command center at OEM. FEMA has opened a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at 350 Montgomery St. for residents, open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and a Business Recovery Center has been opened by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) at NJCU, 285 West Side Ave., Suites 189-191, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

We are also held a special town hall meeting at 1 p.m., yesterday, at City Hall for business owners affected by Hurricane Sandy.

We observed Veterans Day. And just as we took a moment to thank those who have put our country first and risked their lives to protect our America and the freedoms our country represents, I want to give a special thanks to those police officers, firefighters and first responders who put our city first these past few weeks. Many of them lost their own homes or suffered serious property damage and days without power, yet they responded to the call for assistance from the community.

There are still pockets of our community without power and residents who are struggling without heat, hot water, or the ability to live at home. Many are cleaning out and demolishing parts of their homes. Thousands have lost items precious to them and their families. We ask you to also think of them today. We are a strong Jersey City and together we will come back even stronger. Anyone who needs assistance or has any questions can contact the Mayor's Action Bureau at (201) 547-4900.

These past few weeks we have seen so many neighbors stepping up to help other neighbors during these trying times, which has only reinforced my love and concern for our great city and all of our great citizens. It is a testament to our Jersey City community and the people who live here. I have visited every neighborhood in our city and have heard from so many of you, and just wanted to take this opportunity tell you how truly inspired I am by the will and humanity of our people.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... ey_citys_response_is.html

Letter: Support me for Jersey City mayor, not career pols

By Letters to the Editor/The Jersey Journal
November 14, 2012 at 6:13 AM

Jersey City has seen a lot over the past decade, waterfront development, new residents, higher taxes, poor state of education, inequality in different areas of the city, very poor quality of life, and so on.

Our politicians have been making different claims of improvement whereas reality is that it's opposite of what they claim. Cronyism is at the top. Most of the council members are hand-picked puppets who have no passion and who lack capability.

These puppets have no credibility. Every vote they cast is based upon "loyalty" and what they will get in return. Most of the council members have two jobs, either with the city or the county. There are individuals who have been on the City Council for 12 or more years and have done nothing for the people who elected them. To me, the situation doesn't look very different from what is happening in Third World countries.

All this and much more is due to the fact that we have been electing the wrong individuals for leadership. An individual who raises millions of dollars or someone who leaves his job only to focus on how he can get elected and has been engaged in all the dirty tricks and bad political maneuvers can't bring any change to the fiscal state of our city. We the citizens need to "wake up" and support clean individuals who have passion and the potential to serve with confidence. If we want to improve the education of our children, lower crime and taxes, improve the services for citizens, this time stand up for and with the right individuals!

So I am announcing my candidacy for the mayor of Jersey City in the May elections. Support and volunteer for me and the sake of our city. See how our life will change for the better by getting rid of career politicians.

ABDUL J. MALIK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATION. OF PAKISTANI AMERICANS FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
JERSEY CITY

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... port_me_for_jersey_c.html

Jersey City accepts mops, brooms, cleaning supplies donated by Home Depot

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
November 14, 2012 at 9:22 AM

New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno was on hand for delivery of a truckload of cleaning supplies donated to Jersey City by Home Depot yesterday to help in the Hurricane Sandy recovery.

?We need Jersey City, and we need you up and running and doing what you do best,? Guadagno told Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy at the city?s Office of Emergency Management on Summit Avenue yesterday afternoon.

The mops, brooms, buckets, boxes, trash bags, paper towels, cleaning products and other items delivered represent one of 10 truckloads of supplies donated throughout the state by Home Depot through the Office of Gov. Chris Christie.

?This is an emotional connection to the community and we want the people to know we are there for them,? said Sheldon Celestine, manager of Home Depot on Route 440 in Jersey City. ?This is how we give back to the community.?

Healy added: ?We thank Home Depot, the governor and lieutenant governor for the resources, and they are going to where they are needed most.?

Last night, OEM Director Greg Kierce was working out a distribution plan to get the donated items to residents. The city will likely set up four distribution centers in the city?s worst hit areas where residents can pick up the donated supplies.

City officials hope to have the distribution centers up and running today, city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... y_accepts_mops_broom.html

Eight days after Jersey City special election, councilwoman concedes defeat

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
on November 14, 2012 at 11:16 AM

Though Jersey City woman Diane Coleman last week claimed victory in the special election to fill an unexpired term on the City Council, second-place finisher and incumbent Councilwoman Michele Massey did not concede defeat.

Until today.

?I don?t anticipate 2,000 votes coming in,? Massey told The Jersey Journal this morning. ?So, I?m fine with the conclusion that Ms. Coleman won the seat.?

Massey was appointed last December as the Ward F councilwoman, replacing longtime Ward F rep Viola Richardson. Richardson won her own special election last November to become a councilwoman at large.

Massey needed to win last week?s election to remain in the seat until after the May 2013 city election, but with 97 percent of precincts reporting, she remains 1,520 votes behind Coleman.

Asked if she has spoken to the apparent winner yet, Massey said, ?Not at all.?

Hudson County Board of Elections Clerk Michael Harper said the county is waiting until Monday, Nov. 19 to certify election results because of a state directive setting that day as a deadline for receiving mail-in ballots from first responders and Hurricane Sandy victims.

Coleman, head of local nonprofit Building an Empire, said Massey?s concession is ?what everybody was waiting for,? adding that no one in Coleman?s camp thought the apparent results would change once mail-in ballots are counted.

?I won by a landslide,? Coleman said.

