Clarification
The following are names that were left off the Principal’s List that was published for All Saints Catholic Academy for grade 5A: Dave Vovor and Kaitlin Weaver.
Patella joins Florio & Kenny
Hoboken-based law firm Florio & Kenny LLP has announced that it has taken on Bayonne attorney Christopher Patella as a counsel to the firm, concentrating his talents in white collar defense work, appellate court proceedings, corporate internal investigations and compliance programs, government investigations, and attorney ethics.
Currently the executive director of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority, Patella is a former assistant city attorney for the City of Bayonne. Currently, Florio & Kenny represents the Bayonne Parking Authority.
Former bank executive goes to trial
Brian Campbell, the former managing director of Bayonne-based Pamrapo Savings Bank’s investment company who has been charged with allegedly diverting and embezzling more than $600,000, is scheduled to begin trial on March 8 at federal court in Newark.
Campbell, 41, of Bayonne, was charged last June in a 54-count Indictment with mail fraud and money laundering.
Campbell was the managing director and an employee of Pamrapo Service Corporation, headquartered in Bayonne. The now-defunct Service Corporation was the investment subsidiary of Pamrapo Savings Bank S.L.A., a savings and loan holding company. The corporation provided securities and investment services – such as the sale of stocks and bonds, mutual funds, annuities, various types of insurance policies, and other money management services – to clients for a fee. In addition, the Service Corporation offered insurance products, including variable insurance and annuity products, by and through insurance companies.
Campbell is being accused of diverting money to himself that was supposed to go to the bank’s service corporation as part of securities transactions, such as the purchase, sale, and transfer of stocks.
Van fire on West 18th Street
Fire officials are investigating the engine compartment of a van as the possible source of a fire at a commercial garage at 9 W. 18th Street on Feb. 22.
Firefighters responded to an alarm at about 2:43 a.m. to find smoke billowing out from the front of the two-story structure.
Firefighters forced entry into the garage, and advanced hose lines to extinguish a van on fire. Flames extended beyond the vehicle, causing some damage to the roof, said Fire Chief Greg Rogers.
“A contractor reportedly used the garage for the storage of equipment and for office space,” Rogers said. “The fire was declared under control within 15 minutes.”
Is Hoboken hospital being resold again?
The rumor mill has been buzzing over the last few days about a strange ad that’s up on the internet. It seems to offer a hospital building for a “long term” sale and leaseback to the original owners for $90 million.
The offer can be found here: http://grubbellis.invision.mindmatrix.net//public/eViewPublic.aspx?cID=53169&eID=c5455376-475e-4869-800b-5e189a4183d2
The strange part? Some of the information pertains to Bayonne Medical Center, where – it was revealed last week – the building was quietly sold to an investor who will lease it back. But there is also information describing Hoboken University Medical Center, which the city is in the process of negotiating to sell to some of the co-owners of the Bayonne hospital.
For instance, the ad states, “This hospital is the oldest continuing hospital in New Jersey, founded in 1863.”
The information could simply be referring to the fact that the owners of BMC are using a future asset (Hoboken’s hospital) to guarantee their financial stability, but the online ad is nebulous.
Cunningham law encourages banks to invest in poor areas
Legislation sponsored by Senator Sandra Bolden Cunningham to use incentives to encourage banks to operate in traditionally underserved areas – which can be considered financially unattractive to the institutions – has been signed into law by Governor Chris Christie.
The legislation was crafted after the sudden closure last year of a Bank of America branch in Jersey City, which left residents – many who walked or took public transportation to perform banking needs – without access to a local, established financial institution. The HUB shopping center on Martin Luther King Drive, where the branch was located, was apparently considered undesirable by the company.
“Losing a local bank can be extremely detrimental to a community,” said Cunningham. “Often times, residents are forced to use check cashing stores, which charge exorbitant fees for basic banking services, and businesses are left with nowhere to turn for one-on-one support for their financial needs. This law will give banks a reason to stay in underserved areas to provide the critical banking services that should be available in all communities.”
The goal of the legislation (S-2286), “The Banking Development District Act,” is to incentivize banks to locate in low-income areas, where they often do not enter because the neighborhoods do not have enough money to make the locations as financially attractive as others. To do this, the legislation would establish, within the Department of Banking and Insurance, a Banking Development District Program to create a banking district in communities with few or no financial institutions. Banks within the district would be eligible to hold State Treasury funds, and municipalities, by resolution, would be permitted to select a depository within the banking district to hold its municipal deposits. Ultimately, this would help to boost the profitability of the branches.
“Many New Jerseyans take their local bank for granted,” said Cunningham. “For others, their financial choices are limited to check-cashing storefronts or banks located far from their homes. Not only should we be promoting sound financial practices among all residents, but these new banks can create new job opportunities in the communities where they locate.”
ABC-TV donates smoke detectors
Low income residents of northern and central New Jersey will be eligible to receive smoke detectors thanks to the donation of 15,000 smoke detectors by WABC-TV Channel 7.
The Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Division of Fire Safety will receive approximately 15,000 smoke detectors from WABC-TV, Channel 7 in New York City as part of the television station’s 13th annual Operation 7: Save a Life campaign. The division will help distribute the free smoke alarms to eligible residents in the station’s viewing area, which includes North Jersey and much of Central Jersey.
“We want all New Jersey residents to be properly equipped with devices that can help save lives,” said DCA Commissioner Lori Grifa. “ABC Channel 7’s campaign and the distribution of these smoke detectors will assist lower-income households in particular, and will go a long way towards protecting individuals and families from the dangers of fire.”
After receiving the smoke detectors, the Division of Fire Safety will send a notice to fire departments via email, and those departments that choose to participate can come and pick up the detectors. Local firefighters will then hand out the detectors to residents, specifically focusing on senior citizens, lower-income residents, and those households with children.
“This outreach campaign is one of the most effective fire safety education and prevention programs in which the Division of Fire Safety is involved,” said State Fire Marshal and Division of Fire Safety Director Lawrence Petrillo.
Operation 7: Save a Life seeks to increase public awareness about fire safety and prevention and focuses on how to prepare for and handle emergency situations. The campaign has helped distribute hundreds of thousands of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to individuals who otherwise couldn’t afford them. WPVI-TV, Channel 6 – the ABC-affiliated station in Philadelphia – does a similar campaign for communities south of Burlington County.
Since its inception in 1999, Operation 7: Save a Life has distributed more than 615,000 smoke detectors. The smoke detectors are donated by Kidde.