I hope you had a wonderful weekend and official launch to summer, but that you also took time to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and everything we value and hold dear.
If you didn’t yet get a chance, there is no time like the present to do so!
Just a few quick updates this morning:
- Congressional Debate TONIGHT! Rob vs. Ravi – 6pm
- Pier 13 – Back with a Bang
- Hoboken Student Hosting Pioneering Women's Mentoring Panel
- 2nd Ward County Street Updates
- My Hudson Media Group / HCV Interview
- Community Lifestyle Matching
- If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another
CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE TONIGHT! ROB VS. RAVI – 6PM
In one week we will vote for who our next Congressional representative will be. Mayor Bhalla called for six debates, yet only agreed to two. And tonight is the 2nd one – and the only one where both candidates will be in the same room together, not on zoom. The debate will be moderated by John Heinis, editor of Hudson County View. You can watch the debate live here:
- Hudson County View - YouTube
- Hudson Media Group - YouTube
- Hudson County View Facebook
- Hudson Media Group Facebook
PIER 13 – BACK WITH A BANG
If you live somewhere close to the uptown waterfront, you probably heard Pier 13’s MDW bash. It was THAT loud. I was visiting my dad 300 miles away and I heard it via the dozens of texts and emails I received from my neighbors as well as CW Jabbour who also heard from several residents. Thankfully, the noise level came down as the weekend progressed so hopefully we are now at a point where Pier 13 can have a great summer and the neighbors won’t be overly burdened.
Thank you to the manager for taking my call, and to Hoboken PD who also made several stops there to encourage them to take the volume down. But – this all was possible BECAUSE you reached out. The PERFECT EXAMPLE OF #MOREVOICESAREBETTER. Remember, if you see something say something. And if you hear something, say something. If this number is not yet in your phone, click it and add it – Hoboken PD: 201-420-2100. For emergencies though call 911.
HOBOKEN STUDENT HOSTING PIONEERING WOMEN'S MENTORING PANEL
If you are a female or non-binary student in 7th to 12th grade, there is an incredible mentoring session for you this Sunday, June 2nd from 4:30 – 6PM at Stevens.
In Focus: Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders is a panel of four professional women who will discuss how they have broken down barriers and achieved success in traditionally male dominated fields. The event has been arranged by my Hoboken 2nd Ward neighbor Narina Girota, who is a junior in high school and is working towards her Girl Scout Gold badge, the highest award a Girl Scout can achieve. She is partnering with EWAAB Encouraging Women Across All Borders to bring us this event.
The panel includes:
- Annette Chaparro, former NJ Assemblywoman
- Teresa Edwards, 4 time Olympic Gold Medalist and Basketball Coach
- Susan DeWolf, MD at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Mecca Perry, CEO/COO of GroTru
This is such a unique opportunity that I wish I had when I was my younger self. Before being a City Councilwoman, I spent the majority of my career in the male dominated industries of commercial real estate and investment banking. This panel is unique in that it covers politics, sports, medicine and finance and also from different racial perspectives.
It will be held at Stevens in the Tech Flex Space. Space is limited and you have to register HERE. I am going to try to sneak in…
2ND WARD COUNTY STREET UPDATES
Serendipity – I bumped into Jose Sieira, the Hudson County Director of Traffic and Transportation at the corner of 14th & Hudson. He was checking on the electrification of the new street lights, which has not yet occurred. He indicated that it should be imminent, as PSEG is in process of completing others in the county. Once the lights are electrified, then the old ones will come down and the intersection will be finished. While he was there, I asked about a few other things:
- Re-synching (again) the lights on 15th at Park and Willow. Because they keep unsynching, I asked that they check to see if there is anything technical wrong with the lights.
- Willow Ave Upgrade Project – they are just completing the first administrative phase of what is a federal project to update Willow between 11th and 16th. They hope to have the first public meeting in the fall. I asked if there is anything we can do temporarily to make the intersection of 14th & Willow safer in the interim. We will have follow-up discussions.
- Bike Lane on the Viaduct – this is being considered in parallel with both the Manhattan Ave wall reconstruction project and the Willow Ave Upgrade project. Not a tomorrow thing, but hopefully we will see as both of these projects progress.
- Tree Blocking the Traffic Light on 13th & Hudson – he will have this trimmed to improve visibility.
- Squeaky Hudson St. Sign on the Traffic Light Pole at 12th & Hudson – he will have this checked and will add some WD40 (or equivalent) to make less squeaky. When I first heard about this I had to check for myself – and it is so loud when the wind blows!
MY HUDSON MEDIA GROUP / HCV INTERVIEW
Last Wednesday I was interviewed on Hudson County View: Hudson County View Live - 5-22-2024 guest Tiffanie Fisher (youtube.com) My interview starts at minute 18:16. There was so much that we could have spoken about, but the host, John Heinis chose the following questions. So take a listen and here my responses! :
- Thoughts on running for mayor in 2025. (18:30)
- Congressional Primary – Why is it an important race? (19:15)
- Why I feel Senator Bob Menendez isn’t relevant in the Congressional Race (20:30).
