There should always be a cop by the Path Station. No exceptions. Any excuse, is unjustifiable.

Also, it was Candice's idea for the pedestrian plaza. So, is she telling people... "hey I put this here... but you got to pay for security." Thank goodness, there is an election in November.

It doesn't answer why even Off Duty cops are necessary. Why can't on-duty cops from the East Precinct monitor the Path Station and Plaza. It's unreasonably to expect businesses to pay extra for services that our taxes pay for and should be a given.

"On-duty officers are out of the question, according to Osborne, who said police officials have told her the city's tough west and south police districts have priority when it comes to on-duty enforcement."

EXCUSE ME, SO DOWNTOWN WILL NOT HAVE ANY OFFICERS PATROLLING???! Especially near the Path Station?! What the hell is the East District Precinct doing then?

IS FULOP'S GUBERNATORIAL DECISION TIED TO TESTIMONY IN BRIDGEGATE TRIAL?

While it is not known whether the two events are directly connected, the timing had people questioning the announcement at the trial Wednesday, where Fulop, among other things, was called "a snake" in documents.

Fulop became a key thread in testimony Tuesday for his involvement with members of Gov. Chris Christie's inner circle who had been wooing him and other Democrats to endorse the governor for re-election in a run-up to a presidential bid.

Those Christie insiders, according to testimony Tuesday, closed the door on Fulop, canceled a series of planned meetings and refused to take his calls after they learned he would not endorse Christie for a second term in the 2013.

"Continue to ice him," ordered Bill Stepien, the governor's campaign manager, in an email introduced in court Tuesday in the continuing federal trial of two former confidantes of Christie charged with conspiring to create massive traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich over his own decision not to endorse the governor.

Charged in the case are Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority, and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former top aide to Christie.

David Wildstein, a political appointee to the Port Authority and the government's key witness in the case who had pled guilty to charges in connection with the lane closures, returned to the stand Tuesday. He outlined the broad effort that had been put in play to obtain endorsements from Democrat elected officials such as Fulop and Sokolich, and said Stepien had a "special interest" in Fulop and Jersey City.

Bridgegate: 6 surprising revelations

There had long been a belief within the campaign that Fulop, one of the highest profile Democrats in the state, might support Christie, Weildstein testified.

A year earlier, while still a councilman, Fulop had been negotiating on behalf of Foreign Auto Processing Systems (FAPS), a Port Authority tenant, and a favorable deal was ultimately struck. Wildstein said the contract was approved at the behest of Stepien, who then was still head of the governor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

"The direction was given because Mayor Fulop was viewed as somebody who might be possibly endorsing Governor Christie's campaign for re-election," Wildstein testified on Monday.

In October 2012, he sent an email to Stepien: "We have a deal with FAPS. Fulop owes you big time."

"I hope it's voidable, pending what happens next year." Stepien replied, according to an email entered into evidence. Wildstein said he took that to mean whether the deal could be broken if Fulop did not endorse.

"I didn't think that Mayor Fulop would endorse Governor Christie. I didn't believe Steve Fulop, whether he was a former city councilman or the Mayor of Jersey City, was actually going to pull the trigger and sign on for an endorsement. But given the potential upside of having a major player in the state's second largest city possibly being with Gov. Christie, it was worth taking the chance."

He said he responded by saying that they had "built a few emergency exits into deal and can screw him in less than an hour."

A few weeks later, though, he said Fulop told him he was looking forward to endorsing Christie. He said he told Stepien about his meeting with the Jersey City official and the fact he was open about his intent to endorse.

"Good to hear," Stepien responded by email. "I give him less of a chance than most of our other targets. Quite the snake. We'll see. You can't say we haven't tried."

In testimony on Tuesday, Wildstein said a year later, once Fulop had decided not to endorse, the mayor had fallen out of favor.

After Fulop was sworn in as mayor in July 2013, a "mayor's day" was planned to allow him to meet personally with members of various state government agencies. Wildstein said Fulop asked that the Port Authority be represented.

The meeting never happened.

Wildstein said Kelly told him every state agency called Fulop's office individually to cancel their participation.

"She said it was to send a message to Mayor Fulop. The message was political," he testified. "The mayor hadn't endorsed Gov. Christie and he was not going to get any assistance from the state."

He said Kelly told him the governor had ordered the cancellation.

When Fulop repeatedly called Baroni's office in a follow-up, in an effort to talk to him about Port Authority issues related to Jersey City, Wildstein said Kelly told him the calls were not to be returned.

"Mayor Fulop was being frozen out. It was another form of radio silence," he said, as a consequence of his decision not to endorse Christie.

Fulop continued to try reaching Fulop, but Wildstein said he was ignored. When the messages were forwarded to Stepien, he too replied "radio silence," according to Wildstein.

