Ai, ai, ai, doesn't he realize that as an alcoholic he should be held to a higher, rather than lesser, standard. Some of my best friends are very functional alcoholics. The very idea of getting drunk and pissing on (even) Grateful Dead cover band fans is unthinkable. Perhaps it would be excusable for a 20 year old frat boy but a 40 something adult?!?!

Doing a great a 12 hour day, getting pissed, and doing it all over the next day is more like it.

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Of course they are just like they are waiting for the whole incident to go away. They are going to protect him until everyone forgets about this, and he will continue being the man that he is.

The four workers face several administrative charges, including conduct unbecoming a public official.


This was from a story about board of ed. employees. It is amazing that those "public officials" in charge are quick to hit a subordinate with these charges, but they won't hit other in charge them. Epps went to London and got caught putting his personal charges through the Board of Ed. as expenses. Yet, here he is accusing others of Conduct unbecoming. If these charges exsist in the school's why don't they exists in the City Goverment. Why shouldn't Healy, Flood, Tibaryi (not sure how to spell his name), Lipski, and all the others be charged with "conduct unbecoming". 3 of the 4 listed above have brought negative attention to Jersey City on local, regional, and national television.

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Well, double standards in Jersey City government are hardly anything new...

I do not want this story to die. Hopefully it can be kept alive long enough until Mr. Lipski has to go to court in DC in January. If I speak at a city council meeting like this, will I be threatened by Mr. Lipski's friends on the police force or elsehwhere?

I say who cares if you are, you should wear a tape recorder and Lipski's friends, if he has any left, can threaten you all they want and you can play it for the media and the lame a$$ story can stay alive. This guy is seriously a class a loser I mean really a piece of $%hit and people should be embarrassed for voting him into office. He is a weasel in the way he says "Oh it is a disease and I don't need to take responsibility for my actions" is dispicable. You know what, if I got hammered went out and drove my car into someones house and killed them, that excuse wouldn't fly and it shouldn't fly for him...period!
The fact that this isn't common sense is the whole problem with Jersey to begin with.

[quote]
mwa7368 wrote:
I say who cares if you are, you should wear a tape recorder and Lipski's friends, if he has any left, can threaten you all they want and you can play it for the media and the lame a$$ story can stay alive. [quote]

Not a bad idea, now that you mention it. I'm still waiting for a letter or threatening phone call where one of his "people" will tell me to STFU. I won't, so what if the truth hurts, until Mr. Lipski resigns from Create Charter.

caj,

I suggest contacting state government. They issue the charter for Create, and are responsible for making sure that the school fulfills all requirements.

There are people out there who have been found guilty of public urination, are now forced to register as Sex Offenders, and are ineligible for employment in public schools.

I'd think that the State would frown on having Lipski in any position with a charter school, and they hold the purse strings.
Organize some letters or calls to them.

Good luck.

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I really want to be at the next meeting, and perhaps calling the state would be a good idea.

Lipski may have done a lot of tireless work to found Create Charter, but he also gets paid $105,000+ to run it, he's not doing it purely out of the goodness of his heart, even if his biography on the City Council website indicates as such. If I knew how to tap into the state tax dollars like that, perhaps I would do the same. There are a lot of small businesses you can start that involve the same amount of effort and sleepless nights, but it is highly unlikely you will net $105,000 in your first year. And chances are you're either investing your own money or using a bank loan that you are personally liable for.

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If you can't wait to question him at the next open council meeting, may I suggest you do so here:
J.C. Families for better schools, a 380 member strong yahoo group.
Not only is he a member of this open group, but also posts and responds to messages. His message posting activity is as a recent as the past day. I'm sure many other members of the group will be interesrted in hearing your response. Thanks and good luck.

Wasn't Steve Hyman one of the people who spoke on Lipski's behalf after the DC incident?

Seems they are both in a spot of trouble.
http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... id=177529#forumpost177529

Well I went to the city council caucus tonight, although I didn't get there until after 8pm. No sign of Lipski, and I was told later he left early. Guess he wanted to avoid the reporters and constituents coming up to him when the meeting ended. Or maybe he had an AA meeting to go to.

