The City Council voted to finalize Hoboken’s permanent 9/11 memorial design, opposed the proposed gas pipeline that will skirt the city’s southern border, and continued a debate about taxes at their last scheduled meeting before the Nov. 2 election will determine the balance of power on the governing body.
In a meeting on Wednesday night, the council also celebrated the fact that Hoboken is no longer under state supervision for previous financial missteps.
Hoboken lost 57 residents on Sept. 11, 2001. The proposed memorial in Pier A Park will be oriented toward the former World Trade Center site, and will feature two symmetrical, semicircular platforms, each one and a half feet high, to be representative of the twin towers. The memorial will be completely ADA accessible.
Because of the efforts of Fire Chief Richard Blohm, the memorial will incorporate a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.
“We are within the blast zone. I wanted to do a preemptive moratorium, because if Jersey City is saying no, Bayonne is saying no, we could be targeted next.” – Councilwoman Theresa Castellano
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Sandy O’Connor, whose husband Keith passed away on Sept. 11, thanked the council and the city for their support, and for moving forward with the permanent memorial.
“It is the only tangible place to go for those who don’t have remains, and that’s half of the World Trade Center families,” O’Connor said.
The city is hopeful that the memorial will be complete by the ten year anniversary.
A public hearing to discuss the memorial is scheduled for Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. in the basement conference room of City Hall.
Council: We don’t want the pipeline either
Councilwoman Theresa Castellano offered a resolution to “impose a moratorium on any and all discussions, proposal, or installation” of the proposed natural gas pipeline, which, in its current form, would run alongside the southern border of Hoboken.
“We are within the blast zone,” Castellano said. “I wanted to do a preemptive moratorium, because if Jersey City is saying no, Bayonne is saying no, we could be targeted next.”
Corporation Counsel Mark Tabakin said that the council can’t put a moratorium on “discussion,” and Castellano said she would be willing to amend the resolution just so it makes clear that Hoboken does not want this pipeline.
Zimmer has previously opposed the pipeline, along with Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City and Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith. Last week, 4th Ward Council Candidate Tim Occhipinti held a public meeting about the issue, and invited the founders of NoGasPipeline.org to discuss the potential dangers that those in the blast zone would face if a disaster occurred.
The proposed pipeline would travel near the NJ Transit Terminal. The “blast zone” runs parallel with First Street in Hoboken, according to No Gas Pipeline.
The City Council voted 8-0 in support of the resolution.
Politricks?
Councilman Michael Russo produced county documents that he said show the computed municipal tax rate for 2010 is higher than it was in 2009.
“I am sick and tired of the lying and the ‘politricking’ from the mayor, her majority on this council, and most certainly the chairman of the finance committee, Mr. Lenz,” Russo said. “We get lied to constantly; the numbers don’t lie.”
Russo produced a document that he said shows the “rounded tax rate” in 2009 for municipal purposes was 1.9, and rose in 2010 to 2.02. The document, signed by county officials, showed that the net taxes raised in 2009 were $58 million, and in 2010, will be $61 million. Russo said this is a gain of 4 percent, not a decrease in municipal taxes by 5 percent, as the mayor and her council majority allies have claimed. Lenz, one of those allies, contested the statement.
Lenz said the previous fiscal monitor lowered taxes, but didn’t cut spending.
“In order to keep taxes stable, [the taxes] actually went up in the second half [of 2009]” Lenz said. “Councilman Russo knows these things, but he’s trying to trick people.”
Lenz insists that taxes are going down. Hoboken taxpayers will see for themselves when the bill is in the mail.
Councilman Nino Giacchi asked if a third party, such as the business administrator, could make a decision on whether or not taxes have gone down. It was decided that City Auditor Steve Wielkotz would judge the statements put forth by both candidates.
On Thursday, the City Auditor agreed with Lenz’s description of the tax situation.
“The municipal tax levy has been reduced by 5.7 percent,” according to a city release, confirmed by Wielkotz. “…the City is changing from a Fiscal year to a Calendar year. Until that change is complete, calculations based on Calendar years may be misleading due to the fact that taxes are not always collected evenly throughout the year.”
Russo responded on Friday morning.
“All the general population has to do is open their tax bill and compare it to last year,” Russo said. “The proof is in the pudding.”
Attorneys approved
Three of the four law firms the administration wants to retain for outside legal work were approved by the council following a nearly hour-long discussion. The resolution was originally written for the council to vote on all four firms together, but was later split up into separate votes.
“We’re being asked to vote on four firms,” Russo said. “We need to vote on these individually. It doesn’t make sense to me, and I can’t support this in its current form.”
The firms presented for outside counsel were Chesan, Leyner, & Lamparello, Florio & Kenny, Weiner & Lesniak, and Inglesino, Pearlman, Wyciskala & Taylor. The first three were approved for special counsel. The fourth firm was the only one to respond to requests for bond council, and was voted down 5-3.
Councilman Peter Cunningham voted against Ingelsino, Pearlman, Wyciskala & Taylor, but said the council needed to approve Weiner & Lesniak because of the litigation regarding the municipal garage.
Lenz supported the resolution, and said that the council “should not be tying the city’s hands behind its back.”
Castellano said the city put itself in a difficult situation in the first place by “defaulting” on the sale of the municipal garage to S. Hekemian Group, which caused an uproar by some members of the council who said they have to be careful with their language due to pending litigation.
The city will now be able to hire the three firms as necessary.
Meeting doubled as a birthday party
The first item on the agenda was a proclamation for longtime council commentator Helen Hirsch, who will celebrate her 90th birthday on Oct. 26.
Forbes read a proclamation saying Hirsch “sets an example for other residents on the importance of citizen participation,” and is “dedicated to making Hoboken a better community.”
The crowd and council then sang “Happy Birthday” to Hirsch, who said, “I’m finally speechless.”
Hirsch wasn’t the only one in the chambers celebrating a birthday. Councilwoman Beth Mason also celebrated a much younger birthday on Wednesday evening.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Nov. 3.
Ray Smith can be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com.