Hero.
The project can't be transferred to a third party. The city is protected and partners in this but of course there is a big philanthropic effort that needs to happen once transferred.

I'm not entirely sure at this point what some people are upset about as I think all the questions that were presented were answered and many people here had some great points as well

This info was provided to the council and some advocates per their questions. Hopefully this clarifies where we are and corrects those that are putting misinformation out in the public.

Steven M. Fulop
Mayor
Jersey City, NJ

On Mar 14, 2017, at 1:09 PM, Steve Fulop wrote:

Let me know anything else but these are the questions we have had so far.

Question: What is LSC relationship to Jersey City?
LSC is invested in Jersey City
? Employs 101 Jersey City residents (33% of total labor force)
? 1,935 Jersey City families have LSC memberships
This will expand of course with SciTech city.

Question: What is the current relationship with the Jersey City schools?
? 30,500 Jersey City students visited in 2016 (82% of student population)
? Provides free STEM education programs to 5,740 Jersey City students
and teachers by obtaining $465,000 in grant funding
? 100 Jersey City teachers participate in LSC professional development
programs annually

Question: Is this a gift to the Science Center?
No. This is a shared venture that the city benefits from as PARTNERS. The project will generate revenues for the non-profit (operating income, ground lease income etc.). If the income exceeds expenses, the excess income (or surplus) must be used on other programs by the non-profit. Over time, if you add up this surplus each year when it exceeds the amount of money raised in donations for this project. At that moment this surplus will begin to be shared 50/50 with the City until the City receives its appraised value. Once the City receives its appraised the split is reduced to 80/20 nonprofit/City forever. So over time the City will eventually get more than its appraised value for the land. This is truly a joint venture but City is protected in every scenario including ultimately getting value for the property beyond all of the other important benefits (school etc.). The appraised value is really just a way to indicate when the split goes from 50/50 to 80/20.

Question: What is the risk to the city?
None. The city is a partner in revenue and in the case of any violation there are reverter clauses if they don?t build the project, violate terms of the agreements or property is transferred to, or ever owned by, a for-profit entity then the entire property returns to the city.

Question: Will this be a traditional Jersey City Public School?
Yes. This will be a Jersey City traditional public school. Cost of schools recently constructed in Jersey City have been more than $50million. This will be at no cost to tax payers.

Question: I heard LSC is losing money. Is that accurate?
No. $4.5m in operating funds generated in FY16. After debt service, capital investments in facility etc, lsc has $1.4m in net revenues from operations.

Question: What is the attendance at LSC?
During the past four years, LSC?s attendance has grown 53%, to more than 650,000 visitors annually, making the Center the fastest growing established museum in the United States. That growth should continue with the opening at LSC in December 2017 of the biggest and most technologically-advanced planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, which will draw tourists to Jersey City and serve as an unparalleled educational resource for students and families in New Jersey

Question: The city gave LSC a loan in 2008. Was this load repaid?
Yes. LSC borrowed $2.5M from UEZ; the loan was fully repaid by 9/1/2011. There is no current debt to the city or state on the LSC balance sheets. Since this point almost the entire board and leadership has been changed

Question: Why not sell the property?
Selling the property for maximum dollars as some proposed would mean high rise condos in this location which we don't believe is in the best interest of all residents with regards to the potential we have in creating a citywide asset like SciTech city at this particular city site. While previous administrations would probably have sold this for short term gain we are trying to invest in a city asset, build a new school and a new science hub for generations of Jersey City residents to come.

Question: What will this mean to Ward F?
This will take vacant property and turn it into a $280 million dollar investment in Ward F that will create permanent jobs, construction jobs, and define Bergen Lafayette as the home of the premier science center in the region. It will create a new public school and inspire generations of future leaders who will surrounded by some the sharpest minds in the world.

Will any board member or any affiliate of lsc be a developer of this project?
No.

Thanks Dan. It is a big stretch to say anyone plans to build anything at this stage as I have been the first to say that I have mixed feelings here. The legislation in Trenton will only give the opportunity to the voters of which the feedback from the voters in Jersey City in November will govern the process for me.

As it stands today there isn't gaming permitted, nor zoning permitted, nor has anything passed and I certainly have been on the record as stating Concerns. Hope that clarifies as I know you want to be accurate.

The DOT has opened this competition and I figured best to solicit ideas via multiple sources. Knowing that I will get some great ideas and some sarcastic suggestions here I figured this was a decent place to post it.

