A 16 year-old Jersey City boy was fatally shot last night in the vestibule of a building on Bergen Avenue near Dwight Street.
Just after 10:30 p.m., members of the Jersey City Police Department responded to a report of shots fired in the area of 83 Bergen Avenue. When they arrived, they found the boy, Kaheem Taylor, with at least one gunshot wound to the upper body. Taylor was transported to Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The cause and manner of death are pending the findings of the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.
No arrests have been made at this time.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/.
Heights resident Danielle Freire announced her candidacy today for the Ward D city council seat currently held by Yousef Saleh.
Saleh was appointed to the city council on April 30, 2020 following the death of Michael Yun. He won a special election for the seat on November 3, 2020.
According to a press release, Freire holds a master’s degree in nonprofit management from The New School and “worked in the nonprofit sector for close to a decade and has a focus on raising resources for social justice issues that impact marginalized communities.” Freire is the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants.
“Having grown up in the Heights, I hold a unique perspective on how the community has changed in both good and bad ways. I want to empower my community to realize that OUR perspective is valuable and essential to policy making. Both my life and work experiences prepared me for this leap into politics, which I never imagined for myself. Frankly, there needs to be more “leaps” and there are many residents with talent, experience, and skills to contribute to their city. Together, we can promote a just and equitable city for all residents to thrive,” said Freire.
Freire has been endorsed by local activist Beverly Brown Ruggia who said “It’s exciting to have a young woman like Danielle Freire join the race for city council in Jersey City. Her personal story is one that reflects the great diversity and wealth of professional talent in our city and her candidacy speaks to the gifted generation of leaders entering the political landscape in the state.”
On Wednesday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. Friere will live stream an official announcement of her candidacy. It will include musical performances by Mary J. Sansait, Jenna Toulantis Leggio and Summer Dawn Reyes.
Despite steadily mounting case load, Gov. Murphy defends loosening restrictions on size of outdoor gatherings, raising capacity limits on indoor and outdoor sports events
This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.
New Jersey currently has the highest rate of new COVID-19 infections in the nation, likely fueled at least in part by the presence of large numbers of viral variants that state health officials are having a tough time quantifying due to the dearth of specialized testing.
Despite this, and the fact the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is characterizing the current level of community transmission in every New Jersey county as high, Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday expanded the numbers for limited types of gatherings. He increased the number who can gather outdoors to 200 and raised the capacity percentages at such large venues as sports arenas to 20% for all indoor facilities that seat at least 2,500 and 30% for outdoor venues. Both take effect Friday.
Murphy said he feels comfortable that these will still allow for appropriate social distancing and noted that all other indoor limits — for dining and businesses — remain.
“Yes, cases are rising. They’re up. Hospitalizations are up two (200) to 300 over the past week to 10 days,” Murphy said. “We predicted this, expected it. We did not change the overall indoor capacities so it’s still the gather limits are 25. The indoor dining, gyms and indoor entertainment are still at 50% and I suspect they’ll stay there. We did raise it on large venues …They’re doing an exceptional job and going to 20% does not come anywhere close to having people need to be within six feet of each other.”
According to the latest data from the CDC, New Jersey’s rate of coronavirus cases over the past week was 346 per 100,000 people. The only other state with a rate higher than 300 was Michigan, with 327 cases per 100,000. The total number of COVID cases reported by the state rose by 3,600 on Monday. A NJ Spotlight News analysis of case data shows that the total number of cases has increased by more than 31,000 since last Monday to a total of more than 900,000, or roughly 10% of the state’s population.
Murphy blamed the steady rise in cases since mid-February on several factors: the state’s population density, fatigue among the public to stay mainly at home, the prevalence of vaccine variants — some of which are more contagious or can cause more severe illness — and weather than has not allowed for widespread outdoor gatherings as in southern states. With the exception of Florida, the CDC’s map of recent case rates generally shows lower rates in the south and west than in the northeast.
Dr. Edward Lifschitz, medical director of the state Department of Health’s communicable disease service, said it is difficult to know exactly how many new cases — close to 31,000 over the past week, according to the CDC — are due to variants, because only about 2% of COVID samples are examined to determine variant strains. Still, he estimated that between 10% and 40% are likely due to the U.K. and New York variants. The U.K. variant has been named a variant “of concern” by the CDC because it is both easier to transmit and appears to be more deadly.
The state reported 671 cases of seven variants found in New Jersey as of Monday, 83% of which were the U.K. variant. While the overall numbers remain low, these strains are spreading rapidly in some spots. The number of variants reported rose by nearly one-third since last Wednesday in some locations, according to an analysis of state data.
Variants spread throughout NJ
The variants in New Jersey first emerged weeks ago, with the highest numbers in Ocean and Monmouth counties, and seven strains have since been identified with at least one case of some form in each of the 21 counties, the state data shows. Hudson, with six of the seven strains, was experiencing a rapid rise last week, but the quickest growth seems to have shifted since then to central and south Jersey. While total numbers are still low, cases with the U.K variant doubled since last Wednesday in Atlantic and Camden and grew 225% in Gloucester. Monmouth County saw a U.K. variant cases rise by one-quarter during that time, while reports of the New York variant grew 400%, from one to five cases.
With 132 cases, Ocean County has had by far the largest number as of Monday. But Lifschitz said it’s impossible to know if that is a true hotspot due to the lack of testing.
“We’re looking to increase the total amount of variant testing we’re doing at this point,” he said. “We are working to get that higher. We also want it to be more random, because the question came up as to whether Ocean really is having more variants or that it’s just being reported and at this point, I don’t have an exact answer because the testing isn’t random enough to get a good sense of that. We are hoping within the next couple of weeks we’re going to have a more widespread network that will give us better answers as far as these things go.”
Both the high case rate and the presence of variants underscore the need to get people immunized quickly. While some of the variants can spread more quickly than the original COVID-19 virus and research so far is limited, experts believe the existing vaccines are largely effective in preventing severe sickness and death in those exposed to mutations identified to date.
Murphy said the small scope of variant testing and its lack of randomness make it hard for the state to target Ocean or any other county with additional vaccine doses to try to prevent the continuing spread of variant cases.
State officials again did not provide data on the number of doses they are allocating to each county weekly. NJ Spotlight News has asked several times for this data during briefings and filed open public records requests with both the state Department of Health and governor’s office. The governor’s office deemed the request overly broad in denying it and referred us to the department of health. The DOH has not responded to our request.
Murphy said there is “no mystery associated with” vaccine allocations, but rather than quantifying the number of doses given to each county, state health commissioner Judith Persichilli said only that the “allocation by county varies every week, depending on how many doses we’re getting, and the allocation formula.” She repeated that the formula takes into account such criteria as equity, population, race and ethnicity, disease burden, deaths, social vulnerability of the population and how effective each county is at distributing its allocations.
Unexplained differences in vaccine rates
But there continue to be unexplained differences in the percentage of residents vaccinated by county. Cape May County, whose population is about 15% Black, Hispanic and Asian, has had an infection rate of nearly 9% and 209 deaths per 100,000 residents, leads all counties, with almost a quarter of its population fully vaccinated. Hudson County lags all counties in vaccinations, with little more than 10% of the population fully vaccinated, despite having a population that is 79% minority, an infection rate of close to 12% and 313 deaths per 100,000.
Murphy said the situation is going to continue to improve as the state continues to get more vaccine doses.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be opening a community vaccination center on the campus of the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark on Wednesday. This site is meant to serve vulnerable and medically underserved communities, including Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth and Hudson County, with up to 42,000 doses per week, although it will be open to anyone. These doses are in addition to the state’s allotment, with this week totals more than 490,000 doses, about 20% more than last week.
“This is a game changer,” Murphy said, adding he plans to visit the new FEMA site on Wednesday. “It’s not the only game changer, I mean, supplies are clearly going to go up.”
Overall, Murphy touted the state’s increasing vaccination numbers and rates, saying that the state has administered more than 4 million doses since mid-December and close to 1.5 million New Jerseyans have been fully vaccinated, meaning about two of every 10 adults has received full viral protection.
This is the final installment of a four-part series. To read earlier installments, begin by clicking here.
“Very Costly Penalties”
For over two years Jersey City developer Peter Mocco had stalled, postured, obstructed, litigated, and cajoled. And by any reasonable measure he had come out ahead. His oversize penthouse—recast by city Zoning Officer Nick Taylor as an attic—was still standing albeit with a few inexpensive “wellness” and “sustainability” tweaks that gave it a patina of environmental and social responsibility.
I was curious what Gerry Bakirtjy and Eric Hofmann, two local architects intimately involved in local development issues, thought of Taylor’s decision.
Said Bakirtjy, “In my professional opinion it isn’t an attic. The definition [of an attic] talks about a sloped roof. Any reasonable person would say this isn’t an attic.”
Hofmann agreed. “The text seems crystal clear to me.”
To drive the point home, Hofmann pointed to a passage in the International Building Code Handbook, that provides that “once such a space is utilized for some degree of occupancy, it is no longer deemed an attic.” With its two kitchens, bathrooms, a game room, a lounge and bar, a reception area, and a tele-conference room, “some degree of occupancy” was the very purpose of Mocco’s penthouse.
No one I talked to could offer an explanation for Taylor’s decision. But what is clear is that after the fact Mocco had succeeded in forcing Taylor to unilaterally change the well-settled definition of “attic” so he could renege on his promise to take down the illegal penthouse. Why would Taylor have agreed to do this?
I decided to put the question to Taylor’s boss, Mayor Steven Fulop, by way of his press secretary Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione. Had the mayor, who is known to have a longstanding relationship with Mocco, interceded on his behalf?
She replied tersely. “Peter Mocco’s actions resulted in the largest penalty ever rendered in the history of Jersey City.” She added that “the Mayor does not get involved in decisions with the Planning Board as it is an independent body. The Board’s strict and very costly penalties imposed on Mr. Mocco due to his violations sends a clear message that Jersey City is not the place to come and try to build outside of approvals, unless you want to pay severely.”
I asked Wallace-Scalcione if I could interview Taylor. I received no response.
Wallace-Scalcione’s claims, though, begged another question. Had Mocco really paid “severely” as she had asserted? Without access to Mocco’s books, arriving at a precise cost-benefit calculation is impossible. But using some commonly known metrics, one can arrive at a rough answer.
Take 333 Grand Street, where Mocco illegally added 6,198 square feet to his penthouse. According to Realtor.com, each of those square feet is currently worth approximately $840. Thus, the penthouse enlargement added the equivalent of $5.2 million in value to the building. After deducting his additional building costs of $1.5 million [assuming an estimated building cost of $250 per square foot], Mocco’s property is now $3.6 million more valuable than it would have been had he followed the law.
Union rat outside Mocco building
In addition, a source close to Mocco reported that he saved approximately $1,000,000 by using the unapproved EIFS (exterior installation finishing system) bringing his total gains to $4.6 million. (In order to keep things simple, this analysis leaves out the numerous other improvements Mocco made without approval.)
In the end, after paying the fine of $580 thousand—apparently the largest penalty ever rendered in the history of Jersey City—Mocco’s gains on 333 Grand Street may have totaled as much as $4.1 million.
Given this windfall, the fine may not have sent the “clear message that Jersey City is not the place to come and try to build outside of approvals” that Mayor Fulop thought it would.
At 245 Newark, Mocco’s gains are a little more difficult to calculate with any certainty. If the mezzanines remain closed off and unusable as the city has apparently ordered, he will undoubtedly take a financial hit. But those who know Mocco consider that outcome unlikely.
Insuring that the mezzanines remain unused would require the city to make yearly inspections for the life of the building. Most observers consider it doubtful that the city will have the will or resources to do so.
Just as Mocco was able to make massive changes to both buildings during construction without the city’s officials knowing about them, so too would he, or a subsequent owner, likely be able to reopen the mezzanines unnoticed. This is because the city doesn’t have enough manpower to inspect new construction let alone follow up on completed buildings.
