Mayoral inauguration moved to Schaefer Center
In order to accommodate the large crowd expected for the inauguration of Mayor-Elect Peter Cammarano and at-large City Council members Ravinder Bhalla, Carol Marsh, and David Mello, the venue has been changed to the Schaefer Center at the Stevens Institute of Technology campus. It will take place this Wednesday at noon.
Officials said seating is limited and Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be on hand to introduce the mayor-elect.
An Interfaith Prayer Service will be held at Our Lady of Grace Church, Fourth St. and Willow Ave., at 10:30 a.m. on the morning of the mayoral inauguration and all are invited to participate.
In addition, the City Council will hold its reorganization meeting later that afternoon to elect a council president.
The council meeting will be held at the DeBaun Auditorium as previously advertised directly following the inauguration ceremony, according to the City Clerk’s office.
Couple stole benefits at Board of Ed
A Hoboken couple has been sentenced to one year probation and ordered to pay $49,054 in restitution for stealing health care insurance benefits, according to a state Attorney General’s office press release.
The release states, “James P. O’Connor, 52, and his wife, Debbie M. O’Connor, 50, were sentenced Friday and each ordered to pay a $2,500 civil insurance fraud fine in addition to paying restitution to a number of health insurance companies.
“The couple had pleaded guilty in April…to accusations which charged them each with third degree theft by deception.
“The O’Connors admitted that they divorced in 2001, but failed to notify James O’Connor’s employer, the Hoboken Board of Education, of the change in their marital status. The couple remarried in April 2007. During the six years that they were divorced, James O’Connor misrepresented the couple’s marital status and obtained health care insurance coverage for and submitted $49,054 in fraudulent claims for Debbie O’Connor.”
According to reports, O’Conner retired from the district as a custodian months ago.
Cop cleared on charges
Officer Michael Miranda returned to work last week after molestation charges were dropped by a Hudson County Superior Court judge.
Miranda was arrested and charged with sexual assault last summer after two teen girls claimed he molested them over years beginning when they were 9 years old.
Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said the Grand Jury testimony is sealed and why the charges were dropped could not be determined.
Miranda’s lawyer Jeffrey Garrigan said the charges were dropped when the court found that evidence was presented in an unfair manner. He said at least one of the girls recanted their story, although that didn’t have any determination on the judge’s decision.
Death threats to city worker
Police said a Hoboken inspector was the recipient of seven death threats in his voice mail messages recently.
The messages, police said, contained threats to kill, blind, and poison him, including a message stating, “I’m going to poison you. I know where you eat.”
There were also other threats of physical violence and one threat of sexual attack, according to police.
The calls were received Saturday, June 20 at 11:30 p.m. to Monday, June 22 at 10:30 p.m., the report said.
Police did not specify what department the inspector works in order to protect his identity.
Boys & Girls Club pool fundraiser
A fundraiser to keep the Boys and Girls Club pool, the city’s only outdoor pool, open for the summer will be held at Nine, 333 Washington St., on Tuesday, June 30 from 7 to 10 p.m.
The suggested donation is $25. Nine is offering drink specials and will donate a portion of all sales to the Boys and Girls Club.
For the past several years, the pool has provided hundreds of kids a fun, safe, and cool place to play during the hot summer months. Parents, kids, and members of the community are deeply concerned about the risk of the pool being closed to kids for all or part of the summer.
Traditionally, the city paid more than $10,000 to open and operate the pool, but this year due to budget constraints the city may not be able to fund the full amount. The Hoboken Boys and Girls Club is rallying the community to help raise the money to plug the gap and open the pool on July 6.
South wing of Viaduct to be closed evenings beginning this Monday
The Hudson County Division of Engineering announced today that the Manhattan Avenue Viaduct south wing (between 14th street Viaduct and Paterson Plank Road), Union City will be closed between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. the next morning. This closure will start on next Monday 6/29/09 and continue through Thursday 7/2/09, and the following Monday 7/6/09. There will be no closure on Friday 7/3, Saturday 7/4, and Sunday 7/5.
Detours will be set up and all vehicles shall follow the detour. Emergency vehicles are allowed through the construction area. Police traffic directors (County Sheriff Officers) will be stationed at both ends of the closure. Local access to the Doric Tower is only allowed from the southern end of the Viaduct at Paterson Plank Road.
This closure is needed to perform scaling down of the existing rockface.