With internet access going from luxury to necessity, communities can wind up completely out of the loop as state’s virtual curriculum looks to gain traction
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.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop pointed to Zoom glitches, laptop delays and not enough Chromebooks as some of the issues the city experienced while opening the virtual school door last week for some 30,000 students.
“Early August, there was a rush from every municipality, literally across the county, to secure Chromebooks and that’s created delays, and obviously frustration, along with that,” the mayor said.
The issues were addressed by Jersey City Public Schools Superintendent Franklin Walker during a virtual town hall meeting.
“We had almost 10,000 parents complete the survey. And during that period of time, 24% said they needed a device, so we were looking at 2,400 requests. And based upon that, that’s what we planned our survey around and planned our need to fulfill the technology support for students,” Water said.
“I hear really mixed feedback from parents. A lot of them are struggling with some of the information, but, you know, it’s really uncharted territories for the Board of Education and the superintendent. It’s not easy and people are doing their best to work with them, but there is a degree of frustration,” Fulop said. “We hope that parents are patient. We are doing our best as a city and hopefully we’ll be back in school sooner than later.”
Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cumberland) says the technological gap expands far beyond the basic problems of not being able to provide students with Chromebooks.
“I think what has fallen through the cracks in this state is the fact that there are still sections of our state that don’t have access to the internet. So even if that student had a Chromebook or had a laptop given to them, the internet access is spotty at best,” Testa said. “Access to the internet for years was deemed a luxury, but now it’s a necessity. There are sections, significant sections, of my home county that do not have easy access to the internet.”
Gov. Phil Murphy addressed the issue at his coronavirus briefing on Monday.
“I’m not happy at all with the existence of any digital divide — rural, urban or suburban,” Murphy said. “But I don’t think any state is doing as much as we are doing right now to close that, and it ain’t going to be overnight.”
Vineland High School principal Suzette DeMarchi and assistant principal Jacqueline Roman Alvarez say their students now have internet every day. Their remedy for spotty internet came in the form of a grant for hotspots.
“What this does is it gives us the opportunity to get a free device with internet access — that hotspot — in our students’ hands that are in need. Yes, many of our families do have access. However, we need to make sure it’s in the hands of all,” DeMarchi said.
“There are layers to this that we are still honing in on. Again, this is a pandemic. It is uncharted territory,” Roman Alvarez said.
It’s called lesson planning on the fly and there’s no previous syllabus to draw from for administrators.
Header: Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash
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The Department of Environmental Protection announced today that it is committing tens of millions of dollars to the ecological restoration of 234 acres of Liberty State Park’s interior, creating knolls with sweeping views of the Jersey City and Manhattan skylines and increasing public accessibility, according to Governor Murphy and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe.
The proposed design would restore natural resources and create access to the interior of the park that has been off limits to the public for decades due to historic environmental contamination.
The DEP will host a public meeting in late September and make presentation materials available online (https://nj.gov/dep/nrr/) to invite comments and suggestions from the public.
“Liberty State Park is a cherished cornerstone of our state that improves the quality of life for New Jerseyans and offer great services and experiences,” said Governor Murphy. “Today’s investment will allow us to not only rebuild, but enhance the site while preserving the environment, to provide opportunities for residents to discover and enjoy for generations to come.”
The restoration project area has been closed off to the public by a chain-link fence due to contamination from low levels of metals and hydrocarbons. The site was used to deposit soil in the late 1800’s and covered tidal wetlands, in more than 70 acres of the area.
As part of the redesign, the contaminated soil will be excavated and then capped with clean soil. The clean soil will then be planted with trees, grass and other vegetation. All other open public areas of Liberty State Park were remediated similarly in the past.
At approximately one-third the size of New York City’s Central Park, the proposed natural resources restoration will increase the park’s accessible space by 40 percent and will:
• Clean up contamination • Restore the natural ecosystems • Create additional access to the park for nearby residents • Improve water and air quality • Reduce runoff • Help mitigate climate change • Create public-use enhancements
The draft plan aims to restore several habitat types for a wide variety of species and includes 72 acres of fresh and saltwater wetlands. The proposed design also creates seven miles of additional trails within the park, adds more than 300 new parking spaces, and includes a variety of wildlife viewing, educational, and passive recreational opportunities for visitors.
“Engaging with and listening to our communities is critical to all of our environmental justice and equity work,” said Olivia Glenn, DEP’s Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Justice & Equity. “The public conversation to come is necessary to ensure that the future of Liberty State Park truly incorporates the needs of its neighbors and the visiting public. We know that improved access to natural landscapes are priorities for our communities, but there are often other community priorities that we can address like reducing flooding and brownfield revitalization, making this conversation critical to the success of the design.”