Commenting on the Mocco case, Ward E Councilman James Solomon said that the city is dealing with a “resource crisis.” Solomon continued, “We don’t have enough construction code officials…The city’s leadership is doing the best it can, but we don’t have the tools.”
Hofmann agrees with Solomon. “As a decade-long Jersey City resident, I believe development is so prevalent there is definitely a staffing issue [in tracking and monitoring projects]. Getting boots on the ground and policing what’s happening is a monumental task.”
And indeed, I asked Wallace-Scalcione if the city had inspected the building. She responded by saying that the penalties against Mocco were being “strictly enforced by Planning and Zoning.” However, when asked for dates of such inspections, the spokeswoman did not respond.
If Mocco reopens the mezzanines as seems likely, he will enjoy another windfall. The spaces added a total of 7,500 square feet of usable space to the building. At $678 per square foot, the additional space may have added as much as $5.1 million in value. After deducting $1.9 million in building costs, Mocco would still have netted $3.2 million in increased property value.
While Mocco did reportedly pay the neighboring building $100 thousand in settlement over its blocked views, he likely offset most or all of that with his unapproved use of EIFS on the façade, which lowered his building costs substantially.
It’s “an attic…or a penthouse or a level”
There was one piece of unfinished business.
To settle his lawsuit with the Planning Board, Mocco had made two concessions. First he agreed to make the “wellness” and “sustainability” changes to 333 Grand Street.
The second concession involved a future building at Liberty Harbor North, 333 Morris Street (not to be confused with 333 Grand Street).
On October 5th, the Morris Street piece of the settlement came before the city council at its caucus. Director of Planning Tanya Marione called in to explain the deal. Her words immediately highlighted the confusion that Taylor had wrought. As punishment for his violations, Mocco, she said, “would lose an attic…or a penthouse or a level. So, it’s a penthouse for a penthouse or a top floor for a top floor.”
No one noticed that Marione had conflated three words” “attic,” “penthouse,” and “top floor.” But it spoke volumes. The words’ differences had been eviscerated in service of Mocco’s need to keep his penthouse, which was now officially an “attic.” Apparently, in Marione’s mind, the words were now interchangeable thanks to Mocco.
Mocco had succeeded in getting the rules changed ex post facto. In building a penthouse over twice the permitted size, he had won a seemingly calculated bet that he could skirt the city’s rules. But he had done one better: With Taylor’s help, he had re-written them.
It isn’t clear whether anyone on the city council fully appreciated the deviousness of Mocco’s feat. But when Marione had finished, Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano, clearly sensing that Mocco had pulled a fast one, shook his head and said, “What a joke.” City Council President Joyce Watterman laughed. Her words can’t be made out.
And, as it turns out, Boggiano’s reaction was fully justified. A review of the redevelopment plan shows that at 333 Morris Street, Mocco gave up only an “attic story,” not a future penthouse as Marione, Mocco’s lawyers, and the administration wanted to spin it. The zoning didn’t permit a penthouse on the “M class” 333 Morris building.
So, in the end, Mocco with Taylor’s help had outmaneuvered everyone. He had “given up” a “penthouse” on 333 Morris Street that he didn’t have to give up in the first place to save a penthouse at 333 Grand Street he had never had the right to build. It was a trick that would have made illusionist David Blaine proud.
Mocco did not accept Jersey City Times’s request for an interview and declined to answer questions put to him in an email.
Epilogue
Eric Hofmann (who is president of the Village Neighborhood Association in addition to being an architect by profession) commented that, “Peter Mocco was the straw that broke the camel’s back…Now we are all poised and alert.”
“The big lessons already learned from our experience have to do with vigilance on behalf of the community” because “there’s no mechanism in place for the city to catch deviations during construction.”
But some would ask whether the future that Hofmann describes is a solution. Should neighborhood associations have to shoulder the responsibility for policing developers’ compliance with the zoning laws, a core responsibility of the city?
