S uperior Court Assignment Judge Arthur D’Italia said in a ruling Friday that the City of Hoboken had made no effort to comply with a court order to pay back $355,228 which he deemed had been improperly paid to city employees pursuant the city’s Longevity Ordinance.
On March 29, 2001, Plaintiff and City Council Candidate Helen Hirsch filed a Motion to Enforce Litigants Rights with respect to the City of Hoboken’s failure to comply with Judge D’Italia Feb. 2 order to return the payments.
The plaintiff asked the court to direct the city of Hoboken to take appropriate action to recover the illegally distributed funds no later than May 11, 2001. Hirsch also sought to have the city pay court costs and attorneys fees as a result of the plaintiff’s being forced to file the Motion to Enforce Litigant’s Rights. The matter was heard in front of the court at 9 a.m. Friday.
Judge D’Italia found that the city was not acting with reasonable dispatch and had made no serious efforts to comply with his order. The judge directed the city to file a detailed plan within 30 days of the date of the order with steps indicating how the city would collect the unlawfully distributed funds and comply with the courts February order.
D’Italia said there will be fines on the city if it does not comply. D’Italia also awarded the plaintiff attorneys fees for the cost of filing the Motion to Enforce Litigant’s Rights.
More news on 916 Garden
T wo technology firms signed pacts to complete the automated parking garage on Garden Street, which according to city officials will not open for another four or five months.
Retrotech Inc. of Victor, N.Y. outside of Rochester, has taken over the technical plans for the $6.1 million project.
Also hired to aid in the completing of the garage is GE FANUC automation corp. of Charlottesville Va., to provide technology that is needed to finish automation. GE FANUC is a joint venture between General Electric and FANUC LTD of Japan, the company that help manage mechanical systems through factory style animation options according to a company spokesman.
According to Hoboken city officials, work on the garage is expected to get underway in the next 10 days. HPA officials turned the project over to Lumberman Insurance of Lyndhurst when the project became stalled amid fighting between general contractor Belcore/Megan Group of Hackensack and subcontractor Robotic parking of Ohio, who were first assigned with installing the automation software.
According to city officials, Robotic will assist GE FANUD in getting started. If Robotic was not to help it would take several month to learn what has been done to that point.
While the extent to which Robotic will work on the garage is not known, it is known that Robotic will work on the garage at no extra cost, while Retrotech and GE FANUC will be paid by Lumberman’s.
Author of garage newsletter joins Roberts campaign
A Hoboken-based graphic designer who has put out flyers and information to Hoboken residents about the 916 Garden St. parking garage issue, often attacking the current administration, is currently a paid contractor for the campaign of mayoral candidate David Roberts.
Roberts Campaign Manager Michael Lenz confirmed last week that Jeff Faria, who has worked for the Tony Soares campaign in past years, was recently hired by the Roberts campaign to do some work as a freelance designer. But Lenz said that any information that Faria passes on to the public about the parking garage issue is of his own accord and not associated with Roberts of the Hoboken United Campaign.
Crane falls into Hudson
L ast Wednesday a 75-ton crane was driving piles in the Hudson River when the crane suddenly became unbalanced, causing a 100 foot boom to go tumbling into the river at around 11:30 in the morning while the city was working on the waterfront walkway adjacent to Sinatra Drive.
No one was hurt in the accident and the IEW Construction Group of Trenton, who owns the crane, is conducting a investigation as to what caused the accident.
Hoboken fire fighters were called to the scene to secure a small oil slick , officials said. The firefighters placed a containment boom, a long foam-floating barrier, to keep the spill from spreading further into the Hudson. Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard and the state Department of Environmental Protection were notified about the spill.
By 3 p.m. another crane was called in to recover the debris. According to officials, because of the size and weight of the boom, it had to be sawed to several pieces to facilitate the recovery. By the end of the day it was completely removed from the river.
Lyric Orchestra season finale scheduled
F or its season finale concert at Stevens Institute of Technology, The Lyric Orchestra will feature guest soloist Beatrice Long to perform Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major on Saturday May 5 at 8:00 p.m.
The 45-member orchestra, conducted by Franco Bertacci, brings together talented young musicians from more than a dozen countries. Its players, selected by audition, include a variety of top students and recent graduates from the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of music, and other institutions. Guest artists and soloists from the region are also regularly featured.
The orchestra performs its regular season at Stevens’ DeBaun Auditorium, and is the recent winner of a statewide award for historic preservation.
Tickets are $60 for patrons, $25 individual and $15 for seniors and students. For more information or to buy tickets, call the Lyric Orchestra ticket line at 217-2628 or the DeBaun Auditorium Box Office at 216-8937.