I am voting for Rolando Lavarro for Council at Large on November 2nd and I urge you to join me. Why? Because he is honest, smart, and an independent voice in City Hall. He’s fighting for ALL of Jersey City, regardless of economic status or neighborhood. Before it was trendy to label yourself “progressive,” Rolando was simply a conscientious public servant who passed meaningful laws that afforded dignity to working people, like Earned Sick Days and Living Wage.
He has taken up the issue of affordability as his own, because as a lifelong Jersey City resident, he has seen longtime neighbors and friends struggle to be able to afford to remain in Jersey City, or worse, be displaced due to hyper-gentrification. His patience is unfailing and he cares. Most of all, he is not afraid to take on the tough issues, and go against the grain, when it is clearly the right thing to do.
When a bogus inclusionary zoning ordinance (affordable housing) full of loopholes came before the Council, the public expressed outrage and dismay for over four hours of testimony, urging the Council to reject the developer-friendly ordinance. Councilman Lavarro listened intently, knew the facts, and heeded the call to vote NO. (The Hudson County courts later struck down the sham ordinance, with the Judge saying, “it is not something this court believes is lawful.”) Rolando has consistently fought for what’s good for the people of Jersey City over what’s good for developers. Rolando is the anti-rubber-stamp, anti-corruption candidate, the education and labor candidate, and the conscience of the Council. If you’re like me, you want someone representing you who will listen to you, who hears your concerns, and who owes his allegiance to no one but his constituents. And that’s Rolando Lavarro.
Please join me casting your eyes to column 9B and your vote for Councilman at Large Rolando Lavarro. He’s our own advocate and we all need him in our corner.
Heather Sporn
Heather Sporn is a Heights resident, Landscape Architect, Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance Board Member
A Jersey City man has been arrested in connection with the death of a 49 year-old woman earlier this month in Greenville.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit has arrested and charged Eugene Williams, age 25, of Jersey City, in the death of Shannon T. Johnson.
At approximately 12:54 a.m. on October 1, Johnson was found face down and unconscious on the sidewalk at 112 Bergen Avenue in Greenville. Johnson was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition.
On October 7, Johnson succumbed to her injuries. The Regional Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt impact injuries of head and neck and the manner of death a homicide.
On Thursday, Williams was arrested at 117 Van Nostrand Avenue and charged with Manslaughter.
Candidates for the Jersey City Board of Education shared their ideas for addressing a teacher shortage affecting the city’s public schools at a virtual forum held by Infinity Institute parents Tuesday night.
Jersey City’s teacher shortage also loomed large at Monday’s school board caucus meeting at which Superintendent of Schools Franklin Walker said 120 new teachers had been hired this year but that others had retired or resigned.
Walker also noted, “Many of the vacancies in the Jersey City Public School district exist in schools located in neighborhoods with the lowest income.”
According to the U.S. Department of Education,the state is currently short of teachers of English as a second language, world languages, math, science, career and technical education, and special education.
A recent national survey conducted by Education Week showed more than three-quarters of district leaders and principals reporting at least moderate staffing shortages.
At Tuesday’s forum Infinity Institute parent and moderator Jed Ehrmann asked the candidates who attended — Younass Barkouch, Natalia Ioffe and Paula Jones-Watson of the “Education Matters slate, Erika Baez and Doris ‘Toni’ Ervin of the “Change for Children” slate and independent candidate Afaf Muhammad — how they would address the shortage if elected.
Ioffe said one of the simplest and fastest ways to address the shortage would be for the board to create a program designed to recruit new teachers from local colleges.
“As some parents who are here today, they have affiliations with various universities here in Jersey City, whether it’s Hudson County Community College, NJCU, or St. Peter’s, our district has yet to build this kind of connection, a bridge with these universities, when it comes to recruiting potential teachers, who may already be studying to be teachers.”
Barkouch and Jones-Watson, Ioffe’s running mates, agreed with this idea.
Baez said a $5,000 signing bonus for new teachers, which the superintendent tried to implement in August, should be reconsidered. She also proposed a technological solution:
“There’s no reason why we cannot have teachers in the subject needed teaching their own class and being broadcast so that the students without a certified teacher can join in that class.”