Wishing you all a Happy Holidays - Even my long time friends Yvonne and Monroe.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/t ... 8-1af6af208198_story.html

Week of 3/13 update

March 13, 2015

Jersey City: Ready for spring

Now that the weather has improved significantly and the sun is shining, many of us are heading outdoors to enjoy the warmer temperatures. While the melting snow brings us hope of new life and new routines, it also lays bare the damage that winter conditions have caused. Potholes are a safety hazard and a threat to quality of life so I am happy to share our administration?s aggressive plan for pothole repairs. In addition to the better weather, we have much to celebrate this week in Jersey City: Last night the Council passed our administration?s plan for the City Hall Annex at the HUB; our most recent police promotions include the first African-American Lieutenant in more than a decade, as well as the first Pakistani Muslim in the rank of Sergeant; and last, but not least, on Sunday we?ll celebrate St. Patrick?s Day with our traditional parade.

Pothole Repairs

On Tuesday I announced that the Department of Public Works (DPW) is launching an aggressive pothole repair plan that coordinates three agencies with crews working in all wards simultaneously. This will triple the amount of pothole repair teams while also utilizing technology to more quickly and efficiently eliminate potholes. This approach to potholes is aggressive and smart. This year, during the first phase of the two-phase repair process, all pothole repairs will be mapped and digitized so that DPW personnel will know exactly where crews need to be dispatched for the second phase. By utilizing two additional agencies to increase equipment and personnel the city is expanding its capabilities without adding additional costs to taxpayers. To report a pothole, residents should call the RRC at 201-547-4900 or visit the city website at www.jerseycitynj.gov and fill out the online request form.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ml#incart_related_stories



City Hall Annex

On Wednesday night the City Council passed an ordinance authorizing plans to build a new $20 million City Hall Annex at the HUB on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. Many thanks to the Council Members who voted in favor of the plan. This will be the most significant investment in the history of Ward F and fulfills our administration?s commitment to bring investment to Bergen-Lafayette. The City Hall Annex will help jumpstart the struggling shopping center and bring new life to the commercial district. More than 300 city employees will work there, shopping and dining at area establishments, spurring additional economic development including new housing and jobs. Over the life of the building, the project is expected to save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars as the city will no longer be obligated to pay expensive leases.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... 6m_to_build_city_hal.html



Police Promotions

This past Tuesday I announced, together with Public Safety Director James Shea and Police Chief Philip Zacche, the promotion of seven sergeants and seven lieutenants as the fulfillment of the newly established table of organization ? the department?s first in more than decade. Our administration continues to improve public safety and diversify the Police Department, in both rank and leadership, as these promotions include the first African-American Lieutenant in more than a decade as well as the Department?s first Pakistani Muslim Sergeant. Jersey City is the most diverse city in the nation and it is our goal to have a police department that reflects the community it serves, both in rank and file.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ck_man_to_lieutenant.html

St. Patrick?s Day Parade

The Saint Patrick?s Day Parade is one of the longest-running celebrations in our city and I am looking forward to walking with all of you on Sunday, March 15th, as we honor of our Irish-American community. The parade kicks off at 12:30 pm from Lincoln Park. Also, this past Thursday, along with members of the Municipal Council, the Division of Cultural Affairs and the Saint Patrick?s Day Parade Committee, we proudly raised the flag of Ireland at City Hall. This year, the Saint Patrick?s Day Parade Committee is dedicating the parade to Jersey City?s Finest and Bravest. They will also be starting a yearly scholarship fund in honor of Detective Melvin Santiago.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _patricks_day_parade.html




See you all on Sunday! As always, if you missed the latest video update you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/user/JC1TV

Until next week.

Steven

I hope this email finds you well and that you have all managed to stay safe as we dig ourselves out from under one more winter storm. Despite the dreadful weather, there?s news to share and a lot to look forward to once better weather finally arrives. This past week we announced that Jersey City was selected from nearly 100 applicants as the top 2015 grant recipient by the Tony Hawk Foundation for a grant to install a state-of-the-art, the best in NJ, skate park in Berry Lane Park. We also held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Gloria Robinson Court Homes to celebrate the final phase of this vibrant mixed-income apartment community ? this final phase will include 70 apartments and a 10-classroom Head Start early childhood education center.