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Councilman Lipski left the Council meeting early to attend the CREATE Charter School board meeting.

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I see. Anyone know what came of that meeting? Does the Create Charter Board of Trustees have its own opinion about the issue or are they just another toothless,
rubber-stamping entity that holds little if any real power over the school?

Lipski and Flood have another thing in common - Both leave by the 'back door' to avoid questions - either by the public or media........must be a 101 course in manageing a personal crisis

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Oh, but if you hang out in the parking lot out back where they have the reserved spaces for councilmembers, you can confront them there, with cameras if you like, I know Arnold Diaz from Fox 5 did to Willie Flood, but it doesn't mean they'll answer your questions, as indicated by Willie Flood's complete lack of response to Arnold Diaz's questions.

I hope Willie retires soon. She is an embarassment.

These politicians of Jersey City are an embarrassment, in this order:

Jeremiah Healy, Willie Flood, Kabili Tayiri and Steve Lipski.

The sad thing is, I believe that most of our local politicians (including the ones mentioned above) are intelligent people with good intentions. If they could just keep their ethics in check they could do so much for this great city with so much potential.

I am tired of reading about Jersey City in the local news for the wrong reasons. Let's not forget about Steve Lipski's other antics with the state electoral commission, and the "loan to himself", $175,081.00 reasons Steve Lipski should be in jail and have his charter school revoked!


_____________________________________________

This subpoena business brings to mind Councilman Steve Lipski's relationship with Hyman and his love for numbers.

On Thursday, Lipski said he knew nothing about the federal prosecutor's request. He said all that business happened before he decided to run for mayor in 2004 in a special election in November.

Hyman played a role in Lipski's run for the city's top spot. The problem is that Lipski's state ELEC reports on his campaign finances, where Hyman is mentioned, is tough to understand, confusing.

He filed the financial reports in January 2008. Lipski said he was reminded of his legal obligation at a City Council caucus when Downtown Councilman Steven Fulop told him he was tired of waiting to see his reports.

Lipski tried to explain their contents.

I ask: "Well, what about this $75,873 which is listed under outstanding obligation column and is categorized as a refund due of excessive contribution? The creditor is listed as Steven Hyman."

Lipski said he had to pay his political media consultant Sheinkopt Ltd. of New York, which supposedly came up with that cute ad attacking then-mayoral candidate Louis Manzo using hooded KKK figures.

"I had to pay him in advance," said Lipski of the consultant.

He said he had a running tab with an outfit called Platinum Design, owned by Hyman's wife Vickie, which Lipski said provided him with literature for mailers.

"Well, Hyman paid Sheinkopt and Sheinkopt paid it back to us, and because Vickie was closing down her business and wanted to close the books, we paid her," he said, confusing me further.

Presumably, this is why Sheinkopt Ltd. is listed under refunded disbursements as having paid back that same $75,873 to Lipski.

Let's forget all that. What about this $43,000 loan that you made to yourself on Nov. 4, 2004?

"Tell me about it," said Lipski. "I'm still paying that back."

Ba-da-boom!

Could this actor from the 20's and 30's be a distant relative of Lipski ?

From wikipedia: Actor Lee Tracy

" His flourishing film career was temporarily disrupted in 1934 while on location in Mexico filming Viva Villa!, featuring Wallace Beery as Pancho Villa, when he stood on his balcony and urinated on a military parade that was passing below in Mexico City. He was fired from the film and replaced by Stuart Erwin."

In 1943 Pollock got his big break when he meet Peggy Guggenheim, but at her party, Pollock got drunk and urinated in her fireplace...

But in the postwar New York art world - that made him a genius!

This is very exciting! And most likely he won't pull his penis out in an all-ages show and pee on our kids. Yey!

We have a viable candidate to replace our defunct and possibly corrupt Ward C rep hack. We deserve better!

Jimmy King. Let's start the campaign!

It is time for change baby!

Ward C Candidate Jimmy King. Standard Bearer of the Jimmy King Civic Association, which has over 300 members.