Muhammad said she would talk to fellow board members, the superintendent, and possibly state Department of Education officials about training so that teachers without certifications could obtain them (not increasing the number of teachers but at least increasing the number of teachers qualified to teach certain subjects).
“That topic is something that would have to be a team effort, and also something that will come from a lot of different policies that are in place right now,” she said.
Jones-Watson said she would consider putting incentives in place for current substitute teachers, “emergency cert teachers” and career changers.
“There are many people in the workforce that may be leaving corporate America, and teaching may be an idea that they have, such as business teachers, bankers and things like that. We may have to consider some of them.”
Ervin recommended reducing the teacher shortage by promoting to the district’s current non-teaching workforce the alternative-path to certification and offering tuition incentives and “liaisons” to support new teachers.
“Within our schools, there are staff members who would like to become teachers, but they just don’t know the process,” she said.
Several candidates mentioned a need for more competitive salaries. Barkouch recommended luring recruits with tuition subsidies for grad school:
“Teach for America offers [college graduates] the opportunity to get their Master’s and only pay a portion of the cost. So I think that’s definitely something the district should explore. But obviously, we’re gonna have to go back and check to check the budget, do a forensic analysis of the budget to see if money can be allocated towards these programs,” Barkouch said.
Ehrmann, the moderator, asked the candidates whether they would be willing to amend the current contract between the board and teacher’s union.
Baez said she is willing to consider it.
“If that does mean renegotiating the contract for the starting salary, then it should be done,” she said, “because this is our children’s future we’re talking about.”
Younass Barkouch said, “I want to state that I’m not certain if the contract can be amended before it ends.”
He said with short-term solutions, the district runs the risk of “hiring teachers who aren’t necessarily as good as the ones that we already have. I’m more focused on long term solutions.”
A 26 year-old Jersey City man has pleaded guilty in the death of a woman struck down by a vehicle last year while walking in Greenville.
At approximately 7 a.m. on July 26, 2020 the woman, Charnell Lytch, 24, also of Jersey City, was hit by a car while she walked on Garfield Avenue near Chapel Avenue. Lytch later succumbed to her injuries at Jersey City Medical Center.
Authorities determined that the driver of the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee that struck Lytch and who had transported Lytch to the hospital, was Bahsil Marsh.
Authorities also determined that at the time of the accident, Marsh was intoxicated and driving with a suspended license.
On Thursday, Marsh pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree Death by Auto and a motor vehicle summons for Driving While Intoxicated.
The State is recommending a sentence of five years in New Jersey State Prison subject to the No Early Release Act along with a consecutive ten year driver’s license suspension.
The plea was accepted by Judge Patrick J. Arre.
Sentencing in the case is scheduled for December 15, 2021.
Luisa Reyes Mantilla was a young single mother in 1994 when she spotted an advertisement for low-income, first-time homebuyers in Jersey City.
To qualify, you had to have good credit, a few thousand dollars in the bank, and a willingness to rent the other half of your duplex to someone similarly in need. She called right away.
Jersey City Affordable Housing Flyer
“My dad had recently passed away, and I could move my mother and special-needs brother in next-door. I thought it was wonderful,” Mantilla said. “At closing, I was so excited. This is what they told me, I’ll never forget it: ‘This is a very good investment you’re making. In the years to come, it’s going to be worth a lot of money.’”
Indeed, in the nearly three decades since, average home prices have tripled in Jersey City. The home that Mantilla bought for $78,900 is now worth over $600,000.
But Mantilla and other homeowners who purchased their properties through the same program won’t pocket most of that appreciation when they sell, because of a deed restriction they say they didn’t know was on their mortgages.
Deed restrictions are a common way for municipalities to preserve their affordable housing stock. They’re essentially conditions a low-income homeowner must meet in order to buy a discounted home with little money down and manageable monthly mortgage payments. Typically, they require a homeowner to live in and maintain the property for 20 or more years. If homeowners move before their time is up, deed restrictions usually require them to pay back some of the subsidy the municipality paid to cover the difference between their cost and the builder’s price.
But deed restrictions can include other conditions that vary from town to town.
In Jersey City, at least 100 residents bought discounted homes with a 95/5 deed restriction. Under that restriction, residents can sell their homes at market rate after 20 years — but 95% of the difference between that rate and the affordable housing rate goes to the municipality, and the seller keeps 5%.
In communities with flat or gradual real estate appreciation, such a strategy might not spark as much outrage.
But in Jersey City, where home prices have exploded as fast as Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk, residents saddled with these 95/5 deed restrictions say the deals have become a sneaky way for the city to cash in, at homeowners’ expense.
Worse, because homeowners paid out of pocket to repair and renovate their homes over the years, many say they’ll barely break even — and some will lose money — when they sell.
Indeed, critics say 95/5 restrictions perpetuate poverty because they prevent the homeowners — mostly poor and moderate-income people of color — from building generational wealth, a key perk of home ownership. That’s especially problematic in a state that has one of the worst racial wealth gaps in the nation, critics say.
“They told me in 20 years it’d be mine, so it should be mine. It’s not the city’s,” Mantilla said. “But it’s not our house. It was never mine. It’s just like we’re maintaining this house for the city. We’re landlords.”
In August, a group called New Jersey Together — made up of activists and leaders of more than 50 nonprofits and faith congregations — sent letters to Gov. Phil Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop asking for help. The letters prompted a few phone calls — but no meetings or concrete solutions.
The Rev. Dr. Alonzo Perry Sr., senior pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Jersey City, signed the letters.
“We see this as an injustice that contributes to the wealth gap,” Perry said. “The primary vehicle people have to build wealth in this country is real estate. But under this deed restriction, a tenant would come out in the same place at the end of 25 years, because they’re just babysitting the property and making improvements only for the city to benefit.”
Murphy, a Democrat seeking re-election next week, has said closing the wealth gap is a priority, and last month, he created a Wealth Disparity Task Force. A Murphy spokeswoman declined to comment.
A Jersey City spokeswoman said officials there are examining the issue and “exploring options to be fair and balanced for all involved.” Once they’re done gathering information, they plan to convene community meetings with residents to learn more about each case, spokeswoman Kim Wallace-Scalcione said.
She pointed out that the affected residents got a deal on the homes. They used federal Housing and Urban Development grants to buy the homes at discounted prices and had lower tax rates, Wallace-Scalcione said. Many also got rental income from a second unit, she added.
“Under the initial contract each homeowner agreed to and signed off on, the affordable housing unit can be sold at fair market price, with the owner receiving full repayment and an additional 5% of revenues from the full-price sale,” Wallace-Scalcione said, “with the remaining revenue allocated directly back into the Jersey City Affordable Housing Trust Fund so that other residents can have access to the same funds and the same benefits as these residents did.”
Wealth-building vs. affordable housing preservation
Affordable housing watchdogs suspect homeowners elsewhere around the state might be similarly affected, although New Jersey Together has focused its advocacy in Jersey City.
Many municipalities have handled 95/5 deals differently by requiring affordable home buyers to resell their homes to other low-income buyers at below-market prices, with the broader goal of preserving their affordable housing stock, said Adam Gordon, executive director of the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center.
But Jersey City didn’t, spawning the current kerfuffle.
While 95/5 deed restrictions used to be common, they’re not used any more in part because of this issue, Gordon said. Indeed, they have led to litigation elsewhere. In 2013, about 160 homeowners sued Mahwah township — and won — after officials there tried to enforce a 95/5 rule on affordable homes that had passed their 25-year restriction period.
“This is a particularly arcane part of a really important issue, which is: How do you preserve affordable housing while also allowing people to build wealth?” Gordon said.
New Jersey tweaked its approach to affordable housing in 2001, adopting the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls, a lengthy list of rules intended to protect affordable housing opportunities statewide.
Still, a chronic shortage of affordable housing statewide persists. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that New Jersey has 205,285 fewer affordable homes than it needs to house families and individuals who live below the poverty line or make 30% or less of their area median income. And 95/5 restrictions that allow homeowners to sell affordable units at market rate can worsen that shortage, critics say, because they fuel gentrification.
In Jersey City, the 95/5 discontent is part of a bigger brouhaha over affordable housing there. The city last year passed a law requiring developers of certain projects to make 20% of their units affordable, but the law included loopholes that critics complained gave developers an out. The Fair Share Housing Center sued, and a judge in August struck down the law as illegal.
Perpetuating poverty?
With no solution in sight, the homeowners affected by the 95/5 restriction in Jersey City feel stuck in place.
