Public Safety Director James Shea couldn’t have asked for a nicer day for the groundbreaking on his future office. When completed in two years, the new $120 million Public Safety Headquarters located on Martin Luther King Drive will house all of Jersey City’s police and fire operations and leadership personnel, Fire Prevention, Parking Enforcement, Special Investigations Unit, Gun Permits, Records Room, Traffic Programming, City Command and the City’s Community Court and Parking Enforcement Division.
The headquarters will join the already completed Health and Human Services Offices, Housing Preservation Offices, Housing and Economic Development offices and Jersey City Employment and Training offices. Construction is expected to be completed in 2022. Mayor Fulop predicted that the city would save money over the 30 year term of the construction loan when compared to paying rent as the city does now.
Standing next to the mayor, Shea said, “This is a seven year dream for us. When the mayor interviewed me to take this job, this is one of the things we talked about—moving our public services, our police, our fire, our parking, our 911…into parts of the community in Jersey City that don’t have the investment that other parts have.” Shea predicted that the new building will allow for a unified 911 system that could cut a minute off of 911 response times.
Contractor Bernard Shivers. Photo by Aaron Morrill
City Council President Joyce Watterman recalled, “When we took office in 2013, it was a challenge to get investment coming this way.”
Councilman Jermaine Robinson spoke of its significance to Ward F: “This right here is a grand slam. It touches on a lot of things that the mayor talked about previously. It touches on the businesses that this building and the rest of the investments in this neighborhood will be able to help bring here and fund. It’s touching on the property owners who need to have these services, and the services are going to be right here in the heart of Ward F….I remember we had a meeting with a pizzeria chain, and the day that the pizzeria came here there was a shootout right here, and the pizzeria backed out. Today, we are saying no more. We are bringing resources here, and we are going to make sure that we do everything we can for Ward F.”
Eric Moore of Brandywine Financial Group noted the rising business interest in the neighborhood: “Now we have multiple tenants trying to outbid each other to go into the [shopping] center. I don’t know if we could have ever though that.”
Bernard Shivers, a minority contractor who worked on two of the finished buildings spoke emotionally. He applauded Mayor Fulop for living up to his word which, in turn, made Shivers want to get more involved. “I’m gonna help my community no matter what….Now we have the community being a part and building the community, that’s the difference….now you’ve got minority contractors becoming real contractors and not getting the door shut in our faces like we always have.”
Michele Massey, president of the Jackson Hill Main Street Special Improvement District expressed excitement over the project but had cautionary words. “Now we have to address north and south of this site. One, two, three buildings are not going to holistically improve the entire area. So the work will continue. It has to continue.”
Project Would be Part of 17-Story Residential High-Rise
Jersey City could get its first municipal recreation center within the next couple of years as part of a deal being offered by nearby real estate developers.
The facility, a 22,000-square-foot, two-story structure, will include a gym, a rock climbing wall, a sauna, dance studios, music studios, and a food concession. For the more studious it will also feature computer labs and classrooms for STEM instruction. Adjacent to the center will be a 14,000-square foot structure accommodating eight “incubator” commercial working spaces for minority business enterprises (MBEs) anchored by two private retail businesses. Parts of the project will be 17 stories high.
The public package is part of a giveback pitch offered by a North Bergen-based developer seeking Jersey City’s approvals for construction of “Morris Canal Park Manor,” a 3.3-acre, 361-unit residential high-rise and parking garage that would border Berry Lane Park at Communipaw Avenue and Woodward Street in Ward F.
No tax abatements are being sought by the developer, and the part of the property dedicated to what has been tentatively called the Frederick Douglass STEM Recreation Center, valued at $900,000, will be deeded to the city.
As for the residential part of the project, the developer, Skyline Development Group, anticipates that 18 units will be designated as “affordable” as defined by federal income standards; the balance will be market rate. Skyline’s most recent project is the Solaia, a 70-unit, 14-story condominium tower off River Road in North Bergen which just “topped off,” real-estate lingo for having had its highest story built.
The proposed Jersey City venture, whose development cost is projected to be $175 million, would displace the sprawling MacElroy Steel Co., a 150-year-old business specializing in fabricating steel parts for marine operations and, according to Skyline CEO Lou Mont, that had made the bolts for the George Washington Bridge.
Part of the business is still functioning, Mont said.
