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Policing Continues to Dominate at Municipal Council Meeting

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The Katyn memorial, Reservoir 3, a police shooting, and an ordinance to bring the Quality of Life Taskforce into The Department of Public Safety took up the lion’s share of time during last Thursday’s city council meeting. The meeting clocked in at a mere five hours, a relief to those at the end of the caller list.

The council approved an ordinance (20-062) creating the Exchange Place Pedestrian Mall and reaffirming protections for the controversial Katyn monument. In 2018, the statue became the subject of an international uproar when Jersey City’s Polish community and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda objected to Mayor Steven Fulop’s plan to move it to another location. Ultimately the mayor backed down and the city council voted unanimously to allow the monument to stand in Exchange Place “in perpetuity.”

Slawomir Platta was one of many callers to commend the council for its decision. “Once a monument is built into the soil of the city, it becomes the history of the city.” Krystyna Piorkowska wasn’t as keen on the new mall.  “[The council] is not aware of how much of Exchange Place has been handed over to become a private driveway for the hotel and the Hartz Mountain Building…it will look pretty, but it won’t be really be usable by people.”

Once again, policing was a major theme for many callers, most from the organization Solidarity Jersey City. One member, Elena Thompson, was critical of the police for shooting a suspect at the Salem-Lafayette housing complex. “Despite putting the gun away, despite running away from, not towards police, a JCPD officer fired three shots at this young person….Mayor Fulop reflexively defended the officer who shot this young man” prior to the conducting of an investigation, she said. “Too much blood has already been let at the hands of the JCPD, ” she added.

Jena Lichtenstein, also from Solidarity Jersey City called in to criticize a first reading ordinance (20-074) that would place the Quality of Life Taskforce within the Department of Public Safety. “I’m particularly concerned that tickets and fines won’t be applied equitably. We have only to look at Ferguson, Missouri…Quality of Life for who? What are you doing to make sure that we promise better quality of life for our Black and brown neighbors and not just the white neighbors in Ward E?” Amy Torres added that “a city budget deficit cannot be filled on the backs of the working poor.”

Yvonne Balcer objected to calls to defund the police, complaining that diversion of funds for social workers would duplicate funds already being spent at the county level. “I am personally very grateful to have cops in Jersey City. I don’t want us to become like New York City or Chicago or Portland where they’re defunding cops, and there’s mayhem in the streets.”

June Jones, with the Morris Canal Community Development Corporation and the Community Coalition called to object to a planned 17 story development “that offers only 5% affordable units. …This land is being proposed for parkland.” She complained that Councilman Jermaine Robinson had met for two years with the developer without consulting community groups. “What an ultimate disrespect for the community….It’s not fair that we have a redevelopment plan that we have language in a contractual agreement, and that no one is implementing it.”

Councilman Robinson countered. “The land that is being talked about is not parkland; it is private land. This project will offer affordable housing, it will offer affordable commercial space, and it will offer Jersey City’s first recreational facility that will be deeded back to the city.” Caller Ashley Christmas agreed. “I think it’s a major win for the city.”

Sarah Borroughs, incoming president of the Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance, asked that a resolution before the council to approve a contract to build paths and lighting at Reservoir 3 in the Heights, be postponed. “It is…untrue that we have been meeting weekly and receiving satisfactory details regarding the anticipated work and plans for the reservoir,” she said.

Outgoing Alliance president Cynthia Hadjiyannis called to ask for “a couple of weeks” to allow for a public presentation of the plans. Architect Zeenat Insaf agreed saying, “I don’t think they’re ready to start construction.” Attorney John Frohling added that “the best cities in the country are those that listen to the neighborhood. Give it more study.”

Councilman Boggiano was eager to see the resolution pass and the construction begin. “It’s dangerous conditions up there. …I guaranty to the people of Wards C and D that this park, this reservoir, will be done correctly….we’ll work closely with the Alliance…to make sure that this becomes the jewel of the Heights area.” While commending councilman Boggiano, Councilman Rolando Lavarro was a “no” vote. “I’m reminded of another project in Ward C—the Loew’s Theater—where advocates, stewards of a historic asset like the reservoir also opposed what was being proposed….they would like more time.” Nonetheless, the council went on to adopt the resolution 7–1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coles Street Park, Reservoir #3 and Foreclosure Counseling on Council Agenda

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Spring-like breezes lofted through the open windows of the Efrain Rosario Memorial Caucus Room Monday night as Jersey City’s city council gathered for its Feb. 23 caucus meeting. The council discussed several ordinances pertaining to Jersey City’s parks and recreation including an ordinance to “vacate” 17th Street for the new Coles Street Park, a grant of $750,000 from the NJ Historic Trust, and details on a shared agreement with Hudson County and other municipalities to track housing foreclosures.

