Saying he is leaving the city in good shape, Bayonne resident and Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA) Chairman Howard Fitch is stepping down, after overseeing the redevelopment plans for the former Military Ocean Terminal that began when the city took over the property in 2002.
“I have served many years with the city of Bayonne and several organizations and I was very proud to be appointed to this board,” he said at the conclusion of the BLRA’s Aug. 19 meeting.
Although the project has taken a different direction than what the original master plan called for with the sale of the land to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, he believed the board has done an outstanding job.
“The job has changed because of the circumstances of our financial community,” he said. “This piece of land – the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor – had a plan to develop homes and businesses, and that master plan was a good one at the time. We tried to stay within its framework.”
But the economic environment changed, forcing the BLRA to make new arrangements for the development of the former base. He said as chairman he was glad to have been part of the process, but after 35 years of volunteer service to the Bayonne community, he has decided to step down.
“I have served many years with the city of Bayonne and several organizations, and I was very proud to be appointed to this board.” – Howard Fitch
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Fitch entered public service in 1976, when he volunteered to serve on the Educational Task Force for the Bayonne Board of Education, tackling, in particular, issues of segregation. He also served on the Bayonne Zoning Board of Adjustment for 17 years as member, vice-chair and eventually chairman.
A member and past president of the Bayonne chapter of the NAACP, Fitch also served on the board of trustees for Bayonne Medical Center. In addition, he also served on the men’s usher board at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. A one-time civilian employee at the former Military Ocean Terminal that he would later oversee as chairman of the BLRA, Fitch served as deputy director of sales for corporate accounts of the New Jersey State Lottery. He is a graduate of St. Peter’s College with a degree in business.
BLRA sends $33 million to fill municipal budget hole
At the meeting, the BLRA commissioners voted to transfer $33 million to the city of Bayonne from the $40 million the authority received for the sale of land to the Port Authority.
The money will be used to fill a gap in the 2009-2010 municipal budget which ended on June 30. The city, in anticipation of these revenues, was granted an extension from the state to balance its $134 million budget.
In July, the BLRA sold three sections of the former Military Ocean Terminal to the Port Authority for $235 million, to be paid over 24 years.
Discussions underway to move 9/11 monument
BLRA Executive Director Chris Patella said talks about the relocation of the 9/11 monument are still underway.
As part of the deal that resulted in the sale of the three districts of MOTBY to the Port Authority, the fate of the 100-foot monument is still undecided, although several residents have started petitions to keep the monument in its current location at the northeast tip of the peninsula.
Patella, however, said the monument will be moved, but did not know where, and could not say if it would be relocated on the peninsula or elsewhere.
“We just don’t know yet,” he said, but noted that tenants who rented property in the area owned by the Port Authority are also being removed.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.