According to Mont, if the project is approved, Skyline would preserve one of the MacElroy structures—a two-story brick building fronting on Communipaw—to use as a temporary construction office and then convert it to a “market retail” business, possibly a bar and eatery.
The proposed garage would have a capacity for 284 spaces, including 40 reserved for members of the public using the center.
Mont said that test samples taken at the site showed no evidence of dangerous toxins but that there had been evidence of “some petroleum hot spots.” For this reason, some soil from the site has been removed and “a number of test wells” are being regularly monitored, Mont said.
“The only remaining issue,” according to Mont, “is that there is a minor amount of asbestos in three of the plant’s contiguous buildings that run along Woodward” that will need to be removed.
Also, to comply with environmental standards, Mont said Skyline will arrange for the project’s site to be capped with two feet of clean fill. With these measures, he added, the project “will easily meet the standards for residential development.”
The Church of God in Christ Temple, at the corner of Communipaw and Woodward, and two adjacent residential buildings would be spared from the wrecking ball if the project goes forward, Mont said.
Skyline’s plans call for a pathway through the middle of the Manor complex, leading from Communipaw to Berry Lane Park, along with a one-acre open space off of Woodward that could support such city-organized activities as farmers’ markets or open-air concerts.
The site is a “federal opportunity zone but is currently zoned for industrial use. Mont said Skyline will ask the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency to consider amending the city’s redevelopment plan for the site to allow for residential and retail use. If the JCRA obliges, the proposed zoning change would go to the city council for ratification, and then the city planning board would be asked to schedule a site plan hearing, Mont said.
“We’re looking to spring or summer of 2021 to secure all our approvals,” he said. “We project this will be a two-year project, so summer 2023 would be the finish date. However, Mont added, once the project starts, “we anticipate the STEM/rec center to be completed ahead of the residential tower and MBE retail center.”
The residential tower features what Mont calls a “step down-tiered” design, calling for portions of the building to rise to varying elevations, from eight to 11 to 17 stories, as a means of being less intrusive on the surrounding neighborhood.
Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson said he welcomed the prospect of the city’s getting its first municipal rec complex. “I’ve always said children are our future, and while kids don’t vote, I feel I’m elected to be the voice of the voiceless. The big question is, ‘how do we fund this for the future?’ and the answer is probably going to be grants.”
Robinson said he’s already met with the city’s newly reorganized recreation division, representatives of the JCRA, and the city’s business administrator “to start the ball in motion” identifying grant programs that may be tapped.
As for the types of programs the city will be offering at the center, Robinson said: “The community is going to dictate what goes in there. I’m putting all hands on deck to get input on that.”
With July 4 approaching, the Jersey City Council voted to table a vote on the resolution urging the state legislature to enact the Liberty State Park Protection Act until its next meeting on July 15.
As Wednesday’s council meeting got underway, Councilman Jermaine D. Robinson asked council members to table the vote on the Liberty State Park Protection Act to allow him the opportunity to meet with Ward F constituents to hear their concerns prior to the vote. Since Ward F borders Liberty State Park, Robinson felt constituents’ voices needed to be heard.
“I wanted to have a conversation with the community,” Councilman Robinson said. “I’m in a tough position, the ‘tale of two cities.’ I represent the downtown Van Vorst area, and I have a part of the community in Ward F crying out to let their voices be heard. Liberty State Park is right in the middle of it. Nobody wants to hurt Liberty State Park, especially not me. I’m not here to play politics. I’m asking for another month.”
In the public comments section of the meeting, 78 callers signed up to speak to the council, and close to 50 callers supported the Protection Act.
Protecting Liberty State Park and Caven Point’s Estuaries
Privatizing Liberty State Park has been an issue for the past 40 years according to Friends of Liberty State Park president Sam Pesin, whose father Morris Pesin and environmentalists and historians Audrey Zapp, Ted Conrad and J. Owen Grundy led the movement that created Liberty State Park in 1976. Since then, developers have built on privatized sections like the Liberty Landing Marina where pricey yachts are moored and Liberty House Restaurant, which boasts perfect views for splashy weddings and corporate and political shindigs.
Billionaire Paul Fireman built the Liberty National Golf Course at Liberty State Park, and in exchange for giving the park perks like new basketball courts and a golf-training program to underserved youth, he wants to take over Caven Point, one of the last undisturbed estuaries that provides a nesting area for sandpipers, songbirds, turtles, horseshoe crabs, egrets, osprey, and small animals. But according to a recent article in The New York Times, a Liberty National spokesman was more blunt, saying the land was needed to woo major PGA tournaments to Jersey City.
