Guttenberg
Election: Guttenberg’s mayoral elections are held every two years, and the next one will be this November following a primary held in June. Mayor Robert Sabello has not announced whether he’ll run again, and it is unknown whether he will have challengers.
School crowding: With a proposed three-story, 12-classroom extension to Anna L. Klein School put on hold temporarily, the Guttenberg Board of Education and new Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Penna will be faced with the dilemma of a solution to the township’s ever-burgeoning overcrowding problem. Recently, the district eliminated the problem somewhat by turning existing storage spaces into classrooms, but it was only a temporary solution. The proposed extension ran into a myriad of construction problems, so there could be a revised extension plan on the horizon.
Hoboken
Mayoral election: This is an election year in Hoboken. Mayor Anthony Russo has already announced his intention to run for a third term. Sixth Ward Councilman David Roberts and former school board president Michael Lenz have emerged as likely challengers, and other individuals interested in running for mayor or for one of the three council-at-large seats can turn in applications to the City Clerk’s office by March 15. The election will be held in May. Russo said recently that he expects to spend about $400,000 on the race. Lenz says that if he runs, he’ll spend about $150,000. Roberts declined to cite a figure.
Housing Authority administration: Residents of the federally-subsidized Hoboken Housing Authority buildings, which represent a large voting bloc, will be watching to see what happens to E. Troy Washington, the HHA’s executive director. Washington has come under intense fire recently from a number of residents who feel that he is not as accessible as he should be and ought to be removed from his post. His contract is up for extension just before the residents go to the polls to vote for mayor, so the issue will become an election issue. All three likely mayoral candidates have criticized Washington.
Development: Development will also continue to dominate the headlines and the City Council agenda as city leaders move ahead with plans to breathe new life into the previously dead waterfront and into the less-posh western part of town. There are controversial plans to build residential apartment buildings on the piers that are a part of the old Maxwell House Factory. If the city’s Planning Board approves the plans, the development would be the first private residential development on the city’s piers, a fact that has angered a number of citizen activists. A different developer’s controversial plan to build a four-story residential building on the North Pier as an extension of the luxury Shipyard project was abandoned two weeks ago. It is unclear what impact, if any, the move could have on the Maxwell House project.
Jersey City
Elections – Mayor Bret Schundler may run for governor, and a host of hopefuls want to run for mayor. Some of them have already begun increasing their name recognition. Director of Public Works Kevin Sluka, who has not yet formally announced, has even been advertising a website all over commuter buses.
County animal shelter – First, there were the complaints about conditions at the Hudson County Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the county animal shelter in Jersey City. Then, this summer, there was a disputed dog beating by a shelter worker. Next, a new executive director and former councilman, Tom Hart, took over. In the past few months, a bitter fight has embroiled the SPCA, the city, and a group of animal activists who want to build their own shelter off Route 440. Hart has refused to kill healthy animals in his care, making for less room at the existing shelter. The animal activists have gotten a $500,000 donation for a new shelter, and Bayonne reportedly has pledged its support. Secaucus, meanwhile, is creating a small shelter of its own for the time being. Will all of these parties be able to work together to insure the most shelter and the best conditions for the county’s stray pets? That issue will continue to rage this coming year.
Development – Though the economy shows signs of slowing, it won’t likely have an impact on building in Jersey City, at least immediately. Dozens of projects – major and minor, for business and for residents – will be rolled out in the next year. With the continued growth, the city in 2001 will take a look at revising its zoning laws and redevelopment plans. The upshot for residents? The likelihood of living near a construction site.
Liberty State Waterpark? – When Mayor Bret Schundler laid out his plans this fall for a private, paid-admission “family aquatic center” on 20 acres in Liberty State Park, it raised hackles from park-backers and environmentalists. Schundler argued that the water playground would bring needed revenue and recreation to the park. In January, the public will get to hear several proposals, including the mayor’s, for the future of the interior of the park.
North Bergen:
Development: With the township’s commissioners already considering proposals from prospective developers at recent meetings, it looks as if the township is ready to develop on the controversial site of the former Sier-Bath gear factory. The site, a longtime environmental headache, is currently vacant after demolition last September. But residents have been issuing their concerns, apparently on deaf ears, to the commissioners, about changing the character of a strictly residential neighborhood, especially woes about pending parking problems and traffic incidents. The first few months of 2001 should be very telling as to what will transpire at the site.
School crowding: With the overcrowding problems at the township’s grammar schools being handled with proposed extensions to existing schools, especially the soon-to-be constructed three-story addition to Lincoln School, the Board of Education can turn its attention toward tackling the overcrowding issue at North Bergen High School. Last year’s plan to build within the confines of North Hudson Braddock Park was a failure, so the township will more than likely look to the West Side Avenue area for a possible site of a new high school. Plans for a proposed new high school could come to fruition in 2001.
New businesses: Development is expected to continue throughout the township in 2001. There are two commercial developments underway, including the construction of e-commerce shopping conglomerate Webvan.com’s East Coast headquarters, expected to open by November, and the Lowe’s Home Improvement center, expected to be open by March. Both additions should add 1,000 new jobs to the township and increase tax ratables dramatically. The NJ Transit Hudson-Bergen Light Rail construction will also continue.