“Liberty State Park is one our most protected treasures here in Jersey City and it’s a welcomed initiative and well-worth celebrating when the State promises actions like this,” Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop said. “Ensuring that Liberty State Park remains a protected open space for everyone is essential, but by significantly enhancing it by making large areas that currently lie behind chained fences, which were polluted during the past industrial era years ago, now open, cleaned and made safe for the use of residents, and visitors – how do you not applaud this endeavor.”
Sam Pesin, president of The Friends of Liberty State Park is pleased. “This tremendously exciting news about the urban nature restoration to benefit urban residents and all visitors, comes 25 years after Governor Whitman listened to the overwhelming majority and rejected the interior golf course plan. In addition to this spectacular nature wonderland and the DEP’s pledge to collaborate on some active recreation and other amenities, the passage of the Liberty State Park Protection Act is essential to fully ensure a great future for the People’s Park behind Lady Liberty.”
“After 30 years of being fenced off to the public and a ceaseless parade of private development schemes for Liberty Park’s 234-acre interior, NJDEP is delivering an exceptional natural restoration and public access plan for this area. We are thrilled!” said Greg Remaud, Baykeeper & CEO of NY/NJ Baykeeper.
“I welcome today’s announcement about reaching a new milestone for the Liberty State Park interior restoration project, which will ultimately benefit Jersey City’s children,” said Senator Sandra Cunningham.
“We are deeply appreciative to Governor Murphy and Commissioner McCabe for investing in Liberty State Park, which is a national treasure and the keeper of this country’s diverse, rich history with markers that have guided generations of citizens and attracted people from all over the world,” said Assemblyman Raj Mukherji of Jersey City, Chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee and a longtime champion of Liberty State Park.
The restoration project is funded primarily through Natural Resource Damages (NRD) settlements. NRD settlements use compensation from polluters who have caused environmental harm to fund projects that restore injuries to New Jersey’s natural resources, like the forests and wetlands proposed in Liberty State Park.
Header photo by Shayna Marchese
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A Morristown law firm at the center of a widening pay-to-play campaign finance scandal may have used “straw donors” to evade legal limits and contribute $22,900 to the 2013 Fulop election effort, according to a new report in NorthJersey.com.
Straw donors are used to evade the $2,600 legal contribution limit for individuals and businesses.
Three months after taking office in 2013, the Fulop administration awarded a contract handling tax appeals to the firm, O’Donnell McCord. By the time Jersey City moved its tax appeals to a new firm in 2018, O’Donnell McCord had received $744,975 in fees. According to the report, the firm earned $20 million from contracts with public entities since 2010.
Firm partner Elizabeth Valandingham was charged in the scheme in June. On August 14th, five of the straw donors were charged as well. According to Mayor Fulop’s 2013 campaign filings which were reviewed by Jersey City Times, at least two of them made substantial contributions to Fulop. Vanessa Ann Brown, listed as an artist living in Verona, made the maximum donation of $2,600. Erin DeMauro, listed as being in “management” and residing in Wayne, gave the maximum donation of $2,600. Erin O’Reilly (alleged to be Erin DeMauro by another name) of West Orange and listed as in being in “management,” gave 2,500.
At this time, there is no evidence that Mayor Fulop is under investigation.
In 2009 and 2012, as Ward E councilman, Fulop spearheaded the effort to adopt “pay-to-play” legislation which placed strict limits on contributions from those doing business with the city. In subsequent years, Fulop was accused by critics * of skirting the law’s provisions.
In a related case, former Jersey City Board of Education president, acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program, and Fulop ally, Sudhan Thomas, is accused of allegedly taking a $35 thousand bribe in exchange for directing work to the O’Donnell McCord firm.
Jersey City Times reached out to Mayor Fulop’s spokesperson for comment and has not received a response.
*Prior to founding Jersey City Times, this writer was one such critic in his capacity as a member of good government group CivicJC.
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The new Berry Lane skate park can trace its origins to the DIY grassroots work of a few intrepid boarders and neighborhood activists. Above is a DIY park that I photographed in July 2011. The concrete is, I can only assume, the floor slab of a demolished industrial building. It is located near one of the remaining fragments of the Morris Canal in Jersey City. The Hudson River is no more than a half mile to the left. Notice the Myspace URL at the bottom of the photo.
DIY parks have been an aspect of skate boarding for a long time. There aren’t enough purpose-built parks to meet the demand. People don’t like skate boarders using public sidewalks, plazas, parks, shopping centers and streets, and skate boarders don’t like be harassed for doing what they love. What to do? Find an out-of-the-way spot and build your own park.
At the time I took that photo I had been about four years into an effort to create a public poured-in-the-ground skate park in Jersey City. That effort finally came to fruition on August 6, 2020.