Mocco looks on (in grey sport jacket) as Mayor Fulop speaks at October, 2020 fundraiser at Surf City.
The building 333 Grand Street is a prime example of the pitfalls of such an approach. The often-litigious Van Vorst Park Association was apparently lulled into grudging acceptance of Mocco’s behavior believing that the fix was in. Architect Tom Ogorzalek, who, along with his architect-wife Ceci De Leon, heads up the VVPA construction committee, explained, “I reached out to somebody at city planning and said what’s the story with this? They said it’s a fait accompli, it’s a legal matter; nothing can be done.”
Of course, had the city forced Mocco to take down the penthouse and deconstruct his mezzanines, some feel a message would have been sent that the city was serious about enforcing its rules. Then, the thinking goes, civilian enforcement of the zoning laws would be less necessary. But the city appears to have little incentive to hold developers’ feet to the fire when so much real estate money finds its way into the campaign war chests of city officials.
The “Coalition for Progress” political action committee linked to Mayor Fulop and managed by his wife’s business partner has received 3.2 million in donations largely from developers. Dixon Advisory, a property owner and developer in Jersey City which figures prominently in a scathing article about the mayor in Bloomberg, gave the PAC $300 thousand. Roseland/Mack Cali donated $250 thousand. Many other developers have made contributions to the Coalition for Progress ranging from $15 thousand to $50 thousand dollars.
Whether the mayor pressured Taylor to cut Mocco a break is unknown. His relationship with Mocco is opaque. While he has used Mocco’s Zeppelin Hall and Surf City bars almost exclusively for local fundraisers and victory celebrations, he or his committee did pay for the use of these venues on several occasions, according to public records.
I asked Wallace-Scalcione whether the mayor has received cash or “in-kind” donations from Mocco. She did not respond.
There are few people familiar with Jersey City who haven’t heard of Peter Mocco. His ambition, audacity and cynicism are the object of both derision and grudging respect. How, people wonder, does this guy get away with it again and again?
In a 2012, The Jersey Journalwrote, “With his political acumen, Mocco has been sought out by almost every city administration. What is the main thing people should know? Whatever Peter wants, Peter gets.”
It appears that nothing has changed.
Header image is of faux stone façade at 333 Grand Street.
Ron Leir assisted in the preparation of this article.
The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit is investigating a hit and run incident in which a 31-year-old Jersey City woman was struck and seriously injured while crossing Palisade Avenue just south of Bowers Street in the Jersey City Heights shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday night. The driver who struck the woman fled the scene and the HCPO is seeking the public’s help in identifying the driver.
Members of the Jersey Police Department responded to the area at approximately 9:09 p.m. on reports of a pedestrian struck with serious injuries. The victim was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center, where she is listed in stable condition.
The vehicle is described as a four-door sedan, consistent with a 2012-2014 Black Toyota Camry LE, with New York registration. This vehicle notably had a missing hubcap on the right, front passenger wheel.
The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit and Jersey City Police Department are actively investigating this incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip at:
http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential.
A 54-year-old Jersey City man has been charged kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy.
According to The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office the defendant, Robert Harper, met the teen at Berry Lane Park on Wednesday. Harper
Robert Harper
allegedly invited the teen to his house, barricaded the doors and proceeded to sexually assault him. The teen immediately ran to the police to report the incident.
Yesterday, Harper was arrested at his residence on Union Street.
Harper was charged with Kidnapping; Aggravated Sexual Assault; two counts of second-degree Sexual Assault; Aggravated Sexual Contact; and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit and the Jersey City Police Department for the investigation and arrest.
A detention hearing for Harper is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
Pressure growing to get more vaccinated in county last in the state for immunizations
This story was written and produced by NJ Spotlight. It is being republished under a special NJ News Commons content-sharing agreement related to COVID-19 coverage. To read more, visit njspotlight.com.
Gov. Phil Murphy pledged Wednesday to improve the equity of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in New Jersey’s urban communities in response to criticism that Hudson County — whose diverse, closely packed communities were particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus — has not been receiving its fair share of the state’s shots.