Tony Hawk Foundation Grant
We couldn?t be more excited about this grant, which will allow us to build a state-of-the-art skatepark at Berry Lane. Our local skateboarders were instrumental in the design process and this will be one of the best skate parks in the country. The skatepark, which will be approximately 12,000 square feet, will incorporate a combination of street and transition features, including a large, below grade concrete bowl. It will be the first poured in place concrete skatepark in Hudson County, and one of a small number in New Jersey. Berry Lane Park will ultimately transform a 17-acre brownfield of former rail yards, junkyards and industrial facilities into a dynamic recreational facility in the heart of the city and when complete, will result in a nine percent increase in the amount of recreational open space in Jersey City.
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... foundation_awards_je.html

Gloria Robinson Court Homes
Together with the Jersey City Housing Authority, Pennrose Properties LLC and NJ Federal, state and local officials, we celebrated the final phase of the Gloria Robinson Court Homes. Projects like Gloria Robinson are an example of how we can transform outdated public housing sites into desirable mixed-income communities that provide access to housing and quality education in one place. Our vision is for more new development ? both affordable and market rate ? to incorporate this model of providing much-needed pre-k space for our growing student population.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... round_on_final_phase.html

Come spring we will see a lot of new growth in Jersey City for all of our residents to enjoy and be proud of. As always, if you missed the latest video update you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsB7F3Jf_BY
Until next week.
Steven

Every week, we send out an update on some of the things we are working on as a team. I know that JCList has many people who read it, some of which have strong opinions, and many who are not on my e-mail list, so I thought it would be helpful to also share the update here on a weekly basis.
Hope all is well with all of you (including the frequent critics)
Steve

Yvonne
You have always been reasonable and I appreciate the posts but speculation is really not fair.

1) Jim was not hired for the money as he was already employed despite a columnists opinion.

2) He was not hired for the pension credits as the agency is not in the same pension he is in

3) He was not hired because he wants to get into politics because he will never do that again.

4) He is not a relative nor a long time friend so nepotism as you reference is not an issue.

5) he was never offered any other post as you mentioned. Not business administrator or anything else

I made this hire because the goal is to revamp the employment and training department to be a national model. We have a chance to pick up an individual with huge credentials in the field and the ability to vault a second chance program to the next level because of his relationships in the private and public sector. I fully expected that some people who can't look past his time as governor would have this opinion but we live in a forgiving society that I am looking at his last 10 years which has been a model on this issue. in this situation Jersey City has huge upside potential with no downside at all.

This is a great editorial of many that were run on this decision. This is worth a read

http://observer.com/2013/07/editorial-a-lesson-in-humility/

I can say with my head high that I have been so careful and thoughtful on each leadership hire I have made to make jersey city proud and really give the chance for a difference maker. I understand and anticipated what some would say but we need to look forward not backward. Just my opinion.

The council aide positions are the hiring decision of only the councilperson by law. It is the one position that doesn't fall under the mayors office by law on hiring. The city does have policies in place and of course I am adhering to them on my end but the council aide position falls beyond that by law as it is only the individual councilperson who decides.

In the end it is a good that the right thing happened.... Maybe messy how it got there but the right outcome nevertheless.

We are getting down to the wire: Election Day is Tuesday, May 14th.

Someone asked me recently what my single biggest concern is in these final days. My answer: turnout. We are hoping for a large one. Mayor Healy is hoping for a small one. I certainly prefer our position. If our fellow citizens have enough concern and enough hope to turn up at the polls, we are going to do well.

This has been quite a journey, and I am hopeful that after May 14th I will have the chance to implement the policies and proposals we have outlined over the months. We put forward all that information, all that detail, because I believe the people of Jersey City deserve it. Elected officials should be held accountable. I certainly want to be.

I want to take this opportunity to also extend an invitation to you to watch the election returns with me and the rest of the team on Tuesday night. Voters, donors, volunteers--we have all been through this campaign together, and I think it makes sense for us to get the results together. Please join us if you can.

The details for Tuesday night are:

Tuesday May 14th
8pm Start Time
Location: Zeppelin Hall
88 Liberty View Drive (Parking Across from the Jersey City Medical Center corner of Grand Street and Jersey Ave)

Let?s finish this campaign together and strong!
Sincerely
Steve

I just wanted to share with you all the latest endorsement from the Star Ledger - the NJ statewide newspaper of record. It really speaks volumes that they are weighing in on this race as well and I hope you have a couple minutes to read their opinion. With this in mind though it is still a close race and the turnout will impact the results - we really need large turnout otherwise there are few avenues to win. Hope you have a chance to read this and share with your family /friends

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page ... ayor_no.html#incart_river

Steve

I can appreciate the negativity from trolls as it is campaign season. It is easy for people to ridicule when there is no other recommendation on the table other than the status quo which has not been effective.

It is important to note that every aspect of this was explained in detail to editorial boards on how they would function / why they would. Not to mention that this police plan had a ton of senior people in the Jcpd input and not to mention Gajewski himself our ward a candidate who does have credentials on this as he is in the Policing Hall of Fame.

I get the negative comments as that is what people do but they are just not rooted in fact.

Josh
Your suggestion wasn't incorporated only because I think the lawyers that explored this never mentioned it. I would suspect there was a legal reason that is beyond me however I know that many many experts in the field have been a part of drafting this and being none recommended it I suppose there was a legal concern from their side - but I will follow up

Josh
To end the conspiracy theories that never seem to end....

1) nobody at b4k is maxed out so there is nothing to circumvent. They have been supporters of mine as well as Troy

2) Troy's support is very simple - he is a young elected official in the state who I have known for a long time. He is a friend and knows I am in a tough election so he wanted to help another young elected official in the state to which I am thankful.

It is amazing that people try to find some evil connection and when they looked and looked and looked they couldn't find anything... Amazing. Clearly nothing to do with wheeling.

It is election time and while you only have one post here on JCLIST I am happy to reply.

I think in 2008 Obama said it best at the convention and it applied today "that when you have no record to run on; you paint your opponent as someone to run from.." The mayor has sent out negative press release, time and again that really is just baseless untrue and distorting facts with his strategy to have the voters say that everyone is as morally bankrupt as he is so that we should just keep things the same. Apathy is a friend of the mayor and that is the goal here

A couple of facts as these are stubborn things:

1) My donors don't do business with the city. Our team has a group of resident volunteers that goes through every single donor. These are volunteers that are your neighbors and you all know them and they have zero political ties. Furthermore, we have proactively returned more money than any candidate in the STATE - and we do it proactively. We are not perfect at catching everything but prob do a better job than most

2) I have sponsored and passed the strictest laws in the state on this to change campaign contributions - supported by the local good government groups to which Healy vetoed

3) We have a commitment that we have stated at every meeting with regards to bidding business unlike the current practice

4) WHEELING is someone who is prohibited from donating in this race then gives money to a different campaign account the same day who then sends the contribution to the account that would be restricted. Your reference here as actually ZERO to do with this premise of wheeling in Hudson County.

I think the record here is quite clear no matter what types of press releases or blogging Healy does as the truth is there is years of track records here

Hope that helps
Steve

A couple points and I can still appreciate your post however,

1) Frank doesn't live in Country Village. He lives interestingly virtually next door (same area) to his opponent on the Healy ticket Dr. Epps.

2) It is a big city and I actually am in every ward almost every day. We had a meet and greet in Ward A late last week, our new HQ is opening on the border of Ward A and Ward B, we actually walked a district there last week as well

Hope that helps

hope your year is off to a great start.It may seem hard to believe, but the 2013 mayoral election is just four months away. I want to tell you that our campaign is hard at it.

Moving forward, I am excited today to roll out more of our council ticket. You can read names and bios for the team by clicking here at http://stevenfulop.com/candidates . We now have 8 of the 9 council candidates selected, and we expect the last one to give us the green light by the end of next week.

I couldn't be prouder of this ticket. It is a fantastic mix of professional,strong, energetic, and highly qualified people. We have many new faces and a couple of long-time community leaders. It is a diverse ticket focused on bridge building and inclusiveness. It is a ticket with expertise ranging from budgets,to recreation, to public safety, to education, to community responsiveness. The bottom line is, when we said we were going to do things differently and pick the best people for the long term, we meant it. We are putting the people of Jersey City first.

I hope you can join us for this journey. And you can expect that a campaign volunteer will be knocking on your door in the near future!

Sincerely
Steven Fulop

Dan
I am not going to go into a back and forth with you as I think you have done enough damage to yourself already but on this point alone? I mean please? desperation is quite evident on your part.

First to your point on B4K, anyone who wants to do any research can go their website or the Star Ledger Editorial board praising them for pushing BI-PARTISAN tenure reform that was embraced by leaders in the state senate from both parties, the governor and the NJEA. They are not supporters of vouchers or anything like that. The founder David Tepper is the son of public school teachers. They are supporters of mine as in 20 years since state control in Jersey City I am actually the only elected official to get involved in change for the schools and say that the schools need to improve to fix the city. It hasn?t been perfect, I think we can all appreciate some missteps on my part, and obvious political risks but the road less traveled here is the right one that I believe in despite political risks. Can you say the same with your political alliances to gain a title? I don?t think so and that hostage video you emailed out with the mayor was second to none.

It is quite hypocritical that you slam people and raise misinformation with about B4K and policy issues but you turn a blind eye to the mayoral candidate you are running with refusing to return BRIBE money that will fund your campaign. I am baffled you can call for resignation for bribe money but when it goes to benefit you personally it is ok? The difference here is I haven?t changed my views Dan.

Your email not wreaks of sour grapes as in the last filing yes we raised more campaign funds than the mayor. We had more small donors, more large donors, and more jersey city donors. The only category we lost is city management employees who want the status quo. I think this in of itself speaks volumes as well.