The apparent councilwoman-elect said she?s putting a plan together for her term, which expires on June 30, 2013. The first item on her agenda, she said, is to sit down with Police Chief Tom Comey to discuss crime in Ward F.

?We?re going to come up with a plan of action to get rid of those people hanging on the corner that intimidate residents of Ward F,? she said.

Coleman?s apparent victory caps a tumultuous term for Jersey City?s nine-member council. Since the 2009 city election, six members have either stepped down voluntarily or were booted out in special elections, counting Massey.

Massey, whose council appointment doesn't expire until Coleman's win is certified, said she may not be done with politics quite yet.

"I have a lot of supporters who are certainly urging me to continue to pursue that office or another," she said.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _after_jersey_city_s.html

Political Insider: Healy singing holiday songs was last thing folks needed

By Agustin C. Torres/The Jersey Journal
November 10, 2012 at 6:17 PM

One cannot help but talk about what people have endured the past two weeks -- and how resilient they have been, charitable, and concerned about their neighbors. It amazes me that they are not angrier. Perhaps it's a delayed reaction or they shrug and come to accept it all as Mother Nature's wrath.

My biased view, as Freeholder Jeff Dublin calls it, is that the people's government failed them. Oh, I'm not saying they could have prevented Hurricane Sandy's storm surge but rather the responses by upper echelon officials were flagrantly Mickey Mouse -- or rather Donald Duck.

A not so prescient Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy decided on the day before Sandy struck New Jersey on Oct. 29 that it would be a good idea for folks living in basement and first-floor apartments near the bays on both sides of the city to leave. He gave these people a deadline of 7 on the morning of Sandy's rude visit. Tell me he wasn't reacting to New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg's Oct. 28 afternoon demand that residents living in the Big Apple's Zone A, sea level areas, had to evacuate before elevators shut down at 7 that evening.

Even worse was the sense people felt that they were abandoned by the city because of the lack of communication.

On the Wednesday after Sandy, several people I know walked to the city's Office of Emergency Management in a firehouse on Jefferson Street looking for any kind of information. Where's water, when are the lights coming back, ice, anything? There was a clueless response. Other than being told that they could charge cellphones at Pershing Field, officials said they had no information. There was no printed material to hand out.

Several residents said that Mayor Healy arrived at 1 p.m. in his sports jacket and did what he does best, sing Christmas songs.

In the future, whoever runs government in this city, and county, should dismantle the OEM offices. They should seriously think of hiring professionals to run these important agencies instead of a buddy who may happen to be an ex-cop. Despite what they say, these offices are mostly geared toward preventing terrorist attacks and are obviously not so skilled in dealing with an angry Mother Nature.

Residents are correct in asking what has happened with the annual FEMA monies these agencies have received.

After each disaster, people are tired of hearing how things will improve, next time. This was next time.

INSIDER NOTES

-- Hudson County employees at the Hudson County jail in Kearny were told they had to stay and work overtime when the hurricane bore down on Jersey. Unfortunately for them, all their personal vehicles were flooded. Do cars have flood insurance or does the county reimburse the owners? We'll probably find out more about this and many other storm-related issues at what promises to be a very heated county Board of Freeholders caucus on Tuesday.

-- The freeholders are preparing a resolution urging the state Legislature to approve a bill that would impose minimum triple damages on utility companies that fail to restore power to a given area within 24 hours of loss of power, according to sources.

The penalty would represent three times the estimated daily revenue for each day of disruption for the area of outage and would have to be paid out of profits -- not passed on in the form of any rate increase. These penalties would be passed directly to impacted rate payers. In addition, there could be damages of up to 15 times the amount of daily revenue, imposed by the Board of Public Utilities, if it determines the firm was negligent, failed to implement reasonable precautions, or make reasonable efforts to properly prepare for natural disasters.

What do you think are the chances of this ever happening in Trenton?

- Jersey City Councilwoman Michele Massey must have known she was doomed Tuesday when there were no hordes of campaign workers that she was promised by Dublin and others. There was no money to pay anyone. Dublin was forced to use a few thousand dollars out of the Jersey City Democratic Organization's meager coffers, a very bad investment.

Dublin and his pal DeJon Morris, and some other unidentified individual, were forced to ride around all Election Day in a vehicle with a dashboard placard that read, "Official Business City of Jersey City," according to my city sources.

Also backing Massey were Jersey City Incinerator Executive Oren Dabney and state Sen. Sandra Cunningham. Sources said they spent that day in a car with municipal government plates, probably on important city business.

Massey lost anyway. Check with me very early next week about the tectonic plate shifts after the special election that saw nonprofit social services agency head Diane Coleman (backed by Downtown Councilman and mayoral aspirant Steven Fulop) elected to the Ward F City Council seat. Let's just say right now that I will be very surprised if Mayor Healy does not end his run for re-election by January, or perhaps earlier. The rats are already jumping ship (a metaphor) and falling all over themselves to make nice with the councilman.

-- When is Jersey City ready to dispel or confirm reports of looting in the city during Hurricane Sandy and the aftermath? I'm not confirming anything here, but anecdotal reports about crime are disturbing, if true. If there is substance to any of it, city officials will look very foolish by not getting ahead of this

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... _singin.html#incart_river

Moving Jersey City school elections to November to be on City Council's agenda

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
November 08, 2012 at 9:16 AM

Jersey City schools elections would move to November under a measure set to be added to the City Council?s agenda, thanks to the results of a vote on Tuesday indicating voters overwhelmingly approve of the idea.

Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, who champions the idea as a way to increase voter participation in low-profile school elections, said the results of Tuesday?s vote indicate voters side with him.

?While there were good arguments on both sides of the issue, I took this approach because we want the residents to decide the future they see best and not always have elected officials assume they know best for residents,? Fulop said in a statement. ?The residents of Jersey City spoke loudly and clearly on this issue.?

Voters approved the referendum Tuesday night 20,249 to 7,425, not counting non-machine ballots that have yet to be counted.

Fulop has been active in at least the last three school elections, throwing his support behind nine candidates who all won their races. Before one of them resigned earlier this year, all nine members of the Board of Education received the Downtown councilman's backing.

His role as come at a cost, with Fulop's critics saying he is much too involved. Critics say he had an active role in selecting the district's new superintendent, and they point to a secret meeting he had with state Education Commissioner Chris Cerf last year as proof.

Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill into law last year that allows municipalities or school boards to change the date of school elections. Guttenberg, Hoboken and Kearny have already made the switch.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... sey_city_school_elec.html

Jersey City: Fulop candidate wins Ward F
Does Coleman victory spell trouble for Mayor Healy?

by E. Assata Wright - Reporter staff writer
Nov 11, 2012

For the second election cycle in a row, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy?s endorsed candidate suffered a defeat at the polls, an outcome that might not bode well for Healy?s own reelection effort next year.

On Election Day, Ward F residents chose Diane Coleman to be their representative on the City Council. Coleman, who garnered 3,453 votes, defeated incumbent Ward F Councilwoman Michele Massey, Rev. Tyrone Ballon, and community activist Debbie Walker. Massey, who finished in second place, received 1,933 votes, followed by Ballon and Walker, who received 542 and 254 votes respectively, with 96.7 percent of the vote counted.

Election results had not been certified by press time on Friday, Nov. 9.

Coleman will now serve out the remainder of Viola Richardson?s term as the Ward F City Council rep, a term that ends in May 2013. In a special election held in November 2011, Richardson, who had represented Ward F on the council for nearly a decade, ran for and won an at-large seat on the City Council.

Coleman has said that she plans to run for a full four-year term next spring to keep her seat.

?I?m glad that I?ll now have the chance to address many of the issues facing this community, including crime, affordable housing, and job creation,? Coleman said.

Proxy race?

Healy?s allies are downplaying the election results. But most of Jersey City?s political observers saw the Coleman-Massey matchup as a proxy race for the 2013 mayoral fight between Healy and Ward E City Councilman Steven Fulop, who endorsed Coleman.

For the past several years Fulop has been building a political machine that can work at the grassroots level and propel his chosen candidates into elected offices. The Fulop machine ? which is largely rooted in his home base downtown ? has successfully worked to elect eight of the nine current school board members and is already geared up to work for Fulop?s 2013 mayoral campaign.

Last week?s election was, however, something of a test to see how influential and successful this machine could be in Ward F, a community that is predominantly African American and more working class than Fulop?s core supporters downtown.

Coleman?s victory could be interpreted as a victory for the Fulop machine as well, since it demonstrates that he has reach and organizing strength in a ward where some people speculated he might not be popular.

For now, Fulop won?t say whether Coleman will be the Ward F candidate on his 2013 City Council slate, but most people expect her to be his pick.

?Diane was easy to support, as she has been doing social services in the community for 11 years,? Fulop said the day after the election. ?She knows the challenges and has a reputation that speaks for itself. I couldn?t be more excited for Ward F and for the opportunity to work with her as she focuses on such issues as crime, police visibility in the community. She will be terrific.?

Overlooked race?

Massey, who has not ruled out another run for the council next May, said she believes she lost because many Ward F residents did not know about the special election.

?People didn?t even know this special election was happening,? Massey said. ?There were districts where [Pres. Barack] Obama received 524 votes but only 138 people voted in the Ward F race. And even the poll workers didn?t know this race was going on, which was a problem, too.?

Hurricane Sandy, Massey added, also forced her to cancel a fundraiser and abandon campaigning. The storm also forced the cancelation of a Ward F debate among the candidates that was scheduled for Monday, Oct. 29.

Massey is now the third Healy-backed candidate to be defeated at the polls in the past two years.

Last year, during a special election to fill two at-large seats on the City Council, Kalimah Ahmad and Radames ?Ray? Velazquez were defeated by Richardson and Rolando Lavarro Jr. Like Massey, Ahmad and Velazquez had been appointed to the City Council by Healy following the resignation of Willie Flood, due to illness, and the resignation Mariano Vega. Vega left the council after being arrested in the 2009 Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation known as Operation Bid Rig.

Healy endorsed Ahmad and Velazquez in the Nov. 2011 special election, but they finished fourth and fifth in the race, respectively.

Speculation

Some observers have speculated that Healy?s endorsement of Massey may have hurt her in the special election. Ahmad and Velazquez where seen by some residents as being puppets of the Healy administration and its policies, and last month Fulop called Massey a ?rubber stamp? for the administration.

Healy supporters scoff at that assessment, however.

?Healy wasn?t on the ballot,? said one campaign insider. ?Do you really think the Coleman voters were voting for [Fulop] against Healy? No. We never looked at this like a major front. Healy-Fulop, that?s the main event.?

Joshua Henne, spokesman for the Healy campaign, echoed this sentiment.

