HOBOKEN - The administration of Mayor Dawn Zimmer now has $20 million approved by the City Council to acquire park space throughout the city of Hoboken.
The City Council voted unanimously to approve bonding from the Open Space Trust Fund for future park acquisitions on Wednesday night.
On March 2, the council voted 5-4 to pass the bonding ordinance, and on Wednesday night, all of the council members agreed to vote "yes" on the same ordinance.
Members who voted no on first reading emphasized on Wednesday that they were not against parks, but said they hoped the specific locations would be available, and that the issue shuld have first been discussed in sub-committee. They said they changed their votes to a yes on second reading after more discussion with Zimmer.
Zimmer has said nothing is different on the ordinance from the first reading.
Now that the money is approved, the administration now has the opportunity to negotiate for park space throughout the city. Zimmer has said a focus of the new park space would be on the city's western side, and provided council members with potential, general areas for park acquisition.
Recently, all of the council candidates backed by Zimmer also came out in support of the parks plan. The issue has been particularly heated because of the six ward elections scheduled for May 10, with all sides trying to speak out for more open space, a popular talking point among candidates.
Although the bond doesn't allow for the purchase of a specific park, the mayor can negotiate for a space, knowing how much money is available. However, she still needs to return to the council to ask permission for a purchase once specific sites are identified.
For much more on the council meeting, stay with HudsonReporter.com and pick up a copy of The Hoboken Reporter this weekend. - Ray Smith
Really, your snarkiness does none of your friends a service.
I actually don't have an agenda and my allegiance would be to the Mayor. I believe in a democracy where people can air constructive thoughts however.
Thank you.
I am no fan of the Russos. I do think I should be able to make critical comments without you assuming that. It seems so foolish, as if you guys (meaning Zimmer and team) are stooping to their (very low, I agree) level.
Let's keep the discourse civil and non partisan as far as possible. That said, I don't get the Hop at all. It strikes me as appalling, frankly, that these large empty buses circle our city all day long. Maybe someone can rally behind them and really use them. If not, I'd suggest that they're very wasteful.
The good news is that Mrs. Mason's poll, which showed strong public support for the bond and reportedly had the mayor with an approval rating some 30 points higher than Mrs. Mason's (with an even bigger gap in the 2nd ward) convinced Russo, Giacchi, Castellano and Occhipinti to reverse course and do the right thing in hopes of saving their political skins. The right thing is the right thing even if done for the wrong reasons so we should be grateful for their flip flop. The bad news is that if these guys are reelected they'll spend the next 4 years doing the wrong things.
I admire Mr. Sacs but I do think people need to look closely at some of the things he's embracing (a technology system for the hpa that we'll be forced to pay a firm for forever for maintaining for us, once they've set it up for us; a taxi organization system on the internet (if that's even correct; another confusing project); real gps time for the hop which so far no one seems interested in period, with or without a schedule.) Could we see an accurate log of how many passengers have taken the Hop? Again, I applaud Mr. Sacs' initiatives, but someone needs to vet him carefully on the bottom lines of these projects. (His career blossoms with initiatives he gets us to undertake; the actual cost may well not be weighed in the press he garners for these efforts.)
Hoboken deserves better.
"Apathy Will Get You Nowhere" (Pamphlet #5) is available at:
http://commonsensehoboken.blogspot.com/