Jimmy has been a member of the Journal Square section of Jersey City for over forty-five years. His resume encompasses vast experience in the public sector, formerly having served as Executive Director of the Jersey City Parking Authority, Hudson County Undersheriff and Director of Public Resources for Hudson County.

Jimmy?s proudest accomplishment rests in his serving as the Standard Bearer of the Jimmy King Civic Association, which has over three hundred members. This organization works to achieve a higher quality of life for the residents of Journal Square.

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You might want to lose the part about the Parking Authority on that resume.

This is a story that must not die. But at least he owned up to what he did and is not going to dispute the charges. Of course it is possible (let me emphasize the word "possible", I don't know for sure) he had a good attorney who negotiated the charges down somewhat. He certainly seems to have gotten off easy.

From the New Jersey Journal, January 15, 2009:

Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge accusing him of urinating from the balcony of a Washington, D.C., club onto concertgoers below in November.

Lipski, who called the Journal after leaving Virginia, said he was fined $50 and will be on probation for six months to a year, pending his attendance at alcohol and drug counseling sessions. He must also perform community service, which he said can be done in New Jersey.


Lipski said he pleaded no contest because he had blacked out from the end of the first act of the Grateful Dead tribute concert until he was put in a police car. He said his memory came back only after he was taken to a hospital.

Lipski, whose council term ends June 30, said he hasn't decided whether he will seek re-election. He said the plea won't affect his job as director of CREATE Charter School, which he founded, in Jersey City.

Lipski has said he is an alcoholic who was sober for two years before getting drunk at the concert.

Check back with Hudson County Now for updates.

Ha -- no PISSING contest.




Agree that he should be held accountable for this. I also think he needs to check himself into a rehab program to get a better handle on his disease.

Candy, Jeff or Ken on Intervention could have a field day.

He should be breath-tested daily, before he sets foot onto any school as part of his rehab - safety 1st for kids!

I'm surprised parents haven't demanded his resignation.

Urine Trouble.

European, I'm a poopin'.

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Supposedly the trustees of the school held a meeting and were going to wait and see how things turned out from a legal standpoint, the whole innocent until proven guilty philosophy. But he has essentially pled guilty and no one at the school seems to care. Now it's just the attitude of, people make mistakes, let's give him another chance. But I think the parents or trustees forcing him to resign would be difficult anyway, he did start the place after all. Still, it's a crying shame that he is making a handsome six-figure salary at the school at taxpayer expense and the school is listed as not making adequate yearly progress under the No Child Left Behind act standards. When you have somebody with alcohol problems running the place, I guess you really can't expect much anyway.

What is Lipski gonna do now that the Grateful Dead are touring again? If he goes to one of the shows it may be too much for him to bear. It could be Night of the Johnstown Flood x100!

He could very well Shit himself.

?It?s not an excuse; it?s a misuse of alcohol?
Lipski doesn?t recall urination but was told, ?You did it?

by Ricardo Kaulessar
Hudson Reporter

COUNCILMAN RECALLS INCIDENT ? Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski spoke to the Jersey City Reporter last week about the Nov. 7 incident in which he was accused of urinating in public at a Washington, D.C. club.

Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski recently agreed to a plea deal to settle the assault case against him based on his behavior on Nov. 7 at a Washington, D.C. club.
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?It?s not a copout; it?s a blackout.? ? Steve Lipski
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Now the 45-year-old Lipski is putting out a plea for understanding of his long-time battle with alcoholism.

?Some people have said that I?ve used alcohol as a copout,? Lipski said. ?It?s not a copout; it?s a blackout. It?s not an excuse; it?s a misuse of alcohol.?

In an interview last week, Lipski went into detail about the incident for the first time, and its impact on his personal and professional life. Lipski is the president of the CREATE charter school, and has represented the Journal Square area as a councilman since 2001.

Lipski was arrested on Nov. 7 for simple assault for allegedly urinating from a balcony during a Grateful Dead tribute concert at Washington D.C.?s ?Nightclub 9:30.? Lipski is a known fan of the band.