?On election day, Mayor Healy was helping Jersey City recover from Superstorm Sandy and ensuring that the families who live here were safe, with a nor?easter bearing down the next day,? Henne said. ?The mayor wasn?t even on the ballot. He is elated that Barack Obama and Bob Menendez will continue leading our nation and state in the years to come.?

Massey?s last official day as a councilwoman was Sunday, Nov. 11. At press time no date had been scheduled yet for Coleman to be sworn in.

E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.

SIDEBAR

Jersey City voters support moving school board race to Nov.

In a non-binding public question put to voters in Jersey City on Election Day, residents overwhelmingly supported moving future school board elections from April to November.

Voters supported the move by a vote of 20,249 in favor to 7,426 against.

City Councilman Steven Fulop, who spearheaded the effort to have this public question put on the ballot, said he will introduce a measure on Nov. 28 to formally move school board elections, beginning in 2013.

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_s ... ndary_stories_left_column

Jersey City parking regulations remaining suspended 'indefinitely'

By The Jersey Journal
on November 09, 2012 at 3:38 PM

Parking regulations in Jersey City, suspended after Hurricane Sandy hit the region last Monday, will remain that way indefinitely, the city says.

The Jersey City Incinerator Authority will resume street sweeping of major roads and highways, but residents who do not move their cars will not be ticketed, according to the city.

The city, which like Hoboken and Bayonne suspended the regulations to allow residents to recover from the massive Oct. 29 storm, will notify residents when it plans to resume normal parking rules.

Bayonne resumed its parking regulations on Thursday, and Hoboken plans to do the same on Tuesday.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ulation.html#incart_river

Truckloads of donated items dropped off in Jersey City this morning

By Ana Ferrer/The Jersey Journal
November 09, 2012 at 11:55 AM

Seven truckloads of donated items from Evesham Township were dropped off in Jersey City this morning to help residents who are still in need after Hurricane Sandy.

The items were dropped off at the Office of Emergency Management Headquarters on Summit Avenue in Jersey City this morning by Randy Brown, mayor of Evesham, School Board President Sandy Student, and municipal workers from the town.

Brown, heard about the devastation in Jersey City and called Mayor Jerramiah Healy asking how he could help.

Student and Brown spearheaded an organization, "Evesham Cares" to assist in the collection of donated items.

Healy, who serves on the New Jersey State League of Municipalities with Brown, said the following items were needed: baby diapers, baby formula, non-perishable items and clothing.

The southern New Jersey town had lost power for four days after the storm but has been fully restored and safe since Friday, Brown said.

"We've been very fortunate to be able to do this," he said. "On behalf of the town's 50,000 residents, we're very proud to be able to help."

Brown added how "important it was for the community to come together and help those in need."

Healy thanked the mayor, volunteers and municipal workers who took the two-hour drive up the turnpike, to "help those who have been stricken" by the storm.

Brown and the workers that accompanied him are headed back down the parkway to Belmar, to drop off much needed cleaning supplies to the town.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _of_donated_items_dr.html

Jersey City man convicted in 2008 shooting death on 8th day of deliberations

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
November 09, 2012 at 2:26 PM

Quaheem Johnson, accused in the shooting death and robbery of a Jersey City man and the robbery of a second man, was found guilty this afternoon of aggravated manslaughter after marathon deliberations.

The jury was in its eighth day of deliberating and had asked for playback of some testimony this morning. Yesterday jurors were sent home early after deliberations became heated. Based on discussions in court, it's believed that some jurors were complaining that another juror was making up facts in the case.

Johnson, 25, of Jersey City, had been charged in the April 19, 2008 shooting death and robbery of Ramon Morales on West Side Avenue and the robbery of another man minutes later. Johnson was apprehended about 10 minutes after the crimes.

This was Johnson's second trial on the charges. His first trial, in May 2011, ended in a mistrial when one of the juror refused to continue after three people he associated with Johnson came to his home one night.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... man_convicted_in_2_1.html

Grassroots group helps Jersey City recover from Hurricane Sandy

By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal
on November 09, 2012 at 3:54 PM

With government agencies stretched too thin to help individual victims in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a group of Downtown Jersey City residents came together to take responsibility for helping fellow residents.

Based out of Barrow Mansion at 83 Wayne St., members of Jersey City Sandy Recovery -- as it has become known -- has been accepting donations of cleaning supplies, clothing and other needed items between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

With the help of at least 100 volunteers daily, the group has been making deliveries to the homes of victims in some of the worst-hit areas, including Downtown and Country Village.

Each day volunteers have been going door to door to compile lists of what people say they need most.

Coordinators have been meeting volunteers daily on the steps of City Hall since Friday Nov. 2, where they have been issuing tasks such as schlepping deliveries to homes and helping gut water-damaged apartments.

Last Saturday the group filled 15 dumpsters and made 100 deliveries of batteries, cleaning supplies, bleach, work gloves, masks, clothing and garbage bags. The following day the group made 300 deliveries.

They are also looking for volunteer plumbers, electricians and contractors to provide skilled work, and they seek donations such as water pumps, tools, vehicles and generators.

Founders of the group came together after wandering York Street, Van Vorst Street and Sussex Street and seeing basement and garden apartments flooded with several feet of water.

One of the founders of the group, Candice Osborne, of Morris Street whose basement flooded to 8 feet of water, said she found very little official information online regarding help for Sandy victims, she said.

?I realized they are going help these people in specific apartments,? said Osborne, a candidate for the Ward E City Council seat in next year's city election. ?I thought, 'I am going to help individual people.'?

