Dear Editor:
This is an open letter to Mayor Dawn Zimmer:
Dear Dawn – I recently received a brochure from you (addressed to “Current Resident”) regarding Hoboken’s “Summer Fun Calendar” that noted with pride that our city “is a vibrant urban community.” It contained the names of all the members of the City Council and seems to have been published at taxpayer expense. The poor quality of its front-page photo of you posing with a (men’s) bicycle showed that we didn’t get our money’s worth. Wasn’t the contract competitively bid? Anyway, the busy schedule of neighborhood events carried on one of our city’s great traditions, for which I thank you.
You have also been observing another of Hoboken’s great traditions: politicos are generally slow to communicate with their constituents. Last fall, if you recall, I contacted you while you were still my Fourth Ward Council representative regarding excessive noise caused by a recent party on my street and suggested that a new ordinance be enacted to limit approval of similar functions utilizing amplified music. Following your election as mayor, you replied that you had discussed the matter with Public Safety Director Alicea for action. As I informed you, a short time later, Mr. Alicea phoned to tell me that he was working on drafting such an ordinance and that he would be contacting me shortly with a suggested draft. Well, he seems to have been well indoctrinated in Hoboken’s slow-communication tradition, because he has yet to get back to me – after at least nine months! (The Hoboken Reporter recently noted that Mr. Alicea is also observant of the long tradition of Hoboken’s elected and appointed officials’ focus on bellying up to the public trough to improve their own wages and/or benefits. A local complaint alleges that Alicea may be in violation of state administrative law, pertaining to his pension and current position.) I hope that the director can straighten out this new wrinkle, get down to business, and draft a new anti-noise ordinance. I also hope that less attention will be paid to observing our town’s great traditions – especially the one that resulted in two of our last three mayors ending up behind bars.
I look forward to hearing from you and Mr. Alicea before too many more weeks and months slip by.
Respectfully,
John Glasel