donnajc65 wrote:
the reality is for many in the city there is still a need for a car. If you don't work in NYC, you need a car. If you live on the western slope and want to go shopping on Central Ave, you need a car. For most of the city, if you want to go food shopping you need a car. If your kid belong to Girl Scouts troop, you need a car. I hate the how the city looks like when owners take out the front garden for a parking spot, but I understand it. The city has not addressed the parking issues throughout the city and with the demise of Parking Authority, we will only see the ruthless enforcement of no parking rules by the police department.

Stringer wrote:
Parking Authority to be absorbed by Police Dept.
And JCMC awarded three-year ambulance contract with no city payments

by Al Sullivan
Reporter staff writer
Nov 16, 2014

After nearly a year of waiting for state approval, a divided City Council voted Wednesday to dissolve the Jersey City Parking Authority and place its operations under the Police Department. Councilmen Richard Boggiano and Michael Yun voted against the change.

This will result in a reduction of staff from 77 to 64, said Public Safety Director James Shea.

?All of these are administrative,? he said. ?The rest of the staff will be brought over whole if they choose to take the positions.?

The administrative staff will be streamlined so that there will be one director, one assistant director, and one supervisor. The rest of the staff will be workers.

Current employees will be brought on at their existing salaries, although future employees will be hired for less.

While the original proposal would have shifted meter repair and some other operations to the Department of Public Works, Shea said this change would be delayed for one year. He said with the DPW and the Jersey City Improvement Authority being merged, he wanted to let things shake out before he imposed additional duties on the newly-merged departments.

The most significant change with the merger will be the increase in hours of operation. Currently, the Parking Authority works during the day. Complaints after hours are handled by the police department.

?This is usually something like blocked driveways,? Shea said. ?And since such complaints came over as low priority, they were often not responded to promptly. The new operation will be 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Parking workers will respond to the complaints, not police.?

Councilman Richard Boggiano disagreed with this provision saying that when people call, they want police to respond.

Shea, however, said parking workers and police will be working closely together, and indeed, police will be able to provide needed information on vehicles that is not currently available to parking workers, such as background information that would justify having a vehicle towed or booted.

Read more: Hudson Reporter - Parking Authority to be absorbed by Police Dept And JCMC awarded three year ambulance contract with no city payments
http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/fu ... ts-?instance=latest_story

DanL wrote:
what happened to the other $1,750,000 in estimated savings?


"The estimated savings to the city is about $750,000 at the start, and more as new workers come on to replace retiring workers. The original estimate was $2.5 million."

JCMan8 wrote:
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Monroe wrote:
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Yvonne wrote:
Lesniak propelled McGreevy into the Governors office. Lesniak worked for McGreevy when McGreevy was Mayor of Woodbridge. Lesniak is McGreevys closest confidante & trusted adviser. Whats more to know ?

Lesniak's private law firm is JC's firm in the Port Authority lawsuit, and Lesniak is pushing the LSP casino project.

All while being State Senator representing the Elizabeth area.

That's what's more to know!

As I said, politics as usual. Not just Hudson County or NJ, but practically all politics. I just get a kick out of those who think only the other "side" is so bad while theirs is so good. Money and power are not limited to one political affiliation.

But again, this stuff happens everyday, it will never end (at least in our lifetimes), so I only care when it really affects me. I will get a bloated tax bill no matter what to subsidize this corruption, so no point in getting worked up when there's no benefit.

Monroe wrote:
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Yvonne wrote:
Lesniak propelled McGreevy into the Governors office. Lesniak worked for McGreevy when McGreevy was Mayor of Woodbridge. Lesniak is McGreevys closest confidante & trusted adviser. Whats more to know ?

Lesniak's private law firm is JC's firm in the Port Authority lawsuit, and Lesniak is pushing the LSP casino project.

All while being State Senator representing the Elizabeth area.

That's what's more to know!

Yvonne wrote:
Lesniak propelled McGreevy into the Governors office. Lesniak worked for McGreevy when McGreevy was Mayor of Woodbridge. Lesniak is McGreevys closest confidante & trusted adviser. Whats more to know ?

caj11 wrote:
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CatDog wrote:
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caj11 wrote:
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CatDog wrote:
maybe the law firm had experience with this type of thing? $35k is a freaking bargain for lawyers.

If it were for a full-blown trial on some injury claim of some sort against the city, maybe. To conduct a study on why we should abolish the parking authority, not so much. I'm certain a law firm in Jersey City could have handled this, and for less money. You know, I'm sure the lawyers spent a lot of time stuck in traffic driving between Parsippany and Jersey City for meetings at the city hall, and every minute of that time was billable too (the two places are not far apart, but sometimes there is serious gridlock, having commuted on that route for many years).

I also think a more run-of-the-mill management consulting firm in the area could have done this work as well for less money, because from the sounds of it, much of the study wasn't actual legal work anyway. The law firm could have been consulted on some issues (i.e. legalities associated with issuing tickets) but it seems like the city got hosed on this one, as it all too often happens.

Time to check the state election commission reports and see how much this law firm donated to mayoral and council member campaigns.

It's pretty obvious you've never had to hire a lawyer for something.

Also, this wasn't just a "study" that the lawyers were conducting. they obviously had to file paperwork and probably do a bunch of hearings with the NJ Civil Service Commission. Draw up documents dealing with termination of board members, integration of existing employees into other agencies, legal stuff to deal with the dissolution of the corporation, where assets go, all that stuff. I can't guess at the specifics, but there's a lot more to it than "a study" and $35k is really cheap for lawyers to do that kind of work, especially considering the amount of savings involved.

I have hired a lawyer, whenever I bought or sold my personal residence. Also when I was getting a deck built on my place needed to navigate the local zoning board. I used a Jersey City lawyer in all but one case. In any case, I wasn't spending taxpayers' money.

Maybe Weiner Lezniak was the best firm for the job, I don't know. The article also didn't report all of the things you mentioned about what the law firm had to do, it just sounded like they prepared a study that a consulting firm could do. But if what you say is true, I stand corrected. It just annoys me that both the Healy and now Fulop administrations, couldn't be bothered to use a law firm in Jersey City, but, as the article states, the "politically connected" Weiner Lesniak. Florio Kenney, in Hoboken, gets a lot of the city's legal work. Judging by the name of the firm, they must be "politically connected" as well. Then I remember the city used some firm in Secaucus, Chasen Leyner I think, to defend against a lawsuit filed by the former Atomic Wings owner over all the delays in opening.

There may have been no law firm in the city that could handle the work assocaited with the parking authority, but since it was a "no bid" contract, it also sounds like the city made no effort to find out. If they're going to spend our tax dollars, they could at least be making an effort to spend them at a local business. I know local businesses can't provide all of the city's needed services, or always do the best job, but it seems like the city could be making more of an effort to spend its tax revenues back in its own community.

CatDog wrote:
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caj11 wrote:
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CatDog wrote:
maybe the law firm had experience with this type of thing? $35k is a freaking bargain for lawyers.

If it were for a full-blown trial on some injury claim of some sort against the city, maybe. To conduct a study on why we should abolish the parking authority, not so much. I'm certain a law firm in Jersey City could have handled this, and for less money. You know, I'm sure the lawyers spent a lot of time stuck in traffic driving between Parsippany and Jersey City for meetings at the city hall, and every minute of that time was billable too (the two places are not far apart, but sometimes there is serious gridlock, having commuted on that route for many years).

I also think a more run-of-the-mill management consulting firm in the area could have done this work as well for less money, because from the sounds of it, much of the study wasn't actual legal work anyway. The law firm could have been consulted on some issues (i.e. legalities associated with issuing tickets) but it seems like the city got hosed on this one, as it all too often happens.

Time to check the state election commission reports and see how much this law firm donated to mayoral and council member campaigns.

It's pretty obvious you've never had to hire a lawyer for something.

Also, this wasn't just a "study" that the lawyers were conducting. they obviously had to file paperwork and probably do a bunch of hearings with the NJ Civil Service Commission. Draw up documents dealing with termination of board members, integration of existing employees into other agencies, legal stuff to deal with the dissolution of the corporation, where assets go, all that stuff. I can't guess at the specifics, but there's a lot more to it than "a study" and $35k is really cheap for lawyers to do that kind of work, especially considering the amount of savings involved.

caj11 wrote:
Quote:

CatDog wrote:
maybe the law firm had experience with this type of thing? $35k is a freaking bargain for lawyers.

If it were for a full-blown trial on some injury claim of some sort against the city, maybe. To conduct a study on why we should abolish the parking authority, not so much. I'm certain a law firm in Jersey City could have handled this, and for less money. You know, I'm sure the lawyers spent a lot of time stuck in traffic driving between Parsippany and Jersey City for meetings at the city hall, and every minute of that time was billable too (the two places are not far apart, but sometimes there is serious gridlock, having commuted on that route for many years).

I also think a more run-of-the-mill management consulting firm in the area could have done this work as well for less money, because from the sounds of it, much of the study wasn't actual legal work anyway. The law firm could have been consulted on some issues (i.e. legalities associated with issuing tickets) but it seems like the city got hosed on this one, as it all too often happens.

Time to check the state election commission reports and see how much this law firm donated to mayoral and council member campaigns.

Yvonne wrote:
We spend millions of dollars a year to pay the salaries for lawyers on the payroll in JC. But we never use them, why not?

caj11 wrote:
Quote:

CatDog wrote:
maybe the law firm had experience with this type of thing? $35k is a freaking bargain for lawyers.

If it were for a full-blown trial on some injury claim of some sort against the city, maybe. To conduct a study on why we should abolish the parking authority, not so much. I'm certain a law firm in Jersey City could have handled this, and for less money. You know, I'm sure the lawyers spent a lot of time stuck in traffic driving between Parsippany and Jersey City for meetings at the city hall, and every minute of that time was billable too (the two places are not far apart, but sometimes there is serious gridlock, having commuted on that route for many years).

I also think a more run-of-the-mill management consulting firm in the area could have done this work as well for less money, because from the sounds of it, much of the study wasn't actual legal work anyway. The law firm could have been consulted on some issues (i.e. legalities associated with issuing tickets) but it seems like the city got hosed on this one, as it all too often happens.

Time to check the state election commission reports and see how much this law firm donated to mayoral and council member campaigns.

caj11 wrote:
Quote:

CatDog wrote:
maybe the law firm had experience with this type of thing? $35k is a freaking bargain for lawyers.

If it were for a full-blown trial on some injury claim of some sort against the city, maybe. To conduct a study on why we should abolish the parking authority, not so much. I'm certain a law firm in Jersey City could have handled this, and for less money. You know, I'm sure the lawyers spent a lot of time stuck in traffic driving between Parsippany and Jersey City for meetings at the city hall, and every minute of that time was billable too (the two places are not far apart, but sometimes there is serious gridlock, having commuted on that route for many years).

I also think a more run-of-the-mill management consulting firm in the area could have done this work as well for less money, because from the sounds of it, much of the study wasn't actual legal work anyway. The law firm could have been consulted on some issues (i.e. legalities associated with issuing tickets) but it seems like the city got hosed on this one, as it all too often happens.

Time to check the state election commission reports and see how much this law firm donated to mayoral and council member campaigns.

CatDog wrote:
maybe the law firm had experience with this type of thing? $35k is a freaking bargain for lawyers.