Interim police chief comes in third in civil service exam
Provisional Police Chief Edelmiro “Eddie” Garcia, who was appointed by Mayor Dawn Zimmer in June to replace retiring Chief Anthony Falco on an interim basis, had the third highest score on the civil service examination required to become chief permanently. Sgt. Melissa Gigante told NJ.com last week that the city typically pursues an interview process with the top three test takers when appointing a new permanent chief.
The scores will help determine whom Zimmer will look at for the permanent slot.
The results of the exam were released on July 2 and obtained by the Hoboken Reporter through an Open Public Records Act request.
Captain Tory Pasculli came in first with a 96 average, followed by Lieutenant Kenneth Ferrante, coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management, with a 90. Garcia received an 80 average. Lieutenants John Orrico and Charles Campbell scored below him.
All five applicants who sat for the exam passed it. Five more applied but failed to appear.
When the Hoboken police chief position was last available in 2009, Garcia took the civil service exam and appealed his oral scores. The appeal was denied by the Civil Service Commission.
In an interview on Wednesday, Director of Public Safety Jon Tooke said the process of hiring a new chief was on hold until Mayor Zimmer returned from vacation this coming week.
Prior to his promotion to provisional chief, Garcia was the most senior captain in the Hoboken Police Department, having served in that role since 1995.
Former Chief Falco was forced to retire this year because he turned 65, the maximum age at which police officers in New Jersey can serve. As Chief Garcia is currently 62 years old, he would only be able to serve three years before his own mandated retirement if selected for the permanent Chief position.
Two-alarm fire in Clinton Street apartment building; 125 evacuated
A two-alarm fire hit an apartment building on Clinton Street in Hoboken on Wednesday evening, sending three people to the hospital and forcing the evacuation of up to 125 others, reports the Star-Ledger. A number of residents sheltered at Hoboken High School during the blaze, according to officials.
Firefighters responded to an alarm in a third-floor apartment at 917 Clinton St. at 5:51 p.m. Upon arriving, Hoboken Office of Emergency Management coordinator Kenneth Ferrante told the Star-Ledger, they called in a second alarm and were subsequently able to contain the fire to the single apartment, though other parts of the building sustained smoke damage.
Ferrante said the fire appeared to have been started by unattended cooking. The apartment where the blaze began sustained heavy fire damage.
Of those taken to Hoboken University Medical Center, two were residents suffering from smoke inhalation. In addition, a firefighter sought treatment after suffering from heat exhaustion.
According to reports, while firefighters were in the building, residents waited across the street in Columbus Park. The following day, residents of 917 Clinton St. told NJ.com that they had been able to return to their apartments within a few hours.
The same block of apartments suffered a fire in March of 2012. At the time, sources said that one was caused by a candle.
Hoboken, Jersey City celebrate City of Water Day
The seventh annual City of Water Day was to be held Saturday, July 12 in Maxwell Place Park in Hoboken, Jersey City and on Governors Island in New York Harbor. Organized by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, the festival celebrates the many recreational opportunities presented by the waterways that define New York City and Hudson County.
The event was previewed at a press conference on Monday held by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop. Each was excited for a chance to underscore aspects of the Hudson River waterfront unrelated to flooding and storms.
“We deal with the bad issues when it comes to the river; this is a time to deal with the good issues,” said Turner.
True to its name, City of Water Day offered a multiplicity of ways to get out onto the Hudson River. In Maxwell Place Park, the Hoboken Cove Community Boathouse planned to give free lessons in kayaking and paddleboarding.
Residents of Hoboken were allowed to take free tours on a fireboat, sailboat, schooner, or tug leaving from various piers in the city.
In addition, a free ferry between Maxwell Place Park, Paulus Hook in Jersey City and Governors Island was to make five round-trip journeys throughout the day.
For more information, see http://www.cityofwaterday.org/
Hoboken to receive additional $108K in energy grants
After a thorough examination, a New Jersey energy resiliency grant program will award Hoboken its maximum award of $250,000, up from an initial grant of $142,080, according to an NJ.com report. The money will fund generators and alternative energy options in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
The size of Hoboken’s initial disbursement under the Energy Allocation Initiative was central to Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegation that Gov. Chris Christie’s administration withheld relief money from her as retribution for not supporting a development project in Hoboken. Zimmer’s initial request under the program was $1.7 million.
Larry Ragonese, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said grants were adjusted after the state discovered errors in the inputting of data from applications. “We found some difficulties and some problems and that’s why we really decided to take a really…good solid strong look at this,” he said.
Ragonese said the errors were not politically motivated.
The awards will only be delivered if they are approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. New Jersey will be sending applications to FEMA soon.
Shakespeare meets Old West in Hudson Shakespeare Company production of ‘Cymbeline’
Hudson Shakespeare Company will bring the Old West and ancient Britain together in its production of William Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline,” which can be seen at Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken on Monday, July 14 and 21 at 7 p.m.
“Cymbeline” is one of Shakespeare’s late period romances, which deal with themes of jealous love and fairy tale innocence. Attendees can look forward to buffoonish clowns, a headless man, and a bet over seducing an innocent princess, all in an Old West setting.
According to a press release from the Company, “with its fairy tale like setting of stern stepmothers, lost princes, wilderness settings and the doings of kings and princesses, [“Cymbeline”] slips well into a fantastical world of 1880s Americana.”
Hudson Shakespeare Company is celebrating its 23rd touring season this year. For more information about Cymbeline or the company, visit hudsonshakespeare.homestead.com or call
973 449-7443.