Finally, this new Dan Levin is something of a concern. I watched last week at the council meeting from the dais where there was a contentious meeting against some favorable zoning changes to benefit a a huge Healy donor. The Van Vorst Park Association spoke out against it and they had countless concerns despite the building trades that support the mayor railing for this giveaway the donor. I sat on the council and kept thinking? Dan Levin from 6 months ago would have sided with the community/Van Vorst Park residents and spoken up at the council meeting however, Dan Levin from today sat in quiet next to Healy?s assistant business administration and didn?t say a word while letting the community get pushed over.

I have ignored much of the back and forth about you but you are overstepping here and showing what you have become. Actions are what matters here and if you want a shovel for the hole you are digging please let me know.. I am happy to help out.

Steve

The things that one misses when they don?t monitor JClist constantly?..

So, this is my third election with JClist used as a tool for trolls and sadly it is par for the course. So rather than go back and forth with trolls on misinformation, I am going to answer some of the misinformation for the benefit of the people that actually value information and have been on here for a long time but I am not going to respond from there because I don?t think it benefits anyone.

I will say that it is an ugly business, this politics, and disheartening at times as every day I hear more rumors and misinformation, a guy being paid to follow me, people digging into all aspect of my life etc?

It is interesting for me as the same consultants Healy has hired to run his campaign pitched our campaign before we opted not to go in this direction because we didnt want the hack feeling to it but in their pitch, they outlined exactly how they would handle running against us. They said they would character assassinate to create indifference and apathy defining me early. I guess it is what it is and I think the facts are on our side but here is some info per this thread that is just flat out wrong:

1) There is no coincidence that the Trolls surface the same time that the Healy campaign hires a firm that on their website one of their noted expertise?s is ?political blogging?

2) I didn?t support David Donnelly in his election nor did I support Esther Wintner. Not supporting Esther didn?t have anything to do with her being a conservative as I didn?t care if she was white/Hispanic/African American/gay/lefty/righty etc but it had to do with barely knowing her or her view on JC other than a handful of council meetings she attended. I wasn?t involved in either side of that election

3) Senator Sacco attended a fundraiser over a year ago (he didn?t donate) as has about 4 other senators and countless elected officials over the years. I make it a point to recognize EVERY elected official that attends an event out of respect. It is a stretch to say that I have had any relationship with him when the newspaper itself outlines that the legal issues that exist today with him are directly related to paid city workers working for the Healy campaign against me in 2009. More often than not these elected officials attend to fact find but from my standpoint I am indifferent and respectful

4) It is a stretch to say Bill O?Dea has been aligned with the party machine. He has run as an independent more often than not against the party line and has always been perceived sadly as an outsider although I think he often does do the admirable and right thing. In the last election her ran on the democratic ticket but I think most in the county would say he is not one of the good old boys

5) The Reporter called me on this BS article last week that they wrote and I made the mistake of not commenting because I thought at the time there were zero facts to substantiate so I didn?t want to get into a back and forth on some fabricated story and make a story. Little did I know she would run a story anyway and to substantiate the statement the following sources of reference are mentioned which I think we can all appreciate (they are cited in the order of their appearance in the text): ?some people in New Jersey?s well-connected world; ?several Fulop and Rivera associates;?one politically active New Jersey attorney; ...several people who wished to remain anonymous; ...another attorney; ...some people; ... several people; ...one source...; ?there is further evidence, but no evident was mentioned. I would say that any reasonable personal in journalism would say that this article without facts is a stretch

6) Rivera himself apparently wrote a letter to the reporter prior and saying that the allegations from the anonymous sources were just not true at all but that again didn?t matter to the reporter. It was the same thing that I said at the city council meeting when asked

7) I wrote the following to the Editor of the reporter on Monday as a result of the article:


For the past four years, President Obama has repeatedly shrugged off ridiculous attacks, saying, "Politics is a contact sport."

It is certainly true. Still, I have always believed that whatever candidates and their campaigns might say, the media are there to act as referees for the most part: to fact check, to seek confirming sources, to bring balance.

For several weeks, the Hudson Reporter and I have been going back and forth with regard to what I see as deeply biased reporting by one specific writer.

Often, the reporter covering Jersey City produces articles about our campaign that are just not true. Her sources are almost always anonymous (this is the third time).

Last week, this reporter wrote an article about fundraising, suggesting that our campaign violates the same strict pay-to-play laws I introduced as a Councilperson. The article was written with zero facts and zero on-the-record sources--but in the end, sadly, the Healy campaign gets what it wants, which is a headline to use in campaign literature.

