JC man stabbed to death in apartment; city’s 10th homicide
Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said on Friday that Manuel Reyes Sr., 48, of Van Wagenen and Pavonia avenues, was pronounced dead at his home at 9:40 p.m.
DeFazio said Reyes was found by a relative in the doorway of his apartment, stabbed in his neck, shoulders, arms, and torso. DeFazio said investigators found no signs of forced entry, but did recover a knife at the scene that may be the murder weapon.
DeFazio said an arrest in the case is forthcoming, since the suspect may have known the victim.
Reyes’ death is the 10th homicide in Jersey City so far this year.
Anyone with information can call the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office’s Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.
City passes budget 10 months late; slight tax increase
The City Council at a special meeting on Thursday approved the $474 million municipal budget, 10 months into the fiscal year (which runs from July 1, 2008 to June 30 this year). The budget is up $10.1 million from last year’s $463.9 million budget.
The owner of $100,000 in property would only see an increase of $3 per year from the next tax rate.
Business Administrator Brian O’Reilly, during the special meeting, said the impact of the budget will not cost the city’s taxpayers much. The municipal tax rate goes up by three cents for every $1,000 of property owned, or from $25.39 to $25.42. That means an owner of a property assessed at $100,000 would pay $2,542 in city taxes, only $3 more than last year. (That person would also pay an amount to the schools and county).
O’Reilly and other city employees who worked on the budget were congratulated by the City Council for their work, bringing in a budget that did not see sizable tax increases like in other Hudson County towns such as Hoboken and West New York.
But not everyone offered praise. Longtime Downtown resident and frequent council critic Yvonne Balcer blasted the city for its late budget, asking why it wasn’t introduced sooner, and noted that it was $26 million short of being a half-billion dollar budget.
O’Reilly and City Clerk Robert Byrne defended the lateness, saying that grants and other revenues needed to make up the $10 million shortfall were not available when the budget was introduced in February. Also, the city had to wait on state legislation to be passed allowing municipalities to defer 50 percent of their pension payments to the state for this fiscal year. That allowed Jersey City to defer $14.8 million, which must be paid over the next 15 years starting next year, at 8.25 per cent interest.
Menendez at Ellis Island announcement; Liberty crown reopens July 4
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) along with Rep. Albio Sires (D-13th Dist.) joined Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at Ellis Island, where Salazar announced that the Statue of Liberty crown will be reopened on July 4.
“On July 4th, we are giving America a special gift,” Salazar said. “We are once again inviting the public to celebrate our great nation and the hope and opportunity it symbolizes by climbing to Lady Liberty’s crown for a unique view of New York Harbor, where the forbearers of millions of American families first saw the new world.”
The crown was closed in 2001, just after the 9/11 attacks, at the order of former President George W. Bush. Access to the crown will be limited to 10 people at a time, guided by a National Park Service ranger.
The official address of the Statue of Liberty is 1 Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City.
Menendez, at the announcement, commented on the opening of the crown.
“For years I’ve helped lead the effort to once again allow the public to visit Lady Liberty’s crown,” Menendez said. “The Bush Administration didn’t listen. The Obama Administration did.”
Also announced was the Department of the Interior’s investment of $25 million under President Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan to stabilize the Baggage and Dormitory Building at Ellis Island. The building was erected in 1908 to house immigrants waiting for further processing. The money will also go to repair 2,000 feet of the island’s crumbling seawall.
Ellis Island is partially located in Jersey City.
New park on old PJP site
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, members of the Municipal Council, and the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were at a press conference on Wednesday at the site of the future Marion Greenway Park, a 32-acre waterfront park at the foot of Broadway on the west side of Jersey City. It is located not far from the site of the 900,000 square foot AMB Warehouse.
Port Authority officials announced they will contribute $4 million from their Hudson-Raritan Estuary Resources Program, which accounts for nearly one third of the acquisition cost for the park property, a former Superfund site. The location was once the site of the 87 acre PJP Landfill.
The Marion Greenway Park will include two soccer fields; an artificial surface soccer drill/practice area; a 1,300 linear foot extension of the Hackensack River Walkway; a great open lawn to be available as fair grounds on the water; and a mile jogging/walking path that will surround passive space vegetated with trees and wildflowers.
Remediation will commence next spring and is expected to be completed by the fall. The city will acquire the property for the park for $12.4 million from current owner Edwin Siegel, which will be paid over three years, enabling the city to obtain most of the acquisition funds from grants like the one from the Port Authority.
Annual ‘Meetball’ was also political meet-and-greet
Jersey City’s Van Vorst Park Neighborhood Association held their 34th annual Meetball event at St. Peter’s Prep High School last Saturday.
The event is a fundraiser for the Van Vorst Park Association (VVPA), with money going back into community-related activities. Van Vorst Park is located in downtown Jersey City between Montgomery and York streets.
There were over 200 people present, many of them young families, enjoying a variety of food from downtown restaurants such as Ox and Edward’s Steak House and live music by the band Cornucopia.
The Meetball was also a good place for those running in the Jersey City municipal election to greet potential voters.
That was the case for Mayor Jerramiah Healy and mayoral contenders Louis Manzo and Dan Levin, all in attendance. Also at the event was Downtown City Councilman Steven Fulop, who got the loudest applause when candidates were acknowleged by VVPA president Anthony Sandkamp, and other council candidates from the Manzo, Healy and Levin teams as well as L. Harvey Smith’s team.
Healy sang (by invitation) his version of Frank Sinatra’s “Summer Wind.”
Friends of Liberty State Park hold annual luncheon
The Friends of Liberty State Park, the volunteer group that for 20 years has fought to preserve the park as open space, held their annual luncheon last Sunday at the Liberty House Restaurant located inside the park.
About 100 people attended the event including Mayor Jerramiah Healy and mayoral candidate Louis Manzo.
Honored at the luncheon were the following recipients: Dr. Frank Gallagher, Lisa Simms, Michel Cullerier, Eliza Wright, Gary Miller, Raaj Ethiraj, Joseph and Zita Gilmartin, and Mike Ruscigno and Pat Hilliard.
Celebrate Dominican pride on Mother’s Day
The Jersey City Juan Pablo Duarte Dominican Parade Committee will hold its Mother’s Day Brunch for Sunday May 10, at the Dante Alighieri Society, 562 Summit Ave. in Jersey City. The event will run from 1 to 5 p.m. The brunch is a fundraiser for the committee’s future activities. At the brunch, members of the Juan Pablo Duarte Parade Committee along with several Dominican Community leaders will be introduced to the public. Tickets are $35 and can be obtained by calling Greg Malave at (201) 284-8312.