- Fulop / Bhalla quid pro quo involving Story dispensary? (22:40)
- My views on Fulop’s defense of Story dispensary. (26:45)
- Why did the press not cover Story dispensary shenanigans till now? (28:40)
- Why we should take seriously some of the allegations made against Mayor Bhalla by a former City of Hoboken director (30:30)
- Hoboken’s recent $45,000 OPRA payout for denying access to public records (31:20)
COMMUNITY LIFESTYLE MATCHING
Last week I told you about how to be a hero for children in Hoboken through donating to Community Lifestyle. At their annual “Be a Hero” fundraiser we heard from children who have attended their programs about going on day trips to Kalahari (a fan favorite) and learning to swim. The biggest hero that night as measured by donations was the Jubillee Center. They donated $50,000 to CL and importantly, they want to encourage YOU to help them get to a total of $110,000. Through the end of June, Jubillee will match ALL donations up to $30,000. So $50K + $30K from you + $30K matching from them = $110K. All to support CL’s education programming. So more voices = more $$$!!!! DONATE HERE
After the recent, tragic murder of Damon Murray, there has never been a more important moment to help our neighbors heal. And this is one way you can by donating to Community Lifestyle for the incredible programs they offer free to the children in Hoboken, including a free summer camp for kids who live in the HHA.
IF ITS NOT ONE THING ITS ANOTHER…
HBA SHAKEDOWN BY CM COHEN ON BEHALF OF ASM JOHN ALLEN
At last week’s City Council meeting, troubling information came to light about CM Phil Cohen’s actions while he was a voting member on the Hoboken Business Alliance (HBA). It was revealed that Cohen had threatened the HBA's Executive Director by stating that if AsM John Allen’s wife was not considered for a board position, the HBA would not receive potential state funding orchestrated by Asm Allen. You can see the video in this article.
These revelations are deeply concerning as they suggest a mix of quid pro quo, bribery, and extortion, potentially violating state ethics and criminal laws. Council President Giattino and I were first made aware of these issues last fall by HBA leadership. In response, we discussed this matter with Councilwoman Jabbour and Councilman Doyle as we prepared for the City Council's January reorganization. Collectively, we decided not to recommend CM Cohen be reappointed to the HBA board due to these ethical concerns, appointing CM Ramos instead.
At our last council meeting, while discussing the HBA’s budget that was being introduced, I brought up the recent appointments to the HBA board. I highlighted the inclusion of John Allen’s wife among the seven new members prompting a discussion about CM Cohen’s threat as well as a deeper look into Allen’s wife’s 10% ownership in McSwiggan’s that she obtained in 2021 while Allen was employed by the City as Counsel to the ABC Board and de facto Chief of Staff to Mayor Bhalla. It’s particularly concerning Allen had not disclosed his financial interest through his wife’s stake in McSwiggans when he asked then HBA leadership to promote the 'First Street Sundays' initiative, which specifically benefitted McSwiggan’s. I was on the HBA Board at the time and was personally aware of this. Given these circumstances, and the questions they raise, I called for John Allen’s wife to resign from the HBA board during the meeting.
With regard to CM Cohen, I call on him to publicly apologize for his actions.
CITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO BHALLA / FULOP QUID PRO QUO ALLEGATIONS
In my last newsletter, I walked through the serious allegations of quid pro quo made against Mayor Bhalla where he purportedly gave approvals for the proposed Story Dispensary backed by JC Mayor Steve Fulop in exchange for receiving government contracts for his law firm in Jersey City. It was specifically the existence of the contract disclosed by Politico reporter Matt Friedman that was the tipping point for myself and many of my council colleagues. As a result, we have called for the New Jersey Attorney General and federal authorities to investigate the matter and will be sending a formal letter this week. Additionally, I will be sending a separate letter calling for the AG and federal authorities to investigate the entirety of the Story dispensary application process, which parallel tracks the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s own referral of the application to the AG’s office.
This is who our Mayor is. And he doesn’t deserve your vote.
Mayor Bhalla now has an extensive record of choosing his own personal gain – whether financial or political or both – at the expense of residents. Another example – Mayor Bhalla steered us to a major, costly litigation with the developer of the Western Edge redevelopment. A mixed use project that would have made a contribution towards a community pool and funded affordable housing including 17 for homeless veterans. A project that the City Council approved and Mayor Bhalla heralded with press and headlines.
But Mayor Bhalla changed his mind a year later because he was concerned about having competition in his 2021 race for Mayor and tried to pull the plug on the project that he had already signed a contract for. How do I know this? Because he told a room full of labor leaders he had to back away from the project for this reason, and that same room full of labor leaders, on a different day, told me this. So now the project is tied up in litigation that taxpayers are funding, housing for homeless veterans and additional affordable housing is indefinitely delayed, and our mayor touts as one of his campaign strengths that he ran unopposed when he was re-lected in 2021.
As always, please share this with everyone you know who may be interested and reach out any time on any issue important to you: 201-208-1764 or [email protected]. Click to subscribe to my newsletter.
Tiffanie Fisher
Hoboken City Council, 2nd Ward
Engage. Inform. Advocate.
“More Voices are Better”
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