Political Insider: Police ramp up efforts against Jersey City street crimes

By Agustin C. Torres/The Jersey Journal
July 17, 2013 at 8:33 PM

This past weekend, the Jersey City Police Department made a statement by placing a mobile command center and police tower in the vicinity of the Hub shopping mall on King Drive. Walking police officers were highly visible on neighborhood corners normally used as open-air drug markets.

Considering the violence of the last couple of weeks, this is all welcome, but those public safety resources will not be there day after day.

After a meeting last night with worshippers at the mosque at Montgomery Street near Florence Street that was riddled with bullets Monday night, Acting Police Chief Joseph Connors acknowledged they were picking their spots. The police wanted to assure folks and show some muscle on the streets.

Today, the police ?Eye in the Sky? three-story tower was erected near the place of worship, presumably to spot trouble on the horizon. The tower was a purchase by the former mayor Jerramiah Healy administration and doesn't have much mileage on it since it was used mostly at festivals and other non-lethal sites.

The meeting with mosque worshippers included Mayor Steve Fulop, City Council members including Chico Ramchal, Rolando Lavarro and Richard Boggiano, Freeholder Bill O?Dea and a bevy of police superiors, was closed to the media. Sorry if I missed any of you, but I didn?t have much access, even though I know how to behave in a mosque. I dress modestly. I would have not pointed my feet at the Qibla. And I don't chew gum. A couple of summers on the Libyan coast in my early 20s taught me something more than just saying ?assalam allaikum.?

All that was expressed was the new administration?s concern and that the city is trying to upgrade public safety, according to the mayor who adds that members of the mosque were his earliest and strongest backers when he first ran for office.

One big upgrade is at the top. Fulop is to name a public safety director tomorrow at noon and he?s excited about the quality of the candidate.

So many people have been calling me to say they know the identity of the mystery hire, from former State Police Superintendent Joseph Santiago to Big Apple ex-police commissioner William Braxton. I consider these a little "out there" and more than not likely. The mayor has managed to keep the name secret by telling just a handful of people, even excluding City Council members. It's a big deal for him -- and the city. Local public safety unions feel someone in-house could have been selected.

I told him last night that more than likely his big hire is recently retired with a long and impressive resume and probably he is out of New York.

?He could very well be from another state,? the mayor said. OK, this confirms that he?s from New York. I?m betting it?s Fulop, not me, who should never play poker. We?ll find out soon enough.

INSIDER NOTES

? Urban Concerns, the activist organization head by Bruce Alston and Robert Mays, held one of its anti-crime sessions yesterday evening at the Hank Gallo Community Center in Lincoln Park. It was scheduled after the shooting death of a Ward B 23-year-old man who was killed over a cellphone theft.

There were about 25 people at the session and several passionate individuals spoke. Ward B Councilman Ramchal and Freeholder O?Dea were present, as well as activist Esther Wintner. The group has been successfully obtaining names of more than 75 people who have volunteered for committees and who are expected to meet in the near future.

O?Dea said there are simple things that can be done to improve life in the city. He said just reading to a child early in life can have a significant impact on their upbringing. An entire generation of city residents could be helped by following the New York City Imagination Library initiative at http://www.nycimaginationlibrary.org/ If you're a parent of a young child, just take click on the link.

? Bayonne Third Ward Councilman Ray Greaves was seen at a local diner with election campaign ronin Tom Bertoli. Bertoli is fresh off Fulop?s successful election and is now working with the campaign for U.S. Senate of Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Is there any doubt by now? Anyone seen Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith lately?

-- Hoboken Democrats held their fundraiser at The Water Club and about 75 people attended. Barbara Buono showed up and spoke. Other speakers were Hudson County Dem Organization head and Assemblyman Vinnie Prieto of Secaucus and Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver out of Essex County. Both Cryans were there: Jamie, Hoboken Dem head, and Joseph, assemblyman out of Union. Mayor Dawn Zimmer was not present, say my eyes and ears, possibly because council members Mike Russo and Theresa Castellano were. Rich guy developer Frank Raia was present and he's telling anyone that he never had an argument with Zimmer over his desire to run on her ticket. Lies, all lies, he insists.

-- If you are wondering, Fulop performed a wedding soon after being sworn in. He said it was for a pal. They did not have to skip stones across the Hudson River to have the solemn ceremony certified.

-- Robert Knapp, chairman of the Jersey City Employment & Training Program, said he expects resistance on the nonprofit's board to Fulop's choice of former Gov. Jim McGreevey as head of the city's job program. Well, I believe Knapp may have a change of heart after a call from a local state senator. I did notice that the former head of the program, Keith Davis, is sticking around as deputy director.

-- Anyone got a sprinkler cap?

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

Jersey City mosques to receive extra police protection during Ramadan

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
July 17, 2013 at 8:06 PM

Jersey City police have posted a surveillance tower and a police cruiser at the mosque that was riddled by gunfire Monday night and there will be an increased police presence at all city mosques during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Last night, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Jersey City Acting Police Chief Joseph Connors visited the Muslim Federation of New Jersey mosque and community center at Montgomery and Florence streets and assured about 150 congregants that the mosque was not the target of the gunfire that struck the building Monday.

"I gave them an update on where we were are in the investigation and we talked about increasing (police) visibility during the month of Ramadan, while all indication are that the issue was not related to religion," Fulop said today.

"We and the entire administration want all communities in the city to feel safe and make sure they recognize that," Fulop continued. "There is increased activity at every mosque in the city (during Ramadan) and there will be a police presence (during times of) significant prayer activity.

"We feel safe," said Amir Khan of Wayne Street who has been at the mosque for 12 years and lives on Wayne Street. "It wasn't anything about targeting us. We see that."

Today, a police cruiser was stationed at the Muslim Federation of New Jersey and the police "eye in the sky" tower had been erected. The tower is about three stories tall and has a tinted glass room at the top and surveillance camera.

Khan said on a normal night about 25 people may attend evening prayers at the mosque, but during Ramadan, hundreds may attend. During Ramadan, evening prayers are much longer and congregations can empty out onto the street as late as 12:30 a.m.

Asked how the congregation reacted to Fulop's visit and the increased police presence, Khan said "The people were thankful, grateful. Everyone liked the way the mayor handled it."

On Monday, one bullet slammed through the Montgomery Street mosque's partially rolled-down metal door, shattering a glass pane behind it. Two bullets buried themselves in a wall just inside the mosque's front doors, and other bullets struck parked cars, blowing out windows and flattening a tire.

Syad Abdasi, general secretary of the Muslim Federation of New Jersey, said the prayer service was ending on Monday around midnight when and a group of kids had walked out of the mosque when six or seven shots rang out and they came back in running and out of breath.

The 23-year-old man police say was the intended target ran into the mosque, knocking people down and running out a side door, Abdasi said.

The Newark man later returned and told police left a nearby store noticed a man across Montgomery Street wearing a hoodie despite the sweltering heat and another with a bandanna over his face.

Figuring something bad was about to happen, the Newark man told police he asked a person in front of the mosque if he could borrow a cellphone since his own was dead. That's when gunfire erupted from the top of a staircase leading down to the common courtyard at the Montgomery Gardens housing complex.

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