Here are the facts:

Fact#1- The law firm Scarinsci Hollenbeck in particular referenced in the article have neither raised nor bundled funds for my campaign in violation of any pay to play laws. Our campaign files quarterly reports that outline our fundraising. We do a detailed, more clear and comprehensive job than most in the state. Although I had explained this to the reporter, she chose to disregard it.

Fact#2- Our campaign is extremely cautious on fundraising, but is not always perfect. The campaign has returned PROACTIVELY more than $60,000 in donations that we felt represented conflicts or perceived conflicts. Not a lot of campaigns make it a habit to return money. I am proud of the lengths we go to without any fanfare to simply do the right thing.

Fact#3- Every single donation the campaign receives is vetted by a group of volunteer good-government activists that live in Jersey City. Every donation is discussed and checked by regular people to ensure that our campaign is compliant with the letter of the law. You won't see any other campaign in Hudson County going to these lengths to create checks and balances.

Fact#4- The Reporter article provides no facts and offers no comments on the record. It is solely based on sources the reporter herself deems "politically connected." They are, of course, anonymous. I would suggest that responsible journalism requires more than this.

Fact#5- The law firm referenced in the story has been working for the city and the Board of Education for 10 years. In other words, the firm has been engaged since long before I ever entered government. So much for the suggestion that I had anything to do with getting that firm placed in New Jersey.

Sadly, this is going to be an ugly campaign no matter how much we try to stay above the fray. The Healy plan is to try to show that everyone is as ethically challenged as he is, with the hope that apathy prevails in the end. I am going to do my best to keep the dialogue above that, but I won't be bashful about responding when the attacks are baseless, anonymous, and just plain wrong.
Steven

I hope this post finds you well as I am sending you a NON-CAMPAIGN notel, one rooted in a charitable cause that I am hoping you'll consider supporting.

On August 11, 2012, I will be competing in the 1st NY/NJ Ironman competition (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/nyr ... thlon.html?pagewanted=all) to raise money for ReserveAid (www.reserveaid.org). The Ironman is a one-day race that starts with a 2.4 mile swim in the Hudson, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full 26.2 mile marathon.

Most important though, the cause that I am raising money for is one near and dear to me. ReserveAid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that makes need-based grants to military families with a Reservist or National Guard member on full-time deployment or recently returned from deployment to a combat zone. As someone who saw firsthand during my own deployment the strains that are placed on military families, this is a charity that is important and hopefully you'll consider supporting and sponsoring me during the race.

http://reserveaid.org/get-involved/ironman-u-s-championship/

Click "Team ReserveAid" in dropdown then type in "Steven Fulop"

The Ironman competition is in many ways the pinnacle of endurance challenges for both a strong body and mind and, in this case, it's coupled with a great charity that matches the endurance and contributions of our military.

While training is underway my fundraising commitment goal started last week and I am hoping you'll consider making a charitable, tax-deductible contribution in support of Reserveaid at:

http://reserveaid.org/get-involved/ironman-u-s-championship/

Click "Team ReserveAid" in dropdown then type in "Steven Fulop"

I sincerely appreciate your consideration,
Steven Fulop

Thanks for posting. This article is a little misleading as we didn't vote to pay any bills. The vote was to allow nothing to be paid this year and defer the $7M into two payments starting next year after the election. The issue at hand is that there is no plan how to pay it next year, and it is operating expenses from this year thus the comments from Donnelly and Lopez knowing what they were doing was concerning .. Hope that clarifies

Steven

Thanks for posting this and a couple aspects to highlight here to lend some clarity. First, I generally don?t vote for abatements and furthermore, I can say that the building trades have not been financial supporters of any substance to this point of my campaign nor do I expect that to change.

Regardless of financial support, it doesn?t change my view that when the city uses subsidies to private developers for market rate housing there is an opportunity to ensure that both certain numbers of people get the opportunity to work from Jersey City and that fair wages are paid. This ordinance was enacted only to mirror what was already existing for the long term abatement. Many developers were circumventing this aspect of the PLA for the long term abatement by asking for steeper short term incentives even in areas that didn?t seem to warrant it. In order to close that loophole the council enacted this ordinance which mirrors the long term policy already in place.

With regards to only union here, that isn?t the case if you read the ordinance and I think there is an opportunity for more than that in the development world we currently see in Jersey City. The size of the project determines whether the PLA is applicable per the ordinance (benchmark is currently $25m) with less than that threshold it doesn?t apply.

Hope that lends some additional clarity on the background here.
Steve

Posting an email I sent out on this earlier this morning...