Another like-minded volunteer, Tiby Kantrowitz, said she created a Facebook page ? which has picked up more than 2,000 members ? to post information people were exchanging on social media but could not finding on official websites.

?The city website was not telling people where to go or who to call so I created a Facebook page and Twitter account where people can post information,? Kantrowitz said.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said the Mayor's Action Bureau had been working 24 hours a day from a Summit Avenue city office until Wednesday, when hours were scaled back to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"There have been a significantly high volume of calls, and the staff has been attempting to be as helpful as possible under the circumstances," Morrill said.

And now help has been coming from all over the country.

One Jersey City Samaritan took the group on a $3,000 shopping spree at BJ's, while other donations include apples from Dolan's Farm Market in Wallkill, NY; bread from Arnold's Bakery Outlet, and a mini-van and a party bus full of donations from Westfield, MA.

For more information on Jersey City Sandy Recover, visit them on Facebook or on their website, or call (201) 589-1716

Donations by check can be made out to "St Matthew's Lutheran Church" with "JC Sandy Recovery" in the memo line and sent to Jersey City Sandy Recovery c/o Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne St., Jersey City, NJ 07302

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ts_group_help_fellow.html

FEMA to answer questions at two Jersey City town-hall meetings

By The Jersey Journal
on November 08, 2012 at 12:24 PM

Federal officials will participate in two town-hall meetings in Jersey City on Saturday to explain how to apply for federal disaster aid in the wake of destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Federal Emergency Management Officials, at the request of Mayor Jerramiah Healy, will appear at the Moose Lodge, 60 West Side Ave., at 11 a.m. and at City Hall, 280 Grove St., at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10.

FEMA will be joined by the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other experts.

The city will provide bus service to the Moose Lodge from Society Hill, which was without power for more than a week after Sandy hit, and from Country Park. Buses will arrive at 10 a.m. and depart at 10:30 a.m.

"We have been working closely with FEMA during the storm and its aftermath and asked for any and all assistance that they can provide," Healy said in a statement. "As we continue to return the city to normalcy and begin the rebuilding and restoration process, we know there are going to be many questions and concerns and we will continue to work side by side with FEMA to bring our residents the answers and assistance they need."

FEMA has opened a disaster recovery center at the Jersey City Museum.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... swer_questions_at_tw.html

FEMA office in Jersey City place to start applying for funds to repair storm damage

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
November 06, 2012 at 1:14 PM

350 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302

The Federal Emergency Management Administration recovery center opening in Jersey City today is a location where people can begin the process of applying for funds and loans to help defray the cost of repairing damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, officials said.

"It is the first step to disaster recovery," said FEMA Public Information Officer Orlando Pilot of the process of registering for assistance.

"Without that, the process does not begin," said Pilot, adding that representatives of state agencies offering assistance will also be available at the center which will be open from 1 p.m. today to 8 p.m. at 350 Montgomery St. Beginning tomorrow, the center will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day until further notice.

An appointment is not required but residents should bring their Social Security number or card and that of a spouse; their address and zip code; directions to the damaged home or property and contact information such as phone number, email address, and address where the applicant can be contacted, as well as bank account information if the applicant would like disaster assistance funds deposited directly, Jersey City Spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said.

"We have been working closely with FEMA during the storm and its aftermath and asked that an office be opened her in Jersey City so that residents would not have to travel far to get the assistance they need," Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said. "As we continue to return the city to normalcy and begin the rebuilding and restoration process, we know there are going to be many questions and concerns and we will continue to work side by side with FEMA to bring our residents the answers they need."

The FEMA disaster recovery center is located in the building that houses the Jersey City Museum and Jersey City Medical Center offices.
350 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... e_in_jersey_city_pla.html

Bloomberg News

E-Mail Votes Overwhelm Election Officials in Storm Zone

By Tim Jones, Michelle Jamrisko and Scott Moritz on November 06, 2012

Citizens in storm-ravaged New York and New Jersey wandered from poll to poll after officials moved more than 240 balloting sites and fretted over the integrity of a vote being conducted partly over the Internet.

Governments strained to allow voters to participate in the election despite damage from Hurricane Sandy. In New York City, where almost 60 polling places were moved, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was running election shuttles from stricken areas. In Long Island beach towns, residents emerged from the rubble to vote. And across New Jersey, county officials tried to cope with Republican Governor Chris Christie?s decision to let displaced residents submit ballots via e-mail or fax until 8 p.m.

?I have grave concerns about the security of what?s being sent to me electronically,? said Michael Harper, clerk of the Hudson County Board of Elections.

?It?s never been like this,? said Harper, 36, while sitting in his Jersey City office behind a desk strewn with paperwork and food plates. The ?mountain of paperwork? from e- mail ballot applications has resulted in a workload that?s ?physically impossible? for the office to handle, he said.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012 ... -in-storm-battered-region

Political Insider: Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy is in big trouble following Coleman victory in Ward F

By Agustin C. Torres/The Jersey Journal
November 07, 2012 at 12:17 AM

Jubilation broke out in the Martin Luther King Drive Ward F campaign headquarters of Diane Coleman after one of her campaign workers realized they defeated Councilwoman Michele Massey for the incumbent's seat on the Jersey City council.

While writing this column, final numbers were unavailable. But at the moment I knew Coleman failed to win only one district, and won a nearly 1,600 vote majority, so far. Coleman, head of a nonprofit social services agency, represents a victory for Downtown Councilman Steven Fulop and a stunning defeat for Mayor Jerramiah Healy and the present black political leadership, all of whom backed Massey.