“If we are not able to accommodate what these tournaments need, then they will simply go somewhere else that can,” Chris Donnelly told the Times.
The council, along with members of the public, voiced concerns about Fireman’s proposed intention. Sam Pesin called in to ask the council to pass the resolution.
“The resolution is only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on whether you’re for or against privatization,” Pesin said. “My father, Morris Pesin, the park’s father, fought to have it an inclusive park, and the park users reflect our city’s beautiful diversity. The act would already have been law if not for Paul Fireman, so he can have a showpiece eye-candy golf course. Liberty Park is at a crossroads. This is a war for the public good. Fireman is wealthy and should just donate money for improvements without getting Caven Point as a quid pro quo. Please do the right thing. Stand up for the park.”
Councilman James Solomon, who introduced the Protection Act resolution, said there seems to be an agreement among the council members that the land will never be privatized, but that there’s a big fight ahead.
“We are fighting a billionaire,” Councilman Solomon said. “All Jersey City was unified on the Protection Act six months ago. The council passed it. The mayor was all in about it. It did not pass the state legislature. The assembly speaker killed it. We are fighting against an extremely powerful person with extraordinary influence. It requires us to push. To present a unified front.”
Dana Patton, a long-time resident of Ward F said the park is used every day by people in Ward F and every other Jersey City ward. She said the resolution supporting the park’s Protection Act would finally take away “the threat that is constant every year of casinos, racetracks, of every single thing that a billionaire wants to do to make money off this park that belongs to the people”.
“We shouldn’t have to keep fighting this fight,” Patton said. “This Protection Act does not prevent anyone from having active recreation in the park, from having free things for the public to do, for serving the public. I’m unclear about why there’s hesitation to support this act when this act is purely to keep private developers from being able to make money off of this park.”
Gregory Remaud works for the NY/NJ Baykeeper, a conservation organization that has worked in and around the New York Harbor for thirty years.
“I want to urge the council to approve the resolution to approve the Protection Act,” Remaud said. “It says our great park is a local and national treasure. It deserves the same protections and privileges as every park in the United States. With other parks, you don’t have the kind of nonsense where developers have a say of what happens and doesn’t happen. You don’t have that anyplace else. You have that at Liberty State Park.”
Retired school teacher, Steve Krinsky has lived in Jersey City for more than 30 years. As a teacher, Krinsky brought his students to Liberty State Park.
“I taught middle school Social Studies,” Krinsky said. “Liberty State Park was their introduction to nature, to the environment, to get away from the noise of the streets. At Caven Point beach, we would talk about how the Lenape Indians would come every day and pick food off the cherry trees and the blackberry trees. Before the Europeans arrived, Caven Point would be covered with oyster shells that the natives left behind. Caven Point is one of the last remaining saltmarshes on the New York waterfront. Please don’t let anyone destroy this amazing spot. Let’s make Caven Point a destination point for children of Jersey City to learn about wildlife habitats and history.”
After listening to hours of callers supporting the Liberty State Park Protection Act, the resolution was about to come up for a vote. Councilman Solomon agreed that the conversation Councilman Robinson proposed was an important one, but likely wouldn’t resolve much before the next council meeting on July 15.
“I don’t want to withdraw it,” Councilman Solomon said. “For me, it’s something that’s important to take a clear stand on.”
Councilman Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr., agreed, saying that postponing the vote made it seem like the council was not standing its ground against privatization. Council President Joyce E. Watterman said she preferred tabling the resolution so the council can show unity on July 15, while giving Councilman Robinson time to talk to Ward F constituents.
“I’m trying to keep this council together to send a strong message that we are one on this issue,” Council President Watterman said. “That will send a message. Us divided does not send a message. That’s why I will vote to table it, so when we come back, we will have one voice. We can’t keep ignoring Ward F. I’m listening, and there were some people from Ward F, I haven’t heard their voice. Councilman Robinson wants to talk to them. Why can’t we grant that? I vote to table it to July 15.”
Council approved the motion to table the Liberty State Park Protection Act in a 7-2 vote with Councilmen Solomon and Lavarro dissenting.
In other news, the council also voted to uphold the state’s ban on fireworks.
