It’s been a year since Mayor David Roberts stood in blazing July heat to give his inauguration speech promising changes for Hoboken. On July 1, 2001, with some of the state’s biggest Democratic politicos in attendance, Roberts pledged to preserve and produce open space, control crime, curtail big development, make City Hall more open to the public, hire and appoint the most qualified personnel, improve the parking and traffic mess, spend money efficiently and responsibly, and improve affordable housing options in the city.
It has been one year, and the results of these pledges are trickling in. Recently, Roberts sat down with the Reporter and reflected on his first 365 days in office.
"It’s been an eventful year," said Roberts, who in addition to trying to promote his agenda, had to preside over the tragedy and the aftermath of Sept. 11. "This is a job that I take very seriously and am honored to have. I believe that in our first year we have had many marked achievements that will serve the residents of Hoboken well."
In a nutshell
Before becoming mayor, Roberts served as a firefighter, the manager of East L.A. Restaurant – which his family owns – and a 16-year councilman. He won in a landslide in May of 2001 over two-term Mayor Anthony Russo, a former ally of his who on one hand brought major parks, waterfront development and street improvements to Hoboken, but was sometimes seen as an intimidating force who kept the spoils to loyalists and fought with critics.
When Roberts ran, he promised to hire the most qualified city directors, to make government more open, and to listen to the people more.
While Roberts has been slow to achieve some of his promises, Roberts’ allies say that government change takes time.
"I’m very pleased with the job that Roberts has done," said Councilman Richard Del Boccio, who also had supported Russo. "He has laid the groundwork for many good things that are going to happen. He has started the master plan process, made improvements to our parks, cleaned our streets and has been financially responsible. He has settled in and I look for good things to come in the future."
Roberts has made improving the public schools and providing new educational options a priority, and has announced educational initiatives over the past year. In addition, the City Council has selected a contractor to draw up a master plan for future development in the city, something activists were crying out for. Also, crime has dropped 16 percent in the last year.
Roberts also does not come to council meetings and get into arguments with critics, a relief to those who want to participate in city government without the perception that they might expect retribution.
But some promises have yet to be fulfilled, and there have been hastily-scheduled government meetings about major decisions. Top city positions have not been advertised, parking is still a major problem, and the municipal budget is roughly the same as before. Russo supporters, maligned for years for having a high budget, have gleefully taken the opportunity to point out such hypocrisies. Some former supporters of Roberts as well have complained about these issues.
Roberts said that he now wants to focus on changing the Parking Authority, which has caused him some headaches over the past year.
During Hoboken’s darkest hour
One delay in government change came when the Roberts administration, only two months into its term, had to face a much greater challenge: Terrorism.
On Sept. 11, Roberts had the momentous duty of leading the city’s emergency services operation and shepherding vigils and memorials in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy. Roberts has received praise for the city’s sensitive handling of the worst tragedy to ever hit the mile-square city.
The day of the tragedy, city officials and volunteers set up a triage center to provide first aid to WTC refugees coming over by the ferryload.
On the Monday following Sept. 11, the city organized a multi-denominational sunrise vigil at Pier A Park that was attended by well over 1,000 people.
In January, the city announced the members of the Hoboken September 11th Memorial Fund Committee. The 15-member panel will oversee the fundraising and selection of a "life-affirming" memorial for Pier A Park to honor the lives lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The committee hopes to decide on a memorial design within a year. They expect to raise between $250,000 and $500,000 for the project.
In regards to future safety preparation, the Hoboken Fire Department has officially launched its own Hazardous Materials Response Team, which will be based out of a firehouse at Eighth and Clinton streets. "Since Sept. 11 the Hoboken Fire Department really stepped up to the plate," said Roberts. "They are now fully HazMat certified and ready to respond to any future threat."
Open space, new parks
One of the biggest issues in the 2001 mayoral election was development – the high instance of it, and how to preserve whatever open space was left. While all development projects had been approved at public meetings, in some cases after numerous hearings, some people began to feel over the last few years that they’d had enough.
One of the areas that Roberts said that his administration has made the biggest difference is in continuing the creation of new parks and open space.
Last month, the city announced that it has received state funding for four new city parks. Roberts announced that the city has received a $50,000 federal grant from the National Park Service to construct a toddler play area in Church Square Park, located at the intersection of Fourth and Park streets.
In May, the city announced that it had received funding for three other open and recreational space projects. The projects will be financed by $1.65 million in state "Green Acres" funds. Those funds will be utilized to rehabilitate the soccer field at Sinatra Park and for the construction of two new parks – the Jackson Street Garage Park and a new skateboard park at the recently constructed waterfront Castle Point Park.
"We have received a full plate of state ‘Green Acres’ funds," said Roberts. "I’m very proud that we have this grant money coming in for our children."
Also recently, City Hall has opened discussions with the owners of Academy Bus Company that would enable the creation of up to three city blocks of open space in the city’s northwest quadrant. The discussions are still in their very early stages, but the outline of the agreement provides for city assistance to Academy Bus to build a state-of-the-art bus terminal on one city block. The community would in turn receive three city blocks, which Roberts’ administration would convert into open and recreational space.