Fulop Speaks at Opening. Photo by Bill Benzon
At the center of the next photograph we see Jersey City’s mayor, Steve Fulop, speaking at the opening of the park. The man to the left is Steve Leonardo, who owns a local skate shop and who helped the city obtain a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation to build the park. The man to the right – didn’t get his name, I wasn’t taking notes – represents the Friends of Berry Lane Park, a citizen’s group that keeps an eye on the larger park in which the skate park is located. You’ll see the man behind the mayor in one of the photos later on.
Once upon a time…From a Skate Park to the World
Back in 2006, when I was living in the Hamilton Park neighborhood, I became interested in photographing graffiti in Jersey City. About a half mile from my apartment I happened upon a site nestled up against the Jersey Palisades beneath Christ Hospital.
If you look closely at the wall you’ll see ramps for a skate park. There are other features on the slab itself.
Hoboken Ave. Park by Bill Benzon
One day, sometime in the middle of October 2007, I went by the spot to see if there was any new graffiti and saw that the floor slab had been demolished.
The DIY skate park was no more. A couple weeks later I saw a hand-lettered sign on the fence inviting passers-by to a meeting at city hall to discuss ideas for a new park. While I had no particular interest in skate boarding I was curious: “Who at city hall gives a damn about these kids”? I put on my banker’s suit, dark blue flannel with white pin strips, and showed up.
As I suspected, the meeting had been called by Steve Fulop, then a young reform-minded councilman who represented my neighborhood. As only four skate boarders showed up, Fulop decided to schedule a new meeting for Nov. 19, 2019. I offered to donate an annotated set of site photos to the councilman and to the public library, which I did.
I’d guess there were 30 to 40 people at the next meeting. There were teens, young adults, some older skate boarders and a few parents. Fulop agreed to push for a new park to be built by the city. Where should it go? After some deliberation the skate boarders suggested a site beneath the thruway at Seventh Street and Newark Avenue.
Broken floor slab. Photo by Bill Benzon
Fulop got in touch with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and got a favorable response. Meanwhile I had been thinking and thinking. The spot chosen for the park was only a couple of blocks from the Sixth Street Embankment, an abandoned railway structure six blocks long running East-to-West in downtown Jersey City. A group of citizens had been working hard to acquire the embankment from a developer – a complicated story including heartache and messy details, too much to slip in here – and turn it into an above-ground multi-block-long park – a bit like Manhattan’s High Line, which didn’t exist at the time.
I figured that if we’re going to turn the embankment into a park, it would be easy to extend it over to Bergen Hill, pick up the skate park, go along the hill a quarter mile, and then through the Bergen Arches, a mile-long man-made canyon running through the city. Why not connect it all into a two-and-a-half-mile park extending through Jersey City from the Hudson River to the Meadowlands?
I spit-balled the cost of such a project – a quarter- to a half-billion dollars (big bucks for Jersey City) – and estimated the potential tourist revenue – perhaps $90 million a year – and wrote a report: “Jersey City: From a Skate Park to the World”. I showed the report around, gave a copy to Fulop, and put it online. While I certainly didn’t think it was something the city could or would act on, I didn’t do it as a mere academic exercise. I did it as a way of envisioning a new role for Jersey City in the world.
The Sign. Photo by Bill Benzon
Meanwhile Fulop’s negotiations with the Turnpike Authority had fallen through. The skate park was dead. It was now early in 2008. A couple of years later I moved to Hoboken for a year and a half. Then I moved back to Jersey City in the summer of 2011. This time I moved into the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.
The skate park idea is rekindled
That’s when I discovered the DIY park that opened this piece. A bit later I discovered June Jones and the Morris Canal Community Development Corporation. In April 2012 Jones decided to start a community garden, where I volunteered for two years. At some point I learned she had played a major role in convincing the city to turn a local brownfield into a citywide park, Berry Lane Park. I suggested that they add a skate park to the plan. She was a bit skeptical, but took it under advisement.
At about the same time one of the people involved in the community garden, a local contractor named Musaddiq, introduced me to Greg Edgell, who curated graffiti in a 15,000 square foot loft a quarter of a mile down Pacific Avenue from the community garden. I showed him my report, “Jersey City: From a Skate
Plan for Berry Lane. Rendering by Site Design
Park to the World,” which suggested that graffiti be made legal in certain areas of the city. He thought it was crazy but attractive. We decided to work together on various projects, including a few parties organized by Jones in the community garden and on a whole block of Pacific Avenue.
By this time she had decided that, yes, a skate park in Berry Lane would be a fine thing. She got our councilwoman, Diane Coleman, interested. We were all set.
In 2013 Councilman Steve Fulop was elected mayor over Jerramiah Healy. Fulop ran as a reform candidate while Healy ran with the Democratic establishment. In New Jersey, politics tends to be Democratic machine politics. very old school.
