New parking meters ready for overnight permits
North Bergen officials unveiled three new overnight parking meters on Wednesday, July 13 to be located throughout North Bergen. The meters are at the Parking Authority building on 4255 Bergen Turnpike, and both the uptown and downtown libraries. The Main Library is located at 8411 Bergenline Ave., and the Kennedy Branch is located on Kennedy Boulevard.
The meters come on when the Parking Authority building closes, and can issue overnight permits for guests from 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. the next day. Users put in their license plate numbers and pay $5 for each overnight permit.
Short-term rental ordinance introduced July 13
An ordinance prohibiting all short-term rentals in North Bergen was introduced at the Board of Commissioners meeting on Wednesday, July 13. The ordinance will also include fees for those in violation.
A short-term rental is when someone rents out their apartment or condo for less than 31 days. People use Airbnb and other websites to do this. Officials said at the meeting that there are safety, health, and property concerns when frequent unknown visitors stay for short periods of time.
The ordinance states that anyone who violates any provision of the ordinance will be fined $750 for each for the first offense, and/or ten days in jail. For the second violation the fine will be between $750 and $1,200 and/or 20 days in jail. For the third violation and any after that, the fine is between $1,200 and $2,500 and/or 30 days in jail.
The ordinance will be up for a hearing and final vote at the next meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 24, according to Mayor Nicholas Sacco, when residents will be able to comment. Union City recently passed a similar law.
Prieto, Jimenez and Mukherji bill eliminating obstacle to organ donation advances
Legislation that Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and Assembly Democrats Angelica Jimenez and Raj Mukherji sponsored to eliminate a deterrent to organ donation was advanced by a Senate committee on Monday.
The bill (A-374) would prohibit the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission from imposing duplicate identification card fees and replacement driver’s license fees, including the digitized picture fee, if a person requests the duplicate identification card or replacement license solely for the purpose of reflecting that he or she has become an organ donor.
Currently, the cost of having a duplicate identification card or replacement license issued is $11, including the digitized picture fee.
“We should be doing everything we can to promote organ donation,” said Prieto (D-Hudson/Bergen). “Organ donation saves lives, and we should not be letting fees get in the way of it. This bill is, quite simply, common sense.”
“We need to encourage organ donation, not discourage it,” said Jimenez (D-Hudson/Bergen). “The difficult fact is that $11 is too costly for many hard-working New Jerseyans. Prohibiting this fee is a positive and life-saving step forward.”
“Each New Jersey resident who chooses to register for organ donor designation could potentially save eight lives,” said Mukherji (D-Hudson). “With more than 120,000 people in the United States waiting for a transplant, it’s important that we eliminate barriers to organ donation.”
The bill, which gained unanimous approval from the Assembly in February, was advanced by the Senate Transportation Committee.
Christie transportation shutdown affects three Hudson County projects
The New Jersey Department of Transportation, under an executive order signed by Gov. Chris Christie after his administration and legislators were unable to agree on a new revenue plan for the exhausted NJ Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), has advised the Hudson County Engineer to suspend all county projects funded by the NJ Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).
The following Hudson County projects are currently suspended: Concrete Deck Rehabilitation, Park Avenue Bridge in Hoboken; improvements to Newark/Jersey City Turnpike, Phase II and Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard; and improvements to JFK Boulevard East from Bergenline Avenue to Woodcliff Avenue, West Hudson Park and Newark Street.
The Hudson County Division of Engineering contacted each project contractor to advise of the suspension. Currently NJDOT anticipated the suspension to extend for at least seven days. The initial demolition work carried out earlier this week on the Park Avenue Bridge was ordered to be repaired to allow two-way traffic to flow by 6 a.m. Tuesday, July 12.
Congress passed Landmark Opioid Bill on July 13
According to a press release from the Drug Policy Agency, on Wednesday, July 13 the U.S. Senate voted to send opioid legislation known as the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) to President Obama for his signature. The U.S. House voted last week 407-5 to approve CARA. According to the release, the measure advances a large number of treatment and prevention measures intended to reduce prescription opioid and heroin misuse. That includes evidence-based interventions for the treatment of opioid and heroin addiction, and prevention of overdose deaths.
The press release said CARA contains interventions for turning the tide on the opioid and heroin crisis if these interventions are fully funded by Congress. CARA supports the expansion of programs that send people stopped by law enforcement for low-level drug law violations away from the criminal justice system and into evidence-based treatment and other services, according to the release.
CARA supports the expanded provision of buprenorphine, methadone, and other forms of medication-assisted treatment, the release stated. According to the release, the majority of correctional facilities do not provide medication-assisted treatment to treat opioid dependence.
According to the release, CARA supports the expanded use of naloxone, an opioid overdose remedy, by first responders and community members such as family members in a position to administer naloxone. Naloxone effectively reverses opioid overdoses and is safe to use.
CARA also includes a provision that permits nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe buprenorphine for the first time, the release stated. This change, along with a separate decision by the Obama Administration to raise next month the number of patients that a practitioner can treat with buprenorphine from 100 to 275, should improve patient access to this form of treatment, according to the press release.
Farmer’s market every Sunday in Braddock Park
Every Sunday starting July 24 the farmer’s market opens at 10 a.m. near the football field in Braddock Park. Get fresh fruit, vegetable, flowers, diary and more. The market will close at 2 p.m.
Fun with a cop water Olympics coming to Braddock Park
Parents with children in grades kindergarten through first grade can bring them to Braddock Park Friday July 15 to play water games with the North Bergen Police and Fire Departments. The games begin at 11 a.m. in the soccer field.
Summer concert is July 19
Guttenberg is throwing a summer concert in tribute to Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons on Tuesday July 19 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The performance is between 70th Street and 71st Street on Boulevard East. The band, The Bronx Wanderers, played their tribute songs in Las Vegas.
Anti-bullying film coming to the library
The North Bergen Main Library will offer a special showing of an anti-bullying movie named “Breaking the Silence” by Frank Gigante, on Thursday, July 21 at 7 p.m. The library is located on 8411 Bergenline Ave. Free refreshments will be served.
Bullying increases the chance of a young person engaging in suicide-related behavior, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the nation’s health protection agency.