Murphy’s comments came the day after U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) shared his “deep concern” that Hudson County residents do not have equitable access to the vaccines in a letter that cited several NJ Spotlight News reports, including a story posted last week on how Hudson had the lowest vaccination rate in New Jersey. With just 9% of its residents fully immunized, Hudson remains the only county with a single-digit vaccination rate, according to state data.
Home to coronavirus variants
Adding to the concern is the recent growth of coronavirus variants, which appear to be spreading quickly in some communities, including parts of Hudson and Essex counties, although testing is limited. Hudson County is home to six of the seven mutant strains identified so far in New Jersey. And while the numbers are still small, in Hudson cases involving the New York variant, jumped 60% since Monday alone, according to state data. Essex County is home to three variants.
“There’s no denying that we’re not where we want to be on equity” in vaccine distribution, Murphy said at his regular media briefing Wednesday, stressing that limited supply from federal sources remains a significant barrier. “We’re proud of the record we’ve got as far as getting shots in arms,” he added, “but as far as equity, this is a work in progress. But we will get there, period, full stop.”
Asked about the outreach from Menendez, Murphy said, “We take that letter very seriously,” adding that it echoed the message he was hearing from other urban leaders from both Hudson and Essex counties. “We’re not telling you we might — we will get to all corners, especially the hard-to-reach elements of our urban communities over the next period of time,” he said.
Unanswered questions about allocations
Murphy has insisted that his team works closely with leaders from all counties on vaccine allocation, but the state has declined multiple requests for a county-by-county breakdown of the shots distributed. The process is also complicated by the uncertain supply; state officials said they only learn one week in advance how many doses they will receive from federal sources and the number can shift by tens of thousands each week.
While equity has always been a factor in the state’s distribution process, New Jersey officials forged recent partnerships with churches and other community groups to do a better job getting COVID-19 vaccine to minority communities that have suffered an outsize burden during the pandemic. On Wednesday Murphy said they plan to expand these options as more vaccines become available and are also working to outfit a trio of vans that can serve as mobile immunization clinics that can be dispatched directly to at-risk communities.
While Black and Hispanic individuals are more likely than white New Jerseyans to be infected, hospitalized and die from the virus, they are being vaccinated at a slower pace. According to state tracking, less than 5% of the more than 3.6 million shots given since December have gone to Black people, just over 7% to Hispanics and more than 58% to whites.
Logistical difficulties
That data indicates the challenges involved with vaccinating people in Hudson County, which has the third-highest percentage of Black and Hispanic residents — after Essex and Passaic counties — a high concentration of poverty and more homes without cars than any other county. With many of the state’s immunization sites operating as drive-throughs, automobiles are considered an important factor in accessing shots. And the dense population makes the disease more likely to spread.
Given the demographics and the high COVID-19 incidence, Hudson County officials — egged on by growing public pressure, including several opinion pieces in the Jersey Journal — are now calling on Trenton to do more. Hudson County Commissioners have also prepared a resolution urging Murphy to “significantly increase” the vaccine supply and identify the “causes of the lagging vaccination rates” in the county, according to a draft obtained by NJ Spotlight News.
Since the first reported case in March 2020, nearly 878,000 COVID-19 diagnoses have been recorded in New Jersey, including more than 24,200 fatalities. Hudson has identified more than 77,000 cases — or nearly 11 per 1,000 residents, the second-highest rate after Passaic’s 124/1,000 — and more than 2,000 deaths.
State Department of Health commissioner Judy Persichilli described in detail the state’s vaccine allocation process Wednesday, noting “we look first at equity” — employing a formula designed to create parity in the distribution process — “and then we look at disease burden,” using death and hospitalization rates. The review also applies the “social vulnerability index,” a data tool that includes poverty rates, the racial mix of the community, access to automobiles and other factors, she said.
“Then we look at throughput — how many doses can each point of dispensing move through in a day. We don’t want to get them more then they can handle because the doses end up on a shelf,” Persichilli continued. “Lastly, we look at inventory,” assessing how many doses each clinic already has in stock for the coming weeks, she said. “And we do that for all 600 sites” that are part of New Jersey’s COVID-19 immunization program, Persichilli explained.