A year later, in April 2014, Site Design held a design charrette (or meeting) in the basement of the Fountain of Salvation Church on Communipaw Avenue, a few blocks from the site of the Berry Lane Park. I’d estimate that there were thirty people seated around a half dozen tables: skate boarders, neighborhood activists, and others. Each group was asked to design their ideal park. Site Design took those suggestions and came up with a design.
Bowl and Silos. Photo by Bill Benzon
Early in 2015 the city – I don’t know who initiated and signed the application – applied to the Tony Hawk Foundation for a grant toward the construction of the skate park. Hawk is a legendary skate boarder; the purpose of his foundation is to fund underserved communities. And, with a population of over a quarter of a million and only one small skate park using portable wooden features (plus, of course, those “don’t look, don’t tell” DIY parks), Jersey City was certainly under served.
On March 4, 2015, the Tony Hawk Foundation announced that it had awarded Jersey City a $25,000 grant. Hooray for the good guys. But it was better than that, for the grant came with a time limit. If the city didn’t build the park by the deadline presented, it would lose the grant. And that would be embarrassing for the city.
Berry Lane Park is opened, then the skate park
On June 6, 2016, Berry Lane Park had its grand opening—without a skate park. The money had yet to be scrounged up.
Guy and Kid. Photo by Bill Benzon
Some time later in 2016, I don’t know just when, there was another meeting, the “bake sale meeting” as Greg Edgell and I like to call it. Ben Delisle, director of development, and Heather Kumer, an environmental attorney, were there from the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, Steve Leonardo and Mike Yanetta from the skate boarding community, along with me and Greg. The city had come within an inch, one little inch, of funding the construction of the park when, wham, some other project assumed priority, and the funding disappeared. Did we have any ideas? Well, none of us were millionaires, nor did we know any, so no, we don’t have any ideas. Surely you don’t think we’re going to fund this half-million dollar park with a thousand bake sales, do you?
That’s a bit unfair I suppose. It wasn’t their fault, the officials in the room. It certainly wasn’t our fault. Nor do I recall just what was said. I’m only giving a flavor. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It never is.
Politicians. Kismet.
But four years and who knows how many smoke-filled back-room meetings later, kismet came through. The city found the money. Tsivikos Construction broke ground in October 2019, started pouring concrete in March, 2020, and the park was opened on August 6, 2020.
Amigos. Photo by Bill Benzon
Lessons Learned
First Lesson: Stick with it and be flexible. But it happened. I don’t know what Councilman Fulop had in mind when he called the original meeting in November of 2007, but whatever it was, it didn’t happen. I know that when I came out of the second meeting I was excited about seeing local activism and democracy in action. What a good lesson for the kids, I thought. Whatever they took away from the experience, that lesson wasn’t it.
As for me, sure, I was disappointed. But the library had a record of that original DIY park. And I had that crazy-ass report, “Jersey City: From a Skate Park to the World.” That report gave me a stake in the city of a kind I hadn’t had before. That framed my subsequent experience in the city.
I took notes, kept a record, got people interested, and they did the rest.
Second Lesson: Trust and good will are necessary in the political process. This process revolved around three groups of people: the anarcho-libertarian skate boarders, the community activists and organizations, and regular old politicians.
In the Bowl. Photo by Bill Benzon
Those are very different types. They have very different cultures. Skate board culture is fluid and can survive anywhere, but its capacity for scaling up is limited. You can’t pile water on water. It took a community organization to give the skate boarders a home and to build this desire and hope into something solid enough to attract the attention of professional politicians. And they, they came up with the money in their own sweet time.
At each step of the way people had to trust one another, even if things didn’t work out. It is because trust was there that will was able to find a way.
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Amidst the Covid-19 panic, Mayor Steven Fulop and Jersey City Council announced that they will be withdrawing the referendum asking voters if the Jersey City Board of Education should become an appointed body rather than an elected one. A resolution to formally withdraw the referendum will be voted on by the Council at its next meeting on Wednesday, May 6. With nine members, the Board represents nearly 30,000 students in 42 public schools.
“We still have major concerns with the Board of Education’s decision to raise taxes on residents during the pandemic, but the reality is we don’t want to be more disruptive to the schools when they return in September after being closed for months,” said Fulop. “We’ve been working closely with the superintendent to help get the schools back on track as swiftly as possible due to the unforeseen obstacles we’re facing amid the pandemic.”
The referendum, which was first approved on Jan. 8, received mixed reviews from educators, union representatives and parents, some of who referred to the idea of a board unilaterally appointed by the mayor as “sneaky” and “an opportunistic power grab.” Others felt that the decision had been made in good faith, spurred by serious management problems the Board had had for years, most recently the resignation of five members right before Jan. 8.
