Dear Editor:
When Steven Fulop ran for mayor he talked about an open and transparent government yet government will be less open if city ordinance 16.044 is passed. This ordinance extends permit parking from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. While most of the streets are located in Paulus Hook, City Hall is adjacent to Paulus Hook and some residents park there to attend council, planning board, and board of adjustment meetings. Citizens from different parts of the city will be ticketed, perhaps booted without the proper parking permit.
The passage of this ordinance means only local citizens who live close by can attend public meetings. It is an equivalent of a poll taxed. Only people who can afford private parking will be able to attend public meetings.
The city also plans on extending parking meters in some areas as late as 11:00 p.m., but that ordinance will go into effect in May. This will be another negative impact for citizens finding parking spaces while attending public meetings. In additional, the municipal parking lot near City Hall is up for redevelopment. Basically, Jersey City’s parking policy discriminates against citizens with limited incomes; there is no welcome mat for the poor.
Parking is an issue the mayor does not take seriously. During the town hall meetings, different neighborhoods requested municipal garages to address this issue. The mayor said no, he stated people should use mass transit. Where Mayor Fulop is this mass transit? I have seen bus lines disappear since the 1970s and there has been talk of the No. 10 bus on Kennedy Blvd disappearing, too.
Yvonne Balcer