Secaucus
New library: A new Secaucus library building will break ground early in the new year. This will begin a yearlong effort to raise funds to help furnish the building and supply the facility with state-of-the-art computer technology. Fund-raising drives can be expected from various parts of the community, especially through the Friends of the Secaucus Public Library. Town officials will lobby many of the corporations in Secaucus to help raise money as well. The library, which has traditionally been the cultural center for the community, will likely play an even bigger role once work is completed near the end of the year. One of the key elements of the new library will be its business research facilities, a section of the library that will provide the corporate community with resources not currently available in town.
Secaucus Transfer station: As the year progresses, the Secaucus Transfer station will be nearer to opening. This facility will allow commuters from all of North Jersey to access midtown Manhattan more quickly than the traditional PATH out of Hoboken. Many of the passengers that currently take trains to Hoboken and then get on trains to Manhattan are expected to change trains in Secaucus instead. The impact of the train station’s opening is expected to ripple through Secaucus, enhancing property values and causing a spurt of additional business openings. Construction on the commercial element for the train station is expected to begin this coming year. This will include hotels and stores taking up an estimated four million square feet, and could include as many as four 40-story structures.
Contamination cleanup: Cleanup of contamination beneath residential homes near the former Keystone metal factory is expected to begin this coming year. Test results determining the exact size of the contamination plume are to be released at a special meeting in January. The work will begin shortly after. The contamination has been an issue in Secaucus for several years and has caused residents to fear loss of property value as well as possible health-related side effects. While many of the previous tests have been funded by the state, the town will likely pick up the cost of cleanup. One estimate showed this could be as high as $500,000.
Union City
Development: Mayor Brian Stack hopes to bring in new tax ratables with more residential and commercial development in Union City. Sites may include the Yardley Building on the cliffs at Sixth Street and Palisade Avenue, said to boast amazing Manhattan views; and residential development on 48th Street. The city is planning a mixed-use project to begin on the 27th Street and Bergenline Avenue where the New Jersey Transit Bus Depot is now.
Rent control: After listening to numerous complaints from the tenants’ councils in the city, Union City is taking the first steps in changing its rent control ordinance. One complaint the tenants have is that landlords can qualify for a rent hike by making minor improvements to a building. Union City Mayor Brian Stack has already met with the city’s Community Development Agency to discuss plans for a new ordinance and has formed a committee to review the current ordinance. They will consider inserting a section to make improvements to the buildings’ common areas mandatory. The committee also is looking into forming one department for all building inspectors.
Financial relief: The state began its review of Union City’s finances in December, and has yet to assess the amount of aid that the state will be giving the city for this year’s municipal budget. The city is recovering from last year’s financial difficulties.
Running for mayor: A special election will be held in November for Brian Stack’s seat on Union City’s Board of Commissioners. Brian Stack, the city’s current mayor, was appointed to office in October. The mayor serves both as commissioner and as mayor. In November, anyone will be able to run against Stack for commissioner. After the winner is chosen, the five-member Board of Commissioners reorganizes and chooses a mayor from among themselves.
West New York
New middle school: The West New York Board of Education was waiting for approval of the plans for the town’s first middle school in 2000. The middle school will be constructed where the Joseph Coviello Recreation center is now on 57th Street and Broadway. The school will help alleviate the overcrowding problem in the town’s public schools and will reduce class size. The town currently has six K-through-8 public schools and no middle schools.
Business boom: West New York’s Urban Enterprise Zone will begin its streetscape program on Park Avenue this year. The renovations will include a new parking lot and sidewalks. This program is part of the UEZ’s five-year development plan that began in 2000. The town will also see the opening of two new major stores, Walgreens and P.C. Richard and Son on Kennedy Boulevard.
Weehawken:
Waterfront development: Although the application for the first two phases of the highly controversial Roseland Development project has been approved by the Weehawken Planning Board and groundbreaking for the first phase is scheduled for any day now, look for the Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront (FWW) to continue its fight to block the project. Appeals have already been filed in district court to stop the waterfront development. The battle could continue throughout the coming year, although it is very likely that the first phase, namely the 60 to 70 townhouses, will begin construction in the coming year.
In the workforce: With its sale/merger to a Swiss-owned UBA AG Group expected to be finalized within the first two months of the year, it should be interesting to see what happens with the township’s biggest employer, investment company PaineWebber, in the coming months. PaineWebber officials assured its employees that the pending sale/merger would have no effect on the 3,700-member workforce at its Weehawken headquarters, but any duplication in services could lead to a reduction in jobs.
Politics: There’s no mayoral election in 2001, but there will be one in May of 2002. After having no opposition in each of his last two bids for election, it should be interesting to see if during the coming year a viable candidate emerges to take a run at Mayor Richard Turner’s stranglehold on the township’s form of government. Turner’s popularity is at an all-time high, but opposition, perhaps from someone the ranks of the FWW, could lead to interesting political bedfellows in the coming months.