Zimmer selects Kenneth Ferrante as new Hoboken police chief
Police Lt. Kenneth Ferrante will be the next chief of the Hoboken Police Department starting Dec. 1, the administration of Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced Monday. Ferrante will replace Edelmiro “Eddie” Garcia, who was appointed provisional police chief on July 1 following the retirement of former Chief Anthony Falco.
Ferrante has more than 21 years of experience as a police officer, including 11 years of experience as a supervisor. Since 2013, he has served as the coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management. His past assignments included serving as South Hoboken Commander of the Hurricane Sandy operation, Southeast Hoboken Commander of the Hurricane Irene Operation, and Waterfront Commander of several Macy’s 4th of July fireworks displays.
According to the city, Ferrante’s plans for the Police Department include establishing a waterfront/parks division, enhancing police training including community sensitivity training, addressing homelessness, allowing residents to file online reports, embracing social media to communicate with the public, restoring bicycle patrols, and creating the position of Identity Theft Officer to address one of the fastest-growing crimes in America.
The city considered and interviewed three candidates; Ferrante, Garcia, and Captain Tory Pasculli. Ferrante had the second highest score in the civil service examination for the chief position after Pasculli.
If selected, Garcia would have been eligible to work only three more years due to state-mandated retirement rules for police officers.
“It was a very difficult choice, and Hoboken was lucky to have three outstanding candidates for the position,” said Zimmer. “I thank Chief Garcia and Captain Pasculli for their willingness to serve, and I congratulate Lieutenant Ferrante on his appointment and look forward to working with him as our new chief. On behalf of the citizens of Hoboken, I thank Chief Garcia for his lifelong commitment to the City of Hoboken and for leading our Police Department through this transition.”
In a letter to Mayor Zimmer, Chief Garcia expressed his deepest gratitude for the opportunity to serve as provisional Chief of Police. “It has been both an honor and a privilege to serve in this capacity,” said Chief Garcia.
Ferrante has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from New Jersey City University. He graduated as a Presidential Scholar from Saint Peter’s Preparatory School in 1990 and coached football there for 12 seasons. He has received multiple awards for his service, including the Combat Cross, two Honorable Service awards, and two Exceptional Duty awards.
Ferrante is well-connected within the Hoboken Police Department. He has served in the past as president of the Hoboken Police Superior Officers Association (P.S.O.A.) and the Hoboken Policemen’s Benevolent Association.
Hoboken marks second anniversary of Sandy landfall with flag-raising ceremony
The city of Hoboken commemorated the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy’s landfall in New Jersey with a special flag-raising ceremony Wednesday in front of City Hall. Mayor Dawn Zimmer was joined by local first responders, elected officials, and NOAA Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan.
Zimmer took the opportunity to detail some of the resiliency efforts her administration has pursued in the aftermath of Sandy, including a new wet weather sewer pump that was recently approved, new generators, and plans to purchase land in northwest Hoboken to build water-retaining parks.
Zimmer made special mention of the $230 million Hoboken won earlier this year along with Weehawken and Jersey City in the federally sponsored Rebuild By Design competition.
The event also showcased a city-owned 2.5-ton M35 cargo truck specially designed for high water situations, which will be used to rescue residents in flood conditions. The truck will be painted by Jersey City firefighter Eli Ramos based on resiliency-related designs from Hoboken schoolchildren.
Sullivan joined Fire Chief Richard Blohm, Provisional Police Chief Edelmiro Garcia, and Hoboken OEM Coordinator and incoming Police Chief Ken Ferrante in praising the Zimmer administration for playing a leadership role in the response to Sandy, both in the immediate aftermath and with respect to mitigating future disasters. Sullivan called Hoboken a “national model” for flood response and prevention.
The flag of honor came to Hoboken by way of Afghanistan, where it was flown aboard a B2 Bomber on Nov. 5, 2012, in honor of the city and all it endured in the wake of Sandy. On Wednesday, the flag was raised by United States Air Force Reserve Lieutenant Col. Joel Branosky.
