Arrest made in Jersey City Heights murder
Pete Ruiz, 38, of Avenue A, Bayonne, has been charged with the July 5 murder of Orlando Flores, 34, of Jersey City, according to the Hudson County prosecutor’s office.
While responding to another matter in the area, Jersey City police found Flores on Fleet Street apparently suffering from gunshot wounds. Flores later was pronounced dead at Jersey City Medical Center.
Investigators believe the shooting was the culmination of a long-standing personal dispute and not a random act of violence.
On July 6, at about11:45 p.m., Ruiz was located by the Prosecutor’s Homicide Unit at a home in Passaic and was arrested without incident. Ruiz was charged with murder.
The prosecutor’s office credited both the Jersey City Police Department under the leadership of Chief Philip D. Zacche, and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. Unit under the leadership of Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik, for their assistance in the investigation and arrest.
The investigation is still ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit at (201) 915-1345 or by email at hcpotips@hcpo.org. All contacts will be kept confidential.
Arrested JCIA workers suspended without pay; city advances plans to merge JCIA with DPW
Four employees of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority arrested last week in an alleged waste for cash scheme have been suspended without pay, said City Spokesperson Jennifer Morrill.
Clayton Dabney, the JCIA’s assistant executive director and brother of the agency’s executive director, has been charged with theft of service and conspiracy.
Morrill indentified the other three arrested as Luis Felipe Berrios, Jessie Jackson, 55, and Patrick Williams. Berrios and Jackson have been charged with theft of service, Williams with conspiracy, Morrill said.
Also, Mayor Steven M. Fulop announced last week that the administration will move forward with the consolidation of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA) into the Department of Public Works.
This measure, according to Fulop, that will increase accountability and efficiency while saving as much as $1.5 million annually. As the JCIA is almost entirely funded by local property taxes, this savings will be a direct benefit to taxpayers.
“We are moving forward with our campaign promise to reduce duplicative services by eliminating costly autonomous agencies,” said Mayor Fulop. “As we saw last week with the arrest of four JCIA employees, this agency clearly demands greater oversight. This will not only save the taxpayers significantly, but will also create greater accountability and transparency.”
At the July 15 City Council meeting, the administration will introduce an ordinance to consolidate the JCIA into the DPW for first reading. The administration will then present the merger to the Local Finance Board this month for approval at the state level. Once approved, the City Council would vote to adopt the consolidation, following the same process taken last year when the Fulop Administration consolidated the Jersey City Parking Authority into the Department of Public Safety.
The Jersey City Incinerator Authority provides many services also performed by the Department of Public Works including snow removal, garbage removal, and street and vehicle maintenance. Personnel and equipment are already housed in one facility, so the administration expects the physical consolidation will be a seamless process.
Sugartown 5K on July 19 will benefit domestic violence charity, grieving mom
The Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders and Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise are sponsors of the Second Annual Sugartown Charity 5KRun/Walk (Speak Out-Stop Domestic Violence). The event will take place on July 19 at Liberty State Park, South Cove, Audrey Zapp Drive, Jersey City.
This year, the Sugartown Charity 5K is dedicated in memory of Damien Rose Bruno, who was three months old when he was allegedly killed at the hands of his father.
Proceeds from this event will benefit Damien’s mother, Saydee Lee Figueroa, and Women Rising of Jersey City. Women Rising has been helping women and their families for over 100 years. Women Rising assists women in the workforce development and job placement, provides safety and shelter from domestic violence conflict and provides safe homes for children.
Anyone seeking to sponsor or participate in this worthwhile event can do so by contacting the Carevel Foundation at carevelfoundation.org, www.carevelfoundation.com or call (201) 963-8849.
Vigil for fallen police officer
A vigil on the first anniversary of the death of Police Det. Melvin Santiago will be held on Monday, July 13 near the lake in Lincoln Park at 8 p.m.
Santiago was fatally shot at a Walgreens store on Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard while responding to an armed robbery.
The Police Department and city will rename the West District police station on Jackson Avenue after the slain officer at 9 a.m. on July 13.