“There’s no arguing the schools needed help when we first introduced this,” said Council President Joyce Watterman,” Today, we’re in a much different climate, and we need to think about the best course of action in this new environment for our students, parents, teachers and residents.”
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Mayor Steven Fulop is seeking withdrawal of a planned November referendum to create an “Arts and Culture Trust Fund” for Jersey City arts organizations and educators, according to a press release issued by his office yesterday. The announcement was met with immediate pushback from arts organizations and some members of the municipal council.
If on the ballot and approved, the referendum would raise approximately $800,000 for the fund through a special levy. But the mayor now says the coronavirus pandemic is making such a new tax too burdensome.
“We were the first to put out an actionable plan supporting sustainable funding to benefit our burgeoning arts industry and our residents, but the world is changed today, and we want to minimize the impact on our taxpayers as much as possible,” the mayor explained in announcing his request.
Art House Productions, a leader in Jersey City’s arts community, strongly disagrees. Speaking on its behalf, executive director Meredith Burns, said:
“As a homeowner here, I understand the burden of taxes, especially now, however I know the entire city will receive so much in return with a designated arts fund. I think there are options to explore before we cancel an important piece of legislation that the mayor’s office, cultural affairs and the arts community has worked so hard for.”
Samuel Pott, artistic director of Nimbus Dance Works, noted that many arts groups are on thin financial ice due to the Covid-19 crisis. “Many groups will not survive without intervention. If the arts referendum is pulled, what is the city doing to ensure the survival of the nonprofit arts sector?”
Heather Warfel Sandler, chair of the Jersey City Arts Council, added, “The JCAC fully intends to see this Arts Trust effort through.” That said, she did note, “We have one chance to ask the voters, so carefully weighing the best time to generate support for this is crucial.”
Councilman Rolando Lavarro said he understands the mayor’s motivation. “Still, it should be noted that the decision to pull the referendum doesn’t have to happen today or in May. Legally, it could be made as late as mid-August. Between now and August, I think the City should work with artists, social service providers, economic experts and other stakeholders to better understand the needs, hardship and loss that is out there.” Councilman James Solomon echoed the sentiment. “The conversation is premature. The Council has until August to determine if the referendum should move forward. We must carefully weigh the economic pain of taxpayers with the financial struggles of artists and arts organizations, who may need emergency funding to remain in existence.”
The mayor’s decision does have supporters. Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey joined in the mayor’s request, but promised to “continue to fight for them and support” the arts organizations. To other supporters, such as councilwoman Denise Ridley, the issue is simply one of timing.
“I believe the best way to prepare as a municipal government is to find ways to cut back on spending, give residents breaks where we can and do our part to support residents’ needs. Art is an important part of Jersey City culture and definitely something that should be revisited once we are on more stable ground,” she said.
Header: Courtesy Jersey City Arts Council
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As COVID-19 lockdown continues, and with relief from federal CARES Act yet to arrive, municipalities in NJ are facing fiscal emergency and tough choices
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.
On Monday and Tuesday, Jersey City sent out emails and letters to some 400 employees, offering them voluntary separation packages in an effort to stanch what the city estimates will be a $70 million budget impact due to the COVID-19 health crisis.
“We’re hemorrhaging money,” said Mayor Steven M. Fulop. “Every year we have a lot of employees, like every municipal government, that are kind of on the fence about whether they should retire or not, and we think that this structure might help them make that decision and ultimately save us money long-term.”
Only employees who are nonessential and have worked for the city for 15 years or more are eligible for the separation packages, and, if vacated, Fulop said, many of those positions will not be refilled. The mayor declined to specify what city departments or positions received notices of eligibility, other than to say, “it’s across the board.” He added that there has already been interest. “Maybe this environment today has changed their perspective on what they want to do with the rest of their lives.”
Fulop estimates that the combined total salary of the eligible employees is $22.7 million, though he said he doesn’t expect everyone to take a buyout, which offers $20,000 or 25% of their salary, whichever is greater. “If we could get $5 or $6 million out of this process, I’ll take it and then we’ll move on,” he said. “The next conversation is going to be around furloughs, if need be.”
First in the state but unlikely to be the last
Jersey City is one of the state’s hardest-hit municipalities by COVID-19. According to Fulop, the city now has “well over 2,000 cases at this point and 54 fatalities that are documented.” On April 6, one of its city council members, Michael Yun, died of complications from the disease.
The city is the first municipality in the state to broach employee buyouts in an effort to mitigate the staggering — and still mounting — financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely not the last to face such tough choices. Fulop confirmed that other urban New Jersey municipalities have contacted him with questions about how the city is structuring the buyouts.
