This week Jersey City’s governing body got plaudits for taking action on adding green space to a Journal Square area starved for it and for beefing up pedestrian safety in the city’s West Side. But, once again, City Council members got an earful from tenants at Portside Towers and other locations, call of them to […]
Ron Leir
Ron Leir has been a journalist since 1972. That includes a 37-year stint as a reporter, copy reader and assistant editor with The Jersey Journal, followed by a decade as a reporter with The Observer in Kearny. He has also pursued his avocation of acting, appearing mostly on small stages in NYC and New Jersey and several independent films.
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As it Pushes for Bikes over the Hackensack River, Cannabis Bedevils City Council
At Monday’s caucus, the City Council tried to clear the smoke around rules governing approvals for the growing list of cannabis business applicants. Simultaneously, the council wants the state to plan for bike crossings along the Hackensack River bridge. With two wannabe cannabis retailers seeking the go-ahead at tonight’s meeting, council members peppered city bureaucrats […]
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Despite Fire Concerns, City to Make Portion of St. Pauls Avenue One-Way
In hopes of reducing truck traffic and of increasing pedestrian safety along a busy stretch of Kennedy Boulevard near Journal Square, Jersey City plans to make St. Pauls Avenue one-way westbound between Kennedy Boulevard and Tonnelle Avenue. Said the city’s chief fire officer, however, the move could hamper Fire Department capabilities. Currently, many trucks and […]
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City Takes Steps to Rein in Own Spending and to Help Beleaguered Renters
As Jersey City continues to suffer growing pains reflected by a surging municipal budget and the fastest growing rents in the New York City metropolitan area, the city’s municipal government spurred in part by Ward E Councilman James Solomon is taking steps aimed at reining in both. On January 25, the city rolled out a buyout offer […]
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Council Grapples with Payroll Glitches and Massive Back Pay Tab
Data overload caused Jersey City’s municipal payroll system to crash a few pay cycles ago. Slowly but surely, it’s been creeping back to normal, according to city administrators. Quizzed by City Council members at Monday’s caucus, James Carroll, assistant director of Human Resources, said the city is trying to switch all of its more than […]
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DeGise Pleads Guilty to Leaving the Scene of an Accident
As her dad, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise looked on, Jersey City’s embattled lawmaker Amy DeGise yesterday pleaded guilty to “leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death.” DeGise’s plea was the culmination of a 6-month ordeal that the city’s at-large lawmaker triggered when she drove her Nissan Rogue SUV through the intersection […]
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BelovED Charter School Senior Offered Full Scholarship to Princeton
Amaya Jiminez, a senior at BelovED Charter School on Grand Street, has been offered a full undergraduate scholarship to Princeton University. The first member of her family to attend college, Jiminez is also a ringing endorsement for BelovED itself, which this year is graduating its first twelth-grade class. Jiminez credits her family for instilling in […]
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NJCU Appoints Interim President to Steer Cash-Leaking Ship
New Jersey City University has promoted its executive vice president, 37-year-old Andres Acebo, to interim president, its third leader in less than one year and the youngest person ever to preside over a public university in New Jersey, according to a campus spokesman. Appointed by NJCU’s board to a two-year term, Acebo assumes the presidency […]
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Boggiano Rails as City Council Approves Homeless Center in Ward C
Jersey City lawmakers had their hands full Wednesday night, reacting to complaints reflecting a tale of two cities. Over the strenuous objections of Ward C Councilmember Richard Boggiano, the council voted 8–1 to authorize a lease agreement between the city, Jersey City Housing Authority and Garden State Community Development Corporation to provide homeless individuals using […]
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Overtime Costs, Glitchy Payroll System and Homeless Drop-in Center Roil Council Caucus
Spiraling overtime on the one hand, and a snafu over regular pay procedures for city police on the other, were hot button topics for members of Jersey City government at Monday night’s City Council caucus. On the first issue, several council members took exception to Ward E Councilmember James Solomon’s call for submission to the […]