"I believe I speak for many here whom will be looking forward to DanL's constructive and non-biased critique of Steve's email."


I hear that DanL was STRUCK DUMB by Steve Fulop's recent email update. The Councilman is clearly firing on all cylinders. He's doing a remarkable job.

Steve will be there from approx 7 until 7:30PM since other mtgs. he must attend tonight. If you have questions, re: below and want to address him the Downtown and Van Vorst Watch, et al, please come early.

I believe I speak for many here whom will be looking forward to DanL's constructive and non-biased critique of Steve's email.

I just received this email below, Monday, Feb 13, 2006:

Update From Councilman Steven Fulop

The last several months have been very busy to say the least and I wanted to take a minute to update you on important happenings as it relates to both Ward ?E? and Jersey City as a whole. I have separated the correspondence below into three sections one related to important legislation I am sponsoring a the next council meeting, one section related to my request of the resignation of the Police Chief, and finally community issues in the next week that you should be aware of.

Please don?t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. As I try and say as often as possible, I am thankful and privileged that you have given me the opportunity to represent Ward ?E?

Important Legislation I Am Sponsoring At Next City Council Meeting

At the next council meeting, I will be introducing the most aggressive legislation that Jersey City has ever had in order to address the parking problem this city faces. Going forward, assuming the ordinance passes, the majority of the tax-abated buildings (which are the new construction buildings of 30 units or more), which have off-street parking, will no longer have access to on-street parking zone permits unless all spots are filled within that building. My goal is very simple; I need to do everything I can to make sure that all parking spots in those larger buildings are filled, and prioritize the on-street parking for those that don?t have access to off-street permits.

I have drafted the legislation to include a "grandfather clause" for the residents that have had on street parking zone parking permit last year, we will give you a permit again going forward but if that resident was to move out, the new resident in that same location would no longer have access to the same permit. A great benefit is that this legislation will work proactively over time. Furthermore, it stipulates requirements on real estate brokers to disclose the ordinance and have prospective tenants sign it so there are no miscommunications as to the parking situation for new residents.

Police Chief As the newspapers have detailed, I recently asked for the resignation of the Jersey City Police Chief Robert Troy. It is never easy to ask for anyone?s job and this was more of a last resort than anything else. The truth is that this discussion is not only about our increase in the number of murders as the chief would have one believe. In order to not misconstrue my rationale for my request of the chief's removal, it was based on an increase in most of types of crime in our city. The FBI crime statistics do not lie. They show Jersey City with an increase in crime, since Chief Troy has taken charge, of 11 percent. When comparing these numbers to other municipalities, Newark had a much smaller increase, while New York City showed a decrease of .5 percent and even Camden showed a decrease in violent crimes. Even our neighboring cities of Hoboken and Weehawken have shown significant decreases in both violent and non-violent crimes in the last year. Furthermore, in the last 12 months, Jersey City has dropped several spaces in the widely regarded Morgan Quinto rankings of safest cities. To me, our poor performance not only jeopardizes the safety of our residents, it jeopardizes property value, and it jeopardizes our standing in the region. As I have always said I believe in accountability in government and no excuses ? this is no different.

I have heard many times the chief's explanation for the increase in crime. I can't subscribe to the theory that the increase in crime is solely based on manpower because our police force numbers are relatively the same from the previous two administrations to Chief Troy - if anything, we have hired more police officers but there still seems to be less visibility. Furthermore, I can't subscribe to the excuse that crime is increasing everywhere in New Jersey because if you look at statistics of our neighboring cities, as cited earlier, several have shown a decrease. To me, the issue is based in deployment changes from management that I can give examples of. If something is wrong from a city standpoint we can?t be scared to address it and as it stand now our approach to crime is not as effective as it can be for our residents.

I am more than willing to expand further, just feel free to reach out with any questions.

Community Info For This Week This Wed. I will be presenting the plans for teh Van Vorst Dog Run to the Historic Preservation Commission with our target goal of beginning construction this spring. Also, I will be attending the regular community meetings this week as detailed on my web site.

Once again thank you for the opportunity to serve the community as the representative of Ward ?E?. I am more grateful than I could possibly express

Sincerely,

Steven Fulop
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email: steven.fulop@netscape.com
phone: 201-547-5315
web: http://www.stevenfulop.com


Ward "E" Councilman Steven Fulop | 280 Grove Street | Jersey City, | NJ | 07302