New Jersey City University (NJCU) has announced that the University has received a gift in the amount of $200,000 from Bob Antonicello, former Executive Director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.
Antonicello is a Jersey City native and the Principal and Founder of his current company, Grid Real Estate, LLC., where he continues his involvement in the Jersey City real estate market. He was named to the NJCU Foundation Board of Directors in May 2018.
The gift will go to support its campaign to develop its Center for Music, Dance and Theater (CMDT).
In 2015, Antonicello made a $250,000 donation to the NJCU School of Business, where he is an adjunct professor teaching real estate courses.
“Bob Antonicello is a Jersey City success story and a visionary leader who profoundly understands the significance of our institution as the heart of our community,” said NJCU President Sue Henderson. “His generosity underlines his long-standing commitment to our students and how giving can make a lasting impact on students and future generations.”
Antonicello has served in various leadership positions in local government, ranging from Director of Neighborhood Planning to his eight years as Executive Director for the JCRA, New Jersey’s largest and oldest municipal redevelopment agency. There, he was responsible for many high-profile projects in Jersey City’s redevelopment, including the Powerhouse Project, the Journal Square Vision Plan and its successful green workforce-housing program.
“For many students, their family’s story starts at NJCU,” said Antonicello. “If you’re going to get involved in giving, I cannot think of a better way than to get involved right here at NJCU. For our country to thrive, new immigrants need the opportunity to grab the brass ring and they will do it at schools like NJCU. They won’t have that chance if they come out of school mired in debt.”
“Anchor institutions like NJCU are so important to the city and many people who move to Jersey City for the convenience of the city and proximity to New York don’t drill down and learn how important these institutions are.”
A controversial resolution to advance the administration’s plan for a STEM high school next to Liberty Science Center was approved last night over the vociferous objections of the overwhelming majority of public speakers.
Liberty Science Center High School is to be one component of SciTech Scity, a science and tech “innovation hub” planned for a thirty-acre parcel adjacent to Liberty State Park. Jersey City donated 12.5 of those acres to the the project. It will be open to all Hudson County students and run by Hudson County Schools of Technology.
In the days leading up to the vote, considerable opposition to the plan emerged on social media with many detractors objecting to Jersey City’s agreement to pay $2 million per year for 30 years towards the school’s operation while other Hudson County municipalities had made no similar commitment.
Making a rare appearance before the council, Mayor Steven Fulop argued the school’s case. “There are thousands Jersey City residents every year who apply to the county schools, and there are just not enough seats.” Jersey City is “paying a little bit more” than the other cities in Hudson County, he admitted, but added that the students in county schools are “disproportionately Jersey City.”
To his critics who asserted that the city had not worked with the Jersey City Public Schools, the mayor responded, “Over the last year, we’ve met repeatedly, almost monthly, to talk about solutions to funding the schools.” Citing the late councilman Michael Yun’s emphasis on accountability, the mayor defended his reluctance to write a “blank check” to the JCPS.
Several parents called in to support the school. Vidya Gangadin said “this is a great addition and opportunity for Jersey City residents…when you are that parent seeking the best high school based on your child’s educational interest, only then do you realize that the demand is far more than what is available.”
But the lion’s share of callers strongly disapproved including many students from the city’s nationally recognized McNair Academic High School.
Referring to the $2 million yearly payment, McNair student Jai Jhaveri mused, “I can’t even imagine what my school could do with that kind of funding.”
Junior Arianna Fialon, added, “When we bring up the fact that we only have one school nurse for 700 students or that our bathroom and ceiling are broken or that we’ve never done a chemistry lab or that there are bugs crawling all over the cafeteria floor, we are always met with the same response, ‘we don’t have the money to fix that.'”
Said Jersey City teacher Daniela Moore, “I’m a school teacher, yet I’m spending money out of my own pocket for supplies, uniforms. We’re washing children’s clothing. It’s so evident that these children more than ever need support.”