More cops for walking patrols in South and West districts
Mayor Steven M. Fulop, Public Safety Director James Shea, and Police Chief Philip Zacche said this week that the 32 new officers sworn in last month have begun their assignments and are all assigned to walking posts in the South and West Districts, interacting with residents and business owners to enhance public safety and strengthen community relations.
Both districts have received 16 officers, who first completed in-department training prior to deployment. The officers are working in teams with veteran officers, and beginning today are patrolling locations along Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Monticello Avenue, Bergen Avenue, Rutgers Avenue and Ocean Avenue, as well as other strategic locations.
“We are hiring more police officers to grow the department, but we are also strategically assigning them to walking posts to increase the police presence in the community and to strengthen relationships with residents and business owners,” said Mayor Fulop. “Having more officers on the street not only reduces crime, but allows our officers to understand the issues facing residents through face-to-face contact and offers our residents a familiarity with police personnel. This is vital to developing information that can further reduce crime.”
The officers’ first day was patrolling at the Jersey City Fourth of July event, which drew more than 70,000 people to Liberty State Park.
“Having our new officers on foot patrol gives them direct contact with the community and is one of the best ways for them to learn the neighborhoods where they will be working,” said Public Safety Director James Shea. “By working with veteran officers they are gaining valuable departmental knowledge while at the same time developing key community relationships and important local awareness.”
Bookmobile back on the road
The Jersey City library Bookmobile, which has been off the road since last week due to mechanical problems, gets back on the road starting Wednesday, July 8.
Anyone who borrowed library materials from the Bookmobile, and could not bring them back to the Main Library and all branches, will not incur any fines during the time the Bookmobile has been off the road.
JPMorgan Chase will make a $1 million investment in Jersey City
Mayor Steven M. Fulop and JPMorgan Chase announced on July 7 a $1 million investment over the next two years to Jersey City as part of JPMorgan Chase’s $250 million New Skills at Work initiative, which is funding workforce development in cities across the nation.
The $1 million investment in Jersey City will assist the administration’s efforts in building a system which meets the demands of Jersey City’s business community and its workforce by analyzing the job skills needs of local employers, as well as investing in local job training programs.
“We have set the stage for a workforce renaissance in Jersey City through policies that both create jobs and provide training and access to employment,” said Mayor Fulop. “This significant investment from JPMorgan Chase will allow us to bring that to the next level by offering residents access to the kind of quality training they need to secure skilled jobs and advance their careers.”
The investment by JPMorgan Chase through the New Skills at Work Initiative will help residents gain the skills they need to compete in the labor market. Cities participating in the initiative will focus on local partnership formation, strengthening and scaling effective workforce training programs, and the use of data-driven analysis to determine the job skills needs of local employers to ensure the training programs offered to Jersey City residents are equipping them with in-demand skills. Other cities who are receiving funding from JPMorgan Chase include New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco.
This initial investment will include the funding of Jersey City’s first Skills Gap Report and a Workforce Summit, as well as expanding the Jersey City Summer Internship Program. Additionally, JPMorgran Chase is investing in local organizations that support Jersey City’s training programs, including the Logistics Center at New Jersey City Universityand NPower, whose work will focus on the rising sectors of information technology; transportation, logistics, and distribution; and healthcare.
“At JPMorgan Chase, we believe we have a fundamental responsibility to help the communities where we live and work to navigate complex social challenges,” said Alma DeMetropolis, managing director and New Jersey Market President for JPMorgan Chase. “This $1 million commitment is one more way JPMorgan Chase is helping Jersey City businesses and communities grow.”
In related news, The Wall Street Journal reported last week that JP Morgan Chase & Co. has plans to move 2,150 information technology jobs to Jersey City.
This could result in $188 million in taxes to the city over the next 10 years, according to the report. The report said the move would occur in 2017. The firm would lease property at 545 Washington Blvd.
Thursday, the state of New Jersey announced a big economic development grant to the company, which will help them expand.
Library offers computers for firefighter applications
The Jersey City Free Public Library wants to make it easier for women and men aged 18 to 35 who want to apply to be a firefighter.