Even worse, they feel hoodwinked. They say neither the city nor builder JP Affordable Housing explained the 95/5 restriction, and most came to closing without an attorney.
“I feel like I’m smarter than this. I even studied all this in school,” said homeowner Rosemary Nwabueze, whose postgraduate studies focused on public administration and urban and public policy. “Honestly, I’m embarrassed that I fell for this.”
Rosemary Nwabueze (Fran Baltzer for New Jersey Monitor)
Homeowner Esperanza Garces said she didn’t have an attorney or an inspector.
“I was only 21 or 22 when I started this process, so I didn’t know what I was supposed to do,” Garces said.
JP Affordable Housing owner Gene O’Connell defended his company, saying staff gave homeowners a list of attorneys they could hire to represent them at closing and JP had its own attorney at the table as well. New Jersey doesn’t require real estate buyers — or sellers — to have an attorney.
He empathizes with the homeowners now.
“I think asserting the 95/5 rule on fair market now is really onerous,” O’Connell said. “Owning a home is the American dream, and you should be allowed to make a profit.”
Owning a home is the American dream, and you should be allowed to make a profit.
– Gene O’Connell, builder
The deed restriction was problematic in other ways too: It prevented Mantilla’s children from getting financial aid for college.
“My kids were denied financial aid because I own property. According to financial aid, they said I had equity in my house,” Mantilla said. “But that equity is not mine.”
Because of a similar issue, Carly Olivier said the deed restriction kept his mother from getting a bank loan to help repair structural problems caused by repeated flood damage.
“We got very little from home insurance — not enough to deal with the underlying problem, which was the foundation eroding because of the constant flooding issues and the sewer system backing up into the home,” Olivier said.
Workers had to build concrete pilings to raise the house and replace the roof, which caved in due to the structural issues, Olivier said. His mother has had to rent a place across town since 2016 while workers fix the house.
“We will lose money on this house, because we still have repairs to make,” Olivier said. “But we still have to keep up with our taxes, our mortgage payments, all of it.”
Like many of the affected homeowners, Olivier’s mother is an immigrant — she’s originally from Haiti — and English is her second language. Olivier suspects a language barrier kept his mother and others from understanding how the deed restriction could impact their finances for decades.
Nwabueze hopes city officials do take the time, as promised, to hear homeowners’ stories — and act to make things right.
“This is an affordable housing program that’s supposed to help people build wealth and become stable by buying a home, but the city is saying: ‘You’re not going to reap the benefits of this because the money is going back to the city now, and too bad, oh well for you!’” she said. “How can they disenfranchise somebody that they say they’re trying to help?”
At Wednesday’s meeting, the City Council voted to reappoint John Scura as the acting CF, and awarded a $35,000 grant to PERC to administer the city’s overflow homeless shelter program.
John Scura Reappointed Acting CFO As Previous CFO’s Lawsuit Against City Continues
The City Council passed a resolution 7–1 to reappoint John Scura as the acting CFO of Jersey City. Councilman At Large Rolando Lavarro voted “no,” citing uncertainty as to Mr. Scura’s residency. Councilman Rivera was absent.
Councilperson At Large Lavarro pointed out that Mr. Scura’s “resume did not indicate residence.”
John Metro, the acting Business Administrator for the city said, “I do believe he lives downtown in Ward E.”
Lavarro reminded the council that “we made a commitment in 2013 that appointments in these positions would be Jersey City residents.”
Said Lavarro, “the prior CFO is suing the city. I voted ‘no’ in that regard, and that individual has alleged a number of improprieties on the city’s part. Our laws require residency, although the council can waive that with this vote. I believe Mr. Scura is qualified for the position, but in the absence of knowing his residence, I’m going to vote ‘no’.”
Council Approves $35,000 Grant for Overflow Homeless Shelters From $6.5 Million CARES Act Funding
The City Council approved a $35,000 grant to the Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation (PERC) to administer the city’s overflow homeless shelter program. The monies will come out of a CARES Act grant of over $6.5 Million Jersey City received from the federal government.
Jersey City resident Jeanne Daly said, “The fact that we have an overflow program is disgusting and disgraceful. It proves that we’ve never done enough for our homeless people. The Exchange Place Alliance gave $20,000 alone to Council President Watterman’s coat drive last year. We should start giving out tin cups and begging some of these developers for money.”