Coles Street Park, rendering by Urban Architecture LLC

First on the agenda, Ordinance 20-026 to “vacate certain portions of 17th Street” for the Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan’s Coles Street Park. Eliminating 17th Street will create a single lot to be transformed into a campus of mixed-use buildings with a pedestrian plaza and walkway.

Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano took issue with the ordinance, stating that Jersey City already has enough parks. Although Coles Street Park will be paid for by Hoboken Brownstone Company (the developer), it will need to be maintained by Jersey City.

“That’s a big park,” Councilman Boggiano said at the top of the meeting. “We just spent $40 million on Garfield Avenue. How much is this going to cost us? Look at Pershing Field and all the things that should be done with the existing parks. I can’t see building new parks until the city takes care of the parks we already have.”

In November, Mayor Steven Fulop broke ground for Coles Street Park between 16th and 17th Streets. Urban Architecture LLC of Jersey City designed the park to include two dog runs, a playground and a stage for live performances. The park is the first phase of the Emerson Lofts development, a mixed-use property that is part of the Jersey City Redevelopment Plan.

NJ Historic Trust Grant $750,000 for Reservoir No. 3

Business Administrator
Brian Platt and Chief Landscape Architect for Jersey City Brian Weller, photo by Sally Deering

The council discussed Resolution 20-173 authorizing the acceptance of a $750,000 grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust Fund for the restoration of Reservoir No. 3, a decommissioned reserve on Bergen Hill in the Heights. 

Built between 1871 and 1874, Reservoir No. 3 was part of the city’s waterworks system designed to provide potable water to Jersey City and Ellis Island. Since it was drained, an ecosystem has evolved in its place with trees, wildflowers, swans, great blue heron, peregrine falcons and a six-acre lake.

The NJ Historic Trust Fund granted Jersey City the money to restore Reservoir No. 3’s screen house. Once the council approves the award, the city will be expected to provide $750,000 in matching funds, and once restored the screen house will be an “educational and preserved historic resource” according to the state. 

“Give me the capital account balance, the spend down on capital accounts to date and what it was originally budgeted for when the council authorized it,” Councilman at Large Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr. said. “I want to make sure we spend what we budgeted for.”

“We want to make sure at the end of day what is spent and what’s left,” Councilman Yun added.

“This grant is very competitive,” Brian Weller, director of the Jersey City Division of Architecture said. “It’s a national historic site, a local historic site, so we are going to retain an historic preservationist. That’s part of getting this grant. We have since reviewed and selected the historic preservationist for this job, so we can hit the ground running.”

Once the project is completed, the state will have final approval of the renovation, Weller said.

Foreclosures Tracking and Counseling

Ordinance 20-028 to increase the fee for registration of foreclosure property and Resolution 20-182 authorizing a shared services agreement with Hudson County for Jersey City to participate in a county-wide registration program for foreclosed properties were brought to the council’s attention by Dinah Hendon, director of the Division of Housing Preservation.

Hendon’s office uses a foreclosed property registry, but it doesn’t seem to cast a wide-enough net. She supports the resolution to enter into an agreement with Community Champions Corporation (an organization that provides project management support for municipalities) because it will bring more foreclosure properties to the city’s attention. In doing so, tenants will have their rights addressed and homeowners can participate in needed housing counseling, she said.

“This company has the programs and access to the state court records, (and) it’s going to uncover many more foreclosures and contact those banks and handle the whole registration process that we are now trying to do in house,” Hendon said.