Library Network Administrator Victor Enriquez has created an icon on both the public access and all access profiles, entitled: N.J. Firefighter Online Application. Upon clicking the icon, it will automatically open to the Job Announcement listing on the NJ Civil Service Commission web page.
Library staff at the Main Library and all nine branches and the Bookmobile will direct library patrons to this icon on all library Public Access and All Access computers should they come in to inquire how to access the New Jersey Firefighter Online Application.
The New Jersey Firefighter Online Application is available from July 1 to Aug. 31. All applicants need to be between 18 and 35, and have a high school diploma (GED, or equivalent) and a valid N.J. driver’s license. Application is on line only.
Anti-litter campaign hits the streets
The city kicked off of the third year of its “highly successful” litter patrol program, ’Stop The Drop,’ last week.
The program will employ teens and young adults to help keep the city streets clean.
About 180 young people, ages 16 to 21, will be working six days a week throughout each ward of the city in an effort to keep sidewalks, streets and parks clean and local communities more sustainable.
This year’s ‘Stop the Drop’ schedule kicked off on Monday, July 6, and runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday throughout July and August.
On average, “Stop the Drop” crews are made up of 10 to 12 teens clearing litter and debris from residential streets. An additional supervisor has been added to each ward team this year for additional support. ‘Stop the Drop’ routes will be published on the city website at www.jerseycitynj.gov/StopTheDrop and the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
“Stop the Drop’ was launched to keep our city streets clean and to expand summer youth employment and has been one of our most successful and rewarding programs,” said Mayor Fulop. “Each year we hear from residents and participants about how the anti-litter campaign has both improved their community and taught them the importance of working together to better their neighborhoods.”
The “Stop the Drop” program is a part of the city’s “Keep Jersey City Beautiful” initiative and represents an unprecedented collaboration across several city departments and agencies. Together, the Office of the Mayor, the Department of Public Works, the Department of Recreation and the Jersey City Incinerator Authority have joined forces with the goal of drastically reducing litter and graffiti throughout the City of Jersey City.
Residents are encouraged to become active in the program by taking a pledge to commit to 10 minutes daily of community cleanup near their home, business, or place of worship. Those who wish to take the pledge to help clean up their neighborhood, or obtain more information on the Stop the Drop program, can sign up by calling the Resident Response Center at (201) 547-4900.
Amtrak chairman says Hudson train tunnel is on track
A new train tunnel linking New York and New Jersey, seen by experts as crucial to relieving the bottleneck under the Hudson River, is on the verge of getting underway, according to a story in Crain’s New York Business.
“We’re doing it,” Amtrak Chairman Anthony Coscia told the Crain’s editorial board Wednesday.
Coscia said Amtrak could begin the environmental review process this fall, and has already spent about $300 million on preparatory work and land acquisition, even though the estimated $15 billion needed for the larger Gateway project, which includes the tunnel, has not been lined up.
By Coscia’s reckoning, a tunnel has to be built sooner or later, and sooner is better. The two heavy-rail tunnels connecting New Jersey and New York are over a century old and outmoded. Officials predict that within 20 years, one or both tunnels will need to be closed for repairs. That would reduce capacity to six trains per hour, down from 24 trains per hour now.
Undersecretary of Transportation Peter Rogoff said recently the Gateway was “the most important rail project in the United States.”
Funding for the project isn’t set yet. Coscia said Amtrak has sketched out a potential financing package that includes federal funds, infrastructure bonds and Amtrak’s own cash. The project’s numerous stakeholders can be expected to chip in, which would include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, New York City, the states of New York and New Jersey, the federal government and of course Amtrak.
The Gateway project was unveiled in February 2011 after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, citing potential cost overruns, killed another project called Access to the Region’s Core, which was to include a train tunnel under the Hudson.
The new rail lines would boost commuter capacity on New Jersey Transit by 75 percent, relieving what is considered the worst transit bottleneck in the country. Gateway would also allow Amtrak to expand its high-speed Acela service, which is necessary for the development of state-supported high-speed rail in New York.