Lavarro acknowledged Daly’s comments, and stated, “I am not against funding PERC, but the amount is woefully low.”
The resolution passed 7–0–1 with Councilman At Large Lavarro abstaining. Councilman Rivera was absent.
An analysis of the nearly 800 votes the City Council took in the first 40 weeks of this year shows a striking pattern: Members of “Team” Fulop — Councilmembers Richard Boggiano, Mira Prinz-Arey, Denise Ridley, Daniel Rivera, Jermaine Robinson, Yousef Saleh, and Joyce Watterman — voted in lock step 99 percent of the time, in every instance voting in favor of whatever resolution or ordinance had been introduced.
In interviews with the Jersey City Times, Prinz-Arey, Robinson, Watterman and Ridley had described themselves as independent.
The one time all of the politicians belonging to “Team” Fulop failed to support a proposed law — in this case by abstaining — they also did so as a block. That resolution supported eliminating the “line” on New Jersey ballots that groups candidates together under a better known state or national candidate, increasing the votes for those lower on the line by as much as 50 percent.
Eliminating the line would, according to experts, diminish the power of party bosses and slates of candidates. Team Fulop member and Hudson County Democratic Organization Chairperson Amy DeGise is one such “boss” who would have her power curtailed if the line is eliminated. The resolution passed with just two “ayes”: those of Councilmen Lavarro and Solomon.
Other aspects of our City Council’s record came to light during our analysis as well.
The council voted unanimously 87 percent of the time on the 800 votes, leaving roughly 140 resolutions or ordinances they disagreed on. Joyce Watterman was absent for 14 percent of those votes (as she has has been absent for all of the candidate debates). Richard Boggiano abstained four times from supporting measures that would either have increased government transparency or condemned those seeking to interfere with democracy.
James Solomon, who is not a member of “Team” Fulop nevertheless voted with the mayor’s slate over 96 percent of the time so far this year.
Rolando Lavarro, Jr. proved to be the outlier amongst the councilmembers. This year so far he has opposed legislation approved by the majority almost 11 percent of the time.
A friend who lives in the West Side neighborhood passed on a letter that you circulated in the neighborhood in support of Ward B councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey, who is being challenged by Joel Brooks. I don’t have a horse in that city council race; I am a homeowner in the Heights. I have never met Joel Brooks. Nor have I participated in his campaign for city councilman. But I have to say I am really shocked by your decision to circulate an inflammatory letter condemning his candidacy on the grounds that he is a “proud Socialist” who supports “an extreme” platform, and that his stands are “dangerous.”
After reading your letter, I did some research on the city council race in Ward B. What I found is that Brooks supports stronger rent control measures, environmentally sustainable development, more oversight over the police and investment in transit infrastructure, among other things. There’s little that’s “extreme” or “dangerous” in his positions. Most would consider Brooks a legitimate spokesperson for progressive Democratic policies, much along the lines of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, or Elizabeth Warren.
Your letter uses red-baiting scare tactics, calling Brooks a “proud and declared socialist,” as though that is something that is threatening and dangerous. It implies that he will take away rights, property, and bring lawlessness to our streets. That’s nonsense. Growing number of Americans want progressive policies, such as higher taxes on the wealthy, a national childcare policy, and dental benefits for seniors– ideas that are now a central part of the Democratic Party platform.
I supported you when you first ran for mayor of Jersey City. I even went door to door campaigning for you. Over the years I have been disappointed by the fact that you have become more and more beholden to big real estate interests and less responsive to the real needs of the people of Jersey City. The letter you circulated to Ward B residents, which reminds me of the polarizing tactics of Donald Trump, makes me wonder whether you’re really a Republican in Democrat’s clothing.
If you have read our piece on the mayoral contest, you already know that we are not big fans of Steven M. Fulop.Nor do we believe that Lewis Spears represents a credible alternative due to his lack of experience and qualifications.
However, all is not lost. Standing in the wings and hoping to replace “Team” Fulop are ten independent, smart, and capable individuals who, if elected, could begin to turn this ship around.
What Jersey City has had since the mayor’s election is a compliant legislativebody resembling the Russian Duma. Over and over again, Team Fulop has rubber-stamped the mayor’s worst policies, never stopping to question them or even suggest changes.
