Taxes to go up in Bayonne this year
Taxes will go up for Bayonne residents when the municipal budget is introduced in April, a city official confirmed last week, but how much is not known yet until further internal meetings are held.
“It’s not going to be earth shattering,” said Business Administrator Joseph DeMarco on Friday, March 6, without specifying an exact percentage. “It’s going to be a modest tax increase. That’s what we’re going to do.”
DeMarco cited the city’s ongoing structural deficit of $24 million as the primary reason there will be an increase in city taxes.
“The structural deficit means every year it’s a recurring problem,” DeMarco said. “That $24 million hole comes every Jan. 1. We have to start to shrink it.”
DeMarco said the city’s annual structural deficit is attributable to a number of factors, including decades-old city debt.
Fire department contains blaze at energy plant
Bayonne firefighters contained a gas turbine fire on Monday, March 9, according to fire officials.
At 12:56 a.m., the Bayonne Fire Department was dispatched to the Bayonne Cogeneration Technologies Plant at 250 East 22nd St.
“Arriving firefighters confronted high heat and smoke pushing from a large gas turbine used by the facility to generate electricity,” said Fire Chief Gregory Rogers.
Firefighters laid down protective fire hoses to thwart a potential expansion of the turbine fire. Plant operators shut down electrical power to the unit and surrounding equipment.
“Thermal imaging cameras were reporting equipment temperatures as high as 900 degrees,” Rogers said.
Firefighters opened access doors and used a 200-pound dry chemical system to extinguish the fire.
There were no reported injuries.
Cranes readied for transporting roadway pieces
The two massive mechanical devices which will transport new Bayonne Bridge roadway segments across the span for placement have been assembled, according to a Port Authority of New York & New Jersey official.
These rolling gantry cranes will move south from one pier to the next in Bayonne toward the bridge’s main span, while a second gantry, in Staten Island, will move north, carrying and positioning segments for the new roadways.
The two gantry cranes will be used to place 1,086 roadway segments comprising the bridge’s new north and southbound roadways, according to Port Authority spokesman Chris Valens.
The work is part of the “Raise the Roadway” project, which raises clearance under the bridge for larger maritime vessels expected in a few years.
All Saints Academy replaces principal
The principal of All Saints Catholic Academy was relieved of his post last week and a temporary replacement was named.
Joseph Moran was let go on Monday, March 2.
Sister Rita Marie Fritzen has been named the interim principal. A search for a permanent replacement for the post has been initiated.
The Archdiocese of Newark confirmed that Moran was terminated, but spokesman Jim Goodness said the reason for that move could not be discussed because it was a personnel matter.
Goodness did, however, discuss Fritzen, the interim hire for the position.
“She’s a Franciscan sister who’s had two decades of experience, both as a teacher and as an administrator,” Goodness said. “The school has good leadership going forward.”
Fritzen is a former assistant superintendent in the Diocese of Paterson’s school system.
Gardening program for adults offered
Want to learn the essentials for growing a great garden? Then the Meadowlands Environmental Center, 2 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst, may have just the program for you.
On Wednesday, March 18, the center will present “Lunch ‘n’ Learn: Passion for Plants” from noon to 1:15 p.m., a program for adults.
“Join staff member Lisa Cameron as she reviews the plant basics essential for growing a great garden,” MEC spokesman Brian Aberback said.
Attendees will learn how to choose the right plants for their location; ones that have the characteristics they want, including the size, shape, color, flowering time, and wildlife value.
Admission is $6 per person; $5 for MEC members.
Registration is recommended. To register, go to www.njmeadowlands.gov and click on “Events.” Walk-ins are welcome. For more information, call (201) 460-4658 or email lisa.cameron@njmeadowlands.gov.