The Insider has called this race a predictor of the May city election. This campaign solidifies Fulop as the better organizer and is more evidence that the Jersey City Democratic Organization, led by Freeholder Jeff Dublin, continues to rot away.

The council seat, which was vacated last year by Viola Richardson when she became a councilwoman at large, became Massey's when she was appointed by Healy and the City Council rubber stamped the action.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy is in big trouble. In fact, many of the elected officials in the county seat have to worry. Even stalwarts like state Sen. Sandra Cunningham of the 31st Legislative District and fellow Assemblyman Charles Mainor are not safe.

Massey said she tried to run a clean race and didn't want to make it "a cat fight," but she did complain that she was confronted by an angry and vociferous Dublin on the street yesterday. The freeholder could not be reached for comment, but hey, it's a Hudson election and feelings get hurt.

What will she do as a member of the council?

"I'll do what I've always have and work hard for people," Coleman told the Insider last night. We'll have to spice up these canned statements in the future.

Before next May, she should also get ready to have her reputation muddied and her character questioned by administration backers.

Now here?s the important part of this election: it ain?t over.

Massey and company are not admitting defeat. There are about 984 mail-in votes yet to be counted. These are actually walk-in votes from over the weekend because the deadline was extended thanks to Hurricane Sandy. Problem for Healy?s people is that, more than likely, at least half of those are Coleman?s because Fulop had many voters transported to the county offices on Saturday.

In other new storm-related territory, Gov. Christie ordered that email voting will continue until Friday. Can the JCDeadO get enough email voters? Ask yourself this question: which political faction has the most social media savvy people, Healy?s bunch or Fulop?s? This is why there is panic in City Hall. Whatever email votes pro-Massey (Healy) people can muster, Coleman (Fulop) will most likely exceed it.

INSIDER NOTE

-- Just one. I received several phone calls yesterday from President Obama voters complaining that ?they? should do away with the ?archaic? Electoral College. I suggested they should leave things alone ? and that we were better off not having ?winner take all? by some state legislatures that changed the college process. Now that Obama won by Electoral College and Romney, it seems, won the popular vote, I?m getting calls by the same people that it was sweet revenge for the 2000 Al Gore defeat ? not that it?s a good thing the Electoral College was never changed.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... nsider_jersey_city_1.html

Jersey City mayor tours city neighborhoods, thanking residents for their patience

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
November 05, 2012 at 7:34 PM

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy allowed The Jersey Journal to tag along this afternoon as he toured parts of the city and checked in with residents struggling to recover from Hurricane Sandy.

Healy thanked the people of Jersey City repeatedly for remaining calm as the city slowly comes back to full power.

?Their patience, their cooperation all over the city has been nothing short of inspiring,? the mayor said.

Healy said everything is not quite back to normal ? 37,000 PSE&G customers were without power as of this morning, but Journal Square has since had most of its power restored. But the city is on its way back, the mayor said.

The effort on behalf of city departments and agencies to respond to Sandy was ?Herculean,? he said.

?We were as successful as anybody could be,? Healy said.

Not everyone in the city is thrilled with its leadership, evident when Healy stopped to thank some volunteers with the American Red Cross who were giving out food at Sip and West Side avenues. There, Marion resident George Wendt called him a ?disgrace.?

?Showing your face here after seven days,? Wendt

Healy, a Democrat, noted after the exchange that Wendt had a Romney/Ryan bumper sticker on his car.

Moments later, though, at St. John?s apartment towers, which just last night Healy said was "pitch black" but had its power restored today, a man passing the mayor offered him genuine praise.

?I love your singing,? he said to the mayor, who has been known to croon. ?And everything else you?re doing.?

Later, Wendt told The Jersey Journal he has no problem with Healy's political affiliation. He said he thought the mayor and the city administration haven't been as active as their counterparts in Hoboken.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_mayor_tours_city_n.html

Political Insider: Lights would be appreciated, communication just as much

By Agustin C. Torres/The Jersey Journal
November 04, 2012 at 6:17 PM

Hurricane Sandy has pummeled Hudson County and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy is feeling the political pain

I?m not crazy about doing a negative piece when people are still suffering. I know one can question police and fire political decisions at times, but the rank and file are always doing their best when things get serious. Yet this is a political column. President Bush was roundly criticized for the federal government?s response to Hurricane Katrina?s devastation and unhappy Jersey City residents are starting to voice their frustration with their chief executive.

Thursday, signs were popping up Downtown referring to the mayor as the ?Where?s Waldo?? character. These folks say the mayor has yet to be seen in their neighborhoods. Journal reporter Terrence McDonald quoted city spokesman Stan Eason as saying that this was not true and that the mayor has been extremely busy visiting various communities and talking to representative groups of different areas of the city. Eason said Healy was even meeting that afternoon with Country Village residents, who must feel that it was a combination Hurricane and tsunami that struck them ? followed by frightening nights.

OK, perhaps there is no pleasing everyone. But what about the demonstration at City Hall yesterday by about 50 people from Ward F and Ward A, members of the city?s black community. According to some of my sources in the black community and local government, their complaints are mostly about being left in the dark ? a lack of electricity and information. They hear about Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Newark Mayor Cory Booker giving press conferences and they ask: Where?s Healy?

There are reports that parts of the Heights have power ? isn?t that where Healy lives? ? and some improvement or service being provided other wards, but not in F or A, the forgotten wards. It is a recipe for conspiracy theories.