This is born out by a Jersey City Times analysis, to be published shortly, showing that just this year Joyce Watterman, Daniel Rivera, Denise Ridley, Mira Prinz-Arey, Yousef Saleh, and Jermaine Robinson voted as a block over 99 percent of the time. In contrast, Rolando Lavarro voted “aye” just 87 percent of the time. For James Solomon the number was 96 percent. (Richard Boggiano, who recently joined Team Fulop, voted with it 98.5 percent of the time.)
Below is a list of our choices for each of the council seats. Each of the candidates brings unique skills and perspectives to the table.We don’t agree with all of the candidates on every issue, but what we do like and what they share in common is a desire to move government policy in a direction that will serve all Jersey City residents, not just the well-to-do and real estate development community.They are beholden to no one except their constituents.
This group could, if elected, provide a meaningful check on a mayor that has had far too much freedom to impose his vision on the city.His is a vision we fundamentally disagree with.His record on the most important issues facing Jersey City residents, including public safety and sharing the tax burden equitably, has been an abject failure. Change is needed, and this group of candidates would be in a position to make it.
In the interests of time and brevity, we do not include our reasoning for individual candidates. However, we include links to our interviews with all of them. In addition, they all have websites where you can access further information.
This year’s race for mayor presents voters with two wholly unsatisfying options. Regrettably, we can’t endorse either candidate.
Mayor Steven Fulop
Let’s start with Mayor Steven Fulop. It will probably come as no surprise to many of our readers that we cannot support his reelection. We recognize that we are seen by some as biased against him. Indeed, in a recent debate, the mayor said as much while at the same time, citing approvingly one of our articles. “The Jersey City Times is no friend of mine,” he said.
Our coverage of the mayor, however, has never been about making friends. Our goal has always been to shed light on important local issues that have gone unexamined. That we have looked as though we are gunning for the mayor brings us no pleasure. But Jersey City residents deserve to know what the truth is on crime, development, and a host of other issues.
Let’s start with the mayor’s positives. He has presided over eight years of growth. Under his leadership, Jersey City has continued to develop at breakneck speed with businesses opening and its reputation growing. Many residents applaud his ambitious projects from SciTech City to the Loew’s renovation to the massive Bayfront project.
We applaud the mayor’s early enactment of transgender protections in city government and the passing of a paid sick leave policy for workers. Diversifying the police department is another accomplishment of which he can be proud. The mayor has made appointments to key posts in his administration that have drawn praise, even from political adversaries.
There is a general sense that the administration was effective in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. On the financial front, the city’s credit rating has improved.
The mayor’s supporters can also, justifiably, point to transportation improvements like Citibike and Via. Some will highlight the mayor’s support for the arts generally and his support for the Arts Trust Fund specifically.
There is, however, a much darker side to the mayor’s record. And we believe that, unfortunately, this far outweighs his accomplishments.
As we reported last week, in an act that would make businessman and Republican party megadonor Charles Koch blush, one of the mayor’s first decisions was to halt the 2014 “reval” of properties. That act, which courts found had no legal justification, cost the property owners in Wards A, B, C, and D (and many in Ward F) $143 million in excess taxes, money which directly enriched the much wealthier residential and commercial property owners of Ward E and Downtown owners in Ward F. We believe the mayor’s maneuver was morally unforgivable and disqualifying on its own.
-Jersey City’s crime rate went up more than 15 percent as it was falling sharply in Newark and New Jersey overall-
Then there’s the mayor’s abysmal record on crime, which would be enough to take down most incumbents. As we reported, during his first six years in office ending with the onset of the pandemic, Jersey City’s crime rate went up more than 15 percent as it was falling sharply in Newark and New Jersey overall. All the while, the mayor, relying on a compliant press, spread the notion that he was achieving “historic” decreases in crime and that he had vastly outperformed the previous administration on the issue. None of this was true. The false narrative stopped only following our report. Although, like in other cities, the crime rate did drop significantly during the pandemic, there is no evidence that the mayor’s failed strategies have changed.
Like the reval decision, the mayor’s failure to rein in crime disproportionately hurt Jersey City’s most vulnerable communities.
It wasn’t just the working class and the poor that the mayor hurt in his first eight years. After taking office in 2013 on a promise of clean government untainted by the culture of “pay-do-play,” the mayor actually worsened Jersey City’s culture of corruption.
