Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has backed off a controversial plan that would have allowed New York City garbage to pass through the Greenville Yards at the south end of the city. At the height of his efforts to get City Council approval for the move, he compared the trash plan to the Spectra gas pipeline situation from a few years ago. But that was like mixing apples and oranges and coming up with sour grapes.
Meanwhile, the fate of the Reservoir 3 park completion project in Jersey Heights, to be funded with a $10 million payment from New York as part of the garbage plan, is uncertain.
Fulop and his City Council ally Diane Coleman tried to sell the public on the wisdom of allowing New York City trash to pass through Jersey City, comparing it to the gas pipeline which was forced on the city by the federal government.
Fulop’s predecessor Jerramiah Healy opposed the gas pipeline because of a public outcry and the fear of dangers that most federal regulators claimed were not real. Healy never looked better as a mayor than he did standing up for a principle he believed was right, despite the fact that many on the council at the time, including Fulop, complained the city would lose financially. Bayonne made a deal with Spectra that netted them significant benefits, but Bayonne also got Spectra to divert the line away from residential areas in exchange for its support. Jersey City and Hoboken (where the line passes close to the NJ Transit train and PATH stations) did not have that option.
But no federal authority is forcing Jersey City to make the trash deal. The attraction seems to be only the $10 million Fulop needs to complete the Reservoir 3 park.
This comes slightly less than five years after Jersey City under Healy successfully rejected a similar trash deal, and some officials from back then are secretly bitter over Fulop’s move to undo it.
New York City has been trying to get New Jersey to take its trash for a long time. Bayonne rejected a similar deal back in the late 1990s, a fight led by then Bayonne Councilman Anthony Chiappone.
Chiappone had cautioned Mayor Fulop against the move, saying that the psychological effects on Jersey City – especially the Greenville section – may be devastating.
“Once you get a reputation as a city that accepts trash, property values go down, and it will affect what businesses will come into the community,” Chiappone said.
While Fulop had claimed the trash was to be sealed and will only pass through Jersey City, Chiappone said sealed containers do not generally work.
“You still get fumes,” he said. “But even if everything works like they say it will, the community will suffer. There is no way you can package this and have the community come out looking positive. He might get money in the short term, but in the long-term, Jersey City suffers.”
Four terms for Harper under four mayors
Michael Harper was recently named to his fourth five-year term on the Secaucus Housing Authority.
“I’m just finishing up my third term,” he said. “I’ll have been on this board half my life when this term is done.”
With his reappointment, Harper has the distinction of having been appointed by four different mayors of Secaucus: Anthony Just (whose first successful mayoral campaign Harper ran at 15), Dennis Elwell, Acting Mayor Richard Steffens, and most recently, Mayor Michael Gonnelli.
During his tenure on the board, things have changed significantly. While Harper praises Chris Marra, the current executive director of the SHA, he recalls working with Bill Snyder, one of the most prestigious housing directors in the state.
The biggest change, however, is the cut back in federal funds in recent years, he said.
“We have to do more with less.”
O’Dea for mayor?
With endorsements coming right and left for Tom DeGise’s reelection as county executive, it appears less and less likely that anyone will oppose him in the Democratic primary next June. This has to be a disappointment for Freeholder Bill O’Dea, who had hoped to broker his strong support for Fulop into a shot at the county’s top elected office. But the threat of O’Dea as county executive may be the very reason why DeGise has almost universal support. O’Dea has a reputation as a maverick, someone who has often bucked the system when he thought it was appropriate to do so. The county executive has always been for the most part a key player in the Democratic machine. But all is not lost for O’Dea, who some believe will get a shot at becoming mayor of Jersey City when and if Fulop moves up to the governor’s mansion.
Rehash in West New York
A recent lawsuit filed in West New York has highlighted some of the issues thought long over, such as political interference into the school board, favoritism, and such. The suit piggybacks off a scathing report filed by the state Department of Education last year, a report based largely on interviews with staff and others, which highlighted alleged systematic political interference in the school district. The original report came at a time when Mayor Felix Roque was most vulnerable and in the midst of legal troubles of which he was later exonerated. For those opposing Roque and the continued control of the board by people connected to Roque, the suit appears to be an effort to rekindle the anti-Roque sentiment that has largely abated since the beginning of the year.
Bayonne freeholder battle
Michael Alonso, trying to ride the coattails of Mayor James Davis’s successful election, has called for a debate with Kenneth Kopacz, a candidate supported by the Hudson County Democratic Organization. So far Kopacz has ignored the request for a debate – and with good reason. Not only does Kopacz have the support of Davis and the HCDO, but also many of those who supported Davis’ rival last spring, former Mayor Mark Smith.
This support for Kopacz was made evident at his recent fundraiser that included appearances by most of Hudson County’s political elite, as well as having Davis and Smith in the same place at the same time.
The Alonso campaign, operating on a poll that shows voter dissatisfaction with the political machine, hopes to capitalize by stressing Kopacz’s connection to Smith.
Kopacz was a Smith selection, but has since been adopted by Davis, as Davis moves into the Democratic mainstream.
Although he says he’s not a Republican, Alonso could benefit from a combined vote of Republicans, who have no candidate in the race, and unhappy Democrats, although most Davis people are likely to support whoever Davis wants – and at this point, Davis wants Kopacz.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.