The cold nights come and come, and go, requiring more candles. Then a late-night Thursday fire erupts on King Drive and Bidwell Avenue, injuring three people. Who do the neighbors blame?

Emergency management plans stress that one of the first things that has to be done is to immediately keep the public informed. Immediately, as in Day One. Communicate with the populace, even if it is driving through all city neighborhoods using loudspeakers about such items as shelter information, where they can get meals, survival tips, and when they can expect the return of power. Someone may have finally heard, because some critics say police cars were heard transmitting in several communities on Thursday.

I would like to get the administration?s side about this perception of a lack of communication, but our people, writing from The Star-Ledger, called city representatives, who ignored the messages or could not get back to us.

One thing the Healy administration has to understand is that whether it thinks the perception is wrong or not, people are getting angrier as each cold night goes by without lights.

This storm is bound to have an effect on the upcoming elections. Healy is backing Ward F Councilwoman Michele Massey in a special election for her seat on Tuesday. Massey had better be bailing out basements, because challenger Diana Coleman obtained a generator and set up a charging station in her Ward F headquarters.

There are some reports that say snow is coming Wednesday.

INSIDER NOTES

? Hudson officials are pretty upset with PSE&G. Union City Mayor and Sen. Brian Stack sent this statement:

?While I understand that New Jersey endured the ?Storm of the Century,? PSE&G should have implemented the ?Preparation of the Century? in order to address predicted consequences. While this event was catastrophic, PSE&G should have been prepared to react to such disaster, as we had ample warning about the storm.

?Residents of my district are trapped in high-rise buildings. My constituency needs restoration of power in the immediate future. While I have been in constant contact with executives at PSE&G to express the need for power, the public needs to know that I continue to press for restoration of power.

?Upon restoration of power to all New Jersey residents, I look forward to the release of a detailed policy by PSE&G, which will explain how residents will be credited for power loss as a result of Hurricane Sandy. After enduring such a loss of power, residents are entitled to relief in their pockets.?

? Hudson County Freeholder Bill O?Dea has been particularly harsh with the power utility company. He has been upset that his messages to PSE&G representatives have gone unanswered for days. He notes that 60 percent of his constituents still have no electricity and as a result no access to the Internet, and cellphone service and land lines are spotty. He has been suggesting the city and county communicate information to constituents by mobile public address devices ?and other manual efforts? about any updates on what sites are distributing the food and water delivered by FEMA, how shut-ins can access health services and when power is expected to be restored. Hmmm. Also, he has been calling on PSEG to distribute ice and dry ice.

Thursday afternoon, the utility firm started distributing ice. Weather predictions for last night included near-freezing temperatures. Thanks for the ice.

? PSE&G did get credited for providing a charging station at the West Side Avenue Light Rail Station. It estimated on Friday that virtually all impacted customers will have restored service within the coming week. The majority of customers will be restored before then, and after Nov. 9 there may still be isolated pockets of customers who have individual flooding or downed line issues. It sounds like we?re talking about next week.

? Mayor Zimmer of Hoboken is not exactly getting a pass. It seems every reader of the Wall Street Journal in her city thinks they are also meteorologists and are upset with the mayor. If there is one vulnerable place in Hudson County to storms and surges, it is the Mile Square City that should consider New Orleans-like remedies.

? Hudson Dem leaders do not seem overly concerned about voter turnout on Tuesday. Some feel that even if the numbers are low, the percentage difference would favor their candidates as if there was a huge turnout. Hmm.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... would_1.html#incart_river

Cheerful, Lively, Spicy and 100% Vegetarian
A Review of Sapthagiri Restaurant, in Jersey City

By FRAN SCHUMER
New York Times | New Jersey Dining | Jersey City
Published: November 2, 2012

AT 8 on a recent Friday evening in Jersey City ? pre-Hurricane Sandy ? the stretch of Newark Avenue known as Little India was neon-bright. Shoppers bustled in and out of stores. A group of people, their shoes off, crowded around the entrance to a shrine. A man strolled up and down the street, cradling a newborn girl. It was the end of a workweek and the mood was ebullient.

The food that I ate at Sapthagiri, one of the street?s most popular restaurants, was colorful, complicated, unusual, ridiculously inexpensive ? $82 for dinner for four, including tax and a generous tip ? and, like the street before the hurricane, brimming with energy and life.

Vinni Ankum, who, with his brother Praveen, owns Sapthagiri and a branch in Franklin Park, is from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. His kitchen serves dishes that are popular in northern India, too, but it specializes in southern Indian cuisine. In contrast to northern Indian food, the curries of the south are thinner, rice is favored over bread, and the use of coconut is lavish.

Sapthagiri serves only vegetarian dishes, which is why it is also popular among Jews who keep kosher. In September, it catered Samosas in the Sukkah, a party for 100 people celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot at nearby Temple Beth-El, Mr. Ankum said during a telephone interview after my visits.

Inside, Sapthagiri isn?t elegant, but it?s cheerful, and the air is redolent of a dozen freshly roasted spices. The scent alone demands that you take your place among the tables of customers devouring dosas and begin to navigate among the 131 dishes on the menu.

Dosas, the trademark food of southern India, are one of its main attractions. The thin, golden crepes, prepared from a mix of ground rice or cream of wheat and urad dal (whole black lentils with a white interior) are interesting from a purely architectural point of view. Unrolled, a paper dosa has a diameter of up to two feet. The fillings vary. Mysore masala dosa, for example, comes with a mix of potatoes, onions, green peas and cashew nuts that Sapthagiri electrifies with brazen quantities of garlic, ginger, turmeric and cilantro. Mashed potatoes have never tasted this lively.