Last night, the Jersey City Board of Education took a huge step toward improving public education in Jersey City. In a significant vote for the future of our city, board president Sterling Waterman, along with board members Sue Mack, Carol Lester, Carol Harrison-Arnold, and Marvin Adames, approved and finalized a formal separation agreement with superintendent Charles Epps. Per the agreement, Dr. Epps will continue in his role until December 31, 2011. After that date, he will step aside as superintendent.

Additionally, the board formally said it would start the process of a national search for a new reform-minded superintendent. The goal is to have a new superintendent in place by the start of the 2012 school year.

It was the belief of this board that every day that the Jersey City school system is not striving for absolute excellence is a day of opportunity for students squandered. That is a very steep price to pay. The terms of the separation will open the door for new leadership. Dr. Epps's contract will be bought out at 50 cents on the dollar, thereby placing new, proactive leadership at the helm of the Jersey City school system two and a half years ahead of schedule.

This has been a complicated process, to say the least. It has been two years since we began organizing as a team focused on supporting reform-minded candidates for the Board of Education. Not coincidentally, it was also two years ago that the former majority on the board fast-tracked contract extensions to protect the status quo. Yesterday, was a correct, principled, and major step in the right direction.

Leadership does matter. It sets the tone and establishes a course for outcomes. We should strive for nothing short of excellence in our leaders. Jersey City and its students deserve that. A special thank you to the board members that supported this step; and of course the residents, volunteers, and voters, who ultimately drove this process by demanding results.

Steven Fulop

Jzfan
Thanks for the post and it is always great to see new posters that jump in only on local politics as their first few posts. ??Just to correct your post, I spoke with three freeholders (city council of County government) prior to moving forward all of which represent Jersey City at the county level and as a matter of fact, two of them were included in the initial press release per their request. ?This was absolutely vetted and there are real dollars in both of these departments. If you are interested in seeing the worksheets on this please call my office and send an email to fulops@jcnj.org and I would be happy to discuss with you.?

Steven

Quote:

Thanks for posting this. Government is always frustrating but it is good to go back and look at these as a gauge of where we were

On the open space front

1) Hamilton park - renovated
2) Owen Grundy Pier - renovated
3) Hoboken JC walkway - completed
4) Paulus hook park - completed.

On the legislative side

1) booting - the mayor and I are at an impasse where I don't want to accept any first offense booting- period.

2) bedbugs - we were the first and passed the most comprehensive bill that was actually replicated at the state level.

3) pay to play - both contractor and redeveloped were passed.

On the education front

1) ethical community charter school is flourishing and our office was very involved in helping it get it's charter.

On the traffic/engineering

1) paving was and always was based on community feedback which we did

2) traffic lights - most are done but not all completed clearly with 9th and Marin being one of them

3) Newark avenue - the plan was implemented and passed. It has a several year phase in process but groundwork here and initial ordinances were passed

4) Greene street - it is re-opened

5) path - this is a heavier lift from a council seat sadly as it is something important/essential

6) Bus Shelters - happy to discuss this in more detail than a post on why delayed. Write me at fulops@jcnj.org

A press release that I sent out today....

Proposal to save millions, Streamline overlapping services;

Jersey City, NJ ? May 16th, 2011 ? Councilman Steven Fulop and Councilwoman Nidia Lopez announced today that they will be sponsoring resolutions to notify the Mayor of the City Council?s intention to consolidate certain City and County services. Specifically, the Jersey City Cultural Affairs department would be consolidated into the Hudson County Cultural Affairs department and the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation (JC EDC) would be consolidated into the Hudson County Economic Development Corporation. The resolutions are to notify the Mayor of the Council?s intent to consolidate these two city functions in advance of planning for the next budget year so the Mayor can take the appropriate steps.

?The redundancy of services between the County and City basically mean that Jersey City residents are taxed twice for the delivery of those services,? Said Councilman Fulop. ?It is time Jersey City stops putting politics first and stops budgeting with one time revenue sources. The City needs to streamline overlapping services where possible? added Fulop. Earlier this year, Councilman Fulop was the first to propose that the JCIA be rolled back into the Jersey City DPW for savings of $10MM.

Nidia Lopez stated, ?The budget cuts for the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation mean the reduction of the funding for UEZ zones and SIDs, and we have an opportunity to do what is right for the taxpayers. This will start the process so that the Mayor knows what we will and won?t fund.?

When approached about potential consolidation Freeholders O?Dea and Romano both commented on the potential benefits of eliminating redundant services before cutting essential services like police and fire. ?These are tough economic times and I think this is worth exploring. It could help the residents in Jersey City and hopefully the efficiency would be financially beneficial to the county as a whole ? O?Dea said.