In 2019, Hendon’s office registered 544 foreclosed properties, she said. Champion reported to her that in their initial search there were 1,700 active foreclosures in Jersey City and another 900 for which the initial data is not clear. That’s somewhere between 1,700 and 2,800 active foreclosures, and the city registered only 544. Once the contract is signed, Hendon and her staff will focus on the most important aspect that the registration requirements were meant to address: the condition of the properties, the rights of the homeowners, and the rights of the tenants on the properties.

“Very often in foreclosures, banks don’t know New Jersey’s foreclosures laws and will say unknowingly to a homeowner to contact their tenants and tell them the bank has taken over the property or some equally troublesome notice a tenant may get, when in fact tenants’ rights in New Jersey are very well settled,” Hendon said. “If a building is in foreclosure, it doesn’t change their rights as a tenant. We want to be on top of that,” she continued.

Council members in attendance:  President Joyce E. Watterman, Councilman at Large Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr., Councilman at Large Daniel Rivera, Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley, Ward B Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey, Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano, and Ward D Councilman Michael Yun.

Next Caucus Meeting:  Monday, March 9, 4 p.m.
Jersey City City Hall
280 Grove St, Jersey City
JerseyCityNJ.gov

Header:  Jersey City City Council’s Caucus Meeting in Session, Mon., Feb. 24, photo by Sally Deering

Take a Walk on the Wild Side: Reservoir Park Upgrade Coming

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Jersey City Reservoir No. 3, as the onetime water reserve in the Heights is known, is due for a lot of sprucing up thanks to the recently announced award of more than $2.5 million in city, county, and state grants for improvements.

“We’re ready to move forward with plans to make the area more secure for everyone to enjoy, while also preserving the historical aspects that have great significance to the city,” said Mayor Steve Fulop. “With this funding now in place, we’ll soon have complete access to encourage even more use of the historic landmark.”

Built in the late nineteenth century, the once-active reservoir was decommissioned in the 1980s, when it was replaced with a larger facility in Boonton, New Jersey. Ironically, its evolution into an “urban wildlife preserve” (if Wikipedia be believed) could not have taken place without the site’s very demise. With more and more open space in Jersey City disappearing as the result of development, and in a nod to the work of local preservationists, elected officials now see the value in keeping at least this one parcel of nature pristine.

Photo courtesy City of Jersey City

From the beginning, Reservoir 3 had good bones (if an unpoetic name). It’s enclosed by 20-foot-tall Egyptian Revival stone walls and features Romanesque Revival style pump stations. The historic setting has attracted birds ranging from swans to great blue herons to peregrine falcons who now call the six-acre manmade lake inside the property home. It was the space’s very beauty and potential that, in 2005, led a group of local residents to form the Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance to protect it.

The mission of the Alliance is to “preserve the historic structures and natural resources of Jersey City Reservoir 3, establish the site as a public park and wildlife sanctuary, and promote educational and recreational opportunities at the Reservoir” (according to its website). The group maintains the site as a public park on Saturdays during the summer and fall seasons, hosting a variety of arts and play activities. They also conduct tours, run school programs, hold boating and nature events, take care of the park’s wildlife, and clean the site as needed.

The reservoir is listed on state and federal registers of historic places. For their work preserving the property, the Alliance was recognized with the Ted Conrad Preservationist of the Year Award in 2005.

Plans to further improve Reservoir 3 include building perimeter fencing (with a $500,000 contribution from the Hudson County Open Space, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Trust); restoring the crumbling screen house, known as the sluice tower (courtesy of a $750,000 gift from the NJ Historic Trust); installing lighting and developing walking trails (with over $884,000 in funding from the state’s Green Acres Program and making $400,000 in general upgrades with a donation by the Jersey City Open Space Advisory Trust.

All this comes as welcome news to Alliance president Cynthia Hadjiyannis.

“We’ve been extremely fortunate-this past year the Reservoir received three separate grants and funds were allocated from the City’s Open Space Trust for historic preservation and site improvement projects. It’s such a unique place that these projects will present unique architectural and engineering challenges. Now that we have money, the Reservoir Alliance will want to make sure the City has a great team working on this in a focused way. I’d personally like to see the City hire an outside historic preservation professional and landscape architect to get the most sensitive, creative design and highest quality workmanship ” she said.

Work will start once the state Historic Preservation Office has signed off on all details and all approvals are in place, projected to be by Spring 2020, according to Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione. No estimate was given for how long the job would take to complete.

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