One of them is Newark, the state’s largest municipality. Earlier this week, city councilman Anibal Ramos Jr. reached out to Fulop to discuss the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 crisis on their cities. “We had our council meeting this week, and I talked about having the opportunity to discuss with our business administrator some measures that we can agree on here in Newark that would better prepare the city to weather the storm,” Ramos Jr. said. “I did raise the issue about the Jersey City buyout program and that it’s something the [Newark] administration should look at as well.”
“Any municipality not considering this today is probably going to make their life much more difficult,” Fulop said. “The sooner you can start making decisions around where to cut and how to restructure the budget, the better you’re going to be.”
But John Donnadio, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, expressed some concern with Jersey City’s decision to shed employees in an effort to mitigate budget impacts. Donnadio pointed to Gov. Phil Murphy’s April 4 executive order allowing retirees to return to state and local government employment without impacting their retirement pensions.
“From the staffing level, we are really struggling to continue, because government is open and we’re struggling to provide the services that we need to provide,” Donnadio said. “I would advise municipalities to talk to their financial officers and look at staffing levels and maybe reassigning staff as opposed to [buying them out].”
When asked in his daily briefing on Wednesday, Murphy said he had “no insight into Jersey City’s voluntary separations,” but added, “we need all hands on deck, I’ll say on behalf of the state.”
Increasing stress, extra costs
“Some of the same unfortunate responses that were necessary following 9-11, the 2008 recession, and Sandy are going to be looked at again, which included consideration of early retirement, furloughs, layoffs, outsourcing service, adjusting work hours,” said Mike Cerra, assistant executive director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities. “I think Jersey City is a little bit ahead because of the very significant impact of [COVID-19] in the city and on its work force.”
The Jersey City buyouts highlight the increasing fiscal stress that municipalities across the state are facing since New Jersey’s lockdown order went into effect on March 21.
On March 23, the Murphy administration froze nearly $1 billion in planned fiscal year 2020 spending, some of which includes a combined $186 million freeze on municipal aid programs and Homestead property-tax relief benefits. With nearly 577,000 unemployment claims since the lockdown, many residents are facing financial hardship and could lapse on bills like property taxes, which are vital to municipal coffers.
On top of that, municipalities large and small are having to invest in personal protective equipment (PPE), additional cleanings of firehouses and police stations, overtime for essential employees, and other unexpected measures to operate within the state and federal directives that have so far been changing on a near-daily basis. The smaller the municipality gets, the more impactful even the most trivial expenses, like signage to indicate park closures, become.
Too early to assess impact at Jersey Shore
In the tiny beach towns of the Jersey Shore, mayors and municipal administrators have gradually come to grips with the fact that they must close their boardwalks and beaches — places that attract crucial visitor dollars, even in the much-quieter winter months. But in the offseason, the vast majority of traffic in these tourist enclaves is that of nonessential construction workers, and now they too have been ordered to stay home. A lockdown that extends into the summer season would be disastrous for these fragile, tourism-based municipalities.
“If this cuts into the summer season, then all of a sudden a lot of Shore communities might be looking at dramatic responses” like Jersey City’s, said Cerra. “There’s going to be impacts — it’s to what degree at this point.”
So far none of these municipalities have reported the kind of measures that Jersey City has taken. “Some part-time employees have been furloughed because of the statewide closing of nonessential facilities,” said Doug Bergen, public information officer for Ocean City, in South Jersey. “It’s still too early to assess the financial impact overall.”
“I’ll be the happiest guy in the state if the Shore is able to be on its feet by the time summer comes around,” Murphy said in Wednesday’s briefing. “But, again, please stay in your primary residencies — the Shore does not have the infrastructure, particularly health infrastructure, to be able to withstand the sort of challenges we have right now.”
So far, little help from CARES
Following the passage, on March 27, of the $2 trillion CARES Act, there was mounting concern among state and federal lawmakers that the record-breaking aid package would be insufficient in supporting local governments like Jersey City, the state’s second largest municipality with a population of about 270,000, not to mention those of tiny towns like Ocean City.
The catch is that, in the CARES legislation, localities with populations under 500,000 cannot receive stabilization funds directly — despite being the most populous state in the nation, none of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities come close to having a population of a half-million or more. (Newark, the state’s largest, has a population of 285,000.)
New Jersey Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7th) is among the sponsors of H.R. 6467, introduced in the House on April 7, which specifically addresses the need to provide “an enhanced Coronavirus relief fund for units of government with a population of 500,000 or less.” The bill would provide $250 billion in direct payments to these localities. “Hopefully this will be done sooner rather than later,” Cerra said.
Fulop has been among the New Jersey officials who have been vocal about the need for additional coronavirus legislation that addresses municipalities with populations of less than 500,000. “As it stands today, no municipality in New Jersey would have any direct aid,” he said. “It’s really a pass-through from Trenton, and any time there’s another layer of government involved, the pot gets less and less.”
