When the year 2007 began, Joseph Doria was still the mayor of Bayonne and the state senator for the area, and by all indications, he seemed destined to remain both.
But after a few months, Doria informed the public that he would not seek re-election as state senator in that year’s election. And by October, Doria announced his resignation as mayor, taking up a cabinet post as commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs, one of the post powerful positions in Gov. Jon Corzine’s administration.
Council President Vincent Lo Re became the acting mayor until the City Council voted for Terrance Malloy to serve as interim mayor until an election can be held in November, 2008.
The change in government was only one of many important changes this year in Bayonne.
The hospital had its ups and downs, and the city moved forward to choose developers for the former military base on the waterfront.
Hospital in recovery
The year began with good news and bad news for Bayonne Medical Center. Although some of those involved with BMC managed to purchase the lucrative St. Vincent’s Hospital in Staten Island, BMC showed signs that it was on the verge of collapse.
A report issued in early February revealed that the financial problems at BMC were even more serious than first imagined.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Daniel Kane, the Board of Trustees, city officials, and other interested parties, including members of the hospital’s union, tried to cobble together a rescue effort, even going so far as to forge a deal with the Hudson County Improvement Authority for the sale of the hospital garage.
But a credit line necessary for the hospital to continue operating fell through, and the board filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July.
During an internal restructuring of the hospital, the hospital board saw the resignation of the chairman of its board of trustees, Herman Brockman, who was replaced by Ruth Dugan. The changes also gave many of the critics a more substantial voice in the decision-making at the hospital, although the hospital came perilous close to being shut down by the bankruptcy court in October.
City Council members Gary LaPelusa and Anthony Chiappone helped put together a $6 million financial Band-Aid that kept the hospital financially solvent until IKJG, a medical service company, could close on its purchase of the hospital by the year’s end.
Budget problems
In this year and the previous year, the city hoped to close gaps in its municipal budget with money from developers for land deals. After all, the city is seeking developers to buy and build on waterfront land at the former Military Ocean Terminal of Bayonne (MOTBY). The property has been divided into six portions and will eventually be redeveloped into the residential “Peninsula” development.
In June 2006, H. R. Horton had backed out of a land deal, plunging city into a budget crisis that was resolved in a late-year land deal with another company to make up the loss of revenue.
However, as the year progressed, the BLRA was unable to come to an agreement in time to fund the past year’s budget debt, making prospects grim for the new 2007-2008 budget.
Thus, the city went into the new fiscal year $23 million in the red.
In September, the BLRA, which has been the money-engine for supplying needed revenue to the city for the last year, brokered a last minute deal with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the sale of 92 acres of the MOTBY. This would inject $25 million into the city’s new budget, running from July, 2007 through June, 2008.
While the deal would help solve fiscal woes, numerous critics blasted the BLRA for the apparently secrecy in which the deal was done, and for not seeking out more (and possibly higher) bids.
Some believed the BLRA acted quickly in order to solve the budget problems so that Doria could move to his new state position without leaving the city in a fiscal disaster.
The City Council voted to dissolve the BLRA, but relented when the BLRA agreed to examine other proposals for the land sale. A legal loophole allowed the BLRA to void the vote that approved the Port Authority deal – causing the Port Authority to recently file a lawsuit against the city. The BLRA then moved to approve a new deal with a company called PortsAmerica for $90 million.
Unfortunately for the city, advocates for the development of a container port at the site stirred up the interest of the United States Army, which issued a letter of restraint, preventing the city from using the $90 million from the land deal in its budget.
By the year’s end, city officials hoped to convince the Army to release the funds, thus putting the city in reasonable fiscal shape going into 2008.
Redevelopment agency sees changes
The membership of the BLRA also changed, as Council President Vincent Lo Re and Councilman John Hallecky stepped down. Interim Mayor Malloy appointed with council consent, councilmen Ted Connolly and Anthony Chiappone to take their place.
In what came as a shock to many, BLRA Executive Director Nancy Kist resigned. The city was expected to name Joseph Nichols, the current city tax assessor, to take her place.
The municipal budget battle began early in 2007. Chiappone and LaPelusa fought for budget cuts in order to avoid a further crisis, and resisted passing the municipal budget based on the presumption the city would receive the necessary revenue from sale of land.
Their worst fears came true in June, which perhaps led to significant a move to make cuts earlier in the new budget year. As a result, the city laid off more than 70 people by years end.
Development progress
Although development at the MOTBY temporarily stalled in 2007, other developments showed signs of life. In February, Kaplan Industries signed an agreement with the BLRA to redevelop the long-vacant 76-acre site near the base of the Bayonne Bridge on Avenue A and West First Street. Although detailed plans have not yet been proposed, Kaplan would likely begin construction on the $500 million project at some point in 2008, starting at the westerly most portion of the property.
The redevelopment calls for more than 1,300 residential units made up of stacked townhouses and multifamily condos, and rental buildings ranging from five to seven stories.
Also part of the proposal is 150,000 square feet of retail space, 180,000 square feet of offices, parking decks with a total of 4,200 spaces, a marina, a public fishing pier, and 7 acres of parks.
Kaplan also began to market its Waterford at Bayonne development a few blocks from the former Texaco site, on Kennedy Boulevard and Second Street. The 84-unit complex is being constructed in two phases on a 1-acre site that used to house a bus terminal.
Developer Baker Residential completed the second of three projects in Bayonne in 2007 and began work on the third. In 2006, the Baker put the finishing touches Boatworks near Eighth Street and Avenue A, and finished early this year the 31-year-old Bay Harbor Club, a four-story condominium project on West 30th Street.
This year, Baker broke ground on a new four-story, 160-unit complex with an underground parking garage at a site near W. 54th Street and Newark Bay.
Also positive news for Bayonne businesses is the new “big box” mall that cleared its final environmental hurdles in 2007 and will break ground just after the first of the year. The mall will be located near New Hook Road and Route 440 and will feature of Lowe’s home improvement store and a Circuit City entertainment store.
When fully occupied, the mall is expected to generate almost 900 jobs and $1.5 million in Urban Enterprise Zone revenue.
Perhaps one of the most symbolic losses in 2007 was the closing of Irwin’s Discount Department Store on Broadway after 50 years in business, and the sudden forced demolition of the building after contractors started work to remodel the structure.
In the schools
The issue of whether or not the school district could require public school students to wear uniforms was finally settled as the state Department of Education backed the policy. But federal court also sided with students’ right to wear protest buttons that included a picture of the “Hitler Youth.”
The Bayonne school district also received some negative notoriety when Valedictorian Jeremy Jerschina was asked to remove a prayer from his graduation speech in June.
Perhaps the most monumental moment was the opening of the first new school since the early 1990s, with the unveiling of P.S. No 14, which opened later than expected. It saw students scrambling through its halls in early October.
While the opening of the new school helped handle increasing student populations, the district must now plan for a deluge of students from closing Catholic elementary schools. Four local parochial schools announced they would be consolidating into one school, leaving the remaining students to be absorbed into the public school system in 2008.
Over the summer, Bayonne High School became the set for a movie featuring Bruce Willis. The film called “The Sophomore” also made use of city streets and filmed on the same block near the Bayonne Bridge where Steven Spielberg filmed War of the Worlds two years ago.
Fires
Several fires left families homeless and one person dead during a year in which the city is reviewing its public safety programs. One man died in a fire on West 11th Street, in a building where illegal apartments had been built. By the end of the year, the city faced a lawsuit over the incident.