Compromise reached over Korean War memorial access

Council approves resolution to open south end of Washington Street

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer

The Jersey City City Council passed a resolution at Wednesday night's meeting to open the southern end of Washington Street for greater access to the Korean War Memorial.

This part of Washington Street had been closed off to traffic by the city since 1997 as the result of nearby residents complaining about people hanging out in this area and creating a disturbance.

But this was considered a temporary move and the city never officially approved closure.

Since then, the area has been used an extension of nearby Morris Canal Park/Peninsula Park by pedestrians, especially families with young children.

In 2002, a memorial opened at the foot of Washington Street in tribute to the 127 Hudson County residents who died in the Korean War conflict that spanned from 1950 to 1953.

But in recent months, there has been a push from veterans to have the city remove the bollards, which were put up to close off the street. This would allow visitors to drive and park near the memorial.


Pushing for a compromise


Since September, representatives for the state, war veterans, the Historic Paulus Hook Association, nearby building complex Portside Towers, and City Councilman Steven Fulop, who represents the area, have communicated with one another to craft an agreement that would benefit all sides.

The resolution will allow car access to the memorial from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the installation of nine parking spots adjacent to the memorial, three of those for handicapped visitors.

Also, the bollards placed across Washington Street will now only cover half the street to allow cars to enter, and signs will be placed indicating the monument.

Also, there are plans for Morris Canal Park, a state park, to be conveyed to the city for public use.

Fulop commented that he was happy to settle this matter.

But the 9-0 vote did not come without some contentious dialogue.



Is this a personal thing?


Among those not happy with the compromise was Sonia Maldonado, who is the president of the Newport Waterfront Association (NWA), a small community group.

The group has taken up the fight to have Washington Street completely open.

In a position paper drafted by the NWA this week, the group claims that those wanting the street closed "have not met the burden of demonstrating why public access to a public park should be restricted" and they called for Fulop to recuse himself from voting on the issue since he lives a few blocks from the area.

"We request that Mr. Fulop recuse himself from the matter because he owns property in the area and is a direct beneficiary of any decision made by the council in this matter," said Maldonado.

However, City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said Fulop did not have to recuse himself from voting since this decision did not have a personal impact on his property.

Fulop shot back that Maldonado has a "personal hatred" against him and would oppose him no matter what the issue.

"This has become a personal issue on her part," said Fulop. "If I found a cure for cancer, she would say I didn't cure the right type of cancer."

Other residents who spoke out on the issue were mostly in favor of the compromise.

The resolution will go into effect 20 days from the time the council passes it.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

The dead end street accessible to car traffic invites more loitering, vagrancy, etc. It was in fact a real problem when the street was open to cars, and is not a problem now.

Shame on those who are accusing a respected member of the community of such racism.

A reasonable arrangement has been worked out which satisfied the neighborhood residents and the veterans. Those that are still opposed have an axe to grind with others involved or are trying to extend their 15 minutes of fame. The only people it really hurts are the veterans who would like to finalize the access agreement.

As can be seen above, I am very upset about what Sonia has said about a respected member of the community. But in her defense, two points warrant clarification...

1) As alluded to by Robin, Sonia Maldonado is not the wife of Junior Maldonado. I have no interest in re-hashing the whole history between Sonia's vendetta against councilman Fulop, but it has nothing to do with Junior.

2) The NWA did not propose 100 parking spaces on that block. That letter was written by Robert Vivien, the acting president of the Newport Neighborhood Association. The NNA used to exist as an independent neighborhood group but sort of faded away. Robert mentioned a few months ago that he wanted to bring the NNA back. It could serve a useful function, because the NWA is not actually a membership based organization. The "members" do not have the right to elect the trustees or the officers, they just select themselves.

Not all non-profits are membership based and there is no requirement that they be. I am a "member" of WBGO, the jazz public radio station in Newark. I get a cute little membership card and discounts at jazz clubs and other places, but I don't have a right to elect trustees. The Landmarks Conservancy was not incorporated as a membership based organization either (although we have talked about converting into one down the road).

But if you are a neighborhood group that purports to represent the residents of the neighborhood, it seems odd not to allow members to elect the directors and officers. So in that sense, I hope NNA is able to provide that function.

Having said that, Robert's claim that the street could be used as space for 100 cars is simply wrong.

I'll also say that I think both Junior Maldonado and Steve Fulop were/are good councilman. And they did/do have excellent aides as well.

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Alb, before you make anymore dumb comments and ridiculous assumptions, let?s get the record straight: Maldonado happens to be a very common last name, ie: Vega, Smith, Jones, etc.

But on the other hand, hmmm you may know better since you?re sure this was the doing of the former Councilman and/or his henchman?you know what?. I bet it was the former councilman?s aide, DAMM that Robin Pinkowitz!

Now, because I know just a tat more on this particular subject, since I am the former Councilman?s aide, there is no relation between the two Maldonado?s, again it?s a common name.

You know Alb, I always thought that you were just one of those folks that had a firm grip of the obvious, but after reading your latest conspiracy theory of the ?E. Junior Maldonado/ Steven Fulop feud? I realize that a firm grip of the obvious is way over your head.
Steve has a life, Junior has a life, and I suggest you get one too!

You really out did yourself with this one!

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I don't live in Paulus Hook, and I don't have a car, and I think the jerks at the NWA who think you need a car to visit a place that's two blocks from a beautiful light rail stop are incredibly obnoxious elitists.

I don't really know legally who's right here, but:

- My understanding is that Portside has offered to make any accommodations necessary to make sure Korean War veterans and others who are actually visiting the memorial can park.

- It's really absurd to think that someone should put 100 (!!!) parking spaces there. The city and state should totally go through some kind of amazing study before putting more than 5 or 6 parking spaces in a location like that. The suggestion that there should be 100 parking spaces there makes me wonder if this is some kind of effort to convert public land into the site for a skyscraper.

- It looks as if Maldonado is doing this just to punish Fulop for beating her husband. But Fulop is not actually in the pocket of the Paulus Hook people and, in fact, has gotten them mad by trying to negotiate a compromise with the alleged Korean War veterans, who are probably really just Maldonado's evil Fulop-destroying henchmen.

I understand that DanL might have valid concerns about Fulop's performance as a city councilman, but I think he's at least trying to be the city councilman we want him to be, and I think this Maldonado woman is a creep.

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If you live in a dead end street that has a war memorial placed in what was the cul-de-sac turnaround and fronts a skyscraper that has off street parking, you may get your wish.

Otherwise, you're just mixing apples and oranges.

And no, I don't live in Portside, or Paulus Hook for that matter. I live about as far from it as do Newport residents. I go to that park all the time and I, for one appreciate that there is no car traffic on that dead end street.

I am absolutely appalled that Sonia Maldonado would make such an unfounded attack on a respected member of the community such as Ms. Winant (by the way, it's "Dorcey" not "Dorothy."

The NWA has gotten absolutely desperate and is resorting to slinging mud at people when they don't get their way. It is disgraceful and pathetic.

I don't know if the bollards are racist, but they're certainly elitist. I'd like to see them ripped up immediately.

...then I'd like them placed on *my* street, because it would be so much quieter and safer around here without all those nasty cars. If your street has too many cars (or non-residents) on it, ask your councilman to get you some bollards, too.

Fight over closed street includes claims of racism
Friday, October 27, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Before the battle of the bollards at the foot of Washington Street in Jersey City ended with a compromise to create nine parking spaces near the Korean War Memorial but otherwise keep the cul-de-sac car-free, a new element was introduced into the already divisive debate: race.

Sonia Maldonado, president of the Newport Waterfront Association, read a letter at Wednesday's City Council meeting written to her by Charlie Hannon, a Korean War veteran who initially endorsed the compromise plan but then changed his mind.

In the letter, Hannon claims that Dorothy Winant, an activist with the Historic Paulus Hook Association, said to him during a phone conversation, "We want to keep them (the bollards) up because we want to keep these little black kids out of our neighborhood, and keep the street safe."

Hannon, who attended the meeting but didn't speak, confirmed he penned the letter. When asked yesterday about the Hannon letter, Winant was aghast.

"That's a boldface lie," Winant said. "My God, I would never say anything like that."

Winant, a former Jersey Journal Everyday Hero, acknowledged she spoke to Hannon and told him that over the past 10 years when the bollards were taken down, the character of the quiet dead-end street that leads out to the waterfront and the Morris Canal entrance of Liberty State Park changed dramatically.

Crack vials and condoms could be found on the street and one local resident saw a couple having sex in a car while he was walking his daughter to school, she said. But the issue of race never came up, she said.

Several council members were shocked by Maldonado's reading, particularly Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop, who brokered the compromise between local residents who want the street closed to traffic and the veterans, who want access to the memorial. Fulop accused Maldonado of "playing the race card" and waging a campaign fueled by personal animus.

"If I solved cancer tomorrow, you would say it was the wrong kind of cancer," Fulop told Maldonado.

The plan, which calls for three handicapped and six other parking spaces, was approved by the council, 9-0. Vehicles will be allowed to enter the street between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
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