Header: Jersey City Times file photo
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His smile lit up the room like the colorful bowties he wore to work every day. Ward D Councilman Michael C. Yun served on the Jersey City Municipal Council since 2013, where his curious mind and laser-beam attention to detail were as sharp as the crease in his pin-striped pants.
This past weekend, Yun, 65, lost his battle with Covid-19, testing positive for the virus on March 29 and passing away on April 6. His Jersey City constituents and City Hall colleagues were shocked and saddened by the news, remembering him as affable, compassionate and a staunch advocate for Jersey City.
Photo courtesy City of Jersey City
“We are beyond saddened by the passing of Councilman Michael Yun,” Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said. “He was a family man, a great businessman, and a tireless advocate for Jersey City throughout his nearly three decades of public service. More than that though, he was a great husband, father and grandfather as he never missed a chance to share how proud he was of his family. This is devastating for all of us here, as Michael was part of our Jersey City family. We will miss him, and we will continue to aggressively fight against this pandemic, now in his honor.”
In 2017, right after Yun was re-elected to the city council, he hired Vernon C. Richardson as his chief of staff and council aide. Richardson says although he’s worked for several politicians including Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, it was Councilman Yun who led by example with his tireless work ethic and compassion for the people of Jersey City.
“It’s why I went to work for him,” Richardson says. “He was the most honorable man, but more important, the most honorable politician that ever entered my life. There was not a time I did not work less than 55 hours a week, and it was an honor to be out there with him, attending every event with him.”
When Richardson was having a hard time keeping up with the councilman, he says Yun told him to try harder. Richardson says: “He didn’t say it in a mean or uncaring way. He would say, ‘We just have to work harder.’ That was the challenge that I took to work every day. Every time I think of his memory, it’s the most pleasant thing I have now. It’s not pain I feel. I loved my city, and I loved that man.”
In the Heights
Korean-born, Yun came to the U.S and settled in Manhattan before moving to Jersey City with his wife Jennifer in 1981. They planted roots in the Heights and opened Garden State News on Central Avenue where the couple sold papers and sundries. In the years that followed, Yun ventured into community activism as co-founder of Jersey City’s first Special Improvement District, and for more than 20 years he served as president and chairman of the board of trustees for Central Avenue SID. During that time, Yun helped establish Jersey City as an Urban Enterprise Zone and founded the Everything Jersey City Festival.
During that time, Richard Boggiano worked as a Jersey City Police Officer and lived in the Heights. He visited Yun’s store regularly to pick up The Jersey Journal, and the two would talk and became friends, Boggiano says. Years later, working alongside Yun as Ward C councilman, Boggiano recalls Yun’s razor-sharp attention to detail, poring over resolutions and ordinances that appeared on the council’s agenda and questioning their potential impact on the people of Jersey City.
“He did thorough research,” Boggiano says. “Michael was really good. He was diligent, had everything marked, underlined and prepped.”
Yun supported Boggiano when Boggiano tried to stop the city from removing the Katyn Memorial from outside the Exchange Place PATH station. The statue, by the sculptor Andrzej Pitynski, of a blindfolded soldier stabbed in the back with a bayonet was a tribute to the 1940 massacre of an estimated 22,000 Polish people, and it became the sensitive subject in a highly publicized tug-of-war when Mayor Fulop proposed moving it to a different location.
“We won the battle,” Boggiano recalls. “We had people come in from Poland to fight that. It was amazing. It meant a lot to everybody. I got Michael involved. He stood right by me.”
Yun was a good listener, Boggiano says, especially when it came to quality-of-life issues affecting the elderly.
“He was good to seniors,” Boggiano says.
Boggiano refers to a 2019 city ordinance Yun sponsored requiring residential buildings that house senior citizens to provide security guards around the clock. The city council approved the ordinance.
“We must make sure that today’s seniors are protected tomorrow,” Yun told nj.com at the time. “Our seniors and the disabled amongst us are our most vulnerable. We owe them as much.”
He made a lot of changes to the Heights, Boggiano says, because he deeply cared about his community.
“Michael really cared about people,” Boggiano says. “He was dedicated. He helped seniors. He helped everybody. It’s such a loss for Jersey City.”
Paying It Forward
Yun served as president of the Jersey City Merchant’s Council that represented more than 3,000 small-business owners. He volunteered his time overseeing community projects like the preservation of Reservoir #3 in the Heights and the Korean War Veteran’s Memorial in Paulus Hook. In 2013, when Council at Large Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr., asked Yun to help him raise money for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which claimed over 6,300 lives in the Philippines, Yun not only said yes but rallied support from outside Jersey City as well.