If negotiations are successful, the new mixture of active and passive park space would be the largest single concentration of open space in the city.
Other development issues
In the past year the mayor has made appointments to the Planning and Zoning Board of people who would like to slow down big development. When variances are granted, they are thoroughly scrutinized.
The city has also begun the master plan process. The pledge of a new master plan was one of Roberts’ campaign promises during last year’s election. A master plan is a document that guides the growth, redevelopment, and enhancement of a community. Recently, the urban planning firm of Abeles Phillips, Preiss & Shapiro Inc. (APPS) signed a $270,000 contract to guide the city through the monumental processes of overhauling the Hoboken Master Plan in the next 12 to 18 months. "Finally development interests will be planned and there will be smart growth in Hoboken," said Roberts.
One project that the mayor said he supports is the recently approved Monroe Center for the Arts on the city’s west side. Last month the Planning Board approved 435 new housing units, of which 18 will be affordable live/work loft spaces for local artists and 26 more will be affordable units. The site is only steps away from the Ninth Street light rail stop that is slated to open next year.
"This is an example of a good project," said Roberts. "I’m proud of the fact that 150 local artists will still have a place to work [because some will stay in the original Monroe Center]. I’m also proud of the fact that this project will have affordable housing, plentiful open space and is located near mass transit."
One project that has caused controversy is two 17-story towers slated for 101 Marshall St., but the project had been approved after public hearings during the past administration. Despite recent opposition from several Hoboken and Jersey City citizen groups, the project is going forward. City lawyers have told city officials that filing litigation to stop the project now would be like "suing themselves."
A newly formed citizen’s group called Hudson County Alliance has filed suit against the project. Members of that group have complained that the city has not done enough to stop it.
Big plans for education
In what he hopes will be a legacy of his term in office, Mayor Roberts announced that under his guidance the city is forming the Hoboken-Stevens Partnership for Public Education. The partnership between the city and the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken will be charged with creating a new public school in town and that offers development training to local teachers. If all goes as planned, the school will open in 2004.
The mission of the Hoboken-Stevens Lab School for students in grades 6-12 is to be a world-class mathematics and science school with outstanding programs in all disciplines, using technology in innovative ways to enhance teaching and learning. The new school will be a public school with enrollment open to Hoboken students.
Some have criticized the move, however, saying that it’s being done by Stevens so that Stevens can expand its own facilities near the waterfront. Others want to make sure the school will benefit the existing public schools in Hoboken rather than just serving the highest-achieving students. Because the school will offer development training to current public school teachers, it should advance that goal.
Parking still a mess
In his first year, a tense and adversarial conflict between Roberts and the Hoboken Parking Authority began. Roberts’ term started out on the right foot when Superior Court Judge Arthur D’Italia ruled that Roberts’ appointments of Alan Cohen and Daniel DeCavaignac were legitimate and former Mayor Anthony Russo’s last minute "midnight" appointments to the HPA were not.
But Cohen and DeCavaignac, learning the thankless business of volunteering on a controversial city board, began to have differences of opinion with members of the Roberts administration and some members of the city’s business community.
The first conflict was over highly controversial changes to the city’s resident parking program. After complaints from the business community, the mayor exempted portions of the business districts from the new regulations. His own appointees blasted him for bowing to the business lobby to what they believed was the detriment of the residents.
Almost simultaneously, the HPA and the mayor got into a tussle over payments from the HPA to the city. The HPA does not pay property taxes to the city. In past years, the HPA has given money to the city in the form of gentleman’s agreements, and that money was used to plug city budget gaps.
But this year, because of the troubles at the delayed automated garage at 916 Garden St. and the construction costs of the St. Mary Hospital garage, the HPA is cash-poor.
The mayor’s appointees yelled the loudest and said that the money just wasn’t there to give the city. This created a $1.5 million hole in the city’s budget. In a last minute move, at a hastily-scheduled meeting, the HPA agreed to purchase an uptown parking lot from the city for $1.5 million. The city filled the hole in its budget but, according to several HPA officials, the agency does not know where it is going to get the money to pay for the land acquisition and may have to go out to bond.
Disagreements over the city’s parking agenda have caused Cohen and DeCavaignac to resign from the HPA less than a year after being appointed to the Authority.
Now as Roberts enters his second year the HPA’s leadership is in shambles and no one knows what is going to happen at the controversial garage site at 916 Garden St. Last month, the mayor launched his own investigation into the problems at the garage.
Despite lots of grumbling and arguing, very few new parking spaces have been created in the past year, nor has a public initiative been announced to create perimeter parking, an idea extolled during the Roberts campaign.
Roberts said recently that one of his goals for the next year is to focus on the retooling the HPA, long a subject of criticism.
"In the next year, it is my plan to revamp the Parking Authority," said Roberts. "There will be demonstrative changes in [the HPA’s] administration and the way it operates."
He added that by the end of next year the HPA might look very different. "Bringing the Parking Authority into a parking, traffic and transportation division of the city is a much better administrative model," he said. "Right now the Parking Authority is an autonomous agency that seems to be malfunctioning and has lost the public’s trust."