Uttappam, which are thicker dosas, present an even more intriguing mix of textures and flavors. It has been weeks since I ate an onion chili uttappam, and I am still thinking about the pleasing contrast between the sweet flavor of the caramelized onions in the batter and the slightly sour flavor of the fermented lentils, the little twinge at the back of your throat each time you swallow another mouthful of the sweet and sour, caky dough. Eating it with your hands is customary; dipping it into the coconut chutney that Sapthagiri enriches with cashews, lime and not-too-hot Thai chilies only adds to the pleasure.

For a restaurant that is strictly vegetarian, Sapthagiri offers a stunning range of dishes. Masala vadas, the small, round patties made with lentils and peanuts, are notable for their texture. When you bite one, you hear it crackle. Inside, however, it?s a sponge, perfect for absorbing sambar, the soupy vegetable stew served with it.

Gobi 65 is the vegetarian version of a dish called chicken 65. One of many stories used to explain the meaning of the 65 says the dish was created to feed Indian soldiers in 1965. If so, then they were lucky soldiers. In the vegetarian version, chunks of gobi (cauliflower) are dipped in corn flour, then deep fried in oil that has been tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves and mixed with a sauce made from red chili peppers. You can taste each of these ingredients with every mouthful. The ginger chutney served with the vadas and most other dishes adds sweetness to balance the spicy flavor of the gobi.

Eating a samosa chat is as much fun as eating an ice cream sundae. The cold yogurt flows over bits of hot samosa, both ingredients bound by a tamarind sauce that is as rich as any fudge. And for curry lovers, even cowardly ones, there is vegetable korma, a mix of carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and green peas floating in a soothing, milky coconut bath.

Desserts are characteristically sugary; I find mango lassi a more refreshing alternative, and after my last visit, I got it to go, sipping it slowly as I walked the streets of this vibrant neighborhood.

Reached on Wednesday after the storm, Mr. Ankum said he was getting by with his generator and was cooking a small number of dishes on his gas stove for the few customers who had straggled in from the neighborhood. ?There are a lot of bachelors here who don?t even have milk in their houses,? he said.

With any luck, both Sapthagiri and the area around it will soon be back to their bright and lively selves.

Sapthagiri

804 Newark Avenue (corner of Liberty Avenue)
Jersey City
(201) 533-8400
sapthagiri.biz

WORTH IT

THE SPACE Pleasant, informal well-lighted storefront that seats 64 inside, and 35 outside in warm weather. Wheelchair accessible.

THE CROWD Couples, small groups and families, including some children. Dress is mostly a mix of saris and jeans.

THE BAR No alcohol is permitted in the restaurant in deference to clients who do not drink, one of the owners said. Coffee, tea, soft drinks and lassis, yogurt-based Indian drinks, are available.

THE BILL Appetizers, $1.99 to $7.99 (for a plate of assorted appetizers); entrees, $4.99 (for a plain dosa) to $10.99; desserts, $2.99 to $3.99. American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Discover are accepted.

WHAT WE LIKED Mysore masala dosa, onion chili uttappam, masala vada, Gobi 65, vegetable korma, mango lassi.

IF YOU GO Open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Hours were curtailed last week when the neighborhood was without power. No reservations; street parking.

RATINGS Don?t Miss, Worth It, O.K., Don?t Bother.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/nyr ... -in-jersey-city.html?_r=0

Nearly 163,000 still without power in Hudson County, PSE&G says

By Harvey Zucker/The Jersey Journal
October 31, 2012 at 3:46 PM

Nearly 163,000 customers in Hudson County were still without power as of yesterday afternoon, according to a spokeswoman for Public Service Electric and Gas Co.

While she couldn't provide exact figures for each community, the company's website said Bayonne, Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen, Union City, West New York and the West Hudson area each had more than 10,000 customers without power.

Secaucus and Weehawken had from 2,000 to 5,000 customers each without power.

"We are working around the clock to assess and repair the damage as quickly and as safely as possible,'' she said.

Hudson County experienced some serious substation damage and the company must determine whether equipment can be repaired or needs to be replaced, she said.

"It may be a long process,'' she said, without giving a timetable.

PSE&G officials had previously said it may be until Monday before all power is restored in Hudson.

Statewide, 900,000 customers are without power, the spokeswoman said.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... hout_po.html#incart_river

Hoboken, Downtown Jersey City cut off from each other by flooding

By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal
October 30, 2012 at 12:17 PM

Jersey City and Hoboken were cut off from each other this morning by flooding along Jersey Avenue, Grove Street and Marin Boulevard north of 18th Street,

Cars and pedestrians alike found the area impassable.

Several SUVs tried to enter Hoboken from Jersey Avenue but were forced to turn around.

Paterson Plank Road in Jersey City leading to Paterson Avenue and the 14th Street viaduct in Hoboken is closed to traffic.

Pedestrians can walk down 14th Street into Hoboken however.

The industrial area north of the 14th Street viaduct is under water with a large parking lot filled with yellow vehicles half submerged, leaking oil into the water.

Streets on the west side of Hoboken south of 14th Street are also under water for as far as the eye can see.

Despite a curfew until 1 p.m. people are walking around the city near Washington Street. Police vehicles with loudspeakers are warning people that it is an emergency and people should be indoors.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... wntown_jersey_city_c.html