Branosky lives in Hoboken but was serving in Afghanistan when Sandy took place. He recalled opening Stars and Stripes on the morning of Oct. 29, 2012 to see his hometown and its water-logged PATH station on the cover. Branosky’s pregnant wife was evacuated from their home by the National Guard, which the Air Force officer said was “the happiest I’ve ever been to see the Army.”
Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano and state assemblymen Raj Mukherji and Carmelo Garcia (D-33) were also on hand. Garcia is the former Executive Director of the Hoboken Housing Authority, which was hard hit by Sandy and continues to recover. On Wednesday, he praised the “sense of oneness” in Hoboken with respect to Sandy resiliency efforts, and thanked the city for recognizing deficiencies in its preparedness and giving the authority the tools it needed to survive another major storm.
CarePoint Health recognized for outstanding patient safety record
CarePoint Health’s hospitals – Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital and Hoboken University Medical Center –have each been honored with an “A” grade in the Fall 2014 Hospital Safety Score. The rating indicates how well hospitals protect patients from errors, injuries and infections, is compiled under the guidance of the nation’s leading experts on patient safety, and is administered by The Leapfrog Group, an independent industry watchdog.
The first and only hospital safety rating to be peer-reviewed in the Journal of Patient Safety, the score is designed to give consumers information they can use to protect themselves and their families when facing a hospital stay.
“We are extremely proud that all three hospitals in our system have achieved an “A” grade,” said Dennis Kelly, CEO of CarePoint Health. “The CarePoint Health system takes great pride in providing excellence in health care, and this score shows that as a system, we are committed to patient safety.”
To see how the scores of Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital and Hoboken University Medical Center compare locally and nationally, and to access consumer-friendly tips for patients and their loved ones, you can visit the newly updated Hospital Safety Score website at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org. Consumers can also go to www.hospitalsafetyscore.org for a free download of the Hospital Safety Score mobile app.
Parishes of St. Francis and St. Ann to hold special outdoor mass for world peace
The Parishes of St. Francis and St. Ann in Hoboken will be celebrating a joint Outdoor Mass for World Peace on Friday Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. in the parking lot on the corner of Third and Jefferson streets.
“The world seems to be in chaos,” said a spokesperson for the parishes. “Religious and other persecution is all we see when we turn on the news each night. We are joining together and going outside the walls of the church buildings so that members of the community can join us in prayer for world peace.”
“We believe that there is nothing greater than the power of prayer and we welcome all members of the community to join us as we ask God to protect all people from persecution and acts of terrorism,” added the spokesperson.
Mass will be followed by a candle-light procession through the neighborhood. Refreshments will be served in the St. Francis Parish Center.
For further information, please call St. Francis Rectory at (201) 659-1772 or St. Ann Friary at (201) 659-1114.
See New York City through the eyes of Pedro Pietri at the Hoboken Historical Museum
This Sunday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m., the Hoboken Historical Museum will host a free event to celebrate one of America’s most important contemporary Puerto Rican poets, Pedro Pietri (1944-2004), entitled “Broken English Lessons: Through the Eyes of Pedro Pietri.” Through the lens of Pietri’s poetry, “The Great Migration” of Puerto Ricans to the tri-state area in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s will be explored and honored.
Pietri lived most of his adult life in New York City, and was a cofounder and leader of the Nuyorican Poets movement. Participating in the Hoboken event will be some of the major Nuyorican poets currently living and writing in the New York metropolitan area: Urayoán Noel, Sandra María Esteves, Jesús Papoleto Melendez, Nancy Mercado, Mariposa, Bonafide Rojas, Sam Diaz, and Juan Valenzuela.
The event is free and open to the public. More extensive bios of the participants can be found at the Hoboken Historical Museum’s website, www.hobokenmuseum.org. The museum is located at 1301 Hudson St.