Artists’ Studio Tour Nov. 5 and 6; check pullout in this edition
The Hoboken Artists’ Studio Tour will be celebrated once again this upcoming weekend.
The citywide tour allows enthusiasts, residents, and visitors to visit dozens of artists’ personal studios. Exhibits are held in other locations around town as well. The event, taking place Nov. 5 and 6 from noon to 6 p.m., is free.
The event is co-sponsored by The Hudson Reporter.
Maps for the self-guided tour are in the pullout section of this newspaper and will be available at City Hall.
For a history of the event and what’s new this year, also check last week’s Hoboken Reporter cover story in the print edition or at HudsonReporter.com under Hoboken news.
City can’t pay its legal fees
The city will not be able to pay attorney’s fees after an emergency appropriation failed to garner six votes in a Tuesday night special City Council meeting. The emergency appropriation called for the approval of $700,000 in funds for special attorneys, but the measure received only five votes, not the 2/3 vote of the nine-member council necessary for an emergency appropriation. Like many other agenda items in Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s five allies voted in favor of the resolution, while her four council foes voted against it.
The resolution would have almost doubled the amount of money the city has spent on special counsel over the current year. However, the city has been involved with complicated bankruptcy litigation over the sale of Hoboken University Medical Center, as well as litigation surrounding rent control in the city, which are the reasons given on the meeting agenda as to why the emergency appropriation is necessary.
The result will be that attorneys for the city will not be paid, and could stop doing their work, according to officials. The appropriation will likely appear on a future agenda.
Traffic rerouted near 14th Street Viaduct due to construction
As part of the county’s construction on (and under) the 14th Street Viaduct in Hoboken, cars will temporarily be unable to turn left from Willow Avenue onto the viaduct to go westbound. The viaduct leads up to Jersey City Heights and Union City from uptown Hoboken. A detour has been provided.
As part of the construction, the road will eventually see major upgrades and the area underneath the viaduct will be transformed into recreation space. The viaduct will remain open throughout the construction process.
Police unions to hold ‘Project Cops Care’ fundraiser on Nov. 5
Hoboken’s Police Superior Officers Association and Police Benevolent Association will host the 4th Annual Hoboken PBA Comedy and Tricky Tray Multi-Charity Benefit Event “Project Cops Care” on Nov. 5 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The “Project Cops Care” event will donate a portion of the proceeds raised to both New Jersey Rett Syndrome Association and The Lustgarten Foundation.
The fundraiser will consist of a light buffet, comedy show, tricky tray, cash bar, and free cognac tasting by JTE Spirits. The event will take place in the bingo hall of Our Lady of Grace Church at 422 Willow Ave. Parking is available in the municipal garage located at the corner of 4th and Clinton streets.
Ticket donations for the event are $30. Tickets will not be available for purchase at the door. Guests must be 21 or older to attend.
For tickets or information on the event, or to donate a basket or gift items for the tricky tray, please contact Sergeant Melissa Gigante at (201) 341-7149 or Officer Vito Gigante at (201) 744-6550.
Feds say Menendez is not being investigated
When federal investigators issue subpoenas to state politicians and agencies, it leads people to wonder whether wrongdoing was committed and who will be charged. Usually, the authorities don’t say anything when the investigation is closed or if they fail to turn up improprieties, leaving the investigated officials under a cloud of suspicion.
But in the last two months, the U.S. attorney’s office has publicly stated that two high-profile Hudson County politicians are no longer the subjects of an investigation.
Three weeks ago, federal authorities said that no evidence of wrongdoing was found after Assemblyman/former Bayonne Mayor Joe Doria’s house was raided as part of a 2009 political corruption sting. Many other politicians were charged in connection with that probe. (See related links below.)
Now, the federal government is saying that an investigation has been closed after subpoenas were issued in 2006 regarding U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez.
The federal subpoena was given to the North Hudson Community Action Corporation, a Hudson County-based agency that gives low-cost and free health care to needy people throughout the county. At the time, sources had said that Menendez helped get federal money for the agency, but also rents property to the agency, which could be a conflict of interest.
NJ.com reported on Monday, “In a letter sent to Menendez’s lawyer, the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Pennsylvania said the case has been quietly closed.”
NJ.com quotes Jay Fahy, the former head of the corruption unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark, as saying, “It’s done in cases where it’s a public figure or a semi-public figure, and the mere mention of the dropping of a subpoena or a search warrant ruins the person’s reputation. U.S. attorneys don’t give out these letters unless they’re sure. It doesn’t say it’s an exoneration, but in reality, it’s an exoneration.”