Ward E Councilman James Solomon asked that the resolution be deferred in order to obtain a written guaranty from the county that Jersey City would get 60 percent of the seats at the school. The motion was defeated with all seven members of the mayor’s slate voting against it.
In voting to approve the resolution, Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley suggested that all sides come together to obtain more funding from the state. “I feel like the city is being dumped on…I would really like it if we could join forces and fight at the state level to get more of that funding back.”
Joining Ridley was Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson who said that he “found it very troubling when grownups and political hacks try to turn things into a political football to be tossed around for soundbites for political ambitions.”
Councilman-at-Large Rolando Lavarro said that he “was still a supporter of SciTech Scity” but called the school “a project built on lies.” He added, “The question here is about equity. And this is not providing an equitable opportunity for our Jersey City kids.”
The council voted to adopt the resolution 6–2 with Councilman-at-Large Daniel Rivera abstaining.
In other business, the council approved an ordinance establishing the rate of the annual levy to be collected for The Arts and Culture Trust Fund and an ordinance to enhance affordable housing compliance. The former will be $.25 per $1,000 in assessed property value.
It’s hard to deny the initial allure of the mayor’s plan to build Liberty Science Center High School, a $45 million “state-of-the-art” facility that would “offer skill-centric science, technology, engineering, and math classes for 400 science-talented high school students in grades 9–12.” Throw in the promise of “a work education program” for students at “200-plus technology startup companies,” and it seems like a no brainer, a “lay up” in the mayor’s parlance.
But like that house you came close to buying that was bigger than you needed and way more money than you could afford, the more you think about the mayor’s latest splashy project, the more you realize it doesn’t make sense.
Let’s start with the cost, which is attracting the lion’s share of outrage on social media. The memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) commits Jersey City to kicking in $2 million per year for thirty years for the operation of the county-run school. At first blush, it doesn’t sound like that much in the context of the city’s $628 million budget and the recently adopted $827 million Jersey City Schools budget. And if, as the mayor does, you divide that $2 million by the 240 students from Jersey City who are guaranteed to attend, it looks like a terrific deal. It’s a huge discount when compared with what Jersey City Schools spend per student, the mayor says.
But there are problems. First there’s the simple matter of the mayor’s math. Sure, the cost would be less per student if the board of ed were to cut the school budget by its cost to educate 240 students. But the Jersey City School’s administration has, as far as we know, made no such commitment. If the school budget doesn’t go down and the city spends more, that’s no savings at all.
Then there’s the problem brought up by Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano. Why is there no similar commitment from the other Hudson County municipalities that would send their students to the school? Jersey City taxpayers have every right to an answer.
Apart from the cost, there’s the equally important question of whether another gleaming, tricked-out, high school is what Jersey City or Hudson County, for that matter, needs. Currently, only 49.7 percent of Jersey City students meet or exceed state English language arts expectations and 33.6 percent of Jersey City students meet or exceed state math expectations. Only 75.3 percent of high school students graduate in four years.
These catastrophic numbers speak not to the need for more programs for high-performing students who already have multiple options including McNair, Infinity, High Tech and County Prep but to the need for massive intervention with the many at-risk students.
Finally there’s timing. The potential attraction of the SciTech site for the school would be the presence of “200-plus technology startup companies” that would theoretically provide internship and employment opportunities to students. Building the school before those businesses are a reality would be taking a huge risk. Let’s hope they materialize. But if they don’t, the school will end up an out-of-the-way white elephant.
Mayor Fulop has demonstrated a fondness for large, newsworthy projects be it the massive Bayfront development, the new police headquarters or the construction of Skyway Park. These hugely expensive projects have been announced at the very same time that the budget for youth recreation has been cut. One can only imagine the after-school programs and facilities that could be built with even a fraction of the funds going towards them.
If the mayor wants to improve educational outcomes in Jersey City, he will focus not on shiny “branding” opportunities like Liberty Science Center High School but on the thousands of struggling Jersey City kids crying out for his help.