The day after the incident, Lipski went to court and entered a not guilty plea. A few days later, at a November city council caucus meeting, Lipski apologized to the public, acknowledging that he is a recovering alcoholic.

He received his sentence in a Washington D.C. courtroom on Jan. 13: one year?s probation. His probation could be reduced to six months based on good behavior, performing community service, and seeking counseling for alcoholism. He also paid a $50 fine.

His sentence was based on entering what is known as an ?Alford plea,? in which the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists that could convince a judge or jury to reach a guilty verdict. Lipski said he was facing six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if he did not agree to the plea.

Lipski had also been arrested for drunk driving in 2006 in Pennsylvania.

A long, strange trip

Songs about the road, traveling, or letting one?s self go are common themes in many of the songs of the Grateful Dead, who Steve Lipski has idolized since he was a teen in the 1970s.

Their song ?Truckin? comes to mind, with its signature line: ?What a long, strange trip it?s been.?

That sums up what happened to Lipski on Nov. 7, when he drove down from Jersey City to Washington D.C. with a childhood friend and a different friend. They planned to meet a third childhood friend coming in from Virginia. The four expected to take in an evening performance at the ?Nightclub 9:30? on V Street, enjoying the tunes the Grateful Dead cover band known as the Dark Star Orchestra.

But not before he went over to a bar across the street from the club, where he broke a 23-month sober period in his life by downing three Tanqueray-and-tonics.

?I had my first one and I didn?t get lightheaded, I didn?t get unbalanced, so I said to myself, ?I can handle this,? ? Lipski said.

He then went into the nightclub before Dark Star started their performance. He recalled telling a waitress, ?Don?t be shy, keep the booze flowing.? That meant a couple more Tanqueray and tonics. Lipski said he was feeling lightheaded but relaxed, standing on a balcony overlooking the stage.

The next thing he knew?

He said he started dancing to the music as the opening band for Dark Star played. That would be the last moment he would remember, Lipski said.

His next conscious moment would be waking up in the back of a police car.

Lipski said he blacked out in the interim, and it was up to his childhood friend standing next to him to fill in the blanks.

?My one childhood friend from Virginia says to me, ?You did it,? ? Lipski said. That was when Lipski realized that he may have urinated off the balcony.

Lipski received further verification of his act when he visited the website for Dark Star Orchestra and read a posting from another person who was in the club that night, who expressed disbelief that Lipski ?peed? on him. The next day, he got ahold of a police report detailing what happened in the club.

As to how Lipski ended up in the police car, his friend told Lipski that he was told by one of the club?s bouncers to leave after a brief argument. When Lipski and his friend left the club, they were met by police, who arrested Lipski, but not his friend.

?I was disgusted?

Lipski found himself in a holding room at D.C.?s 3rd District police station, then in a nearby hospital for an overnight stay after he complained of being ill.

The next day, he sat in a cell with about 200 people waiting to see a judge after being processed and fingerprinted. Keeping him company was a homeless man charged with smoking marijuana in a federal building, and another man charged with drug trafficking. There was one bathroom for everyone.

?I was disgusted that I was going through this ordeal, [the police] had taken my shoelaces, they had taken all my possessions,? Lipski said, ?and I had wounded a night out for my friends coming down to D.C. They missed seeing Dark Star as a result of my selfish behavior.?

Lipski also worried whether his friends would be in any trouble, and how to break the news to his wife.

Once in the courtroom, Lipski and his attorney listened to an initial offer by a prosecutor of a 90-day suspended sentence, with five days in a cell.

?I said, ?unacceptable?,? Lipski said. ?I am not a felon and I can?t go to jail. This experience was just punishing itself, and this was before the press hit.?

The prosecutor and Lipski?s attorney looked at his record, saw there were no prior arrests (the one in Pennsylvania had been expunged), and noted his work as a teacher, councilman, and other work in the community. There came a proposal of one year?s probation and a fine.

He had to wait another two months before entering a plea and the case was put to rest. One of the persons who filed a complaint wanted a harsher sentence.

But the next two months would be as harsh and challenging for Lipski as any sentence handed down.