Photos courtesy of Shayna Marchese and Friends of Liberty State Park
Viola Richardson’s Facebook page shows a photo of her with people of different ages in pink shirts emblazoned with “Team Viola.” Richardson stands behind them like a warrior as they prepare for a walk-a-thon for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
Courtesy Viola S. Richardson’s Facebook page
The picture speaks volumes. It exemplifies Richardson’s dedication to community service; it reveals her ability to unite people for the common good; and it shows her deep love for Jersey City, which inspired a long and fruitful career in community service and politics.
On Friday, April 10, former Jersey City police officer and Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson passed away from Covid-19 complications. She was 74. As the city mourns her passing, friends and colleagues are posting tributes to her on social media that speak of her activism, resilience and devotion to her community.
“Viola was the true embodiment of what Jersey City is all about,” Mayor Steve Fulop said. “She was a fighter, she was a public servant and she was a leader for the ward she passionately represented. I was fortunate to serve with Viola for eight years on the city council. This pandemic has taken too many people too soon, and the former councilwoman will be dearly missed by us all.”
Police Officer and Three-Term Councilwoman
Courtesy Viola S. Richardson’s Facebook page
In 1981, Richardson joined the Jersey City police department. She was one of 85 African American officers at the time and spent 21 years walking the beat. In 2001, she campaigned for a city council seat in Ward F on the same ticket as mayoral candidate Glenn Cunningham. She won and was re-elected in 2005 and again in 2009.
Appointed to the city council in 2017, Jermaine Robinson, who owns the Light Rail Café on Randolph and Union Streets, remembers when Richardson urged him to get involved in city politics.
“Viola was my first mentor,” Robinson says. “When they were looking for Ward F candidates, she approached me and asked would I want to serve the community. Viola was a no-nonsense person. She wanted to know are you serious about community? Are you willing to give the time that’s needed to get the people of the community what they deserve?”
Richardson fought for the people of Jersey City every day, Robinson says.
“She was top dog. She would have remained there until she passed. It got tricky when she became at-large, but I don’t think anyone could beat Viola as Ward F councilperson. She did what she said, and she said what she did. She was a rock in the community, and we’ll miss her. I truly am following in her footsteps, and those are some big shoes to fill.”
In 2013, Steve Fulop took office as mayor, and Richardson lost her seat on the council. She told her constituents that night: “I’ve had an excellent run. I have served the citizens of Jersey City, and I have given them all that I have. I have done the best that I can do. I’m happy. Now I can go on vacation. I can do whatever I want … I can be grandma.”
A state delegate for the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and founding member and former president of the Concerned Citizen’s Coalition Richardson was the first woman president of the Inter-Departmental Minority Police Action Council in Jersey City.
A Pioneer in Community Engagement
With Rudy Snelling Jr., courtesy Viola S. Richardson’s Facebook page
Retired Jersey City police officer Rudy Snelling, Jr. recalled that as a police officer, Richardson got to know the residents and store owners on her beat.
“It was about visiting churches, going to Boy Scout and Girl Scout meetings and visiting civic associations,” Snelling said. “The community saw you as a person, a friend, an aunt, uncle, not just a cop. Relations is having a relationship like ‘Hi, how are you, what’s the problem?’ Every cop is community relations, but community engagement is connecting, becoming an intricate part of that community, going to the neighborhood bakery when you’re not looking to purchase something and say, ‘how’s business?’.”
When Snelling joined the police force, he says, he would call Richardson for advice. When she retired from the police force, Snelling threw her a party.
“Viola would say we have not yet arrived,” Snelling says. “She would say, ‘When civilians see police officers as their friends and not as their enemy, then you’ve arrived.’”
Governor Phil Murphy took to Twitter and described Richardson as a warrior for Jersey City.
“Viola Richardson served the people of Jersey City for 12 years as a member of City Council,” Governor Murphy tweeted. “Before that, she was a Jersey City police officer. Tough and outspoken, a fighter for her community and her city. Her life defined the meaning of the words public service.”
A Dear Friend
Janet Walker remembers the good times she and Richardson shared as “church sisters” at Trinity Lutheran Church. The two went to the movies and often dined on Richardson’s favorite sushi.
“Here was this tall statue of a woman, a beautiful sister,” Walker says. “She was obedient to the word of the Lord. Everyone who knew Viola loved Viola. She loved her family, the people she worked with. I love her so much. She was a free spirit, a special person.”
Header: Courtesy Viola S. Richardson’s Facebook page