"I understood there was to be no response," he testified.

And when yet another email was received from Fulop, underlying the importance of a discussion of Port Authority matters, there was no breaking of that radio silence.

"He's getting a little snippy. Good," he said Stepien ordered. "Continue to disregard."

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com.

From today's JJ article:
"Mowers said he and Christie campaign staffer Pete Sheridan sat down with the Downtown councilwoman (Osbourne) in August 2013 on the recommendation of Fulop and the mayor's political advisers.

"They believed she was going to endorse Gov. Christie's re-election campaign," Mowers testified. "And they thought Mayor Fulop wanted to be helpful towards the governor's campaign, or seem helpful while also not endorsing himself."

Mowers said Tom Bertoli, a Fulop political operative, met with Christie re-election campaign manager Bill Stepien and "had been recommending people we would work with within Jersey City."




http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... i.html#incart_river_index

So my question--- What do you think is going to happen? Can we expect revelations about our current administration?

"Fulop is not charged in the case, but emails that surfaced before the trial suggest that the governor?s office tried to procure his endorsement by doing favors for a private firm he represented. Though Fulop did not endorse Christie in the end, even entertaining the offer would be a crime."

Source: http://observer.com/2016/09/murphy-ga ... as-n-j-prepares-for-2017/

Plus Witness List for Bridgegate: Muhammed Akil, John Thieroff, Tom Bertoli, Jeremy Farrael

Source: https://www.documentcloud.org/document ... dgegate-Witness-List.html
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... nt_fulop_allies_amon.html

The Problem with this program is that its located at Department of Public Works (DPW). This needs to be at Cultural Affairs handled by another person, that is familiar with artists in the city and a community input process, which mirrors what is done in cities like Philadelphia----NOT Brooke Hannson, who is in DPW.

Jersey City councilman stepping down after guilty pleas related to DWI arrest

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... h.html#incart_2box_hudson

Conspiracy theories are for the National Enquirer. The detailed progress reports have been post on their website. Here: http://www.thejcra.org/?p=blp

Did these people even do their research or read? There have been community meetings from the very beginning. They even let the public help design the skate park.

It sounds like these people don't want this great park at all. SHAME ON THEM. We should be supporting this park NOT publishing this crap.

This article has so much WTF- not to mention a prime example of lack transparency and corruption.

Here's the active survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JCskatepark

Thanks for the warning. My friend went there for a facial, got the opposite of relaxing from a very "eccentric" owner. Additionally, the owner tried and insisted her to buy over $200 of her products. Be warned!

Great Project!! Ben Delisle has really did a service for Jersey City. This property could have easily remained polluted junk yards or turned into a development. Now, everyone will be able to enjoy the space. Maybe he should get a plaque or statute one day for it.

?You?ve got to think big,? said Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City, adding that he had been discussing the project with Mr. Fireman for eight months. ?The opportunity to have a world-class facility on the waterfront is significant from a job-creation standpoint, for tax relief and for tourism. Paul Fireman is capable of executing something like this.?


----And there goes Fulop's voting base.

Will there be a quality Grandma Pie? I've been missing one in Jersey City since I moved from Park Slope.

I still don't understand how this type of corruption is not a bigger deal. Ugh.

I guess this is what happens when the Director of Public Works lives in Sayerville.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... n_affordable_housing.html

The GW bridge is a separate issue. I'm not satisfied he's focusing on running for governor after 6 months being mayor. That's an unjustified egocentric action. Stop playing politics and just worry about governing Jersey City, which is hurting.

Sweeney spokesman Chris Donnelly hit back, saying Fulop "failed" to contact Sweeney about the legislation until this morning.

"He has been in office since July, so instead of focusing on politics for the last six months, he should have been focusing on his job for the taxpayers of Jersey City," Donnelly said in a statement.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/ ... on_bill.html#incart_river
He has a point. Right now, there has no properly conducted zoning board meetings because Fulop's admin has not got an attorney for them. Also, the Mayor's aides (all hired from the campaign team) are tasked with creating policy that they have no experience or knowledge with while trying to micromanage. It's been frustrating and disheartening. All talk no action. Get your act together and stop worrying about state politics and get your head into working long term plans for the JC people.

I would do anything for a Jewish Deli to open in JC. I want some matzah ball soup and decent pastrami!

If another hurricane the size of Sandy struck Jersey City today, do you think City Hall is prepared? If so, why? If not, explain? What would you like to see happen?

My issue is the hiring and paying for outside artists's travel expenses including flights and hotels. This is not including the $10,000 for just the artist compensation. We, the taxpayers, have so far paid for an artist from South Beach Miami and Italy to come to Jersey City. We are right across the river from NYC, mecca of the art world. Why can't we hire local?