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http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... fety-meeting-tonight-620/

Ward B Public Safety Meeting Tonight (Monday) 6/20

Tonight (6/20) from 7-9 pm, Council President Rolando Lavarro, Freeholder Bill O?Dea and Ward B Councilman John Hallanan are hosting a public safety meeting in Ward B at Saint Aloysius Gym located at 721 West Side Avenue. At the meeting, residents can expect to hear updates on recent arrests. Representatives from the Jersey City Police and Hudson County Prosecutor?s Office will also be attending, including Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez. CompStat information may be found on the Jersey City Police Department website, njjcpd.org.

This meeting hopes to continue the conversation started in the ward at a standing-room only community safety meeting held in early January, which was attended by Mayor Steve Fulop and Public Safety Director James Shea. That meeting raised questions about recent crimes and overall safety, which then included the murder of a shopkeeper on Bergen Avenue near Journal Square on December 19 and an infant recovering from a stray bullet wound just a week later on December 26.

Then and today, there are ongoing questions from the community about root causes of crime in the area and the response by the administration. In the January 11 meeting, for example, Mayor Fulop discussed the general challenges in addressing crime and specifically pointed to the unwillingness of the community to come forward with information. The mayor encouraged residents to use the local tip line 201-547-JAIL to call authorities with information. Fulop also discussed the city?s increase in recreational opportunities for youth as one of many steps towards correcting the problem. Both the mayor and the new Director of Recreation, Kevin Williamson said the recreation programs would be disseminated better on social media.

Unsatisfied, residents shot back by suggesting that people involved in crime are not typically the same people who take advantage of the recreational offerings. Bishop James Herron of Good Shepherd Church of Christ on Bergen Avenue said that his group of pastors had been trying unsuccessfully to meet with the mayor for three months. Bishop Herron also expressed frustration that the January meeting had been only announced on social media. Chris Gadsden, a Vice Principal at Lincoln High School wondered why there weren?t sweeps of bodegas for illegal practices. Gloria Lloyd, who lives on Bergen Avenue in what she said had been a previously quiet area, described a problem with a late night business that young men congregate around and a stabbing last spring that required a fire truck to hose the blood down afterwards.

Anyone with questions or concerns about the ongoing safety strategies for Ward B is encouraged to attend tonight?s meeting.

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... fety-meeting-tonight-620/