The Next Council Caucus is slated for May 23rd and the next Council Meeting is May 25th

I want to close the loop with residents on Christopher Columbus. Many residents are concerned about a proposal to change Christopher Columbus Drive?s traffic pattern. It seemed to many there was a plan to eliminate parking and create additional lanes to facilitate more vehicular traffic, which from my standpoint was problematic. In the past several months we had urged many people to reach out to engineering and our office has followed up on this consistently. Because nothing had come to council for approval and paving was set to begin within the next week, we sent an email to the engineering department to get clarity and closure on the proposed plan. I am sharing with you a response from engineering which should set aside concerns.


"Councilman Fulop,

Yes, there was a new striping plan designed by our consultant Urbitran Associates for the entire stretch of CCD. However, it was prodigiously designed for a future condition based on a full build-out of Liberty Harbor North, Peter Marco?s projects, and others in the general area. Since those projects are still not completed yet, we do not expect the large traffic volume at this time; therefore, we will not implement that traffic plan until the traffic condition warrants it.

At this time, we are planning to stripe the road to match the existing traffic markings with respect to the lanes, the parking, and the Taxi stands, following the same current condition so that there will be no obvious changes. We will monitor the traffic condition after we pave and stripe CCD and if necessary, will make appropriate recommendations for further improvements at a later time. There will be no legislation needed at this time."

Many people on this board have interacted with Epps personally. Being a nice person on a 1-1 basis, saying idiotic and incorrect things, and being ineffective at ones job are three different mutually exclusive aspects. There are plenty of examples of people that are 1 of the above, 2 of the above or 3 of the above. Of course I dont agree with what he said last week at all.

I do want to respond to that as well. It is election time when you have people on jclist with 9 posts in total throwing out accusations.

1) On the Machine accusation -

a) We are 100% volunteers in this election. There is not one paid person in the campaign.

b) The candidates were selected by a committee of parents and volunteers not by me personally.

c) ask the candidates I supported last year how often I have called them even on issues that were important to me - answer is NEVER. For example on the Epps national search vote of the candidates last year (one voted yes, one votes no, one abstained). This is some control here.... I try to support the best people vetted by parents with the hope they got on the board and put residents first

2) On the fundraising -

a) we have had three different fundraisers culminated by an event last night that 250 JC RESIDENTS attended. The fundraising is a testament to the fact that they are good candidates

b) as reported in the Jersey Journal, the commercial, the literature, all designed by Jersey City residents who never want or will have anything professionally to do with the city. They did the work as an in-kind donation for the candidates because they are concerned about the schools and believe in candidates. PERIOD. I think this speaks volumes.

3) Are we organized? Yes... we are working hard to be as organized as possible with a group of volunteers. I suppose I fit the defenition of a politician, just as OneJC, just as Healy, just as the different freeholders and elected officials involved. The fact that you would think a volunteer group of activists and parents is formidable and single us out of any group, I think means that people feel if Sue,Carol, and Marvin win there will be a move away from the status quo.

respoting - The above article in today's Jersey Journal frames the importance of this election. To me it is really not about Epps at all as he is a nice guy personally, it is about putting people on the board that think big while not losing site of the small daily issues. It is about Jersey City entering the education reform conversation and setting a standard that other cities want to replicate. It is about exploring do we have the best leadership that we can today and are we doing all we can to make the city achieve what we deserve. With the performance of the schools as it is, there is no reason that any leader should be given a blanket new contract without even looking what is out there as a possibility.

The below article was printed today, the same day the Star Ledger highlighted the final two candidates that Newark is exploring to lead the schools there. These are people with gravitas and willingness to put schools first. These are people willing to come from the other side of the country to lead a school district like we have here. Jersey City should be a part of this conversation for our city with leaders who are willing to deal with tough issues. We should not accept mediocrity.

I know there are many good candidates running but I know that Marvin, Carol and Sue if on that board will have a big impact in a short period of time. There are lots of criteria for candidates and I see arguments here about who is a current parent, who has what backing, who did what at the debates all valid but in the end the one criteria that matters is who will be the best agent for progress. There are no guarantees but I know that there is risk of dividing votes here and opening the door for others - it is a real concern.

Please take some time over the next few days to learn about the candidates as this election is important. I am not asking you to trust me blindly but I do feel that Carol Marvin and Sue are the best choices and if you do research you will see why I am so passionate about their candidacy. This election does matter and has huge importance for shaping the city. I personally am passionate about this issue because getting the schools right is the backbone of impacting so many other aspects of the city from jobs, to taxes to crime. Obviously, I couldnt be sticking my neck out there further on this election and there is political risk for that but I dont regret it because the stakes are high and the opportunity for the city is great.

Please vote 2a,5a, 10a... Carol, Marvin and Sue.