Hoboken among towns that will likely see county tax increase
A new county budget introduced on April 12 will probably increase the county tax portion of the property taxes paid by residents in Union City, Weehawken, Jersey City, and Hoboken.
Explaining that cuts in aid and salary increases are to blame, County Executive Tom DeGise said last week that the $529 million county budget introduced April 12 is $16 million higher than last year.
Because of the state formula governing how the budget costs are allocated to each town, Jersey City will see the largest increase this year, followed by Hoboken, Weehawken, and Union City.
Residents in those towns pay quarterly taxes that go to their city, the schools, and the county. The budgets from those three entities determine the overall tax rate residents will pay. The county budget is struck each spring.
The budget has only been introduced, not finalized. It will be up for a final vote at a future meeting of the Hudson County Board of Freeholders. Residents and officials can make suggestions for changes until that time.
“The impact on the 12 municipalities will differ widely,” DeGise said. “Some towns will see their portion of the taxes go up, others will go down.”
Jersey City’s portion of taxes will rise by $10.5 million over last year, largely due to the massive increase in development in the city. Towns that have more properties paying taxes may share more of the budget.
DeGise said Hoboken’s rising ratables (taxpaying properties) and increasing rental units contributed to the increase in its portion of the county taxes.
“Even if this was a flat budget, six of the 12 towns would be paying more just from ratable growth,” DeGise said. “Hudson County is thriving. Property values are up.”
While the increased rate of growth would have reduced the countywide tax rate by 9 cents this year, increased costs will actually cause the tax rate to rise by 4.2 percent, from $2.23 per thousand dollars of assessed value to $2.37. However, this is somewhat deceptive, since the county bills each town differ because they are divided among all the taxpayers.
Also somewhat deceptive is the average assessment on residential homes since several towns have not done a revaluation in a while, and their tax values do not actually reflect the rising values of homes. In Jersey City the average residential assessment is $93,500.
Ex-NY Giant punter Steve Weatherford puts condo on market
Less than a year after neighbor and former teammate Eli Manning moved out of Hoboken, Steve Weatherford, the former punter for the New York Giants, has listed his 1,749 sq. ft. home on the Hoboken waterfront for $1.8M.
Weatherford purchased the property in 2012 and resided there with his wife and four children. The property is listed by Christopher Ozar of The Ozar Group at Liberty Realty.
The condo has three bedrooms, three bathrooms (of course!) and a den. It’s situated on the eighth floor of Maxwell Place on the central waterfront.
The real estate agency listing the property says, “The Michael Graves-custom designed kitchen includes granite counter tops, custom cabinets, and stainless steel appliances. Open layout with hardwood floor and custom modeling throughout. Enjoy River & Midtown NYC views of Hudson Yards and the Empire State Building from your private balcony.” The building has a shuttle service to the PATH trains to Manhattan, as well as on-site concierge services, a gym, a roof deck, a fitness center, and a children’s playroom.
They note that Chris Ozar will be hosting an Open House on Saturday, April 16 and Sunday, April 17 from 1 to 3 p.m. You can even view a video of the property at http://ozargroup.com/1125maxwell822/.
Jersey City council passes rules against Hoboken bikes
At its April 13 meeting, the Jersey City Council adopted changes to its ordinance regulating bicycle use within city limits, so that the city can impose fines of up to $1,000 on outside bike-share companies that fill up public bicycle racks.
The ordinance was viewed as an attempt to cut down on bikes from a Hoboken bike-share program that have clogged Jersey City racks.
Councilwoman Candice Osborne said the ordinance avoids costly legal action the city would have otherwise needed to take to keep outside bike share programs from using public racks in Jersey City.
The change to the ordinance prohibits any commercial firm from using the public racks.
“While I believe we have the law on our side, this ordinance will allow us to avoid the need to take the matter to court,” she said.
Bicycles from the Hoboken bike share program have filled up public racks at key locations near PATH transportation hubs, Jersey City officials have complained.
“It’s not that we would not welcome an agreement to allow those bicycles in Jersey City,” Osborne said. “But we do not want public spaces used for commercial purposes.”
City Attorney Jeremy Farrell said the issue is larger than merely having another bike sharing program hogging the public racks. Jersey City currently has an exclusive agreement with the Citi Bike program. He said Jersey City would violate its agreement with Citi Bike if the city allowed a competing bikeshare to operate there.
Osborne said it might be possible to get Citi Bike to agree to allow some Hoboken bicycles to operate in Jersey City, provided Hoboken allowed Citi Bike comparable arrangements in Hoboken.
But she said Hoboken would not agree to this arrangement.
Osborne said public bicycle racks have been installed around Jersey City for the use of Jersey City residents, not a corporate bicycle share program. Any agreement would involve installing additional racks.
Councilman Michael Yun, who represents Jersey City Heights, said he was originally concerned that the ordinance might discourage Hoboken residents from riding into Jersey City Heights to do business.
But once he learned that the fines would be imposed on the bicycle companies, not individuals, he supported the measure.
“This is mostly an issue downtown, but I will support my downtown colleague on this matter,” Yun said.
However in a statement to media outlets, Mayor Dawn Zimmer said, “If Jersey City bike racks are overcrowded, it has nothing to do with Hudson Bike Share, and this legislation therefore serves no governmental purpose and is nothing but political grandstanding.”
Two Brooklyn men arrested for alleged thefts
Two Brooklyn men were arrested separately this past week and a half in connection with the alleged use of fraudulent credit cards at a Hoboken pharmacy last Friday, April 8, Hoboken Police Department officials said.