“He asked me to meet him at a Korean radio station in New York City,” Lavarro remembers. “We went into a recording room with whom, I assumed, was a popular Korean radio personality. The entire program was in Korean. I didn’t understand one word. Councilman Yun and the host exchanged friendly banter, and Councilman Yun then asked me to explain what had happened in the Philippines. They translated what I said, and they must have added other words appealing for donations.”
When they left the recording room, Lavarro says Yun turned to him and said, “Okay. We’re done. Now we wait and find out.”
“I shrugged my shoulders not knowing what would happen,” Lavarro continued. “We left the radio station, and he treated me to some great Korean food”.
Weeks later, Yun reached out to Lavarro to tell him they had raised some money and requested a meeting with the Philippine Consulate to present the check. When the two councilmen arrived, the presidents of Korea Radio Broadcasting NY and the Korea Daily were presenting two checks for $100,900 and $24,431, respectively, to Philippine Consul General Mario de Leon.
“I was flabbergasted,” Lavarro says. “I recall asking Michael if he’d like me to issue a press release, publicize his work and the generous donations. Instead, he was humble about it and talked about how grateful Koreans are to the Philippines. While Councilman Yun didn’t say it, he told and taught me that he was paying it forward for his ancestors. As I reflect on that memory, I think that is how he lived his life, how he approached public service. I think everyone whose life he touched will attest to that.
Header: Michael C. Yun getting sworn in as Jersey City Councilman as his wife Jennifer, and their grandson, look on, photo courtesy the City of Jersey City
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Three homeless persons queued up early Tuesday morning outside a mobile trailer in Journal Square for hot showers, meals and personal hygiene kits, all courtesy of the City of Jersey City.
Where needed, they’d also get counseling and shelter related to the coronavirus that has infected the city and the rest of the globe.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, accompanied by the city’s Public Safety Director James Shea and Health & Human Services Director Stacey Flanagan, welcomed the homeless contingent outside a mobile trailer the city – through its Office of Emergency Management – is using to provide these services.
Some 50 people in Jersey City’s general population, including one homeless person, have thus far tested positive for the virus, which the World Health Organization has labeled a pandemic. Close to 200 county-wide and more than 3,600 in New Jersey are infected, according to reports.
“We have witnessed how COVID-19 has had a devastating impact around the world on all of us,” Fulop said, referring to the WHO’s name for the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. “But when you think of those who have the least in society, they are even more vulnerable during this crisis. We are all pulling together to normalize our lives in this unprecedented challenge of our times, but the only way we will succeed is if we look out for those who need help the most and leave no one behind.”
To that end, the city, which the state’s January 2019 “point in time” survey listed as having 420 homeless adults and children combined, is expanding its healthcare outreach to that population from three days per week to five, Monday to Friday, 7 to 11 a.m., with a second trailer on the drawing board.
Flanagan said the city opted to locate the trailer in Journal Square (just outside the entrance to a parking garage off Magnolia Avenue) after having identified 50 homeless people congregating in that neighborhood just a short walk to the PATH Transportation Center.
Photo by Jennifer Brown/City of Jersey City
Inside the trailer, individuals can access five private shower stalls and sinks, along with what Flanagan described as “hospital-grade linens” provided by volunteer staff who, she said, would be using gloves and all required gowns and equipment to protect them from getting contaminated by the virus. Flanagan said staff members are trained to comply with federal occupational safety standards and that each shower is cleaned and disinfected after each use.
Shower users will also be offered packages of toilet paper, sanitary wipes, toothpaste, hand sanitizers and towels plus meals for anywhere from four to 14 days depending on whether they need to self-quarantine.
Hudson County also just announced a program to protect the county’s homeless population from COVID19 (albeit one aimed at older adults only). In this initiative, according to Frank Mazza, deputy director of the county’s Department of Family Services, motels along Tonnelle Avenue will temporarily house chronically homeless persons age 60 as they have been deemed at high risk of infection given their age and living situations. The motels include Travel Lodge, Roadway Inn and Howard Johnson.
For some time, Hudson County has operated a large, dorm-like warming shelter in South Kearny every winter. The idea behind the motel program, Mazza explained, is to thin out the population at this warming shelter and at the same time protect older people and those with underlying health issues from getting sick and also from infecting others.
Mazza said the county will utilize both state block grant general assistance funds and federal block grant temporary assistance for needy families to pay motel room fees. “As it pertains to this crisis, we will provide housing until we are able to get the population safely through and then start again to work to find more prolonged housing solutions,” Mazza indicated.
Reportedly, up to 200 rooms will be available for this purpose. More information about the program is available at any of the county’s several homeless outreach centers or by calling the county’s social services unit at 201-420-3000.
Those who fear having the virus are urged to contact their health care providers or call the city hotline: 201-547-5208.
Photo by Jennifer Brown/City of Jersey City
Header: Photo by Jennifer Brown/City of Jersey City
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