Council Sets Hearing on Controversial Development in Bergen-Lafayette

Also Creates City’s First “Women’s Advisory Board”

As expected, the City Council of Jersey City has cleared the way for a Feb. 9 public hearing on controversial changes to the Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan in Bergen-Lafayette.

On Jan. 26 the council approved a first reading of an ordinance adopting amendments to the plan. Ward F Councilman Frank Gilmore and Ward E Councilman James Solomon were the lone dissenters.

If passed, the ordinance will allow Skyline Development Group and its principal, Louis Mont, to redevelop the industrial site known as “Steel Tech” at 417 Communipaw Ave.

Gilmore said he wanted “more discussion with the developer to get more clarity” about the project, particularly details related to a community center that would be part of the development.

In an email to the council, June Jones, a leader of community opposition to the project, urged the city’s lawmakers to table the vote given the city’s new ward map that removed the site from Ward F and its newly-elected representative, Gilmore.

“Be outraged” by the actions of the ward commission, Jones said, adding that it’s illustrative of the “cracking and packing” techniques used to dilute minority representation in the community.

The site now sits in Ward A, represented by Councilwoman Denise Ridley.

Plans call for a 17-story, 421-unit luxury high-rise, of which five percent would be reserved as “affordable” units; a 22,000-square-foot building housing a basketball court and spaces for other yet-to-be-determined recreational uses; and eight commercial “incubators” for minority-owned startup businesses.

But critics, including the Hudson County chapter of the Sierra Club, griped that the project’s density would overwhelm a neighborhood populated by one- and two-family homes. They also contended the project would infringe on land originally slated to extend the adjoining Berry Lane Park—an allegation denied by the city and the city Redevelopment Agency.

In December 2020 the City Council approved amendments to the Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan to accommodate the project. This prompted the Morris Canal Redevelopment Corp. to sue. In August 2021, a judge ordered the matter back to the city Planning Board to explain how the project conformed to elements of the city’s master plan. The Planning Board did so and then recommended the City Council ratify the plan.

In other business at its Jan. 26 session, the council adopted an ordinance creating a “Women’s Advisory Board” for Jersey City. The board would recommend policy and guidelines on such women’s issues as equal pay and childcare. It will have neither a budget nor any legal power. All board members must live in Jersey City; most are expected to be women.

Several public speakers commended the city for taking this step but cautioned that more forceful action was needed to achieve meaningful change.

Eiko LaBoria and Monica Meiterman-Rodriguez, leaders of the new grassroots group Jersey City Women said the board needed power and funding.

LaBoria said that women are the ones who are “most affected by the pandemic” in Jersey City, saying that women constituted 70 percent of the city’s frontline workers. She called the board’s formation a “big step” but added, “Any board with no money or power cannot be expected to perform at its highest level.”

In an email submitted to the city clerk, Tami Weaver-Henry said that, for too long, “women in Jersey City have felt like they’ve been muted,” but with the board’s creation, there’s a real chance that they can “feel stronger and safer now than ever before.”

In another email received by the clerk’s office, Chelsea Duffy, one of the organizers of the Jersey City Women’s Historical Committee, said the advisory board has her “full support…We need more consistency to make women’s voices heard.”

Council President Joyce Watterman, who pitched the advisory board proposal, said, “I know it needs funding,” but added that it was an important first step in the process of advocating for equity for women in Jersey City.

Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley agreed, saying, “This should have happened a long time ago.”

Councilwoman at-large Amy DeGise thanked LaBoria for her volunteer labors on behalf of the cause.

Some other matters on the council agenda that drew some heat were:

• a resolution awarding a $30,000 contract to Sanpro LLC, of Lakewood, NJ, to remove and dispose of medical waste from the city’s municipally operated Covid-19 vaccination sites was approved by a 5-4 vote. Dissenting was Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh, who said that Bespoke, a New York firm contracted to manage those sites, should be paying for the service. Council members Watterman, Solomon, and Gilmore also voted “no.”
• A resolution authorizing a settlement of a sexual abuse lawsuit brought by city employee Visitacion Sardinas against both the city and former city employee Vincent Caruso for $145,000. All council members voted to approve it except Gilmore, who abstained, saying he was reluctant to vote for such settlements without knowing what, if any, safeguards city managers have put in place to protect city employees from abuse. He was assured by acting city business administrator John Metro that the city has “revamped employee policies” in that area and invited Gilmore to bring up the matter in closed session for further discussion.
• A resolution authorizing a $300,000 payment to the State Department of Military and Veteran Affairs permitting the city to use the National Guard Armory on Montgomery Street for youth recreation programs. Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano voted “yes” but asked city staffers to find out why St. Joseph’s School’s request to use the armory for basketball had been turned down. The authorization was approved.