“Officers [Michael Straten, Joseph Cahill and Dennis Figueroa Jr.] were dispatched to CVS on 811 Clinton St. [at approximately 5 p.m. on April 8] on a report of two males possibly using fraudulent credit cards to purchase gift cards,” the press release sent by Sgt. Edgardo Cruz said.
At the scene, according to the press release, one of the two men – a 17-year-old juvenile from Brooklyn whose name was not disclosed – was “uncooperative and combative from the start forcing officers to struggle with him.”
During the struggle, Cruz said in the release, the two alleged assailants attempted to flee the scene.
“The juvenile was caught a short distance away while the other [got away],” the press release says. The officers sustained minor injuries.
The juvenile was found to be in possession of multiple fraudulent credit cards and a fraudulent I.D., police officials said. He was charged with robbery, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, obstructing arrest, credit card theft, identify theft, possession of false government documents and fraudulent use of credit cards. He was remanded to the Youth Detention Center.
The second man allegedly involved in the theft, also from Brooklyn, was arrested on April 15 at 132 Jackson St. He was arrested around 8 a.m. on April 15 after Hoboken Police Officers Joe DiMartino and Michael Losurdo responded to reports of an alleged theft on the 100 Block of Jackson St, Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante said over the phone.
According to Ferrante, he was charged with burglary and four counts of theft.
School board meeting: JFK Stadium getting $800k turf overhaul, student awards
At this past week’s Board of Education meeting, school board members decided to dedicate $814,803for a turf replacement project at John F. Kennedy Stadium.
The multi-use field in the north part of town, near 11th and Jefferson Street, accommodates a variety of sports played by public school kids: football, softball, baseball, soccer and the newly-added lacrosse.
The stadium is currently the only athletic field owned by Hoboken’s BOE. Outside vendors also make use of it on occasion.
“In my opinion we should do a lease purchase option [for the project] because it’ll fund more educational programs such as science and robotics labs and other facility-needs such as the Wallace gym, the field house, and any number of other things,” said Board Trustee Peter Biancamano.
Biancamano said the school board’s finance committee will next decide whether the project is paid for upfront or timetabled out through a lease purchase for as many as five years. He prefers the latter, for it allows for funds to be allocated to other projects.
Beaten down since its last resurfacing around 2006, JFK Stadium’s field will be reinforced with a cork layer that makes for a cooler field. In the summer the field is known to reach high degrees, making for vexing conditions for sports.
The field is expected to last over ten years.
At the board meeting, March 2016 Student of the Month Awards were handed out to the following: Riya Aeri (kindergartner from Brandt School), Benny Cecala (4th grader from Calabro School), Pedro Gonzales (5th grader from Connors School), Grayson Stier (2nd grader from Wallace School), Kassey Romano (8th grader from Hoboken Junior High School) and Alan Martinez (9th grader from Hoboken Senior High School).
Awards were also distributed for Hoboken winners in the recent Jersey City Medical Center STEM Showcase (formerly the Hudson County Science Fair). Hudson Malto (5th grader from Wallace School) and Dylan Eusebio (6th grader from Connors School) were among the winners. Hoboken Junior Senior High School winners included 7th grader Ronnie Bish, 8th grader Steven Schmidt, Serena Roman, Lizeth Oliva, and Brandon Lyons.
“We want to thank these students for their hard work and let them know we are very proud of them,” said a representative of the science fair at the meeting.
Hoboken to honor Little League trailblazer Maria Pepe at LL parade ceremonies
The City of Hoboken, known as the birthplace of baseball, will honor Maria Pepe, an idol for girls in Little League, on Saturday, April 16 by naming the city’s batting cages after her. The city will also host its annual Little League parade that day.
“In 1972, Maria Pepe was one of the first girls to play Little League baseball at a time when girls were banned from the sport,” the city said in an announcement about the dedication. “After only three games, she was forced to stop playing when the Little League organization threatened to revoke Hoboken’s charter. A successful gender discrimination court case filed on her behalf by the National Organization for Women led to girls being able to play Little League.”
After her high-profile case, over five million girls have been able to participate in Little League since.
The ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m.
New photo exhibit features world-class skaters in competition
“Breaking the Ice,” an exhibit featuring dynamic photographs of synchronized skating teams from across the U.S. will be on display at the Mason Civic League, 1200 Washington St., through May 31.
The vividly colorful photographs by James Haskins capture teams passionately engaged in one of the few large winter team sports.
Synchronized skating, the newest discipline of figure skating, is a fast-growing team sport in which up to 20 skaters perform elaborate and intricate sequences in tandem. Participants use elements from singles, pairs, and ice dancing, and are judged on teamwork, precision, speed, difficulty, and program performance.
Although the sport is open to all, teams are currently composed primarily of women. The exhibition is the first of its kind and is a sampling of photographs taken at the recent U.S. Figure Skating Association National Synchronized Skating Championships in March of 2016. Represented in the exhibition are 18 teams from across the country.
Haskins captured individuals, groups, and entire teams at the height of performing, depicting the precision required to compete on a national level as well as the dramatic intensity in the athlete’s faces and bodies.
This year the International Skating Union World Synchronized Skating Championships were held in Budapest, Hungary. The United States won the bronze medal as The Haydenettes (featured in the photo exhibit) took third place against strong competition from Finland, Canada, Russia, and Sweden.
The photo exhibition runs through May 31. It is open Monday to Friday from 2 to 8 p.m. and weekends from noon to 5 p.m.