Appointments and hiring
Roberts’ appointments to autonomous boards have been a mixed bag.
The appointments of Kim Fox, Councilwoman Carol Marsh and Cassandra Wilday to the Planning Board have expedited the master plan process and have propelled the mayor’s agenda when it comes to development issues.
The Hoboken Parking Authority and the Hoboken Housing Authority, on the other hand, have been disastrous for the mayor.
Both of Roberts’ appointments to the Parking Authority have quit and have publicly criticized the mayor. At the Housing Authority, his appointee Lynda Walker is now a political adversary and in stark defiance of the mayor, voted to extend Executive Director Troy Washington’s five-year contract last year. Roberts’ allies believe Washington is not making changes in the federally-subsidized housing projects fast enough, while Washington says he is tired of the projects being used in political debates.
The good news for the mayor is that with the recent appointment of Councilman Ruben Ramos to the HHA’s board, Roberts finally has a majority on that board. Roberts said he expects big changes in the next year at the HHA.
When it comes to whom the city has hired, it has not been all clear sailing either.
During his inauguration address Roberts said that all new hires would be made on the basis of experience and performance, not political bias.
Esther Suarez, was hired to be the city’s top attorney. Many of Roberts’ political opponents cried foul because Suarez was only four years out of law school and came to the city via the politically-connected Secaucus-based law firm of Scarinci and Hollenbeck. Scarinci and Hollenbeck is one of the most powerful legal firms in Hudson County. One of the firm’s partners is Donald Scarinci, a close personal friend and political ally of Rep. Robert Menendez (D-13th Dist.). Menendez is also a close political ally of Roberts.
The issue of political hirings has also recently reared its head the Board of Education where the board doled out contracts to six politically connected firms, including Scarinci and Hollenbeck. This was on the same night that the board was informed that there is a $900,000 budget gap that it must fill. But Roberts said the criticism is unwarranted – he said that the total amount of the new contracts is less than what was spent the year before by the firms that were politically aligned to Russo.
One of Roberts’ top appointees, Business Administrator Laurie Cotter, was not a political appointment. She had been the business administrator of Jersey City. But last week, it became apparent that Roberts might replace her in the near future with Russo’s former director of human services, the politically connected Robert Drasheff.
"Where the mayor has failed greatly is in his promise to advertise for jobs to include the public and hire people on the basis of experience and not on their politics," said Council President Tony Soares, who has had an on-again, off-again alliance with Roberts of late. "He has not run a single ad on the League of Municipalities website. Kearny advertises on the website. Their CFO and business administrator come from out of town. When we ran, we had a piece, ‘What we’ll do.’ We haven’t done a single thing in there. There’s no new parking, no shuttles, we’re relying heavily on one-shot revenue sources, and too much time is being spent negotiating jobs and promotions for people so that he gets their votes in other areas."
Affordable housing
During his inauguration speech, Roberts said that the Hoboken Housing Authority would be a major focus. During last year’s election, the city’s 4th Ward, where the majority of the city’s low-income units are, came in big for Roberts. That was a place that for years had been ignored and had always been expected to vote for Russo and his allies.
"We will concentrate on families," said Roberts in his inauguration speech. "We will review and revise our affordable housing policies to ensure that families who need access to affordable housing receive it."
Roberts said that one of his goals for next year is to focus on the conditions at the Housing Authority. "I have a great desire to improve the affordable housing standards in terms of cleanliness and accountability," said Roberts recently. "I want to make sure that families are treated properly."
There is supposed to be moderate income housing, in limited amounts, in a development project at 720 Monroe St. and at a development planned during the last administration for the northwest quadrant of town. But with rents way up, some families still can’t afford to stay in Hoboken. One woman who was nearly homeless last year spoke out for an article in this newspaper and was subsequently helped by Roberts and state officials, who stepped in to get her a housing voucher and an apartment.
Money matters
On his first day in office, Roberts ordered that all cars formerly given to city directors for their 24-hour use be returned to the central vehicle pool. Additionally, the city has initiated policies to reduce overtime. According to payroll figures provided by the city’s director of finance, Kathy Stack, the city has cut overtime by $186,000. Roberts said that it would have been much more, but the city spent $272,000 on Sept. 11 overtime, of which only $86,000 has been reimbursed by the federal government.
That overtime figure takes into account all police and other departments’ overtime, Roberts said.
Stack also claims that the city has saved almost $622,000 in legal fees as compared to Mayor Russo’s last year in office, and has saved $455,000 on accounting fees.
"I think these figures are proof that we are running a tight ship," said Roberts.
Office of Constituent Affairs opens
In February, the city opened up the office of Constituent Affairs. In its first three months the office has received more than 3,500 phone inquiries, as well as over 1,000 walk-in inquiries from city residents, according to the department’s three-month report.
The most common inquiry at the new office concerns tenant/landlord questions. This is probably because the city’s long-time tenant advocate, Tom Olivieri, retired this year and has not been replaced. People seeking help from City Hall can call (201) 420-2222.