Shortly after taking office, Mayor Fulop received thousands in illegal donations through straw donors from attorney Matthew O’Donnell. After receiving those donations, he awarded a lucrative contract to O’Donnell’s law firm. O’Donnell and his law partnerpled guilty in a related case and are reportedly cooperating with the New Jersey attorney general’s investigation.
In 2014, it became clear that the mayor was rewarding powerful donors with lucrative contracts through the Municipal Utilities Authority, skirting around the very anti-pay-to-play ordinances he championed when it was politically convenient.
As he geared up to run for governor, the mayor’s super PAC “Coalition for Progress” raised $3.2 million from a veritable who’s who of Jersey City developers and businesses with matters before the city. The PAC accepted $1 million from the owner of Christ Hospital alone.
In 2014, the mayor’s chief of staff had to resign after he and the city’s deputy housing director were caught on tape attempting to rig a bid. Yet, Fulop later picked the director to run the Jersey City Democratic party.
Fulop’s tight relationship with his former political advisor and fixer, businessman Tom Bertoli, should also give pause to his defenders. Bertoli ran an extensive expediting business for developers in which he leveraged his influence with the mayor. Bertoli’s closeness with the mayor was such that, according to City Hall employees, “Bertoli’s involvement in development projects was a sign of the mayor’s approval of those plans.” Last year, Bertoli was indicted for concealing hundreds of thousands in income.
Sudhan Thomas, the mayor’s choice to lead both the Board of Education and the Jersey City Employment Training Program, has been indicted by both state and federal prosecutors for crimes in connection with both positions. The city later had to settle a whistle blower case brought by a JCETP employee who had alerted authorities about Thomas.
The mayor, it appears, has also been using the power of his office to extract favors. Just this year, he closed on a private deal to buy a luxury home from asset manager Dixon Advisory. Dixon had already renovated one Fulop home and built another on the beach in Rhode Island. The mayor’s questionable relationship with Dixon was the subject of a lengthy and scathing report in Bloomberg.com. The mayor’s desire to help Dixon was also, according to many, the impetus for his disastrous reval decision.
We could continue on to the mayor’s many flip flops and ill-considered efforts that were ultimately abandoned. His “water tax” and his plan to turn the EMS contract over to political donor CarePoint are just two of many examples. Or we could point to the deteriorating quality of life, with noise, litter and traffic frustrating residents each day. And, despite his claims of being a leader in sustainability, we could point to the all-important tree canopy, which by 2020 had fallen by 6 percent under his tenure to a paltry 10.9 percent, well below the 20 percent recommended by American Forrests.
In short, this is not a mayor who has earned reelection. The corruption, prioritizing the wants of the city’s wealthiest over the needs of the city’s least affluent, and presiding over a significant increase in crime are more than enough to disqualify him.
Lewis Spears
This brings us to Lewis Spears. Anyone who has spent even a few minutes with Spears, as we have, learns that this is a man of intelligence, integrity and decency. And his up-from-poverty story, which he mentions in our interview with him back in May 2020, is inspiring and laudable.
Spears was an educator and founded the nonprofit Kismet of Kings program to mentor Jersey City youth. By all accounts, he is the real deal: an activist committed to serving his community. As a candidate, many of his positions appear to be sensible and address shortcomings of the current administration.
-A man of intelligence, integrity and decency-
However, teaching in a classroom and running a tiny not-for-profit simply don’t amount to the kind of experience needed to run New Jersey’s second largest city. Managing a budget of $620 million and overseeing over 1000 employees is not a job for beginners.
Say what you will about Mayor Fulop, but prior to becoming mayor he’d been a councilman for eight years and earned a master’s degree in public policy, knowledge about which was on full display during a recent debate against Spears. Spears appeared unprepared and over his head.
It is with great sadness that we can’t endorse Lewis Spears. He has a bright future. We hope he will consider lowering his sights to run for city council and gain the kind of experience and training he currently lacks.
***
So, what is a voter to do? Vote your conscience. Vote for whichever candidate you think will produce the best results for Jersey City in the next four years — or write someone in. You can also vote in a City Council that will act as a check on Mayor Fulop, should he be reelected. But, regrettably, we can’t help you on your choice of a mayor.
