People were holding up their brooms and even shovels, looking for a “clean sweep” of crime in their neighborhoods as they listened to speakers at the Public Safety Rally on Tuesday at Christ the King Church in Jersey City.
About 500 people including community activists, loved ones of shooting victims, and mayoral candidates offered perspectives on combating crime in Jersey City.
The rally was organized by a recently formed coalition of neighborhood associations and civic groups known as the Combined CityWide Block Association.
The frustration was evident as the speakers talked about rising crime statistics over the past year, including murders and shootings, with some far above the national average.
27 murders last year
Raquel Sharper of the Communipaw Avenue Block Association angrily read off the number of murders from last year in Hudson County (36), highlighting 27 that happened in Jersey City alone.
Rev. Robert Allen, a longtime Jersey City resident, lashed out at what he said was an ineffectual police presence. He stood with his 16-year old daughter Olivea, who was shot in the face on Feb. 10 while walking on Communipaw Avenue. Her shooter has still not been found.
Mayoral candidate Louis Manzo said the police statistics were “manipulated” by Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s administration to show drops in crime, and called for better policing.
“Mr. Manzo, I don’t lie.” – Mayor Jerramiah Healy
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Healy was on the defensive at rally, citing the positive work of the Jersey City Police Department. However, as he did so, some in the crowd voiced their disapproval. Healy engaged in a back-and-forth with Manzo, saying “Mr. Manzo, I don’t lie” and “I’ll put my word against yours.”
Fighting crime at election time
Tuesday’s rally was not advertised as a mayoral candidates’ forum/debate, but it might as well have been, as five contenders in the May 12 municipal election spoke about public safety.
Good government advocate and businessman Dan Levin called for the public to improve safety in the streets by electing a new mayor who will bring about such improvements.
Phil Webb, a former Jersey City police officer, said he would look, as mayor, to implement more programs for youths, and echoed Levin’s call for a new administration.
State Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith mentioned state legislation he is working on to help disadvantaged women and former felons to get jobs, and promised if he was elected to concentrate police in areas with the highest crime.
But the loudest applause came for Louis Manzo, who attacked Healy for the rise in crime during his time in office.
Criticizing the criticism
However, Manzo’s comments on crime stats were criticized by Police Chief Thomas Comey, also at the meeting, and by Healy.
Healy took issue with Manzo, citing some positive statistics such as an 8 percent drop in violent crime from 2007 to 2008, and a 24 percent drop in violent crime since he came into office over four years ago.
Healy also promised a 15 percent increase in the police patrolling the streets at peak times, starting within the next week. He was subjected to series of questions on policing later in the rally.
When asked about bringing the State Police and the National Guard to help the Jersey City police, he said the National Guard was not for policing, but for other types of emergencies.
He said he is open to State Police and implanting Operation Ceasefire, a program concentrating on youth gun violence and community-based policing.
The crime statistics for 2008 posted on the Jersey City Police Department’s web site (www.njjcpd.org) show numbers both good and bad.
The bad news was there were 27 murders last year, up from 20 from 2007, representing a 35 percent increase.
There were also 57 rape incidents, a 20 percent jump from 2007; 1,868 burglaries, a 24 percent increase; 4,423 larcenies, an 8 percent increase, and 1,256 robberies, a less than 1 percent increase.
More encouraging trends are: 954 aggravated assaults in 2008, down 14 percent from the year before; 82 arson incidents, an 18 percent decrease, and 1,160 auto thefts, down 5 percent. – RK
On Tuesday, in what is the fifth murder of the year in Jersey City, a man in a coma succumbed to injuries after allegedly being smashed with a brick by a group of teenagers. Carlos Orlando Quinones, 27, of Monitor Street, died Tuesday in the Jersey City Medical Center according to Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio. DeFazio said Quintana was severely beaten during an apparent robbery at Cornelison Avenue and Florence Street on Feb. 24, and police have arrested eight 13 to 17-year-old boys in connection to the crime. DeFazio said an autopsy was done to determine the cause of death. – RK
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.