State Assemblyman files new lawsuit against Hoboken Mayor Zimmer over firing from Housing Authority

HOBOKEN — In a new lawsuit against Mayor Dawn Zimmer, the city of Hoboken, the Hoboken Housing Authority (HHA), and members of its oversight board filed Oct. 27, State Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia (D-33) alleges that his firing as executive director of the HHA in August was illegal and discriminatory.
Garcia was the paid director of Hoboken’s public housing agency until Aug. 4, when the HHA Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 to terminate his contract. The agency oversees the city’s federally subsidized housing projects. Garcia was earning a six-figure salary as the director, overseen by HUD and also by a seven-member volunteer Board of Commissioners, largely allied with Mayor Zimmer. The members were appointed by the mayor, governor, and City Councill
In an complaint filed in Hudson County Superior Court by North Bergen attorney Louis Zayas, Garcia alleges that his firing was orchestrated by Zimmer in retaliation for his unwillingness to appoint politically connected professionals at the Housing Authority. Garcia also alleges that Zimmer and her allies fired him because of his Hispanic ethnicity.
Garcia’s complaint also alleges that Zimmer and her co-defendants “form an association…for the common and continuing purpose of consolidating Mayor Zimmer’s political power…” He is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fee, and reinstatement to his job as HHA director.
Garcia’s new filing is the latest salvo in a years-long political struggle between himself and Zimmer that has frequently boiled over into the courts. Last year, Garcia filed a suit accusing Zimmer and her alleged allies of pursuing “ethnic cleansing” in the city.
In December 2013, Garcia’s initial complaint was dismissed for not adequately stating evidence of his claim, and the option of resubmitting an amended complaint was left open. In February of this year, his lawyer Zayas filed an amended complaint that dropped the “ethnic cleansing” language but alleged that Garcia had been discriminated against due to his race.
Both Zimmer and Zayas have yet to respond to requests for comment.