Jersey City is another step closer to Pay-to-Play Reform now that Councilman Steven Fulop has successfully led the petition signature drive. The proposed Contractor Pay-to-Play Reform Ordinance will now be sent directly to the Jersey City Municipal Council which will vote whether or not to introduce it for a second reading. If the council does not introduce the ordinance, it will be placed on the November 4th ballot as a public referendum and the public will decide.

This proposed “state of the art” ordinance was written by Civic JC with the assistance of Citizen’s Campaign, NJ Appleseed and the Hoboken-based citizens’ group People for Open Government. We believe that this reform ordinance is a giant step forward in not only reducing conflicts of interest in awarding city contracts, but also in moving forward ethics reform in Jersey City and ultimately, reducing the costs passed on to taxpayers.

Back in June 2006, our first efforts at advancing pay-to-play reform fell on deaf ears. Now, a little over two years later, a reform ordinance has successfully moved forward thanks to a lone Council member’s steadfast advocacy, the thousands of Jersey City voters (who signed the petitions), and the ongoing (and growing) support from numerous candidates for Mayor and Council in next May’s municipal election.

Civic JC welcomes the endorsement of this initiative by both our elected officials and those candidates planning to run for office in the 2009 municipal election. We extend to all an invitation to meet and discuss the Contracting Pay-to-Play Reform Ordinance and other reform initiatives. Working together for meaningful reform will make Jersey City municipal government more accessible, responsive and accountable to the residents.

Valerio Luccio
President, Civic JC

Public gets left out in rush to seal deal

Monday, January 14, 2008

New development along the Newark Bay side of Jersey City is always welcome. The tentative settlement with Honeywell International Inc. is expected to spur construction of housing, office buildings and shops on about 80 acres and provide more open space on nearly 20 acres.

This newspaper has editorialized that on the surface it appears to be a good deal.

What sends up a small red flag is the speed at which this settlement and major development project was rammed through the City Council, whose members hardly asked a question but nevertheless unanimously approved the agreement.

This deal was supposedly negotiated over the course of a year. Yet, the public announcement about the proposed development and the agreements between the city and Honeywell, and then the council's vote, all took place in less than one week.

The question here is when will there be any time for any substantial public input? Will it be during Planning Board sessions when Honeywell sells property to potential builders - after the financial considerations in the agreement are completed?

Honeywell is expected to buy the 41 acres of city land currently occupied by the DPW, the Municipal Utilities Authority and the Incinerator Authority, and then sell - after a chromium clean-up - this land and roughly 60 acres the company already owns, to builders who agree to follow redevelopment plans drawn up by the city.

Members of the public did not have enough time to question this deal. Where are the DPW, MUA and Incinerator Authority being moved? Apparently there is no plan for such a move, because Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello objected to plans to move these government facilities to the Marion section of the city. Now the MUA will stay where it is, but it will be rebuilt as a streamlined facility. The other two have yet to find new homes.

Perhaps the reason city officials want to expedite the agreement is that there is a hole in the city budget that has to be closed. Quarterly tax bills have gone out and there are some angry homeowners. The Healy administration wants to repair the damage, and this deal will do it.

Honeywell has agreed to upfront payments of $15 million this year and $10 million next year, money that would come out of the city's 40 percent share on the land sales to developers.

Development on the west side can only help this city, but the administration should have given its citizens time to digest what is being offered.

© 2008 The Jersey Journal
© 2008 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

The Reservoir Alliance, and the people of Jersey City, thousands of who have actively supported the Reservoir, are excited that Mayor Jerramiah Healy has announced the city’s decision to preserve the Reservoir's natural and historic treasures as a park.

The Reservoir Alliance looks forward to working with Jersey City on these next steps that must be taken to follow through on its commitment:

• Draft Site Plan - for the Jersey City Parks Master Plan, being developed by T & M Associates. Key design principles to protect and enhance the historic and natural resources of the Reservoir.

• Put all 13 acres of the Reservoir on Jersey City's open space and parks inventory - Protecting it from ill-advised development, and making funding and grants from sources like NJ Green Acres available.

• Programs: Recreation, Nature, Historic, and Educational - Continue partnering of the Alliance with the City's Department of Recreation and the Division of Cultural Affairs, as well as groups like Hoboken Cove Boathouse, and seeking funding for these programs.

• Historic Structures Report - Assessment by qualified experts of the Reservoir's historic structures and fabric, for preservation, restoration, and reuse; using the grant and guidelines from the Hudson County Open Space Trust.

• Environmental Survey - Review the natural features of the Reservoir including lake and wetlands, trees, plants, birds, fish, and animals.

• Formal Site Plan - Development by qualified experts of an incremental plan for the future of the Reservoir, preserving it as a natural retreat from the surrounding city, and as an environmental, historical, educational, and passive recreation resource.

For more information, please visit - Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance