Okay, we're about to get started. If we can find our seats, silence our cell phones, close the back door, side doors, I greatly appreciate it. Conversations are going to have to be done outside. We have a lot of people in here and we're not going to be able to
hear ourselves. Whoever said that can come up here and be the city clerk for the night if you would wish. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Good evening everyone. We are on the record. Today is Wednesday, the 23rd
day of April in the year 2025. This is a regular meeting of the Jersey City Municipal Council. We had a scheduled 6 p.m. start and the clock on my cell phone is showing 6:37 p.m. May we have a roll call for the commencement of this meeting.
Council person Ridley here. Council person Bajiano. Council person Cle here. He stepped away. All right. Well, we'll mark him out until he comes back. Council person Solomon here.
Council person Gilmore is not here yet. Council person Deise here. Council person Ria here. And council president Waterman here. We have six council members in attendance at 6:37 p.m. Can we kindly
rise from a moment of silence, please? Okay, before we move on, I'm going to mark council person present at 6:39. Where's mirror? I did see council person Gilmore, but I guess he must have stepped back out.
All right. So, we now we have seven council members present at 6:39 p.m. On behalf of Council President Waterman and the members of the Municipal Council in accordance with New Jersey Public Laws of 1975, chapter 231, the Open Public Meetings Act, also known
as the Sunshine Law. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the posting on the bulletin board of the first floors of city hall. the annual notice which is the schedule of meetings and caucuses of the municipal council for the calendar year 2025 and filed in the office of the city clerk on Friday,
November 15, 2024. In addition, at its time of its preparation, the agenda of this meeting was similarly disseminated on Thursday, April 17th, 2025 at 7:03 p.m. to the mayor, municipal council, business administrator, corporation council, and
the newspapers and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the sunshine law. I will now mark council person Gilmore present at 6:40 p.m. So we now have all eight
council members present at 6:40 p.m. So, council members, as discussed at the caucus on Monday, we do have one order of business to add to the agenda, and that is item
10.36, City Resolution 25-296, which is a resolution authorizing the payment of a claim submitted by document reprocesses of New York for the provision of document restoration services. May I have a
motion to add item 10.36 resolution 25-296 to the agenda? Motion. Motion made by council person. May I have a second? Second. Second by council person Rivera. On the motion to add item 10.36 to the agenda. Council person Ridley. I.
Council person Bajiano. Council person Cle. I. Council person Solomon. I. Council person Gilmore. I. Council person Deise. I. Council Person Reber I and Council President Waterman.
Motion carries 80 to add item 10.36 to the agenda. Thank you very much, council members. And now on to our regular scheduling programming. If you would allow me to read the first readings into the record, starting off with item 3.1, city
ordinance 25-050 is an ordinance to exceed the calendar year 2025 municipal budget appropriation limits and to establish a cap bank and according to NJSA4A 4-45.15A. Item 3.2, 2. City Ordinance
25-051 is an ordinance authorizing an amendment to the dedication agreement between Grand and Jersey LLC and the city of Jersey City for certain land and improvement improvements, excuse me, located on a portion of Regent Street between Liberty View Drive and Douglas
and Arthur Skinner Memorial Drive in Liberty Harbor North Redevelopment Area. Item 3.3, city ordinance 25-052, is an ordinance amending ordinance 25-010, updating construction site
safety manual with a 2024 addition to include installation requirements and maintenance for air pressurized stand pipes for buildings under construction or demolition. and two, delete references to the 2019 edition of the
construction site safety manual. Item 3.4, city ordinance 25-053, is an ordinance authorizing the conveyance of block 11401, Lock 14, more commonly known, by the street address of 247 First Street,
to the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency. And last but not least, and something near and dear to my heart, item 3.5, city ordinance 25-054, is an ordinance amending chapter A352 enabling ordinances of the Jersey
City Municipal Code, renaming Courthouse Place from Baldwin Avenue to Oakland Avenue in the city of Jersey City to Robert Burn Way. Council members, I'm going to be taking a vote on items 3.1 through 3.5. Council Person Ridley, I for
introduction. Council Person Bajiano. I for introduction. And I'm glad to see 3.5 because Robert Burns was a neighbor of mine and be sadly missed. I I sp I for everything. Thank
you, Council Person. I for introduction. Council person Solomon. No on 3.1. Um I and all the rest. and echoing my colleagues that uh excited next meeting to vote to establish Robert Burnway given his extraordinary service to
Jersey City. Council person Gilmore. I for introduction. Council person Deise. I for introduction. Council person Rebera. Hi. And council president
Waterman. Okay. Item 3.1 is introduced 71 with Council Person Zolomon voting no. Items 3.2 through 3.5 are introduced 8. And I don't know if you can see it,
but there's that sun that's coming right down on me. And that's just a sign from me from Robert saying thank you so much. Keep that spotlight on me, Robert. I'm good. I'm good. All right. Before we move on to our second reading
ordinances, we have one resolution that we're going to defer to, and that's item 10.33, resolution 25-293, which is a resolution recognizing the month of April 2025 as
seek heritage month. May I have a motion to defer to item 10.33? I motion motion. So I'm going to give the motion to council person. May I have a second? I'll second it. Seconded by council
person Bajiano. Even though I first did. On the motion to defer to item 10.33. Council person Ridley. I. Council person Bajiano. I. Council person Cle. I. Council person Solomon. I. Council person Gilmore. Hi. Council person
Deise. Hi. Council person Ria. Hi. And council president Waterman. Motion carries 80 to defer to item 10.33 resolution 25-293. I will briefly read some of the resolution into
the record because of the time and the length of the agenda that we have. if you don't mind. That being said, the resolution recognizing SE Heritage Month. Whereas the city of Jersey City is pleased to recognize and commemorate the monumental achievements
of the seek community and desires to bring awareness for the month of April 2025 as seek heritage month. Whereas seekism is the fifth largest religion with nearly 30 million followers including roughly 500,000 in the United
States. Now therefore be it resolve of the city of Jersey City. The city of Jersey City hereby recognizes the month of April 2025 as seek heritage month for its dedication and contributions to this Jersey City community.
Council members, let's take a vote on the resolution so we can make it official. on resolution 25-293. Council person Ridley. Uh we know that we are a city full of many
different uh ethnicities and cultures and religions and it's always good for us to acknowledge that uh that I vote by. Thank you. Council person Bajanna can't hear you. I'm glad to vote I and I've known many of them for years
and they've been great to the community. I vote I. Thank you, Council Person. I proudly vote I. The SE community here in Jersey City is one of the pillars of our community. They're doctors, their
lawyers, real estate agents, they're store owners. They do everything. And it's not lost on me that after 9/11 there was a lot of incidents of bias and hate crime towards you. And there's still bias and hate crime in the world against you. And you know um instead of
saying hey we're not Muslim, you're saying like hey don't don't attack us but don't attack Muslims either. So you stood side by side with the Muslim community throughout those hard times. And I want to thank you for everything that you've done for Jur City and
continue to do. I proudly vote. I thank you, Council Person Solomon. We're so lucky to have uh such a large, vibrant, sick community here in Jersey City. Uh it's always my honor to be with you at the Guara and uh thank you for everyone who brought this resolution
forward and I proudly vote I. Council person Gilmore I. Council person Deise, I proudly vote I. Thank you for everything you do to contribute to our city. Council person Rebera, I vote I.
And council president Waterman, I. City resolution 25-293 is unanimously approved. 80. Congratulations. So if there's any Oh, okay. Come on. You're gonna come
up. So, let me get this camera on you. You're ready to go. Esteemed Council President Joyce Waterman. The mic. You have to put the mic closer. Yeah. Thank you. Good evening everyone. Esteemed Council President Joyce Waterman and Council
members, ladies and gentlemen and my dear friends. Now, as I stand before you, I'm Arjuman Jaria. I'm filled with immense pride and gratitude as we gather to celebrate not just a moment in time but a vibrant tapestry of culture,
history and community. It is with great pleasure that I advocate for the recognition of sick heritage month. A resolution that has already found in place in the hearts of eight other towns in Hudson County with Jersey City now proudly becoming the ninth. This
initiative transcends mere legislation. It is a testament to our unwavering commitment to diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect. By officially recognizing Sikh heritage month, we honor the profound contributions of the sik community to our society while also
fostering an environment of appreciation for the merit culture that enrich our lives. As I introduced this resolution across 12 towns in Hudson County, I was met with overwhelming support and enthusiasm. This response reflects our
shared values and our collective desire to create a harmonious community where every culture is celebrated and cherished. Let us seize this opportunity to educate ourself and our fellow residents about the rich traditions,
philosophies and values that the sik community adds to our vibrant tapestry. Together we can cultivate a spirit of unity and understanding that will resonate throughout our beloved town. Thank you council president and uh other
council members for your consideration and for joining us in this significant step toward a more inclusive future. Thank you. My name is Arjuman Jaria. I'm a pharmacist by profession and a community activist. Last year I was honored with presidential lifetime
achievement award from our former president Joe Biden. I'm also a women of action award from Jersey City, New Jersey Governor's Medallion Award from our Governor Phil Murphy and daily point of light award funded by our former President George HW Bush. Thank you so
much. So the council is going to come down and take a photo with you guys. Okay. Thank you. Just bear with us. Congratulations. Congratulations. Congratulations. Thank you.
Congratulations. Congratulations. Okay, let's maintain order while we get through. We have a lengthy agenda. All right, council members. On to our second reading ordinances. I believe we're going to
have a motion to defer to item 4.5, city ordinance 25-047. Motion. Motion made by council person Sole. Seconded by council president Waterman. on the motion to defer to item 4.5 city
ordinance 25-047. Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano I. Council person Cle. Council person Solomon. Hi. Council person Gilmore. Hi. Council person
Deise. Hi. Council person Rivera. Hi. And council president Warman. Motion carries 80 to defer to item 4.5 city ordinance 25-047. Item 4.5 city ordinance
25-047 is an ordinance dedicating Judge James McAffry's former courtroom number four in Jersey City Municipal Court as the James J. McAffrey Memorial Courtroom. This is a public hearing on this ordinance. Any member of the public wishing to be heard, please come up to
the podium and state your name for the record before you speak. Morin, just give me one second. Okay, get the camera on you and we're ready to roll. My name is Moren Fuelings. Um, I just want to thank the
council if you vote for this tonight to pass it because James McAffrey was one of the best people I ever met in my entire life. Everybody loved James McCaffrey. He was actually my best friend and we greatly miss him. Everybody in municipal court when he was
a former prosecutor, anybody who knows him loved the man. He'd be shocked that this is happening. He never realized how much he was loved and missed. So, thank you Thank you very much. This is still a public hearing on city ordinance
25-047. Any member of the public wish to be heard, please come up to the podium and state your name for the record. Motion second. Okay, just give me one second. I'm also the camera operator. We have a motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance
25-047 by council persona, seconded by council person. On the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 25-047. Council person I. Council person Bajiano. I. Council person Cle. I.
Council person Solomon. I. Council person Gilmore. I. Council person Deise. Hi. Council person Rivera. Hi. And council president Waterman. Motion carries 80 to close the public hearing on city ordinance
25-047 for final consideration and adoption of city ordinance 25-047. Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano I. Council person Cle. Want to tell the family that you know this is really welld deserved. He is a
loyal son of Jersey City, a native son, and he was he served honorably on the bench. And he was a municipal court judge since 2018, the assistant prosecutor as well, and he was known for his generos generosity, judicial spirit, and passion for truth and justice. This
is honor welld deserved. I proudly vote I. Council person Solomon, I proudly vote I. Council person Gilmore, I. Council person Dejis. Hi. Council person Rivera.
Hi. And council president Waterman. Hi. City ordinance 25-047 is approved unanimously. Adopted, excuse me, unanimously. 80. Congratulations to the family of Macaffrey. Judge Macaffy.
So, I don't want to put anybody on the spot, but is there anyone from the family that's here? No. Okay. I'm not putting anybody on the spot. All right. All right. Council members, back
to our regular order of business. as discussed at the caucus. Item 4.1, city ordinance 25-00005, which is an ordinance implementing chapter 67, pedestrian malls, article 3, Provo Street between Bay Street and Morgan Street pedestrian
mall. We are I need a motion to carry city ordinance 25-005, excuse me, to the May 21st municipal council meeting to give us time to do the advertising and the notices. Motion made by council president
Waterman. Second seconded by council person Sole to carry city ordinance 25-day 0005 to the May 21st municipal council meeting. Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajana. I. Council person Cle. I.
Council person Solomon. Hi. Council person Gilmore. Council person Deise. Hi. Council person Reber. Hi. And council president Mortman. Motion to carry city ordinance 25-00005 to the May 21st municipal
council meeting is approved 80. On to our next second reading ordinance item 4.2 city ordinance 25-026 is an can I read it into the record? an ordinance amending chapter 131
entitled construct uniform construction codes requiring applicants for construction permits to demonstrate prior approvals from certain city officials and agencies before I call for a public hearing. Council person um Bajiano, did you want to say something?
Yeah, I've been asked by several people to carry this until there's further explanations uh to some of the developers and people in the city. like to take a vote if we can carry it.
I I I couldn't really hear you. I mic is on. You just got to move the mic a little closer to you. Right. I'm asking several people have asked me to have this if they we can carry this until it's further explained and there's more information given out on this
issue. Go ahead, James. Yeah, I would uh ask the council to vote on it. We've had it before us for about two months. If there are changes, I'm not opposed to us making changes going forward, but there are a couple things on here that will help us enforce the payroll tax. So, I don't want to delay that. Another if there's substantive changes that keeps
us two more meetings down the road. So, I'd rather pass tonight and if there are substantive concerns, again, we've had it for two months, we can address those in the coming uh weeks. Okay. Right. So, are you still making a motion, Council Person Bajiano? Yes,
I've been asked to make a motion and let's see what the council says. So, we have a motion to carry city ordinance 25-026 to the next meeting. Yes. To the
May 7th municipal council meeting. May I have a second? Second. The motion was made by council person Bajiano. Yeah. Um seconded. We're in the middle
of a motion. Council again. Sean. Seconded by council person on the motion to carry city ordinance 25-026 to the May 7th municipal council meeting. Council person Ridley. No. Council person Bajiano. Yes.
Council person. All right. Council person Solomon. No. As I said, we have provisions here to help us enforce the payroll tax for the schools that need to be implemented ASAP. Council person Gilmore. No.
Council person Deise. Council person Rever. No. And council president Waterman. The motion to carry city ordinance 2526 to the May 7th council meeting is defeated 26 with council members Bajiano
and Cle voting in the affirmative. So this is a public hearing on city ordinance 25-026. Any member of the public wishing to be heard, please come up to the podium and state your name for the record. And if you would be kind enough
to spell your name for a court reporter and do it slowly. Don't speak speeding because we are not speed writers. So with that being said, Danielle, good evening, Danielle. D A N I E L L E Damo
D's and David. A D's and David. A M O. And just so everybody knows, I'm not going to start the clock until you're done spelling. Good. Fair. All right, let's go. Good evening, council members. I'm here today to voice my strong
support for the ordinance amending chapter 31 to require that all necessary permits, in particularly forestry, be obtained before any construction approvals are granted. This amendment is both common sense and overdue. We saw
firsthand the consequences of a fragmented permitting process just a few weeks ago with the now infamous driveway situation at 65 Tur Avenue. A developer re received approval from one city
department began tearing up sidewalks and removing curbs without the proper forestry permits. And only after the work had started did our forestry department have to step in and stop it. What's worse, the developer then went
ahead and reoured the sidewalk and reinstalled the curb again without permits, but also poured a path that clearly suggests they're still expecting to win a reversal and connect a driveway to the street. And now I hear they're
planning to sue the city. This is exactly why this ordinance matters. By requiring that all necessary permits, especially those that affect our street trees and urban canopy, are secured before any construction approval. We
protect our city from legal liability, reduce wasteful back and forth between departments, and prevent bad faith actors from exploiting loopholes in our system. This isn't about making it harder to build. It's about building
responsibility. It's about respecting our public trees, our sidewalks, and the processes that protect them. If developers are serious, they'll do the work upfront. If not, the city should have to spend time and money cleaning up
their messes or finding them in court. Let's learn from the driveway debacle and move forward with a smarter, more coordinated approach. I urge you to vote at yes on this ordinance. Thank you. Thank
you. This is still a public hearing. Good evening. My name is Kep Kumar. It spells as K U L D E P. Last name K U M A R. Thank you. I'm not
here to oppose this ordinance. I need some clarification on this. Does the city have the DCA approval to add these prior approvals? That's the question. Can I get an answer on this?
We we we were in communication with DCA. You need approval in order to add these. Yes. The prior approval. Do you have the approval? Yes. Okay. Now, if the other departments took longer than six months in reviewing the plans or giving the
approval while the application was pending with the construction department, it says that the p the the fee will be basically gone. You would have to resubmit. So, what happens then? Do you have a mandate on the other
department that they must give the approval within 6 months or the time is extended? send this to law department and I I don't know if this yeah I mean practically speaking if it's required then the law department has to get the approval and it hasn't been given yet we're not going to charge
anyone a fee and we'll be able to extend it until that approval comes in however this is more to put the onus back on the applicant than it is the city department which has been a lot of our frustration I think the council's frustration then if you read on page number two under section
five ABC denial or revocation of a construction permit, penalties as outlined in the city's construction code enforcement, suspension of any ongoing construction activities unless compliance is demonstrated. Does that
apply to permits that has been issued or this is only for what's new? What you have to do, you have to submit all the questions to them and they'll definitely answer it for you cuz we can't go back and forth like that. But this is the most important question. After that, I want to ask other questions. give it to the um
the legal right here and she'll answer. Okay. Okay. She'll answer because we can't go back and forth because there's so many people here and we have 80 speakers. Now, the last thing is they they deleted the construction board of appeals. I see
that. Uh but can they add Hudson County construction board of appeals if the person had to appeal it? Okay, Britain, you answer your question. Go ahead. Everybody goes to the Hudson County Board of Appeals right now. They've taken over. So,
okay. This is still a public hearing on city ordinance 25-026. Any member of the public still wishing to be heard, please come up to the podium and state your name for the record. Second. Motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance
25-026 was made by council person, seconded by council persona. On the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 25-026, council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano I. Council
person I. Council person Solomon. Hi. Council person Gilmore. Hi. Council person Deise. Hi. Council person Ribera. Hi. And council president Waterman. I motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance
25-026 is approved 80 for final consideration and adoption of city ordinance 25-026 council person I council person Bajiano no council person vote I this is definitely needed
to collect uh revenues for our schools I wasn't opposed to postponing for it postponing a few weeks But um better now than ever and uh good work on this ordinance. Thank you, Council Person Solomon. Just to you know
briefly describe there there's multiple components to the ordinance but the the one that our office focused on was we did an audit of some of the largest contractors in the city and found that less than 10% had properly registered to pay the city's payroll tax. The payroll tax funds are public schools desperately
needed and homeowners have been hit extraordinarily hard with massive tax increases and it's simply not fair to put the burden on homeowners and small businesses when contractors and large developers aren't paying what they owe. Um, and so what this does is it's going to require them to prove when they get
their certificate of occupancy that they have registered and paid for the payroll tax. It's simple, it's basic, it's fair, and it's going to do wonders to get millions of dollars for our Jersey City public schools. And so with that I proudly vote to I. Council person Gilmore I.
Council person Deise I. Council person Reber I. And council president Waterman I. City ordinance 25-026 is adopted 71 with council person Biano voting
no. On to our next second reading. Ordinance item 4.3 city ordinance 25-045 is an ordinance amending chapter 84 alcoholic beverage and cannabis to amend regulations of cannabis establishments and cannabis
distributors. This is a public hearing on this ordinance. Any member of the public wishing to be heard, please come up to the podium and state your name for the record. Motion. Second. Motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance
25-045 was made by council person, seconded by council president waterman. On the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 25-045, council person Ridley. Hi. Council person Bajiano. Hi. Council person. I. Council person Solomon. Hi.
Council person Gilmore. Hi. Council person Deise. Hi. Council person Reber. Hi. And council president Waterman. I motion carries 80 to close the public hearing on city ordinance 25-045 for final consideration and
adoption of city ordinance 25-045. Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano. I. Council person Cle. I. Council person Solomon. I. Council person Gilmore. I'm abstaining. Sean.
Okay. Council person Deise. Council person Reber. And council president Waterman stay. All righty. City Ordinance 25-045 is adopted.
602 with council members Gilmore and Council President Waterman abstaining. On to our next second reading ordinance. Item 4.4. City Ordinance 25-046 is an ordinance of the city of
Jersey City designating the Jersey City Municipal Council offices located at 394 Central Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey 07307 as the Michael Young Municipal Service Center. This is a public hearing on this ordinance. Any member of the
public wishing to be heard, please come up to the podium and state your name for the record. Motion. Okay. Second. Motion to close the Anyone going to the mic. Okay. Motion to close the public hearing
was on city ordinance 25-046 was made by council president Waterman. Seconded by council person. On the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 25-046. Council person Ridley. I.
Council person Bajiano. I. Council person. I. Council person Solomon. Hi. Council person Gilmore. Hi. Council person Deise. Hi. Council person Ribera. Hi. And council president Waterman. Motion to close a public hearing on city
ordinance 25-046 carries 80. For final consideration and adoption of city ordinance 25-046. Council person Ridley. Uh I just want to say that I am happy to see this for our good friend uh Michael Young in
his memory and he will always be remembered and missed. With that I vote I thank you council person Bajiano. Glad to vote I and Michael Young was probably one of the best residents of Jersey City and I wish his wife was here tonight but
I believe she's in Europe. I vote I. Council person So. It's been 5 years since we lost the late Councilman Michael Yun and we miss him every day. He was uh iller for our
community. He represented us well. He was the visage of the American dream and what could be accomplished. He he came he immigrated here. He built himself from scratch and ended up becoming the councilman and served his community
honorably. And I hope this is uh proper paying proper homage to him and we thank him and his family so much for their sacrifice. With that, I vote I proudly.
Council person Solomon. I think if Michael were up here, he'd be demanding to know how we were going to pay for this, but that's uh that's how Michael was and and we miss him every day. He was such a committed councilman. So I proudly vote I. Council person Gilmore. I, Council
Person Deise, the Young family is an amazing family. I knew him when I was a little girl and he was a pillar of the heights then and now his name is going to be on the on the building there to keep him there forever. I vote I Council Person Rivera. I I really miss
that man. That man was u an amazing gentleman, an amazing amazing colleague. Um he had no shame in beating us up up here. Uh and he did that with a smile and he did that proudly. Uh but it wasn't such an amazing wise man. I
proudly vote I for this and Council President Waterman. So before I recap, as the spotlight was on me when we talked about Robert's introduction of his ordinance, the spotlight then rose back to the
council members. And I think that was our council person Michael Young up in heaven thanking you guys for such a great honor. City ordinance 25-046 is adopted unanimously. 80 onto our next second reading
ordinance which is not 4.5 because we did that earlier. So, we're moving on to 4.6 city ordinance 25-048. It's an ordinance approving a 30-year tax exemption for 701 Newark Avenue LLC, block
7902, lots 2526, 27, 28, 29 to be known as block 7920, lot 25.01, 01, more commonly known by the street address of 693-701 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, New
Jersey 07306. Pursuant to the New Jersey and Mortgage Finance Act of 1983, as amended and supplemented by NJSA 5514K-1 Exec and the rule and the rules promulgated under
NJAC 580-1 Exec. This is a public hearing on this ordinance and I do see members lining up. So again, if you can just come up to the podium, state your name for the record and please spell your name for our court reporter and I will
not start the clock until your name is completely spelled. Edward Perkins. Uh, E D W A R D. That's Edward and Perkins is P E R K I Ns. Thank you, sir.
Uh, I'm going to stay on topic. This my my comments have everything to do with 701 and I've said it before. Uh, part of me is happy that the room is filled with, you know, contractors and then part of me is very
unhappy. And the very unhappy part is the fact that contractors who are born here, who live here, and work here are being neglected, spit on, have their backs turned on first by the mayor's office,
but then also too by city council. So, if these people behind us don't have an ally in the mayor, there better be something that the council can do, especially when it's at least one or two members running for mayor. Like, it
cannot be acceptable that people who work here or are trained cannot or or are not afforded the opportunity to work here. They're being looked over and it's not hard. is the honest truth by outside
labor. Like first of all, I'm hearing is non-union workers getting opportunity and people who don't even speak English as a first language and it's not fair. It's worse than not fair. Also 701 fine
90 units of affordable housing and real affordable housing. Amen. But that's on that side. What about on the other side? Who do you allow to do the work? You're skipping over men and women who work here, who live here, many of who are parents, they raise families, and have
other obligations, like all sorts of stuff. Like, this is unacceptable. 90 units of affordable housing is fine, but you do not allow the mayor. There should be something that city council should do tonight. It should be illegal. It should be on the books that when developers come and they
build, we get opportunity first. Shame on you. If you can't do it, step down, walk out in shame because that opportunity belongs to us. Well, well, Leverne, come on. Let's behave. All
righty. Go ahead. Then please do. Good evening, Danielle. D A N I E L L E. The demo D's and David. A D's and David. A M O. So, I am here to speak in support of
ordinance 4.6. I will admit when I first heard about the proposal for a 30-year tax exemption at 701 Newark Avenue, I was skeptical. These kinds of long-term deals can raise red flags. But after hearing some of the particulars,
especially the alignment with the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Act and the potential for revital revitalizing the key corridor, I see the value in moving this forward. That said, I also want to be clear that this
project must be built with in-house union labor. If we're going to provide a multi-de a multi-deade tax abension, we need to make sure our local workers are the ones
benefiting from it. not just developers. Union jobs mean fair wages, safety standards, and reinvestment in our own community. I support this ordinance with that expectation, and I look forward to
continued conversations to ensure this project delivers for Jersey City. Thank you. Hi guys, my name is Tina NoS. Yes, I do work for education and Gilmore, but I'm speaking upon myself. Um, I'm going to say again, being in my community and
being boots on ground seeing that we should not be here. They should be at work right now or getting off of work or going home. We already know, we discuss this education again more constantly because I let you know the guys on the blocks who did the training. I went
myself to these developments in the square all over Jersey City. Jerry Walker had me going around and just talking to the guys and finding out where they was from. They was not from here, Jersey City. They was from out of town. To see these guys that live here and work here in Jersey City, they
should be the first person that get a job. Maybe our crimes will go down. Maybe our corners are clear up. Yesterday the cops was up there, Miss Webb. You know that cuz you came up there to drop off food at my safe spot that they gave me for the community for
war f. And I feel bad because it's nothing for them to do. Now I see why. Because other people have their jobs. If y'all knew that and if y'all gave these other people jobs, started giving it to our community, that's wrong, guys.
Especially if y'all from this community, y'all was born. I wasn't born here. I keep saying I was born in Alabama. And I feel bad because I walk up and down my community every day. They should not be here. Um, North um um Tower should not be here. All we should be here talking
about right now that we doing a good job for our community. We did excellent. everybody working but now we here because y'all sit up there gave all these developments letting them come in our community and giving other people job. That's not right. They should have union and they should have a job.
Tonight when we walk out make sure we let them know that they got a job and that we have their back as one as a community. Thank you. Yeah. Good evening, council members. My name is Adrien Orosco. A D R I A
N. Going fast. Sorry. A D R I A N. Yep. Last name O R O. Z as in zebra. C as in cherry. O. Thank you so much. All right. Good evening, council members. Um, like I said, I'm Adrien Orosco. I am the New
Jersey political director for 32BJ SEIU. Uh we're the largest uh property service workers union in the nation. We represent 15,000 building service workers that live here in New Jersey, including janitors, security guards,
maintenance workers, uh that all play a vital role in keeping our communities clean, safe, and functioning. Contrary to some opinions, 1,500 of these members live right here in Jersey City.
Tonight I speak in strong support of the proposed tax abatement for 701 Newark Avenue. We all know that Journal Square is rapidly undergoing a transformation. Uh but many new developments here have excluded the working people who have
long called Journal Square their home. This project on the other hand is a great example of what development in Jersey City should do. create much needed affordable housing and good union jobs for the community. 701 Newark AB
would generate hundreds of union jobs during construction. Uh the developer has also committed to providing a living wage and affordable quality health care for the long-term building service jobs once the project is completed. By
ensuring that these jobs provide family sustaining wages and benefits, we will be lifting up working families in Journal Square. Raising standards is an essential way to combat growing wealth inequality. Crucially, this plan will
provide truly affordable housing by requiring 25% of the units to be affordable for families making 50% or less of the average median income. This means homes for working families who are shouldering the heaviest burden of
rising cost across the economy. If we don't address the housing crisis by increasing the supply of affordable housing units, long-term Journal Square residents are at risk of being priced out of their community. For all these reasons, we strongly support this
development and encourage the council to approve it. We celebrate the diversity of Jersey City and that of Journal Square, uh, which is the heart of that diversity. Let's invest in Jersey City's future, create good jobs, and ensure that working people can thrive in this
vibrant community. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Lonzel Battle. L O N Z E L L. last name battle B- A TLE E. I'm here in support of the act. Um, long story short, I have called
Jersey City my home for the last 18 years where I met my lovely wife. Now I have two kids. Um, I really enjoy living in Jersey City, but it's coming a little bit more unaffordable. Um, I'm kind of
looking for a new apartment. Um, having more affordable apartments I believe will help bring the level playing field to Jersey City with affordable housing. Um, I just joined 32BJ. Um, we in negotiation right now
and I'm very happy that I know a union has my back. Um, sorry. I truly believe having union jobs will help out everybody just because shortterm with
the construction and long-term with the workers that will work in the building. Having long-term union jobs, I believe help out the middle class. If you really want, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but you just got to make sure we're staying on the topic of the actual ordinance.
Sorry about that. That's okay. So, with um passing this bill will help out pretty much the long-term middle class, which be me, um for 30 years or whatever. Um I'm sorry if I'm being
rambly, but helping out short-term and long-term union workers, I believe, help out Jersey City. Thank you. Thank you. You Good evening, Council President Waterman, Rivera Chalz, Solomon, Frank
Gilmore, Amy Deise, Richie Moiano, and Denise Shriggley. I'm here. My name is Patrick Keller. I'm the Hudson County building trades representing all the trades behind me on We had some speakers before us speaking about the
climate. Here's a project with the developer I met during co and his father talking about affordable housing about project. Here's the highest 25% affordable housing for a project. There should be 25% of affordable housing in
each district you control. And you know, you know what? I was down at the national building trades with five of the big pension unions across the country. And I'm going to do a sympum here for all
you people about getting workforce, affordable housing so the men and women behind us can afford to live in Jersey City and build those buildings for you. You know, I've always helped you. Whenever you needed somebody into the program, you just call me. So
there's 700 building trades job for men and women. I hadund and something applications from his local 14. And you know what? Three Jersey City women didn't make it the application. I made it a point. I have grants now through
the state that we're going to get him in as tradeswoman working for the contractor that's going to build that building. Now, so that's what look around up at the square in the city. When it's built with organized labor, the job gets done safely and on
time. All the stuff up at the square and other places up there, they should be ashamed letting people like that come to this city and ruin ruin what's happening up there. Organized labor will always be with you and always support you. So, I
would love for you to make sure this this ordinance goes through. Thank you. Thank you. Good evening, council members. Tom Zupa, excuse me, ZUPPA, WC resident. Uh to the men and women of organized labor, thank you for all you do. Uh the people in
this room ask a lot of you. They ask for checks. They ask you to walk and campaign. It's time to show up for you tonight. Seeing a 30-year abatement gives me pause as well, but we need to outweigh the benefits and look at the project itself. This council granted two 30-year
tax abatements for the Pompadoo project, which has zero affordable housing, zero union labor, and it's a project this city can't afford. This project, not true. This project here on Newark Avenue shows or can show if you're serious about affordable housing in Journal
Square in a neighborhood where residents are getting pushed out. they're not enjoying the renaissance because they can't afford it, then vote for this project. 90 affordable units for those who need it most. A studio apartment with the abatement is $975 for a studio.
If we're serious about not pushing residents out for luxury housing, vote for this abatement. If we're serious about responsible development and you're tired of the streets being a disaster, of pedestrians having to walk into oncoming traffic, and the lack of enforcement that this city shows to
development projects, vote for this project and put the trust in the men and women of organized labor who live in the city, they work in the city, and they deserve to build in the city. Thank you. Hello, council members. My name is
Nicholas Misella. That's spelled N I C H O L A S M A Z E L L A. I just wanted to come up here tonight and say that I'm a huge proponent of union labor and I truly believe that this project will
immensely enrich your community. It's so important to have a project labor agreement on a project like this to ensure that the the project is done correctly by people who are trained properly for
years. And it really levels the playing field, sets the rules for the contractors bidding this project. And it's very important and go
union. Uh Paul Raldan R O L D an I'm sorry I didn't hear you at the first time. P A L Paul Raldan RO D-N Diaz and David business manager Labor's local 35 year resident of Jersey City
currently residing in Carney still a Hudson County resident um obviously here to speak on behalf of the 701 Newark Avenue project. Um, you know, PLA's again, as as you've
heard from not only community members, but fledgling politicians, more important, residents, the residents that actually vote for you guys, that live in your community that want to work in your communities are speaking in favor and on
behalf of this project. And here we are once again with another bite at the apple. All right. to get it done right. Okay, we understand the the circumstances behind a tax abatement and the effects that it has on the people
that have home ownership in Jersey City, but you the results, the facts speak for themselves. PLA's and union projects, you don't have to chase your public your employee tax on union jobs. You know why? Because they pay them for
their employees, right? They pay health care. They pay benefits and pensions and social security and unemployment. They don't circumvent those those funds like other projects that are going on now in Jersey City. I could count on one on one
block four highrises that are being built open shop. It's a shame. It's a shame what really transpired over the the past seven years in this city when it in terms of construction um and what it's
done to the community and the the people the natives that live here in Jersey City that want to continue to live here in Jersey City. And this is one of the results or one of the consequences. The fact that these jobs are being let out to open shop contractors and allowing de
developers to come in here and piler and exploit workers is one of the reasons why Jersey City residents can no longer live in Jersey City. So if you give a lot of these Jersey most of them are from Jersey City work for the unions an opportunity to work on these jobs then
maybe they can continue to pay and buy gasoline and buy groceries in your in your communities. Okay. So, I'm in favor for this PLA and to abstain from this vote is a vote no and it's a vote against the union. So, just want you to
know that, okay? And you got another chance to get it right and I'm hoping you guys do the right thing for us. Thank you. Thank you, Judith Fury Rogers. You don't need to. Okay. Hudson County Builders Trades
represents 18 construction union units. All the workers are certified. We saw firsthand the disaster of using nonUN workers at 100
Montgomery. Uncertified working at night knocking down retaining walls. That would not happen with union workers. Wasted funds. They're redoing everything now. Developers need to hire Jersey City
workers, union workers. They need to invest in Hudson County. Why do we have a union? Why is there a Hudson County union if we're not using it? You can bring the mic up to you, sir.
Ben Presnney. P R Z E W O Z N Y. I'm I'm sorry. It's Irish. Your first name is Ben. BN. Yes. And last name again? P like Peter. R Z E W O Z N Y.
I really appreciate you spelling it out twice for me. Thank you. Uh Ward F resident. Uh I'm in favor of this. I would like to see a Hudson County clause get put on the PLA, but I'll take the PLA if it could go. I take the 87 bus to
the square every day to go to work. Except it doesn't stop there. I got to get on the path and go to Newark. I don't think that's right with the amount of construction going on in the square. Thank you. Hey, Sean. Uh, Jim McGrevy, MC, capital
G R E E V E Y, following the rules. To Madame President, to members of the council, thank you for this opportunity. I understand as it was shared individuals concerns about the nature of a 30-year tax abatement, but I believe
this project and projects like it are uniquely qualified for such an abatement. Union work sets a standard not only in the state of New Jersey, but indeed nationally and provides for pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs that train for the best
qualified skilled labor. In addition, this particular project will provide 360 units of which nine of them, 90 of them are affordable. In fact, equivalent of 50% of AMI. So what
we see here today is the prospect of union labor, Hudson County union labor, 90 units of affordable housing at AMI, and the opportunity to employ our own sons and daughters to build in
Jersey City. On a parochial note, I'm proud of the work that New Jersey Re-entry does with the labors to provide a program entitled P2A, Pathways to Apprenticeship, that basically enrolls young men and women from the community
to enter the building trades. What we are doing in this project is creating an economy that ensures that men and women from Jersey City and Hudson County not only have the skills necessary to build, but we're building with quality union.
We're also providing an opportunity for the next generation of union labor. And we're also providing for the third rail, the third leg of quality affordable housing. this project merits this abatement and with respect I would argue
this is the type of project that strongly deserves this type of abatement. I just want to say thank you to all those assembled but most importantly for the next generation of union labor that we continue to sustain and strengthen our families. Thank you.
Thank you. Next. Uhuh. Jim, my only concern with the developer is that he hired Harrington. But Sean, make sure they stay on topic here. Okay. Good evening again. U should I say my name for the record
again? No, you can. You don't have to spell it though. Okay. I'm here to support this project. I'm not a fan of tax abatements, but we are getting 90 affordable units, and this is the only way to keep Jersey City residents in
Jersey City. I remember working on PLA when Chico Ramchild was a councilman. I worked as a confidential aid. I'm asking the union to employ as many Jersey City residents as possible. I'm also giving 64 affordable units in my own project because I believe in giving back to
Jersey City residents as I have always lived in Jersey City. Thank you. Good evening, uh, council members. Um, Charles Harrington of Connafoli on behalf of the applicant. Um, I'm not going to regurgitate what I said at the caucus. Don't worry about that. Uh, I
just, you know, wanted to say this. You know, we believe it's it's a win-win uh for the city here. uh you do have a job I mean a project that that is committed to 100% union labor I have the project labor agreement in hand executed by all
the parties um so I think it's you know it's tremendous because you don't have these opportunities often it's approximately 650 construction jobs and then you have the the permanent jobs uh after that that'll all be union labor as well uh I think that with the 90
affordable units again they will all be restricted to tenants with uh 50% or less of AMI, which which is I think a tremendous demographic uh in need. Um and then what I wanted to add because
this is something we we talked about tonight with my client. Um you know, sometimes you have you have limits on the affordability as as far as terms. Uh my client is committed to to have the affordability in perpetuity. Uh what
that does it it it it makes it makes this I think this makes a generational benefit. It's not you know sometimes they're 15 years 30 years 20 years. This this is his his commitment. So it's not it's not just you know the next
generation or this generation. It'll go on in perpetuity. I think that's very important to make sure it's in the contract. I we will I'm committing on a record for everybody and we will put it put it in perfect. That's right. Absolutely. It's it's it will be put in
writing. It'll be memorialized in a deed and a restriction. Okay. Perfect. Got it. motion. Wait, wait, wait. Oh my god. Sean, stop her time. Sean, Le, what are I doing? Come on, address
us. Come on. There's a lot of people here. Let's stay focused cuz you want everybody to stand up. Come on, address us. I'm drink real good. Come on. Come on. Real good. Yeah. Cuz I'm I'm a developer, too. Right. That's right. Affordable housing. Okay. All right. Let's get it right. Okay. And I got two
nephews in that union back there. Okay. And it's a don shame. They got to go out of Jersey City work. I agree. Okay. All this development Jones Square and then none of them this union people got none of them jobs. This the
first one in Jersey City and Donald Square that this developer is giving to us Jersey City people not he's doing that right he's doing a perable affordable houses he's giving
jobs that's a lesson what what what I'm trying to find out what I miss that he's getting a hard time for this if we don't need this up here in Jones Square y'all let me know Why? Mhm. If we got it downtown 40ome years ago in
Newport and it's all over the hood, what's wrong with up here and then giving Jersey City people jobs? I'm trying to find out what am I missing? What am I
missing that they can get a hard time to this mean? He said, you know what he said? If I do this here permanent, he said it should be here when I'm gone. I said it's all right. Then you got something that you leaving behind for the
community. You understand? He's working with the community. He's cultivating our area. He's giving my boy over there, my big brother that's having a hard time with this Bojan, I got your back. And
anything ain't right, me and you going to talk about it. That's right. He going we going to make it right. You understand that? You understand that? Me and you got this together and we going to make it work for our community in Jungle Square and these jobs and these
housing. It ain't about me. It ain't about just about our people having somewhere to live and they're going to have permanent resilation. They can't put them out. You hear me? You can't put them out. Yes. Till they die. They going to live in
that affordable apartment. I got ladies 45 years down here living. They can't put it out to God call home. The council warf council. This should be a blessing for you cuz they always want to
put everything in our community. So now you can build something in another community and you can run on that and tell them I helped support some affordable housing in Jon Square. and I thank you and I pray for you all to do the right thing. Thank
you. This is still a public hearing on city ordinance 25-048. Any member of the public wish to be heard, please come to the podium and state your name for the record. Motion. Second. So I I heard the first motion I believe by council person
Gilmore and then I'll give the next to yeah see we want to be fair. Thank you council president. I'll take it. On the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 25-048. Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano.
Council person So I. Council person Solomon. Hi. Council person Gilmore. Hi. Council person Deise. Hi. Council person Rivera. Hi. And council president Waterman. Hi. Motion carries 800 to close a public
hearing on city ordinance 25-048 for final consideration and adoption of city ordinance 25-048. Council person Ridley. I. Council person Bajiano. I. Council person. I just want to say I've done the
math on this and um you know I've had the conversations initially I was a no but digging deeper on this it is 20 to 50% AMI which is the lowest income strata that you could possibly build for. It is 25% affordable housing which
is approximately 90 units. The return on investment for the developer is 11% when industry standard is 20%. So, this is literally the lowest that I've ever seen. Um, a studio will cost $975 a
month to rent at this, you know, uh, building. A one bedroom is $1,22. Two bedroom is $1,212. 3bedroom is $1,386. Without the pilot, it would endanger the financial feasibility of
this project because HMFA will penalize them with the higher the allowable debt service coverage. Um, which requires 3 years of the property taxes upfront. So, I just wanted to put that on the record. Um, because my residents, they expect me to do the work and that's why I proudly
vote I for this. Thank you, Council Person Solomon. Yeah, I mean for me uh looking at this I do contrast it with the pompadoo uh which I was opposed to. Uh there was no affordable housing in that abatement. There was a small amount of union labor for the museum but
not for the towers. Um and here we have 25% affordable which is bumped up from 20%. We have permanent jobs that are affordable permanent jobs that are uh union as well as the construction jobs and we just desperately desperately need this affordable housing in Jersey City.
So we got to do what it takes to get it built. So that I would die. Council person Gilmore. Um I was initially going to abstain. Um because I I feel like without the without the pilot they was going to do
20%. Um with the pilot they was only going to do 5%. Um, and I really hate to give this area an abatement saying that all this development is going on up there. Um,
but in light of them having this PLA agreement and then in light of Hold on, let me check with legal. Legal. Um, Chuck said they were putting this affordable in perpetuity. Um, is
there how how can we make sure that this is something it's going to go in the deed? So Oh, it's going to go in the deed. It's recorded. Yep. No. Okay. So, in light of all of that, um, I'm going to vote I'm going to vote I for it. Um, but I will say this. Um, I'm
not taking no victory lap just by what people saying. I'm going to point out because I'm going to be at that site and if I don't see people from my community on that site, I'm going to call out Pat. I'm going to call out Chuck. I'm going to call all you guys out cuz you're
coming down here saying that you're going to make sure Jersey City residents get jobs. So, if they don't, be ready to go viral. I probably will. Hi.
Thank you. Council person Deise. Before I vote, Councilman Biano wanted to make a statement that he was too excited to not that he forgot to make. All right. Yeah. While I have been critical of this project since the beginning, it's too important to the residents of WC in need
of affordable housing and to the unions to let this fall apart at the final hour. That's why I said yes. However, I am very disappointed with the city and administration with how they presented this project. Since the beginning, they tried to change the parking regulations
and have moved the goalpost on this several times. So, let's be clear, this should have never happened this way. This was property the city owned and we should have included the union requirement and the affordable housing
from the beginning. Go. Going going forward, I want the council to have a say in this from the beginning. We shouldn't be selling properties at such general prices and then allowing tax abatements which further burden our homeowners and residents. We can and should be
demanding things from developers from the start. I am calling on the law department and administration to work with me to make sure that happens. I also want to say that myself and a couple of the other council people here, we had affordable housing passed in
Journal Square about six months ago, but you read very little about it. So, I'm very happy about this and as I said, I voted yes. Thank you. Okay, back to council person deise. Thank you. I proudly vote I. I was
always an eye, but I would like to thank the union membership for coming out today for always always holding us accountable and reminding us what's important here. Please know that you have, you know, friends and all of us up here and that we we want we're rooting for you every day. Um, but yes, so would I.
Excuse me, Council Person Rivera. I mean, from the beginning, man, I was always an I union strong all the way. Um, congratulations and like council person uh Frank Gilmore said, we really want to see Jersey City
people there. 100%. I vote I. Council President Waterman. Um, I I vote I, but I want to um just thank the developer because I know he went through a lot of changes and that's what sometime people don't understand to get the project to the gold line. He
adjusted that project numerous of times to make sure he get back to the community. But this sets a precedence because we given a tax abatement and you give at least 25% of affordable housing. Now the rest of developers that are out here well lease come with that
amount. Hear me. These come with that amount and with the union labor and you probably can get a past the goalpost. So with that, I proudly vote I. You completed your statement, council president. I'm sorry. Okay. City ordinance
25-0, excuse me, 48 is adopted unanimously. 80. Okay. All right. Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen. If we can exit quietly, Sean, just give just give us three minutes
when they clear out. We're going to take a short three minute recess. All right. Where are my council members? I see council person Ridley coming to We got five. All right. Let's rock and roll.
Members of the public, can we please have order? Woohoo. I guess we have another municipal clerk in the audience. I got to worry about my job. Job security. All right, we are on the last second reading
ordinance. Item 4.7, city ordinance 25-049. It's a franchise ordinance granting permission to St. George, St. George, and St. Seduda Coptic Orthodox Church to encroach onto the public right of way along the frontage of 395 SIP
Avenue, block 11801.01, lot 1 and lot 3. This is a public hearing on this ordinance. Any member of the public wishing to be heard, please come up to the podium and state your name for the record. Motion. Second. Motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance
25-049 was made by council persona, seconded by council president. On the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 25-049, council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano
I the way. Don't you. He's absent. Council person step away too. See, I thought you were going to say hi. Council person Solomon. Council person Solomon. Hi. Council person Gilmore. Hi. Council person Deise.
Council person Rivera. I. And council president Waterman. Motion to close the public hearing carries on city ordinance 25-049 6 with council members Bajiano and Cle absent. For final consideration
and adoption of city ordinance 25-049. Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano. Council person Sole is still not back. Council person Solomon I. Council person Gilmore. I. Council person Deise. Hi.
Council person Reber. Hi. And council president Waterman. City ordinance 25-049 is finally adopted 70 with council person absent. Council members, before we move on to our public
speakers, we do have to untab one of the ordinances, which is 11.4. No, no, excuse me. 11.5 city ordinance 23-078. It's an ordinance adopting
amendments to the land development ordinance regarding definitions section 345-6 and cannabis establishments and distributors section 345-60.5. This ordinance was tabled after the close of the public hearing
and it's also a companion ordinance to the ordinance that we previously just adopted earlier 4.3 city ordinance 25-045. So, council members, I need a motion to untab city ordinance 23-078. Motion. Motion made by council person
Rivera. May I have a second? Second. Second by council person dee. On the motion to untdinance 25-078 from the agenda, tabled agenda. Council person Ridley. I. Council person
Bajiano. I. Council person has not returned. Council person Solomon. I council person Gilmore I council person Deise I council person reur I and council president waterman. Motion carries
70 to untdinance 23-078 from the tabled agenda with council person absent for final consideration and adoption of city ordinance 23-078. Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano I. Council person
Solomon, Council Person Gilmore, abstain. Council person Deise, hi. Council person Reber, hi. And council president Waterman. Uh, council persons uh, Cle, would you like to cast your vote on city ordinance
23-078, which we untabd from the tabled agenda. It's a companion ordinance to the ordinance that we adopted earlier. 25-045 cannabis vote. I Okay. It's a cannabis, right?
Yep. This is the land development one. That's the companion. So, city ordinance 23-078 is adopted. 62 with council person Gilmore abstaining and council president Waterman
abstaining. That will conclude our second reading ordinances. On to our public speakers. So ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to be calling the number and the first name of the public speakers. Remember, you have three minutes to speak.
Sorry. And we have a lengthy list of public speakers, so please adhere to the three minutes. And with that being said, Sean, yes. Can I ask, can I do the vote for the uh Orthodox Church? Sure. We did it. You leave. No, he was out. Yeah, I didn't do it. Yeah, he missed it. Keep
going, Sean. He's gone. So, that would be city. Come on. I got to go home, Sean. One second. I I vote. I You know the council is doing that, not me. I'm sorry. What? One moment. Okay. So, council person, you're voting I on city
ordinance 25-049, correct? Yeah. Yes. Thank you. That will Let me just re recap that ordinance. So, now city ordinance 25-049 is finally adopted unanimously. 80. On to our public speaking portion.
Our first public speaker, let me make sure I got the camera on you, is Leverne 5.1. Go ahead, Lever. I just want to thank you guys what you did tonight about the affordable housing project and I hope there'll be more
coming up that we can vote on and work together on and that our community will grow so people will stop being living in the street and calling me looking for apartments. And the other thing I want
to address about the curve cutting, we got a lot of people out there doing them jobs and they not a Jersey city people and they doing curb cutting in my area in Lafayette area on Randolph the junction and they taking curves that was
already curb cut and they ain't in bad shape. They're not in bad shape and they redoing it. It's like they messing up taxpayers money. I can see the ones that wasn't done there, but they be doing the ones that was there and they not in bad
shape. And then there's no job for nobody in Jersey City. The contractors from out of state, out of and not out of state, but out of Jersey City that doing the curb cut. And I I I I just don't get it. We
here talking about jobs tonight and union and none of those people live in the city because the the people's trucks are not Jersey City. They're doing the curb cuts all around in our area. The only people that's there is the tag
people with the people uh work with her work with Patia. The people that what you call them street people. the ones that work when they doing work in the street. The flag people, they're the only ones
that's from our city that's working. But the developers that's doing all the work, you guys should look into that. Really, you really should. They none. And they don't even speak English. And they here and some of the curves don't need to be done again. Why
are they tearing up good curves? I don't get it. There was two not done and there was two already done right there on Harmon where I live. They I said, "Why you tearing them up?" They like didn't understand what I
was saying to them. They went on and they did it. Go check it out for yourself. I thank you. Y'all have a blessed evening. Lever. Some of um what is it? ADH compliance that we Yeah. So that's why some of the well all of the curves they most of them have to be done
over up to 80 80a compliance. Okay. But they needed to be done. But this Yes. Thank you, Lever. All right. Thank you. But still find out about the job. Oh yes. Okay. Our next speaker 5.2 Tina. She
left Sean. Oh no. She right there. Who's there? Right. Come on. Councilman Gilmore, you know she didn't leave. I thought she stepped down. You know what it is? He knows the draft is coming up. He's messing with me already. It's not even football season yet.
Stop that yawning. Um, Education get Hi guys, my name is Cena No. Yes, I work for Education to get more, but I'm speaking upon myself. I want to say justice for Drew. Justice for Drew. I want to say um in each area in the
community, I keep talking about it that I believe that we need a safe spot. A space spot could be anywhere that anybody have a business or a nonprofits in the community. So you would be able to go to that safe spot to let them know what's going on in the community. By me
saying that, I say that because I live in W F in the middle of the community. And I realized by me having that safe spot in my community, a lot of people walk in to let me know what they need. I thank God we was able to partner up with housing. So they was able to let us know
when the applications is coming out for next month for section 8 because that's one of the important things in my my community. We have a lot of homeless, a lot of people sleeping in their their cars and stuff. I guess a lot of people wouldn't know that's doing this type of job because I'm learning a lot of people
sit in the office. That's the type of jobs they have. But if you was actually out in the community, we would have been solve this problem. We wouldn't be still talking about this. We would be doing something new. But I realize cuz I see a couple of them sitting in their office when I go past by me working for the
city hall. Now, I believe that we should come out in the community so we can find out what everyone need in the community. I want to thank you guys for passing that. That's so important. Maybe we could change the next generation. I taught my kids at an early age at 16 to start filling out for applications low
in low low in low apartments applications because of what was going on in our community just like me as they mom they realized I was working as a teacher happened that the school closed I went down for a minute so I'm always educating it's like a mission of what we
go through in life and what we go through in life we supposed to bring it back to the community and change it but I see some people don't get the mission it's just about them and their family. I said that when I ever came out to advocate for my community. Yes, it's about me, my family, and my health. But
it's not. It's about the community of what we need. So, us today, I just want y'all to say, let's come together as one. Not downtown, not up on the hill, not W A W D. Let's come together as a community, as we supposed to be, as we
all can grow. Thank you guys. our next speaker 5.3 Edward. Okay. Uh, first of all, I saw two days ago, or was it yesterday morning, and I'm going to say this on the record, um, I was driving here in Jersey City, I think on
Route 440 in Communal Avenue, and just recently, um, there, uh, would have been 30 or 40 or 50 fullup signs for governor placed there on the highway, and that was very traumatizing for me riding by.
I spend a lot of my time and my energy um making sure that I can do whatever I can uh to um let people know that he's bad for us. He's been bad for Jersey City and he'll be really bad for our state.
So, I want everybody to know that. And if you ride by there and see stuff like that, like take pictures and videos and share it with people and share your sentiments and stuff like that about it. But um I need more information, Councilman Gilmore, on what's happening with Arrive Together in our city.
Apparently, Director Sheay told us that we're worth eight hours a day with a social worker who rides or 8 hours for one day a week. And well, that ain't good enough. Well, that ain't good enough. Well, that ain't good enough.
There's talk about a $25 million surplus in the budget and I'm like, "Okay, so the city has money. We have uh important obligations that we could try to take care of. So, is there extra money in the pot for issues that you all could um
begin to address?" And I see the $755 million budget proposal, I think, if I'm quoting it correctly. But more importantly, like where's the equity in all the departments? That's like really
the most important thing. The equity in these budgets for the departments. Like we need recreation and our law departments and our library departments and just every department to be uh resourced and equitably resourced.
And um just sharing again my sentiments on how disgusting it is here in this city that our administration and even our city council can allow for developers to continue to do work here and people here not benefit. And I just 25% of
affordable housing is fine. The Bayront was 35. So we want to continue looking forward. Okay. So 25 is 25, but Bayfront was 35, that's 8,000. So just continue
to try to do better because we need more than 25% affordable housing. Thank you. Our next speaker, 5.4, Bill. I didn't see Bill here tonight. Thank you.
Our next speaker 5.5 Noammy Nomie is not here. Next 5.6 Gina don't say it. Council person Gilmore was going to say you're not here. Oh, you left. Unbelievable.
Good evening, Gina Davidson, Ward F. Um, I actually say Ward F because I've been in W F for 10 years and would still be in Ward F if Steven Fulip wasn't wasting our tax dollars to fight for a gerrymandered ward map. So, technically, I'm now actually W B. And as a resident
of WB B, I'm asking you to please vote no on resol resolution 25-294. Um appointing a new uh council leader. Uh this is seems like we're rushing this. Seems like we're not taking enough time and it seems like
there are other folks that are interested in the position who would like to be interviewed. So let's slow this down and not just stick somebody in as leader of our ward without uh due process. The other thing I wanted to bring up
tonight is I want to continue to talk about how your constituents are feeling betrayed by your support of this mayor who has run away with his power. I want to be clear about what radicalized me against Mayor Fulip. I've
mentioned to you all many times I was a supporter of him in his first term, but there are three incidences that really changed my mind about him. And I want to be clear about that with you all. Number one was during during that tax reevaluation and at the time I was a
property owner both a resident and a landlord and I had no problem with the taxes going up at that time because we were getting services. We were getting protected bike lanes and pedestrian plazas and trees and composting programs. But now we're not getting any of that it seems
like. And after that tax reval we watched families have to move out of their homes that they had owned for generations. And when people started to say this e this reval didn't work right, our mayor was nowhere to be found to help people, seniors who were kicked out of their homes and couldn't afford their
taxes. The second instance was when George Floyd was killed and we didn't see our mayor at any of the the events. Instead, he sent the ESU, the emergency services unit. He sent undercover plane closed cops. He
sent basically a small militia to protect the downtown uh pawn shop, but he wasn't there, nor did he come out publicly and say that there's an issue of policing in this country. And so the third thing that
radicalized me against Mayor Steven Fulip in the past 12 years is the murder of Andrew Washington. One of Mr. Mr. Phillip's staff members murdered one of his residents and within 12 hours Mr. Fulip
said it was a justified killing. That family had to learn about that in the news that Mayor Fulp had called it a justified killing. Could you imagine if one of your loved ones died and you had to find yourself in that situation?
So, shame on y'all for continuing to support this man who does not support us. Justice for Drew. Thank you. Our next speaker, 5.7, Danielle. Good evening again. I'm here tonight to respectfully urge
the cancellation of the Israeli flag raising ceremony scheduled for April 30th. This is not simply about a flag. It's about what that flag represents. Right now, during one of the most devastating humanitarian crisis in
recent memory, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble. Families have been erased from existence. The scale of suffering is unsufferable. In this moment, raising
the Israeli flag in front of city hall is not a gesture of cultural pride. It is a political statement. And for many in our community, especially our Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim neighbors, it feels like a public endorsement of state violence. It sends the message
that their grief, their humanity, and their calls for justice are invisible. I'm glad that the third annual Palestinian flag raising will take place this year. That event is rooted in peace, pride, and cultural survival. But
even in announcing it, I know it will not erase the pain many feel when the city chooses to honor the government that is inflicting that suffering, especially while disabling public comments about it. That's not civic
dialogue. That's silencing. And that contrast is especially troubling tonight when you will vote on two resolutions that show the city's deep concern for a community's well-being. First, a
resolution calling on the FAA relevant federal and New Jersey state agencies to merely prohibit low-flying helicopters over Jersey City and Hoboken. Secondly, a resolution authorizing Jersey City to partner with the Mcinley Square
Community Board in applying for C County grants funding to acquire land for the Glenwood Community Garden at 128 Glenwood. These resolutions show that this council understands how policy impacts real lives. So, I ask you
plainly, how does the April 30th flag raising align with those values? If we are protecting neighborhoods from noise pollution, if we're investing in spaces where communities can heal and grow, how can we also host an event that will
inflict emotional distress on a significant portion of this city? We cannot cherrypick whose trauma matters. We cannot say we stand for unity, compassion, and public wellness while ignoring the pain this flag raising will
cause. I ask you, please cancel the April 30th event. Show the people of Jersey City that you hear us, that you see all of us, and that this city can lead with courage, compassion, and conscience. Thank
you. Our next speaker, 5.8, Nate Sharon ready when you are my name you can just speak McCormack I encourage you all to vote yes to resolution
25-264 whose purpose is to allow MSCB501c3 in partnership with the city to apply for various grants lined up as the very first step for 128 to hopefully be acquired and preserved as a public green space, pocket park, and community
garden. It's urgent that this be approved tonight to hit the Hudson County open space deadline for up to $500,000 of reimbursement. It's a first step, a first step towards pursuing a dense blocks green
urban oasis of nearly 25 years. That's over half my life. My neighbors have been pro-responsible development, speaking in support of many projects, at least five recently. The mayor thinks ours is a great project.
This is a unique special opportunity. And after assembling the funds, we feel confident that the city will be in a position to have a conversation with the owner and work it out. And we hope for a win for all. We can again grow and conserve at this urban oasis. We can
pass the torch of knowledge and teach generations to come. We can become good ancestors. We seek the greater and the greener good. This is a real opportunity and it all starts becoming possible with your vote tonight. We need this opportunity for grants today and
tomorrow. We're welcoming in 500 new neighbors, university students across the street who that space served and who it can serve again. where in urban aid adversely stressed overburdened community with lower income, higher immigrant population and less English
spoken and our immigrant and refugees families were served here before and they can be again. Our petition got 250 plus signatures in only a few days. Our 501c3 group of volunteers has pledged to restore and maintain the property and bring it all back, but even better with
amazing free public programming. We want to grow fresh produce, conserve wildlife habitat. We want to restore a meet and greet community space for the public to welcome, unify, heal, learn, and grow, and offer environmental education and
recreational yoga, meditation, nutrition, wellness, internships, and partnerships. After two years of turning our situation into one that empowers community with hope, passion, and knowledge, it is with joy, joy that we
appear here tonight. We gratefully receive support from the city, the mayor, the business administrator, the county commissioner, council letters from so many of you, and so many local organizations, and we hope for all of you to proudly support this resolution
tonight. Additionally, I wanted to uh celebrate that it's native plant month tonight. And the last thing I wanted to speak on is WB the WB interm council position. We have an opportunity here to do the due diligence and time is up
transparent. The time is up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 5.9 Tom. Okay. 5.10 Phillip I don't think I seen 5.11
Robert. I'd also like to urge passage of resolution 25264 to apply for grant funding to help acquire 128 Glenwood Avenue as a park and community garden. the egg. Preserving this space will preserve wildlife habitat in the midst of the
city, provide gardening opportunities for many who lack access, and provide a community gathering space in an area that's that's sorely in need of them, among many other benefits. Um, it will be a permanent benefit to
the block, McInley Square, and the entire city that'll far outweigh the initial cost. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker, 5.12, Meera. Good evening. Thank you for this
opportunity to speak. Since the last time I was here in November of 2023, urging the city council to support a ceasefire resolution, which all but three, and thank you to Sal, Gilmore,
and Bourjano, all but three voted down. Israel has exercised and made known to the world its full genocidal intent to, as I quote Netanyahu, mow the lawn and ethnically cleanse Gaza of all
its pal Palestinian inhabitants. Right now, the number one killer of children worldwide is Israel. Let me repeat, the number one killer of children worldwide is Israel.
by by dropping the equivalent of four Hiroshima bombs on Gaza, the area of the approximate size of Central Park, and cutting off all food, water, medicine, electricity, and fuel. The death toll of those murdered by Israel with billions
of our tax dollars and US-made bombs is now over 60,000 people with 20,000 of those being children. Since the last time I stood here, Israel has
destroyed all the hospitals, schools, universities, churches, mosques, apartment buildings, and refugee camps in Gaza. Its soldiers have raped doctors to death, assassinated
206 journalists, and murdered over 400 aid workers. The IC has called for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Foreign Minister Galant on the charges of war crimes and
crimes against humanity. Since the last time I stood here, President Biden lost the presidential race due to the fact that he ignored the m majority of his base that were demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Despite the fact that the mainstream media has been silent on the genocide being perpetrated on the people of Gaza, and despite the fact that politicians who have been bought off with Zionist money continue to support Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza and the West
Bank, despite all of this, 56% of US voters want to see an end to this holocaust. Shame on Jersey City for choosing to raise a flag of a state that has become a symbol of genocide,
infanticide, scholasticide, meticide, apartheid, occupation, and ethnic cleansing. I urge the city council to salvage Jersey City's Thank you so much. Your time is up flag raising ceremony on
April 30. Your time is up. Thank you. 5.13 Michelle is Michelle here. Okay, just checking. Um, hi, my name is Rochelle. R O C H E L L E. Um, the Israeli flag has
come has come to be the symbol of the new Holocaust and of Zionism. It is not a cultural symbol of the Jewish people. Craig Makubar, sorry, Mccyber um is a lawyer who stepped down as the
director of the New York office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights. And he stated recently referring to Zionism, and I quote, "Adherence of this ruthless, hateful, deeply racist, and fundamentally violent ideology are
now in power in the lawless United States government, putting us all at risk. They are not only torturing, raping, and slaughtering innocents in Palestine. They're bombing and occupying several countries, corrupting governments across the West, arresting
and deporting human rights defenders and students in the US, harassing those who dare to speak up, and dismantling, I'm sorry, and dismantling our democratic institutions. They are tearing down international law and the very
principles of human morality itself. No malign force since the Nazism of 1930s has represented such a grave threat to the world. Either we will defeat it or it will destroy us.
Additionally, this flag raising is being sponsored by the ADL, which is the Anti-Defamation League, who has decades decades, I'm sorry, of lawsuits for their illegal spying activities and incorrect reportage of anti-semitism. The head of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblat,
has lauded some of transactions, in particular his withholding of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for university. He praised the arrest of Makmu Khalil. According to a group called Stop the ADL, it has a history and ongoing pattern of attacking
social justice movements led by communities of color, queer people, immigrants, Muslims, Arabs, and other marginalized groups while aligning itself with police, right-wing leaders, and perpetrators of state violence. There are over 150 signitories to the
stop the head stop the ADL letter that I will email to you so you can see exactly who they are including JVP. Why is Philip aligning himself with Zionism and the ADL in this minorityfilled city? Zionism not only
represents genocide but the end of democracy. If this is where he stands, I cannot give him my vote. And shame on city council for aligning themselves with this group. Thank you. Our next speaker, 5.14,
Ryan. Is Ryan here? Okay. Next 5.15 mo. I have to ask, who the hell do you think you are and who the hell do you think you represent? Because it isn't this town. You've seen me enough on this
podium pleading to you all to simply be human beings. My first time on this podium, I had one one-year-old son, and I was screaming on behalf of the children just like him who are being masslaughtered daily by the terrorist ethnostate of Israel that is now internationally and legally designated as an apartheid state committing
genocide by the highest courts on the planet. And I am here today with a now three-year-old son and a daughter that just celebrated her first birthday just a couple days ago. And not a single thing has changed. Speaking of first birthdays, there are now 27 pages worth and counting of Palestinian newborns
under the age of one killed by Israel since a year and a half ago. That is close to 1,000 newborns that did not make it to their first birthdays. Do you hear me? A child in Gaza is killed every 45 minutes. That is an average of 30 children killed by Israel every day. Do
you hear me? Since I last spent on this podium, not a single thing has changed, aside from hundreds of thousands of killed Palestinians in a full-scale genocide and holocaust of my people. And you still sit there not just silent and refusing on numerous occasions to simply call for a ceasefire, which is well
beyond the bare minimum at this point, but you are actually allowing this terrorist waste flag of a flag that is now synonymous globally with the Nazi banner to fly high over our most diverse city. Who the hell do you think you are? I dare any of you to watch any of the
atrocities I post daily and then have the audacity to put that flag up. We just witnessed Israel bombing displacement tents full of families killing predominantly children where we saw their bodies burning alive and brought to the morg solidified and blackened with smoke still emanating
from the children's faces and bodies. And what do we see just minutes later? We see two Zionist WhatsApp group chats with over half a million combined subscribers which I'll bet many of the Zionists of this town are a part of reposting the videos of the children charged bodies celebrating and laughing
about it with a direct quote that says there is a sale on charcoal for Independence Day floor prices. They are referring to images of the charred Palestinian child corpses as charcoal for their barbecue celebrating their 77th year of independence. This exact
celebration that you are going to entertain here at city hall. This 77th year of independence you're about to cater to is literally the 77th year since the beginning of Israel's brutal land theft, occupation, oppression, apartheid, mass murder, rape, hostage holding, and epic cleansing campaign on
the Palestinians. Your raising of that flag right now as we speak after everything we have witnessed on live stream would put you firmly in the history books with those who would have stood proudly next to the Nazis hiling Hitler and his Nazi flag which would make you like the most anti-Semitic fools of our modern era. And I've got
plenty of real Jews to back me up on this. Don't let that stain of a flag and don't let that stain of a flag stain your reputations. Make the right decision. Cancel this immediately. And next speaker 516
or thank you. Next speaker 5.17 Julie. Is Julie here? No. Next speaker 5.18 Evelyn. No.
Evelyn 5.19 Rosemary. Hi, my name is Rose. I'm a resident of Ward F or Ward B, I'm sorry. We moved here in November. I graduated from St. Peters in 2014 and I was proud and
relieved to move my biracial children to one of the most diverse cities in the United States. But um when I found out about this Israeli flag raising, I became embarrassed that I had convinced my family to move and I was dismayed and
feel less safe today with my fiveweek old um than I have in many years. Um, in light of Israel's egregious aggression against Palestinians, among other populations, its flag raising is a
source of shame to Jersey City. I am a parent and a nurse. Israel intentionally targets children and healthcare workers in what can only be identified as an attempt to entirely destroy the wellness and the future of the Palestinian people. In a word, genocide. These are
not actions to be celebrated. They are actions to be censured with the strongest possible language and obstructed with the strongest possible actions. I never consented to my federal tax contributions being used to fund a genocide. And I certainly do not consent
to my local tax contributions paying to celebrate said genocide. If council members are not motiv motivated to cancel this flag raising by human decency, then perhaps you will be motivated by fear of losing your council seat to a representative who actually
listens to their constituents. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. Thank you. I'm skipping over 20 and 21. Um 5.22 Albert Good evening,
council. The 7th was a terrible day. People were sleeping. They were resting. They were partying. They were going about their daily business. By the end of the day, people were in shock. People all over the world
were in shock. Hundreds of innocent people were killed, thousands wounded. People were in shock at the surprise attack. Soon their eyes were opened. They looked around and realized no one
was coming to save them. So they themselves had to go to war to protect their families, their country, their way of life. They armed themselves and went to war. Thousands were killed. Tens of
thousands were injured. They fought, they cried, they prayed. Eventually, a few allies supported them. But it was soon clear they were going to pres prevail. They
did not stop. They kept fighting. They kept fighting until the enemy had no choice but to surrender. The 7th was a terrible, terrible day. December 7th,
1941, a day which will live in infamy. And on August 6th, 1945, the US bombed Hiroshima and killed 126,000 civilians. The Japanese asked for a
ceasefire. The US declined. On August 9th, the US bombed Nagasaki. 229,000 civilians were killed. August 15th that Japanese
surrendered. October 7th, 2023 is also a day and etched in history, a day of tragedy and bravery. The attack on Israel marked a turning point, awakening a nation to the harsh
realities of war and sparking a resolve to defend their freedom at any cost as the United States did in 1945. Thank you. By the way, I really
support the resolution to uh bring Morin uh Ulings to the council. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop, guys. Come on. All right. Now, do not war out like that. Please do not do that. Okay. Now,
let everybody respect one another. Okay. I don't want to call no officers up here to remove nobody. Just respect one another. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.23 Marilyn is Marilyn
here. No 5.24 Seridi. No. 5.25 Milo. Hello. Uh, my name is Milo. I'm a Jersey City resident, a father, and a proud
Jew. I come here today to speak against the decision to hold an Israeli flag raising ceremony here next week. I am proud to live in Jersey City where I believe all people's lives and dignity are respected. Generations ago, my family came to America to flee the
pgrams and ethnic cleansing of Jews in Europe. Today, the state of Israel is committing similar and worse atrocities against the people of Palestine in Gaza, the West Bank, and elsewhere. The the decision to hold this ceremony now while the violence is ongoing and the people
of Palestine suffer under starvation, bombing, and uh ethnic cleansing sends a clear message that those lives, the lives of our community members are not valued. I urge council to send a different message that all people in Jersey City and all over the world have
the have the right to dignity and human existence and cancel this ceremony. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.26 Belinda. Belinda here?
No. Next 5.27 27 Justin 5.28 Muhammad Mahoud I'm sorry Mahmood no next 5.29 Kayla
Yeah, you can raise the mic, Kayla. Good idea. Good evening, council members. I'm here tonight because I'm concerned about the lack of transparency and due diligence in the process of appointing an interim representative for Ward B. This isn't about me. This is about the people of Ward B. This is not just an
administrative appointment. It's about direct representation. This seat holds weight. It affects nearly 49,000 residents and many long-standing essential businesses in what some still call the forgotten ward. We deserve representative who reflects our community's needs and priorities and who
is free from conflicts of interest that could undermine that responsibility. W B is a vibrant, diverse, and proud community. Like so many residents, I care deeply about how decisions made in this chamber affect our neighbors, our schools, our housing, and our shared future. Whoever sits in the seat should
be equipped to carry those voices forward with clarity and independence. And knowing how seriously each of you takes your responsibility to your constituents, I believe this appointment should be treated with that same seriousness. Unfortunately, up until now, it hasn't been. There's been no
public application, no interviews, and no opportunity for Ward B constituents to understand who the candidates are or why one was chosen over another to represent them. That absence of process matters because it affects public trust. residents haven't been given any clarity on whether the nominee has been
meaningfully vetted. Does her employment at a law firm that often represents developers before this council raise conflicts of interest? Would she need to abstain from critical votes that shape the future of our ward as a result? Does her service on the MUA board pose similar questions about potential
conflicts? What happens to the voices in Ward B when Miss Helings opts to recuse herself from voting in such matters? We don't know because there has been no transparent, meaningful vetting of candidates strengths and potential limitations. I want to thank the council members, specifically Councilman
Gilmore, who spoke up at Monday's caucus. That type of leadership and accountability matters. Let me be clear. I'm not here to oppose any one individual. If this council believes after asking these and any other relevant questions that confirming Miss Hulings is in the best
interest of Ward B, you should vote to confirm her. But you should only vote to confirm any candidate to this position once you've satisfied that your vote is fully informed and your reasons are transparent. I'm prepared to withdraw my candidacy if doing so will compel you to reasonably vet the candidate nominated
in some fair, open, and thoughtful process. One that upholds public confidence in how this body operates. Because again, this isn't about me. And it's not just about this appointment. It's about the integrity of the process and the trust our community places in this council to represent them fully,
fairly, and transparently. So, please slow this down because there is time. Ask the questions. Allow for real scrutiny and show the people of WordB that their voices matter. Not just during elections, but in moments like this when repres representation is on
the line. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker, 530, Mary He's not here. Okay, our next speaker 5.31, excuse me, Kevin, Madam President and city council
members. First, I want to sincerely thank Director Richardson. Last time I stood here, I ran out of time before expressing my gratitude for him issuing summones related to violations of 262F
and 262G, the landlord identity and disclosure requirements. These represent a concrete these represent concrete enforcement steps and our long struggle and we're grateful for his diligence and commitment to Jersey City's tenants.
Last week, acting council, acting corporation council, excuse me, Murray, informed us that daily fines would begin in response to daily violation reports from our tenant members. The first of those documented complaints went out yesterday, the
second delivered today. These emails aren't just paperwork. They represent the machinery of justice finally engaging after years of inaction. Let me put this in perspective. We've we've delivered over 1,000 public
testimonies across 56 consecutive city council meetings, today being 57. Our associations have filed more than 100 formal petitions and countless follow-up communications. That's over
1,500 separate please for help from your constituents. And what did Equity Residential do? They ignored us all. If maximum penalties are applied as provided by law, they would exceed
$5.5 million per day. Some might call that excessive. I call it proportionate. Equity has received fair warning, including written notices about
potential imprisonment from Director Richardson himself and from Jersey City Council in federal court. This astronomical figure isn't a sign of harsh regulation. It's the mathematical product of Equity's
breathtaking disregard for the law. These enforcement actions arrived at a pivotal moment today. The New Jersey Attorney General filed a significant 81page lawsuit targeting Real Page and 10 of the largest landlords in New
Jersey with specific reference to unnamed conspirators in the rental uh price fixing scheme. I look forward to helping identify each entity that contributed to this market manipulation, particularly those operating in Jersey City while
simultaneously violating our rent control laws. Today marks day two of accountability, day two of consequences. The clock is ticking. The bill grows larger with each same day. Thank you.
Our next speaker 5.32 Anna not here and I'm assuming Lucy's not here either. Our next speaker 5.34 Daniel according to chapter 218 article
1 of the Jersey City code of ordinances quote every owner or agent of an owner of a multiple dwelling of 100 or more dwelling units shall furnish a minimum of one uniform security guard for each residential building in the property or community upon its premises 24 hours a
day 7 days a week. End quote. It goes on to say, quote, "For the purposes of this chapter, a uniform security guard shall consist of a licensed New Jersey security guard as specified in NJSA 1355A, hired for the purpose of protection of persons or property, real
or personal, from injury or harm that wears a particular set of clothes that clearly identifies them as a security guard." End quote. This ordinance was last amended on June 26th, 2024 unanimously by this council, making the law even more clear. Now, chapter 1,
article 3 of the Jersey City Code of Ordinances states, quotes, quote, "notstanding any other section of this code or any other ordinance, the maximum penalty for violating any provision of this code shall be in the discretion of the court a fine of up to $2,000 per day
and/or imprisonment for a period of up to 90 days and/or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days." End quote. goes on to state, quote, "Each day a violation of any provision of this code or any ordinance shall constitute a separate offense." End quote. Building
off on what Kevin was saying, June 26th, 2024 was 301 days ago. 30 301 days multiplied by $2,000 per day multiplied by let's lowball it and assume 500 occupied units of port side towers even
though there's actually 527 units comes out to $31 million. That would more than pay for the Pompadoo rather than all of our tax dollars paying for a museum that most of us didn't want anyway. would leave plenty of money left over over for
building safer roads, improving our schools, and building affordable housing. This is money that's at your fingertips, and all you need to do is enforce the law as it is written. $31 million are at your fingertips, and all you need to do is enforce the law. Now,
I had chat GPT make a little rap about the issue so you'll remember. Yo, city council, lend an ear. Portide towers got issues. Let's make it clear. Security slack. That ain't the deal. We need strong laws to keep it real. Residents
pay. Expecting peace. No strangers strolling in with ease. So step it up. Don't let it slide. Enforce the code. Don't make us cry. Seriously. And please continue. As Kevin was saying, it sounds like there's steps in the right direction with enforcement. Very happy to hear. But
let's please continue with this. Continue enforcing the law as it is written. Thank you. Daniel, you never know who's watching. So, good luck on your new M rap career. Just in case um before there's any more
raps, there was a violation issued this morning for 218. Thank you. Okay, our next speaker, 5.35, Mark. Good evening, city council. I'm here again, quite weary,
but still resolute. For over a year, I've been telling the council about the dangerously inadequate security of Portzside. Let's go back into ancient history. On August the 14th, 2014, Portside was granted a one-year exemption from the uniform security
provision in 2181. On August the 15th, 2015, this exemption expired and was never renewed. In June last year, you passed Ordinance 24055 bolstering the uniform
security mandate in 218-1. Thank you. But today marks 3,539 days since port size exemption expired. The fines for violating 2181 are up to
$2,000 a day per tenant. There's 527 apartments at Portside. Assume at least 500 were occupied on any given day. That makes the maximum fine about a million dollars a day just for the lack of uniform security.
Given that port size been out of compliance for 3,539 days, that means the city's missed out on $3.5 billion in the last 10 years. What could Jersey City do with an extra 3.5 billion? Free pool time for
all bike lanes everywhere people want them. Better designed intersections to make it safer for pedestrians. Even a pompous museum, and I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about. We need enforcement now. You may not be able to claw back money from my ancient
history example, but you can start raising a million dollars a day going forward. You could be the saviors of the city and heroes to everyone who lives here by generating revenue. You have a chance to fix things in this city. Start
now. Thank you. you. Our next speaker 5.36 Terara. You're ready. Yeah. Good evening, council, council president, and members of the city council. The number is 5.5
million. That's the maximum daily penalty possible for Equity Residentials ongoing violations at portside towers. Six distinct categories of violations. 527 affected units. Multiple statutes violated daily. The math is
straightforward. The penalties aren't arbitrary. They're calculated based on a formula designed by this very council to deter precisely this type of harm. Persistent with non-compliance. Consider what 5.5 million represents.
It's not just a number. It's a measure of harm. Residents without required security experience tangible fear. That has value. Tenants without a superintendent face delays and critical repairs. That has value. Every day without emergency contacts, but lives at
potential risk, and that has value. I used to live at 70 Green, another Equity property. And like many portsiders, I've experienced Equity's business model thriving on municipal apathy and complicity. Whether through lack of will, abdication of duty, or outright
contempt for public trust, local government routinely failed to enforce their own law. Equity doesn't just anticipate this, they count on it. Fines are shrugged off as minor operating expenses. Evictions are faster and cheaper than due process. And when
neglected infrastructure finally fails and lives are lost, the tragedy becomes profit paid out in full by insurance with no accountability in sight. For perspective, Equity Residential reported 1.6 billion in
revenue last quarter. The daily maximum penalty represents only.3% of their quarterly income. The penalty size simply reflects the scale of the operation and the breadth of the violations. Jersey City carefully calibrated these fines to ensure corporations couldn't
simply absorb them as a business expense. If they appear large, it's because the violations are widespread and the disregard flagrant. The law doesn't exist merely as suggestion. When willful non-compliance stretches across years affecting hundreds of families, the
appropriate response isn't to scale back enforcement. It's to apply it fully as written. Thank you. Sean. Sean. Yes. Before you call the next person, Peter Brennan is sitting back there. He's number 78 on the list. He's a former
council president. He should be brought up to speak that. Oh, no. No. Go ahead, Sean. Cuz then we would have That would be the call of the council president. Go ahead. Then we have Bill. He's not in the room at this moment
anyway. Go ahead, Sean. All righty. Next speaker 5.37 Dan evening. My name is Dan. I uh actually first uh spoke at this in this room before it was the uh Mrs. Coochie
Chamber and uh Joe Coochie was uh former mayor Coochie was my councilman councilman from Ward E in 1978 or 1979. Um Rich, you may remember me when I still had hair. And uh Councilman
Solomon, I know you smile, you know who I am. I um I I sort of uh I sort of feel like uh Christmas past here. uh gonna give you a break from all the statistics. I'll tell
you, I moved into uh Portide in uh 2017 and lived there till 2019. And when I first moved in, um I guess I I I had a different attitude than most of the people moving in. I was a homeowner. I am a homeowner. I still am a taxpayer in
Jersey City. And um I looked at the place differently when I could stick my hand through the wall underneath the HVAC unit where the wind was blowing in and I had a $900 a month electric bill to heat the place. I was a very unhappy camper and I didn't stay at that place
very long. The point is that these are not conditions that just started. Equity has been sucking the blood out of that building since they built it. And I was there when the first tower was rehabbed by the applied companies and the second
tower was built way quicker than they expected to build it. And most of the time that I was down here testifying or speaking, I was against the developers sucking blood out of the community. I was here as the president of the HPHA. At one point I was earlier than that. I
was the president of the Fanverse Park Association. And I tell you that you guys have a responsibility for the rest of us. And I know that you were all there trying to do a good thing. But these people are not getting the support from the city that they were supposed to get that they are entitled to and
they're just now starting to after 2 years of coming here beating their gums saying where is the enforcement of the rules? It the conditions down there have been bad. Equity has been a bad neighbor. Maybe there have been players.
Look, we all know how the game is played and I'm not going to get into that part of it. What I'm going to say here is I can testify to the fact or I can speak to the fact that the conditions in those buildings are worse now. I still have friends living there than they were when
I was living there. They are still sucking the blood out of the building. And you guys are just beginning to play your part in this, which is to enforce this. Councilman Solomon, you remember when you were first running for office? I talked to you about that building being under rent control. I talked to
you about it at the uh breakfast, the neighborhood breakfast about, you know, where is this going? You shake hand. Yes. Yes. But things haven't changed. They're still under rent control. They should be enforcement there. Your time is up. These guys. Thank you.
Our next speaker 5.38 David. Is David here? Ah, okay. Thank you. Next speaker. 5.39. Eve James Solomon. I'm addressing you as the people's city council leader. I'm
here as an accounting professional whose landlord relentlessly attacks me. His carbon monoxide and gas attacks cause permanent nerve damage in my brain. I'm asking you, James, to lead city council on behalf of the people to evict the Fulip administration. I'm trained to
implement internal controls and procedures to prevent fraud. I've sent audit violation notices to Steven Fulip and city hall for a solid year. Philip's lack of financial law enforcement has led to escalating humanitarian disaster. The mayor blocks and refuses to even
respond at all. He isn't here. I originally came with good news. I found you money. Millions in uncollecting uncollected housing summons revenue. Team Fulip and the Hudson County prosecutor have refused to stop the municipal court's illegal ticket fixing
or do anything to collect that money. Steven Fulip publicly claimed that he's a pioneer for inventing abuse of prosecutor discretion in his New York Times op ed pressing pause on pot convictions. So the reason the worst case of ticket fixing in US history
hasn't been stopped is because it is Steven Phip's policy. The city's financial systems have been redesigned to benefit Philip's governor campaign, his lobbyist, attorneys, and preferred developers. James Solomon, please stop the Philip city lawyers who are acting
on behalf of Philip's governor campaign to stonewall rent control enforcement. Federal judges do not create rent control price ledgers. The landlord tenant office has no rent price ledger. There is no accurate record of rent controlled unit prices. The rental
assistance programs are being overcharged. There is widespread abuse of tenants. Summons for landlord violations are disappearing. The landlord tenant office urgently needs a law enforcementbacked audit team. This is an urgent housing fiscal and legal
crisis. City finances are not in compliance with Gazsby standards or our own municipal code. Philip's housing policies cause systematic removal, destruction of human beings, targeting the population who doesn't fund his political machine. Team Phillip
persistently under collects revenue, overspends on legal contracts, then plugs the budget deficit with our bank accounts. We need James Solomon because you represent us, you look at us, and you answer us. Steven Phillip has caused the worst financial management total
mess I have seen in 30 years. Philip's housing policies are destroying my life and I will not be exterminated. We need state auditors in the DOJ here immediately. And finally, James, if anyone retaliates at you, please report it to the state police.
Thank you. Our next speaker, 5.40, Joel You're ready. Madame President, council members, good evening. Uh, as a preliminary note, I'd like you to please vote no on item 1034,
resolution 25294. It's a premature rubber stamping of a fullup appointee. Please take all the time that you are all a allotted which is at least another week to vet the candidates and make sure the right one is is is
selected. Um good evening. Today I stand before you deeply concerned about the troubling revelations regarding Mayor Phillips fitness as a gubernatorial candidate. As the Jersey City Times re reported yesterday, sworn testimony suggests
Mayor Phillip's first election victory for a council seat in 2005 may have been secured through voter fraud. According to the informant, three van loads of people were paid $1,000 each to vote for Fulip using other people's names,
potentially altering the outcome of a race decided by 346 votes. When confronted with these serious allegations, Philip's office has remained silent and respectfully repeatedly delayed public records requests despite campaigning on
government transparency. This pattern of evasion continues with his treatment of the press. The Jersey City Times has sued Fulp for violating their constitutional rights through blacklisting after publishing articles critical to his administration. Considering the
evidence, municipal finance experts believe Fulip manipulated the city's financial projections by millions to aid his 2021 election. A former chief financial officer received a $325,000 settlement after claiming she
was fired for refusing to falsify financial documents. A law firm allegedly used straw donors to funnel two 22,900 to Philip's 2013 campaign before receiving contracts worth
$744,000. A former aid has sued Philip for allegedly using him as a political pawn to advance his gubernatorial ambitions. New Jersey deserves a governor with integrity who respects democratic institution and deals honestly with citizens. I urge this council to demand full transparency from
Mayor Phillip, including the release of the prosecutor's complete investigation into the 20 2005 voter fraud allegations. Let us not allow his ambitions to override integrity. The governorship of our state demands better. Um, as an additional note, uh,
relating to the the enforcement, thank you very much for that. Um because if I recall when uh director Richardson visited our buildings and was raised the issue of the missing documents, he was told, "We're not going to do it. Go
ahead, find me. Thank you for finding them." Our next speaker, 5.441, Sonia, good evening. I just finished a program at Harvard. You know, the worldrenown college and lonesome fighter standing up to enforce existing laws. Here's the
story my class discussed there. A farmer and his son had a horse who helped the family to earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors came to commiserate. Your horse ran away. What terrible luck, the farmer replied. Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see. A few
days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mayes back to the farm. The neighbors celebrated, "Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!" The farmer replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see." Later that week, the
farmer's son was trying to break one of the mayors, and she threw him through the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, "Your son broke his leg. What terrible luck!" The farmer replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see." A few weeks later, soldiers from
the emperor's army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys from the army. They didn't take the farmer's son. The neighbors rejoiced, "Your boy is spared. What tremendous luck!" To which the farmer, of course, replied, "Maybe, so, maybe not. We'll see." The
toy parable illustrate that that sometimes the things that we consider to be truly bad turn out to be the luckiest things that could have ever happened to us. Now, back to us. Three years ago, Equity Residential pulled back from a written agreement it had with one of our
tenants. Neighbors came to commiserate. They don't honor your agreement. That's devastating. The resident replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see." A few days later, the tenants turned to the returned to the lounge, leading more tenants to the get together and started
a tenant organization. The people cheered. They have two years now. they and have to honor all of our agreements. The first resident with the dishonored agreement replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see." Months went by. The residents filed petitions, achieved a
unanimous ruling in their favor, and were certain that they would now get their rights honored. But just as the son was injured, the tenants had a setback and heard from the council, "Our hands are tight. We need more documentation." Many said, "That's
ridiculous." We replied, "Maybe so, maybe not. We'll see." Fast forward to now. This group has documented ongoing city code violations, summing up to total penalties exceeding 5.5 million every 24 hours for our landlord. Enough
money for keeping the city's pools for free for the kids to fund mental health training for the police responding to residents in its distress. Justice for Drew. enough money to support local artists instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires? Maybe so, maybe not. We'll
see. It's up to you if you consider Portide to be the worst or the best that has ever happened to this city. Our next speaker, 5.42, Shannon. Good evening, city council members. As a nurse and East Tower resident, I have a
question that's been keeping me awake at night. How is it possible that something as mundane as facade ordinance is meticulously enforced while ordinances designed to protect human safety are systematically ignored. So for the past
8 months, scaffolding has encased our building for facade inspection and repairs. Multiple apartments have been invaded. Yes, invaded for staging areas. where crews enter at will, dust fills our homes, and machinery noise starts at
7 a.m. sharp. Now, I don't object at all to facade repairs. Safety matters. But this is the part that bewilders me. When equity commandeers resident space for these repairs, we receive no rent reduction. When they monopolize our
elevators for equipment, leaving elderly residents stranded, we receive no alter alternate accommodation. When they drill through walls without notice, we're told it's a necessary maintenance. Fine. Yet, the same landlord who follows facade
regulations with military precision can't seem to comprehend the requirements for, among other things, a resident superintendent as mandated by ordinance uh 254-45, 24-hour security as required by
218-1, and proper landlord identity disclosure as specified in 260-2. The selective compliance is telling. Facade ordinances protect the public from falling debris and shield equity from
liability. Superintendent and security requirements protect only tenants with no benefit to the bottom line. As a health care professional, I recognize patterns. When a patient follows some medical advice but ignores others, I ask what motivates their
selective adherence. Here the pattern suggests profit maxim max maximization through calculated non-compliance. Director Richardson has taken the first steps toward accountability and I am genuinely so thankful. But that appreciation is
tempered by the reality that the violations I listed above p have persisted for years while city departments swiftly responded to any potential facade issues. When you're sick, timing matters. When your home lacks basic safety measurements and
requirements, timing matters, too. 10 years without proper security isn't an oversight. It's a business strategy. The inconsistency reveals priorities. Prior property over people, image over substance, minimal compliance
over comprehensive responsibility. I care for my patients with consistency. I follow the medical protocols, not all of them, not just the convenient ones. Is it too much to ask that our landlord and our city approach tenant safety with the same
comprehensive Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.43 Drew. Good evening, council. Security isn't just about having someone in uniform. It's about a commitment to tenant safety. A promise that someone will be there when things go wrong. For nearly a
decade, Portide Towers has operated without the 247 uniform security explicitly required by section 218-1 of our city code. This isn't a paperwork oversight. It's the visible tip of an iceberg of tenant abandonment that runs deep beneath the surface. Let me paint
for you a picture that has been painted many times. Last November, a resident suffered a medical emergency in our lobby at 2:00 a.m. No security guard was present to assist or call for help. A fellow resident returning home found her and called 911. Those lost minutes
mattered. In February, three non-residents were discovered sleeping in our stairwells. Who found them? Not security, because there was none. It was a tenant walking her dog before sunrise. Just last month, packages disappeared from our mail room for five
consecutive days. The security cameras that supposedly monitor the area, they're decorative props with no recording capability. How is it they can't even do the bare minimum? They don't. And then they go even a step lower with their props. This is laughable. This security vacuum exists
by design. It's part of a calculated retreat from resident welfare that manifests in multiple ways. No resident superintendent means no immediate response to emergencies. The offshore call center that fields maint maintenance requests routinely marks urgent issues as scheduled with no
follow-ups. No proper registration means tenants lack basic knowledge of who actually owns and manages their home. Each abandoned responsibility represents a broken covenant with residents. Each violation undermines the fundamental promise of rental housing. That in
exchange for rent, we receive not just space, but security, maintenance, and accountability. Shouldn't a lease go both ways? To keep tenants mindful of your property's rules and to keep landlords accountable for their duties as the owner of the unit? You'd think so. What makes this particularly gling
is that Equity Residential markets Portside as luxury apartments with aroundthe-clock service. They charge premium rents for premium amenities, then systematically withdraw those services while keeping the premium price. This isn't just about a missing guard or an absent superintendent. It's
about a corporate strategy that views legal requirements as optional suggestions, tenant safety as dispensable cost center, and city ordinances as meaningless obstacles to profit maximization. It comes down to the principle. The daily violation
reports now being filed represent more than legal complaints. They're a chronicle of abandonment that's been meticulously documented and impossible to ignore. Thank you. You next speaker 5.44
Mel not here. Next speaker 5.45 Michelle. Good evening. I urge you to vote no on resolution 25-275, Philip's fraudulent affordable housing spending plan, a $60 million
scheme that exposes his gubanatorial campaign for what it is, a developerfunded charade. Let's follow the money and connect the dots. First, this plan diverts $12 million, the maximum allowed, to
administrative expenses, instead of actual housing. Another 20 million includes subsidies for units developers are already legally required to build. That's not innovation. It's legalized
theft from our affordable housing fund. The smoking gun exposing Philip's priorities. In 2019, Pegasus partners proposed a $110 million downtown high-rise with 90 affordable units and
no tax breaks were requested. Philip personally killed it, claiming the developer would quote enrich himself. Yet months earlier, the Kushner family, whose companies have steered at least $100,000 to Philip's political
operation, received a staggering $150 million tax break. Coincidence? Philip praises KRE group at ribbon cutings, declaring them ideal partners while they've received multiple tax
abatements. To this point in September, despite a massive public outcry, Philip rammed through another 150 million 30 do 30-year tax break for KR's Pompy-Doo project with barely a week of public
notice. He found money for Kushner's cultural center, but can't find it for actual affordable housing. Meanwhile, his super PAC has amassed amassed $6.5 million the war chest for his gubanatorial ambitions. While Jersey
City families are priced out of their neighborhoods, the press should investigate a few simple questions. How many developers receiving tax abatements under Fulip have contributed to his super PAC or associated organizations?
And why did Fulip oppose one developer offering substantial affordable housing without tax breaks? Resolution 25-275 is larger than one bad affordable housing spending plan. It's a corrupt
system where developers contributions correlate directly with favorable treatment where tax abatements flow to political donors while affordable housing remains a talking point. The public is watching. Vote no on
resolution 25275. Thank you. Our next speaker, 5.46, 46. Judith Judith Fury Rogers, victim victim of housing discrimination, victim of Jersey City's
Current Construction, victim of federal, state, city agencies working with developers to create a program designed to segregate the housing market. Victim of misuse of federal
funding for housing development. Facts. The program HUD 223F and 100 Montgomery, an affordable high-rise building downtown. There's 308
units. 154 are designated for affordable units, 66 designated for section 8 and 88 are designated for any rent, the high
renters. That's 38 units altogether. My example of corruption is March 21st, 2025. The Montgomery Paulus Hook. The
Montgomery Paulace Hook was awarded f 53 million in federal funding to renovate and update the 220 affordable units. again. Two weeks later, they advertised
for the 88 high renters. No affordable information is available online. The ad is for the Montgomery. No Paulace Hook. What's with
all these names? Is it the funding? This is illegal. They are steering darkkinned renters away from the units. Steering is illegal under the
Fair Housing Act of 1968. Jersey City is still influenced by segregation and racial discrimination in housing, influenced by government
policies enforced by developers, banks, and real estate agents. This cannot go on. The developers are controlling everyone. The fact I'm going to say this, Bill O Day, I don't know who I'm voting for, mayor.
Bill O Day was standing here answering questions and the developers attorney made an 11% when he was when that whole kaduffle was going on. I Somebody has a picture
of that. So that turned my stomach. The developers own Jersey City. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.47 Charlene. I see you. Thank you. Good evening.
council. Making a choice. As the president of the largest neighborhood organization on the west side, the Westside Community Alliance, I am dismayed by the lack of engagement by the administration of any community
group that has been active for years in Ward B neighborhood improvement initiatives. As a longtime resident and activist in Ward B, I respectfully ask that the council slow the process down and
interview those who may express an interest in the appointment as their qualification as to their qualifications and possible conflicts of interest. In the absence of the Jersey Journal, many residents still don't even
know that we don't have a council person or what it be. And there may still be others interested in being considered for the position. I have no particular objection to Miss Hulings as a candidate, nor
certainly anybody else who throws their hat in the ring. But I would like to see the city approach this decision in a way that is more equitable, transparent, and respectful of our community. I ask that the vote be
postponed for at least the next meeting to allow extra time for people to submit resumes and ask that the top candidates be considered. I have great confidence that the council members will evaluate the best candidate for the
appointment. So, Ward B continues to have a competent representative until election day, November 4th. And following this appointment, I hope that the council might wish to consider
formalizing an open and fair process for future council vacancies to be filled within the 30-day time frame. You can never tell when you might be offered your next job at a higher pay in a
different city doing something entirely different. So, I really do ask for you to postpone that resolution. And then the second thing I would like to ask of the council tonight is with without
hesitation, vote yes on resolution 25264. and that is for the Hudson County Open Space Application or the acquisition potential
acquisition of 128 Glenwood Avenue. As as a person who worked for the county for many years as the grants administrator, I can tell you that there is no obligation here other than the city is partnering. Thank you, Charlie.
Community. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.48 Adrian believe he left. Next 5.49 Elizabeth. Good evening to the council. Uh my fellow residents have spoken quite eloqu eloquently of the genocidal
atrocities represented by the Israeli flag and the endorsement of those atrocities implied by the flag raising ceremony on April 30th. And the last thing I want to do is draw attention from the urgency of that point. But I'd like to add that in fact the past three
months have demonstrated to us that the stakes have become much wider or at least revealed themselves to be much wider than before. The Israeli government is, and I do not exaggerate this, the single closest ally of the Trump administration on the world
stage. Period. And this is not this is not just a matter of opportunistic syphancy. They share an agenda. They share a program. And they share an admiration for a shared set of
means to those ends. indiscriminate violence, illegal displacement of human beings, torture, murder, bombings. This is a shared program of a far right block represented at the vanguard by the
Israeli government and the Trump administration. In light of this fact, the Israeli flag that is planned to be raised on the 30th is not just an emblem of malice towards Palestinians.
It is an emblem of malice towards every single person in this room right now. It is a symbol of a worldwide movement that wishes to make every person in this room poorer, more unsafe, sicker, in
greater danger, and wishes to steal away your civil and human rights, and wishes for the capacity to murder and displace you with impunity. That is what that flag represents. In light of this, in light of this,
opposing the flag raising ceremony on April 30th goes beyond a commitment to human rights, although it is, and it goes beyond a commitment to Palestinian Jersey City residents, although certainly it is. It is a statement of
support to every Jersey City resident that you plan on opposing the agenda of the Trump administration. you plan on opposing their illegal deportation of US residents, that you plan on opposing their removal of US residents to foreign
torture camps, and their systematic dismantling of necessary government systems that keep all of us safe and alive. Today, I strongly urge you to oppose this flag raising ceremony on the 30th on the staunchest moral, practical, and
human terms. Thank you very much for your time. Our next speaker 550 Nathan. Good evening. Thank you council people for being here this evening and for hearing what we have to say. Um I my name is
Nathan McCormack and I am a resident of Mcinley Square. I'm also on the I serve on the board of the Mcinley Square Community Board. Um we have an item on the agenda tonight, number 10.4. Uh I would strongly hope and urge that
everyone here tonight would vote to approve resolution 25-264, which would allow the city to apply for a grant from Hudson County Open Space. This is regarding the
community garden that has existed at 128 Glennwood Avenue for almost 25 years until roughly 2 years ago. And since that time, our neighborhood group, the McGinley Square Community Board, uh has
been staunchly advocating and u trying to preserve what was once a beloved community garden and space where the community could meet to remain as such. In this section of Mcinley Square, we have very little green space. Uh, I
think anyone on our block would say there's nowhere to grab a seat and catch up with a neighbor. That's the density on our block is is is as great as if we were on JFK Boulevard. And we're not on JFK Boulevard. We're a small residential one-way street. By approving this grant
tonight, it would basically be the city's way of signaling that you could partner with the Mcinley Square Community Board, uh, in which we would run the garden. We would literally partner with the city to keep this a green space to keep initiatives with various
groups that exist um that we've partnered with as um already uh just to drive the point home right now. We already have letters of support from the mayor himself, from the business administrator John Metro, Bill Oay,
Joyce Waterman, James Solomon, Ysef Salet, Denise Ridley, Meera Prince, Array, Frank Gilmore, Rich Boiano, the Department of Jersey City Parks and Wreck, Jersey City Landmarks, Jersey
City Parks Coalition, Friends of Spear Cemetery, the Brunswick Community Garden, St. Peters University, the Westside Alliance, Captain Oluski of the West West District PD. I can go on and on, but I think the biggest asset that we
have in our favor right now is the fact that we have 260 signatures of community members who are also backing this initiative that live in the community. This literally has to be approved before Friday's deadline of the grant. So, it's
imperative that this is passed tonight. I thank you all for your support. You our next speaker 5.51 Jake. Good evening, council. Um name is Jake Efos. Uh I'm here this evening to encourage our city to cancel the raising
of the flag of Israel on April 30th. As a Jewish person with Jewish family in Israel, it is unacceptable to raise that flag uh the flag of a country that is by international legal definition perpetrating
genocide. Jews across the world and here in Jersey City just concluded this past weekend the observation and celebration of Passover. Um, and this is a a holiday where every year we retell the story of
liberation and freedom. And back in college seven or eight years ago was the first time when I hosted a Passover seder where we baked into the storytelling an explicit telling of the story of the freedom of Palestine as
well because none of us is free until all of us are free. And I'm grateful that I got to attend saters here in Jersey City and Hudson County just in the past weeks. Got to attend liberationist Passover saders that make this explicit connection between the
freedom of Jewish people and the freedom of the Palestinian people. A freedom that the state of Israel wants nothing wants nothing to do with. Our tradition and our commitments as Jews are our choice and we can choose to center freedom in the Jewish tradition or we
can choose to center a state committing genocide. To celebrate Israeli independence while the independence and freedom of Palestinians is so suffocated is just not acceptable. So, I I want to say I'm grateful that Councilman Sole is
going to be helping host a Palestinian flag raising uh next month and and that he helped uh motivate a ceasefire resolution which this council unfortunately failed to pass. Um and one of the arguments at that time was that
Jersey City has nothing to do with these kinds of international issues. Too bad. But it seems that it's fairly hard to avoid the salience of this international issue as a flag raising is coming to us next week. Right. Uh we are connected internationally through our diverse
peoples here in this city through our ethical commitments as well to other cities striving for independence, prosperity, and liberation the world over. Um as a candidate for this city council, I talk to people every day about the rent, talk to people about the trash. Um, and alongside our
responsibilities as Jersey City to work for working people and make the city work for working people, we also must reflect the moral compass of working people and our residents and even when that compass points all the way far away
toward Gaza. So, free Palestine, please cancel this Israeli flag raising. Our next speaker, 5.52, author Is author here? Okay. Hi. I'm urging you not to fly the
flag of Israel on April 30th over our city. um among many things that are horrible about what that flag represents, I think one thing that that uh and it's perhaps this is at the most shallow level. Um the Israel lobby
certainly determines who I can vote for in this democracy and I don't that is no longer democracy when a foreign country can influence who I get to vote for in a primary. Okay, that's really the most uh the most
shallow level because I do feel that the since 1948 um Israel has kept a slow genocide going which they've now increased to Blitzkrieg at this point but the um the the fact that they kept
this genocide at in 1948 a secret until 1978 when they finally opened up the archives and we could know the truth. what they were doing. And now that that flag to me is just soaked in the blood too deeply of too many people who did
not need to lose their lives. So please don't do that. Our next speaker 5.53 Sandra. Good evening council people uh council persons. Thank you for your attention to my my words this evening. I am Sandra
Edwards Beasing Riley, a lifelong resident of Jersey City, former social worker and current experiential learning educator. I work at St. Peters University as director of internships and professional development and director of the credited internships
program. My roots in Jersey City are strong and deep. Beginning at the turn of the 20th century when both sets of grandparents moved here due to the booming railroad industry with my parents and moved to Glenwood Avenue in
1957, leaving home due to college and marriage. My husband, George Riley, and I have lived at 120 to Glenwood since n 1990. Over many years, I've witnessed tremendous change on Glenwood. not all for the good. Most recently, as a member
of the Mcinley Square community board and a and as a caring, compassionate, and concerned individual, I challenged the right of developers to invade and change the character of our block. Together with the Mcinley Square Community Board, we appealed and
initially secure the approval from planning and zoning boards to to stay the plans of the developers at 124 and 128. ultimately suffering defeat at 124 due to something called as of right. As of
right is a legal construct which in our case was and remains morally reprehensible. The lot at 128, however, is what prompts me to speak. Previously a community garden, the space at 128 needs to be protected from the encroachment of developers and restored
to its lifeenhancing properties. Not only a source of spiritual refreshment, the garden provided nourishing food for St. Peter's students, neighbors, and the greater community. It also created a welcoming space where visions for a green and vibrant future ultimately
materialized. Looking again to the future, this green and open space would be an excellent site for experiential learning opportunities for students, especially those pursuing degrees in biology and environmental studies, leading to enhancements in gardening,
quality produce, and recommendations for environmental sustainability on the block, as well as in other areas of the city. Every neighborhood needs green space, open space. No one can argue that with the increased levels of pollution and decreased levels of available
oxygen, safe open spaces for trees and gardens are vital for our mental, physical, spiritual well-being. It is an undeniable fact that the lovely green and open space, the garden which St. Peters University faculty, staff, students, and community volunteers
cultivated previously at 128 should be restored and expanded. Thank you for voting to support resolution 252. Thank you, Sandra. Time is up. Our next speaker, 5.54, George.
Good evening, council people. Uh, as you have heard from my wife previously and also Nathan McCormack and Sharon McCormack, we are re talking about um, resolution 25-264. And with your permission, I
would like to hand you these pictures showing you what our block used to look like and what it should look like now. You'll see that the pictures show 128, 122, 126, and 124, and 130 Glenwood. It
was a nice uh neighborhood that was built in 1895. And you see the green space where 128 sits now from the uh previous view. Now the current view shows that there is a porta potty there which
they're using to construct 124. And if you look at the way the neighborhood looks, we went from nice level things to a monstrosity. We don't mind development in the city, but development should not
tear apart neighborhoods. And by not taking advantage of the opportunity to have 128 recommitted or rededicated as community green space, we are losing a valuable valuable asset. The tree in
front of our house at 122 and 124 used to be look like this big giant tree. But as a result of this as of right nonsense, they built a monstrosity that towers over every single house in our little enclave. And with the result of
that, they cut back almost half of our tree. So now we've lost green space in front of our house and our neighbor previous to the developer buying had the enjoyment of that shade. So, we're just looking to have you all please pass this
resolution so that we can get more green space in Jersey City because we need more green space so that we can have some more oxygen and I thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.55
India India no 5.56 Gracie. Good evening city council. I have stood before you numerous times. Today I want to offer the unique
perspective I bring as one of the original Portside Towers tenants residing there interrupted since 1997 before Equity Residential acquired these buildings.
Did you know the original advertisements for both towers included a private security staff? This wasn't simply a marketing tactic. It reflected the security ordinance already in effect at
that time. Yet compliance with these requirements has been inconsistent at best over the years. I remember when we had a resident superintendent in the east tower. He was
there for over 20 years. But now we don't have a resident super in either building. This isn't just a matter of convenience. It's still against the law. The requirement hasn't changed. Only the
com compliance has vanished. When I moved in 28 years ago, there seemed to be at least some respect for the laws of the city. Building management understood that ordinances were were not optional suggestions, but
legal requirements with real consequences. That understanding has eroded yearby-year violation by violation. What has changed is the enforcement
landscape. The security ordinance has only grown stronger over time, especially with this council's unanimous passage of ordinance 24-055 in June 2024.
Yet somehow, even as legal requirements strengthen, we experience a reduction in these mandated services. I would hope someone here is angry that these violations continue. I would hope that
after 56 council meetings and over 1,500 communications about these issues, we might finally see comprehensive enforcement of laws that have been on the books for decades. I remember when at least some
of the laws of this city were followed. I'm still waiting to see that time return. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.57 Dermit. Thank
you. Our next speaker 5.58 Eric. Thank you. Appreciate that. Next speaker 5.59 Donna. Justice for Drew. Justice for Mahmud
Khalil. Justice for port side, justice for Palestine, justice for we the American people. I I'm urging you to postpone the flag raising for
Israel. Um, you know, everyone here has already spoken and much very eloquently. Um, Israel is a terrorist state. It's a aparthide state. It is not a democracy. It is committing genocide.
is illegally occupying land. It is slaughtering people. Is preventing people from getting food, water. You know, you've heard this all evening. I'm I'm sure by and on top of that, you know, Jersey City has a sister
relationship with Bet Shamish, which is um created in 1948 by the UN by forcibly removing the Arab people, Palestinian people who live there and they have not been allowed to return, which we which
uh Major Phillip was a big advocate for. I think that's something we could talk about sometime about revoking that that relationship by by raising the um the Israeli flag. It normalizes all these
things that Israel is doing. It just it normalizes everything. It's just like another country, another flag. Oh, the people there a group of people have asked us to raise the Israel flag, so we're going to do it. And then for the in the name of unity, well, we're going
to do that and then we'll also raise the Palestinian flag. But what is this unity, raising the Israeli flag, it's really like unity in accepting genocide and in and in normalizing what Israel is doing. Israel is is like a
rogue country. And as the previous speaker pointed out, it is it's accepting Israel support. It's a it man it is it is the Israel is the main the biggest international supporter of the
Trump administration which is attacking all of us. We have student international students here who have been who are facing deportation. We have 11 students at Ruters whose um international students
whose visas were were reversed. you know, we I think our council, our city has to take a stand on on this and not just continue going along. You know, that's it. Our next speaker 5.60 Norris.
Good evening. Um, I am here on behalf of the Safe Skies Coalition of Hudson County and Stop the Chop New York, New Jersey in support of the resolution calling on the Federal Aviation Administration and other
relevant federal agencies as well as the New Jersey state agencies to immediately review and prohibit low-flying helicopter traffic over residential areas of Jersey City and Hoboken and to urge immed immediate passage of bill
A1371 in the New Jersey Assembly and to urge corresponding legislation in the New Jersey Senate. The tragic helicopter crash on April 10th, which claimed six lives, including three young children,
has shaken our community. And we're calling for immediate action to address the danger posed by sightseeing helicopter traffic that flies low, lower than 300 ft over our densely populated neighborhoods in the second most crowded
airspace in the world. only London's airspace is more crowded than that of our area. So, we have to end now and we need to act to um implement stricter regulations and limit unnecessary
flights before another tragedy occurs. There have been 37 people who have dropped from the sky, mostly into the Hudson River, and died. And it's essential that state and federal uh authorities unite to
establish regulations that prioritize public safety. And to that end, it's essential that state bills get out of committee to be debated and amended. Additionally, since the FAA controls helicopters while in flight, we need to
control the helports in New Jersey where helicopters take off and land. We need to strengthen regulation of helports and mandate improvements such as the retirement of obsolete helicopters fueled by jet fuel and gasoline. And I
want to say thank you to Councilman Ysef for giving our community a louder voice on this issue by presenting this resolution. And I hope you all vote for it. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.61 Cool Deep I think he left.
Next 5.62 Manit 5.63 63 Kevin I'm here to talk about a world issue pot potholes that is the other day I really wanted some
twice cooked pork at home because you can't be Jewish without loving Chinese food and I biked all the way to the 99 Ranch and I was biking back and I was looking 40 minutes for a jar of dubjang which is an essential ingredient for
twice cooked pork ma tofu and I was biking along and I got the palisade and I hit a big old pothole and it flew out of my bag and thank god it was a plastic jar because if it was glass then I have
to go all the way back and find it again. But that did once happen with me with fish sauce where it it flew out of the bag laying on the ground and somebody's car smelled like fermented anchovies. Uh I don't know who it was.
So, you know, later at the night after I cooked, I was on Facebook looking at what lame people from high school are doing as lame adults. Scrolling through, we had Facebook shorts. saw a video of
some woman doing Wuang Clan and she had more bars at the MC than Portide from MC from Portide Towers. And then the next thing that came up on Facebook was an ad from Councilman uh James Solomon and it was really good. Like
first of all, I saw it and like this guy's hot. I I you you can't you can't avoid it. and he's standing in a pothole and the pothole is so big it's spinning all his split. I know you guys are laughing because it's true.
So like this was like a Paul Wellstone ad because the ad was so well done and like the other thing he did in the ad which was so gangster is he said uh you know about his get s done plan. Um I can't say it but he can. Um,
so you know, I came with some ideas to expand and I've sadly had less than one minute. Uh, plan called Grit, Ground Repair, uh, and Improvement Task Force. So, you have a city-wide pothole map where people can report potholes and everybody transparently can see where
all the potholes are and when they're going to be fixed, a 24-hour reporting system, and a rapid response team called Patch, Pothole Assault Team for Community Harmony. Uh, and their job is to fill the potholes. Um, I did have
another idea for an acronym that I didn't use called fury. Uh, fixing unacceptable roadways. Yo, fury. Fur y. So, please fix the potholes. I could talk about potholes all night long, but I have less than 10 seconds left.
Next speaker 5.64 Kirby. Kirby's not here. Next speaker 5.65 Thomas. Thomas coming up. Okay. Um hello. Uh my name is Thomas Whitehand. Uh exactly. You spell it
exactly how it sounds. I am here to speak against the flag raising ceremony planned for next week to cement the city's tie with the state of Israel. Doing so would be the celebration of a state that is responsible for the perpetration of the genocide. The goal
of the Israeli state is to eradicate the Palestinian people. To this end, they have slaughtered at least 50,000 Palestinians, about 2/3 of them women and children. In all likelihood, this number is about 200,000 if you account
for deaths due to destruction of hospitals or famine. They have destroyed hospitals. They have imprisoned and tortured and raped medical staffs. And they have eliminated the passage of food in and out of the Scots.
At this time, I'm tempted to appeal to your sense of humanity and ask you if this is the kind of state that you want to align yourself with. However, to do so honestly, I feel would be a waste of time. I do not believe in your humanity.
You are the byproduct of a racist capitalist society does that does not care about the well-being of people. All you respect is money and power. Also as an atheist I do not believe in dy and
repetribution and I don't think history remembering you poorly is really going to affect how you go about your dayto lives. Thus, I have no problem if in saying that if you continue in this flag raising and your
general support of the state of Israel, myself and I believe the people standing here beside me, we'll just make your lives absolutely 100% the most miserable as possible. By many a means
necessary, we will make it impossible for you to continue the support of Israel. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow, but we will make you stop. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be
free. See, I still have some time left. So, I think I'll just do some more chance. One, two, three, four. Occupation. No more. Five, six, seven, eight.
Israel's terrorist state. Antifa. Okay, you you got to really relax there. And you cannot be coming here threaten people like that. When you say you're going to make
people's life, this council's life miserable, you can't be doing that. you. Oh, so we need we need to get him escorted out of here. I would like for the police officer downstairs to come and get him escorted out of here. If
we're not going to do that, then I will ask that we will stop this council meeting until he gets escorted out of here. Don't do nothing. Got to go. We're not doing nothing. He has to go. If we could ask the officer downstairs
to come up and please escort him out of the council chambers. Right. immediately. He's coming up. Hey, it's in Thank you. The officer, this gentleman has to be
escorted out of here. He he threatened the council. So, we would like him to be escorted out of this chambers immediately. Sure. Long hair. Wherever he's at, we need him escorted out of the building.
It's a threat. It's a threat. We're going to take a quick recess. Yeah, that's it. 5 minute recess. We'll be back in 5 minutes. All right, everyone. If we can find our seats, close the back
door. We would like to reconvene the meeting. Any council members that are in the back, please make your way up to the front. Alrighty, we're going to get back to our public speakers. Our next speaker,
5.66, Zing Nep. If I mispronounce your name, I'm very sorry. You can tell me how to say it. My name is Zayep. Zay Zayep. Thank you. Um, I'm 19 years old
and sorry, I'm a little shaken up from what happened back there. Let's see. So, how does something I was going to say um just really kind of disappointed with how that was
handled. I mean, now I'm looking at what I was going to say, wondering is if anything I'm going to say is going to be perceived as a threat. Am I going to be thrown out like that with whatever I say? Because I mean, the flag raising
that we're talking about is such a threat in what it is because of the atrocities that we've been seeing for over two years. I mean, when it started, I was not even an adult. And I've been
watching kids younger than me, my same age, being slaughtered, getting their heads chopped off these people. I mean, is can I can I even say that or is that like hyperbolic? Like, I really don't know where we are at this point.
I'm really really shocked at I don't I just This is super disappointing. I grew up in this city my whole life in downtown Jersey City. I walk the
streets. I say I'm proud and I'm trying to uphold my morals, but does anybody on that panel uphold theirs? Do Do you guys uphold your morals? Do you guys see the atrocities and just look away and plug
your ears? Do you see me right now or do you just see the money for your next election so that you can be the next council person or the next mayor or whatever position you're trying to get into? When there are people like me,
like my age, younger, who are getting slaughtered, who who are getting murdered every single day. I just I don't understand. I I every day I get older. I lose more and more faith in
humanity, more and more faith in every single person that has a gram of power. Every single person that stands in front of me, you act like you have a little bit of power, but then you plug your ears the second we stand in front of you to say anything. I
mean, were you really threatened by some guy? I mean, he's got greasy hair. He can't even talk well and you feel threatened by that. And yet, when we say you cannot raise this flag, it is a threat. It is a threat to the diverse
and beautiful population of Jersey City. You plug your ears. How? Please just please disgusting. Our next speaker 5.67
Lonzel. It's not here. Okay, thank you. Our next speaker 5.68 68 William Council. Hello council. You all know who I am. I've been in private practice in this city for over 65 years. Uh I'm
coming to the aid of the college venture fund. You have in front of you a letter that was composed by me and sent to each of you because this is a very grave situation.
uh the vi I am not impo I do not oppose uh progress and right now what they've done is they're building on every the the zoning department has permitted them to build on every square inch on uh
Wegman Court number 13 Wegman Court every cubic inch is filled with construction that's they're building a house in the front They're building a house in the back. Instead of having a 36 inch walkway so that they can go from
the back to the front for the people who live in the back, they have something like 30 in and they're allowed to get away with that. But the main problem here is this form the uh NJ uh problem
because the architects right on their front page say that we have got the approval of the adjoining property owners to go on their property, use their property as a
staging area and do whatever they like essentially. And what they've done to this college venture fund, okay, is they've uh abused and uh just devastated the LLC.
That's why they've asked me to come in and talk with you. Uh because the the zoning department, okay, has given it its approval. And Mr. Severini. Okay. I talked to him personally and he has done
nothing and I've been working on this since January because they're taking advantage of our good will. Um the reason one of the things that I have here in the letter in the last paragraph in the first paragraph here uh and he
has been notified by several councilmen members uh of the alleged blatant criminal violation. Um, uh, Pam sent letters and pictures to Mr.
Severini actually showing a, uh, um, a machine that has taken the ground and ground top soil and put it in their so which call it in their in their uh, in their hole that they move the which call
it from. Uh, my time is up. I hope you guys can get back to me because we have to have this matter corrected. Thank you much. Our next speaker 5.69 Annette. Let's bring the mic down to you.
I I've heard a lot of really um eloquent people come up here and talk about the Israeli flag raising and I don't think I can speak as eloquently as they can, but I just want you to know as a Jersey City
resident, as a Jew, as a person with a child growing up in this country who is facing the anti-semitism and the reason is not because it's because of Israel. It's so
sad what's going on. I don't understand how 50,000 people can die and 13,000 children and you can we can live in this diverse city that claims to be so liberal and embracing
and and not show that humanity. I just don't understand. And I just I don't understand how you can tell the residents here or the people of New Jersey or the people of this country
that we are so blind. I just don't I'm sorry. I just don't get it. And I would like to see something different from the place that I live. I would like to see somebody take a stand and do something.
Thanks, Our next speaker 5.70 Daniel Hello, I'm Daniel Santiago from Jersey City. I am a teacher who was shot through the leg in the West Bank last summer on my second day there. I wanted to speak about the flag raising. I was
volunteering with Faza, a protective presence organization that used the power of our passport and documenting to provide a buffer between the Israeli army, settlers, and the Palestinians. This was during a weekly demonstration where Palestinians nonviolently tried to
go back to the land that was stolen from them where a settlement was built upon. Immediately after Juma prayer, tear gas follows, then the live rounds. We had to run away, climb, climb concrete walls and continued to record. At one point, we were recording as the Israeli army
was coming down from the roof and had to run through the olive grove behind us. I heard a loud bang, thinking a tear gas canister hit me. I was still limping away, not trying to get shot, when an anti-ionist Jewish person came back to help me get away until we reached a clearing where the Palestinians lifted
me up and I saw blood coming from my sweatpants. This is something they face in the West Bank daily. When I was in the hospital, I was shown an abundance of love. While I was there, a 12-year-old boy was bedridden because he was shot for playing soccer. Four other
children were shot, three in the leg and one in the shoulder. I was only in the hospital for two days because the lack of media attention. Another international activist Aishor Agi from Seattle was shot from two football fields away in the head at the same
demonstration. In short, two weeks stay I had I saw the occupation firsthand in a town called Fusra where other volunteers would accompany farmers and shepherds because they get harassed and shot at daily. I heard stories of hundreds of settlers coming into the town. Burn houses and cars. Remnants I
saw walking the streets. Main streets blocked off by huge metal guards that were set up to restrict movement. Stories of what would take 5 to 10 minutes by car would take 45 minutes and some even hours long depending on checkpoints. Water tanks above Palestinian homes because Israel
controls the water they are able to have. I witnessed the yellow lights of the Israeli army coming into the village, shooting tear gas, stun grenades, even bullets into the town. The last raid I witnessed resulted in a 9-year-old getting shot in the back. Even seeing videos from other volunteers
clearly stating they are American and the IF starting um stated that they will shoot at them with a countdown given. This is not the case for Palestinians. My favorite bittersweet memory was when we were with the children at the playground picking flowers for volunteers, even being able to dance
along to the music as much as I could. Hearing of the Holy Land of Palestine as a former Catholic, this was the closest I felt to heaven on earth. Children running freely with so much joy and love in their hearts, only able to do so because international volunteers were present. It had been almost a year since
they were able to return. As a teacher who has worked with Jersey City youth from babies all the way to high school, I only wish Palestinians can grow up and survive this reality like I have seen in the city. Thank you. Your time is up, sir. And I hope you reconsider this Israeli flag raising. Thank you.
Next speaker. 5.71. Yasmin. Hi, my name is Yasmin. I'm from Ward E. I'm so tired. This is uh absolutely insane. Um, I'm also here to protest against the flag raising for the
independence of Israel. I say independence because uh there's literally nothing about Israel that is independent. Um, they're dependent on our tax money for their free healthcare. They're dependent on our tax money for their free college
education. Um, and they're dependent on our tax money for the bombs that they're dropping on children for the past year and a half. So, meanwhile, we live in a city, Jersey City, by the way, sent $12 million in tax money to Israel last
year. And meanwhile, we live in a city, not only do we not have free health care because that would be communist, you know, we don't even have access to mental health services. Our public education sucks. We have an affordability crisis. We have a rent crisis. We have a housing crisis. People
can't live here. And meanwhile, we get to watch on Instagram a live stream genocide every day, children getting murdered every single day. And then you want us to throw a party for these people. I think it's a like I I am
I have run out of words to to describe reality over the past year and a half. I I I I genuinely I don't have the words to put to tell you what a deep shame and guilt I have for having
to sit here and watch as you fratonize with people who are literally salivating over the idea of putting luxury highrises in Gaza on the bodies of dead children. Like that's the kind of people that we are. I like I genuinely it's
mindblowing to me that I I I realize that politicians tend to not have a spine, but I didn't realize it was at such a like you guys are city council members for a city in New Jersey. You know what I mean? I would expect at least, you know, let's become mayor
first and then we can not have a spine. You know what I mean? Where is he by the way? Um, but yeah, so I genuinely like I it blows my mind and uh the the last minute Palestinian frag raising as though we're going to both sides this
situation. I mindblowing, man. Like they they are like they are getting bombed right now. Like right now. People are getting bombed right now. They're getting murdered right now. And we're planning on throwing a flag raising for the rogue
ethnostate that's doing it. Like it's insane. It's absolutely mindblowing. I hope that you know taking five hours for York City Council hasn't like ruined your night or whatever. Please cancel this flag raising. It's insane that we even have to say
it. Time is up. Next speaker 5.72 Morgan Good evening, council. I am here as a proud proud resident of WB B to speak in support of Moren Huings. I've had the pleasure of knowing Moren for four short years. And in those four years, I've
seen her leaders leadership skills in action, whether it be at the MUA, the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee or president of the College Towers Co-op board. That's just a few. I'm sure there's a ton I am not even touching. I that I don't even know of. She does this all on top of being a loving
grandmother, a mother, and if I hope she doesn't mind me saying, a great grandmother. It's this experience on top of what I already listed that makes me believe she will truly be a great asset to Ward B who will listen to her constituents and understand it is important
to tell the council of our needs. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.73 Moren. Okay. All right. No problem. Our next speaker 5.74 Eugene. Thank you members of the council. I
didn't expect to be called this early though. Uh but on bump uh but I I'd like to also speak in favor of the appointment uh of Moren Hulings uh for Ward B uh council
and uh Moren has been a lifelong resident of Jersey City as I have also. Uh but she's not just a resident. She's involved in in everything meaningful or
maybe not everything almost everything meaningful that goes on in our city and uh among the the different or she uh uh volunteers St. Patrick's Parish scholarship committee the parade was
mentioned the 200 club uh Dr. Kina Edwards, academic charter school secretary. Uh, but it's not just the number and variety of organizations that Moren participates in. It's the fact
that she's not a passive member. She's active participant in all of these uh organizations. and some of the organizations I dare say uh wouldn't uh be able to exist without her. Uh so as a
council person I think she'll be respectful, listen to people uh with different opinions and I think she'll always vote according to her conscience uh what she believes is in the best interest of the people of Jersey City.
Thank you. Yep. Our next speaker 5.75 Kathleen. Hello all. Very eventful evening. Um, I'm here on behalf of Moren Ulings also and Father Squeo and Morgan
stole everything I was going to say. So, I'm gonna I'm going to keep it brief. But Moren I've known for many many years. I have watched her work tirelessly on all the boards that she's involved in. And I always say to her,
Moren, I don't know how you do it, but you get it done. Ward B would my would be an asset for for WB. She's a leader and she works tirelessly and she's a fair person. So, please give her a vote
and vote her in for council awardee. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker 5.76 Peter Good evening, council. I'm here to speak on behalf of Morin
Healings. I believe that Morin would be a great addition to this council. Her knowledge, experience, and involvement in so many facets of Jersey City life benefits all
our residents already. She's a good listener and quite adept at creating solutions in complex situations. She's a friendly face in the neighborhood and stays in touch with
what's on other people's minds. I enthusiastically and support her in being voted in to make Jersey City a better place. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker
5.77 Shella. Good evening council. My name is Shella Lane. I'm here to talk on behalf of Morvin Huins to be considered a candidate for WB. Basically, everybody's saying what I would like to say, but I
can only tell you about my experience with her. I've known her for over 15 years, and she has done great things for me by letting me be in college and whenever I have a question or situation, you know, she's on hands with me. I can call her on the phone. I can even go to
her job. You know, she never turns me down. And if she don't have the answer for me, she'll get the answers. and I feel that she'll be a great asset to your council. That's it. Oh, hi [Laughter] Amy. Next speaker 5.78
Mike. Evening all uh sorry if I seem a little distracted. I have to monitor the my phone. I uh jointly care for my 98-year-old dad and my 93year-old mom. Uh, I came here for one purpose, but in and seeing something that came up, I I
have to speak on this 128 Glenwood Avenue. I mean, I uh came to meet Nathan and Sharon on this because I had a problem with the same developer. Really made a out of a neighborhood. And I saw the genuine concept in these people
with Mcinley Square and everything else. So I implore that we support them and approve this 25264. My main goal here, my initial reason is to uh support Morin Ulings for
the Ward B spot. I've known her over 45 50 years. I remember the days where uh with Bill Gorean, Tom Deise got things done in the community be a driveway tree trim catch basin cleaned. She's a doer.
I don't think we'd have a St. Patrick's Day parade anymore if it wasn't for her leadership and everybody else. She knows how to articulate and she's a doer. She's going to be there. She's going to hit the ground running. There's no on a job training with her. She knows how to
get things done. Her credentials far exceed any requirement for the job. She's gentle yet she's firm. She knows how to handle people. She knows keep people at the right places. We've uh watched her resolve problems even
now, giving out scholarships, rewarding first responders with the 200 club, people who risk their lives to save other lives. I think she would be a tremendous asset as a lifelong resident of Jersey City, knowing the needs of the community. She's been doing it. She'll
continue doing it in an official capacity. I appreciate your consideration for her as WB council. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker, 5.79, Rich.
Good evening, council members. As many of you know, my name is Rich Hatis. I'm I serve as a director of engineering for the Jersey City MUA. I am here tonight in an official capacity um to support the appointment of Moren
Ulings to the Ward B council seat and to provide a very practical reason that I urge you to consider in your decision namely very simply but most importantly that Moren will be a great council
woman. I have worked with Moren very closely uh for several years and can speak not only to her leadership abilities but also to her tireless dedication to everything that she does.
I can tell you without hesitation that as a council woman, Moren will be responsive. She will be prepared and will be and will show relentless concern for the community as she does with all her uh commitment. Moren will
undoubtedly give her all and what more could any community ask for? I thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Thank you. And our last speaker 5.80 former council president
Peter. Good evening, council, council president. Good evening. Good evening, council members. It's been a long time since I've been in these council chambers, you know, but it seems like some things never change, you know. These meetings are just crazy as ever,
you know, and Sean Robert would be very proud of you the way you conducted this meeting tonight. So, but I'm here in support of Morin Yulings for the war to be BC. Everybody knows Moren up here. You know, we don't have to go over
everything what Moren did or who she is. She would go into ward be running and never stop cuz that's the way she is. I even said to her, Moren, are you crazy? You want to be a council person? Take it
from me. But she said, Pete, I wanted I always wanted to be a counselor person. Now, this came up and I want to do it for the next nine months, you know. So, I appreciate it if you vote in favor of Moren for the seat for W B. Thank you
very much. Okay, that will conclude our public speakers for tonight. All right, so on to our petitions and communications. Any questions or comments on items 6.1
through 630? Hearing none, there are no officer communications or reported directors. So, we're going to go right on to our claims and addendum number one. So, council members going to be taking a vote on claims and addendum number one.
Council person Ridley I. Council person Bajiano. I. Council person Cle. I. Council person Solomon. Hi. Council Person Gilmore, Council Person Dejis, Hi, Council Person Ria. Hi. And Council
President Waterman. Claims and addendum number one are approved unanimously. 8 Z. Before we go on to our resolutions, I'm going to turn it over to our assistant business administrator, Peter Horton. Yes. There's one change,
council. Uh we're going to have to withdraw item 10.4. That's resolution 25264. Um, we received a letter from the attorney and the property owner today. There's some legal issues that were brought up that really need to address before we go forward with it. Um, so we want to make a committed to doing that.
Um, you've heard tonight how passionate everyone is about it. So, I'm committed to going forward to make sure we update you, provide you all the information going forward and find out how we can try to rectify everything. If I can just pause for my my understanding is there's a deadline associated with this grant. So, if we if we don't vote it on this
meeting, we miss the deadline. The deadline is the end of April. So, we're going to try to find a way to either extend it or see if there's anything else we can do to revive it. Um, with the legal issues, we really can't go forward with it because the application might not pass anyway. Is there is there
a downside? I understand there's if we had another two weeks, perfect. We can figure this out in two weeks, but because we don't have two weeks, you know, I as I understand, you know, obviously the owner of this lot isn't isn't agreeing to sell, but what this enables us to do, it enables us to make
an offer. Um, so I I are are we are we sort of violating anyone's rights in that situation or are we just simply creating the option and and see what they say there there's multiple aspects to it. Um there's a lawsuit that's pending. There is some zoning information that's pending. Um
particularly with this one, there's a requirement for the application that an owner has to consent to it and we don't have that consent right now. So if the application were to go to forward, even if we make an offer, nothing can come for it from the actual historic trust fund. Okay. So, the the owner has to
consent to the application. Okay. And but but because we don't have time to like put something else up, is there any again is there any downside to us voting on this and trying between now and April 30th to at least try to, you know, move it
forward. I would have to defer to the law department to see if there's anything with the litigation that might be an issue. Um but I I don't at this point I don't think the application could be accepted by the store preservation or pass the acceptance from that. I think they can vote to authorize it.
If we withhold submitting the application because of the legal issues, we can do that. But if there is a concern that this is the last deadline to get it done, uh, and we might be able to resolve something before the deadline, that at least gives you the ability to move forward with
it. So, it's my understanding being heard next week, April 30th. I don't know if that would give us time to pass a deadline depending what happens with the lawsuit. Okay. Yeah. I mean I I my ask would be just
keep it on and and look if we vote in favor of it again it would be everyone's personal decision to vote. If we do vote in favor of it doesn't again I don't think again I don't think it's forcing us to to do anything unless I'm mistaken. It just gives us the option if if it does work out. It's not just the opposite. It's it's partnering with them
to put the application forward. Okay. Okay. So I know there was a lot of back and forth. So we are still withdrawing 10.4. Correct. The administration wants to withdraw 10.4. All right. Thank you. So
with that being said, council members are going to be taking a vote on items 10.1 through 10.11 with the exception of 10.4 which has been withdrawn. Council person Ridley. I. Council person Bajiano. I. Council person.
I. Council person Solomon. just brie I understand is again our rules of procedure the administration put up 10.4 for so they can withdraw it. What what I would just say would be, you know, in the next 48 hours if if we do our research and we find that we are able to to do this, you know, would talk to the
council president about the ability of doing a special meeting to try to make our our April 30th deadline that's coming up. But I I will look into in the next 48 hours and see what we can do on that front. Um, in terms of the rest of the resolutions, we go to 10.11.
Yeah. Um, just to be safe, I'll abstain on 10.8 and then I'll vote I on all the rest. You're abstaining on 10.8 and I on all the rest. Correct. Thank you. Yep. Thank you. Council person Gilmore. Say I. Thank you. Council
person Deise. Hi. Council person Reber. Hi. And council president Waterman. Okay. Items 10.1 through 10.3 are approved unanimously. 80 10.4 has been withdrawn.
10.5 through 10.7 is approved unanimously. 80 10.8 is approved. 71 with council person Solomon voting no. And items 10.9 through 10.11 are
approved. 80. On to our next set of resolutions. Council members will be taking a vote on items 10.12 through 10.22. 10.12 through 10.22. Council person Ridley. I. Council person
Bajiano. No. On 1014 I on the rest. No on 14 and I on the rest. Council person. Hi. Council person Solomon. So um just briefly I wanted to respond to one of the comments in in public session about
10.15 the spending plan for the affordable housing trust fund. So this plan was developed with all of the council and all nine of us met with the administration and it is a legally required document for us to be able to certain affordable housing trust dollars
that we collect. But the primary primary bulk of that is what we're collecting from the residential development fees that we've unanimously voted to to put in place that were opposed by real estate developers across the city. So the spending plan is very much a a
document that is about uh pushing and supporting affordable housing in Jersey City. Um the reason 20% is going to administrative costs is legally you can only fund the right to council program through the administrative costs. So you have to put the money in that bucket which is why you have to give to the
full 20% there so you can actually fund right to council through that program and that's based on state regulations and then the the additional things include affordable housing production uh includes affordability assistance emergency rental assistance um buy downs to lower uh rents from 80% AMI to 50 or
30%. You know there it was a product of lots of conversations but I I'm very proud of it. I think on the whole it is a document that is very much designed to create, you know, projects $60 million of new affordable housing spending that
we otherwise didn't have in the next decade and hopefully more. Uh so I think uh it's something that we'll be talking about all the things that are in there. I just wanted to put all those things on the record and then vote I for all. Thank you. Council person Gilmore. Um,
I'm abstaining on 10:18 and I on arrest. Thank you, Council Person Deise. Council Person Rivera. I council President Waterman. Council President, I I can't hear you. I have to abstain on 10.14 and
I on all arrests. Thank you. All righty. If I can just recap, items 10.12 through 10.13 are approved unanimously 80. Item 10.14 is approved
61 1 with council person Bajiano voting no and council president abstaining. Items 10.15 through 10.17 are approved unanimously. 80. Item 10.18 is approved
701 with council person Gilmore abstaining and items 19 through 22 are approved unanimously 80. Okay, council members for the balance of the resolutions we're going to go from
10.23 to the very last item 10.36. Oh, Sean, before we do that, I just um want to say with regards to um 10.34, I know a lot of people did come out
speaking in favor um of Morin. Um and my whole position is that the process has to be fair. um in essence in a lot of a lot of me feel bad
that she's been put in this position not to be nominated but in a position where it's not a fair and equitable process. Um, so I I just think that we can't in
one light say that we are looking out for the best interests of the city. It when it comes to being fair and transparent, but it only applied to certain instance and certain people. It
shouldn't matter whether a council person make the recommendation, the mayor makes the recommendation, the community makes a recommendation, a block association make the recommendation, the process should be fair irregardless of who's the entity or
individual putting this person up for vote. Um, so now we have it where it's kind of like, all right, because the mayor um wants this appointment, um, we got to go and vote on it, right? It
shouldn't it shouldn't be like that. Everyone should have the opportunity to apply. Everyone should have the opportunity to give their pitch on why they think they deserve to be the next council person. Um, so for me, I just
think that it's it's wrong. It's wrong to do it this way. We constantly get ourself in trouble when we allow people to like it it's it's it's almost like um I hate to say it's almost like a
dictatorship, right? It's say, "Hey, this person here either you vote for them or against them." It's not even a matter of me not thinking she's a good candidate. Again, it's the process. We can't constantly keep moving the goalpost in the middle of the game. The
rules are laid out. We clearly just went over this a couple months ago. Right? People have submitted their resumes because they want to be considered. At the very least, how do we take away that right for them to be
considered? It's not fair and it's not right. Right. In one light you you had you you people are oh you know the party bosses want to choose and blah blah and then people we turn around and we do the same thing. Either we fair or either we
for a fair and equitable process or we not fair when it's when when when it's beneficial to us. It just has to be fair across the board. And this is the stuff that angers me right here. It angers me
because people were looking like, well, you guys just said that, but now you're going against that. Which one is it? And this is what get people angry in a nutshell with politics. No one likes us, right? Because we say one thing and we
do another thing. Um, so that's what I have to say on that. Um, I would really like to make a motion to at least carry this thing into the next meeting. Um, I'm going to make myself available to try to interview and talk to all the
people who have reached out thus far, which is a handful of people. And, you know, I just think that that's the that's the fair thing to do. So, in light of all that, I mean, I'll make a motion to I guess carry it to
withdraw. Why withdraw instead of Same thing. Carrying and withdrawing is Oh, okay. All right. Yeah. So, I'll make a motion um to withdraw again just so we we respect the process. And she may very well be the most qualified person for
the job, right? But let the process dictate that. You know, I don't think it's right for us to be the arresting officer, the grand jury, the regular jury, the judge, the prosecutor. Like, you know, there's there's there's steps
that we have to go by. So, I think we should, you know, utilize those steps. So, I'll make that motion. So, I have a motion to withdraw item 10.34, resolution 25-294 from the agenda by Council Person Gilmore. May I have a second? Um, I'll
make my comments during vote, but I will second it. Seconded by Council Person Solomon on the motion to withdraw item 10.34, resolution 25-294 from the agenda. Council person
Bridley. Oh, what I'll say is I don't mind waiting till the next meeting to to make a decision, but I think that um while I understand the concern and I do agree that we have to be um transparent
and give everybody a fair shake, I also believe that uh as a council we have to take some accountability also because if we're not going to uh nominate someone else or put a resolution forward for someone else,
then we are going to be essentially wasting people's time. We did receive resumes and nobody put those people up and the administration did put someone up. Um and we know we've all sat here long enough and we know that the administration is going to move and none
of us moved. So that is on us. Um so I just want to point that out and like I said I'm fine with doing it either way but we also have to take some accountability as a council. is our job to make sure that we are putting stuff on the agenda and that we are making making and setting the rules. So, if we
want to wait, I'll vote uh I to wait, but we have to take that accountability. So, you're voting I on the on the motion. Okay. Council person Bajiano. No.
Council person Clement vote. Um, this is to withdraw. Yes. Oh, no. I I I believe that, you know, Ward B needs representation right now. I believe that
that's going to be another two weeks where calls aren't answered and we have to take responsibility as a council. If we were going to profer a candidate, it could have happened two weeks ago. Someone could have put up their name and said like, "Hey, you know, we knew we
knew about it and ward B, those calls are going to get unanswered. Those emails will be unanswered and it's not fair to the people of Ward B. And it's an election year. And I believe anyone that feels that they are capable of
running Ward B should run and run to the clerk's office, grab a set of petitions, and make your case. Until then, there needs to be a steady hand at the ship. She's not running for reelection. She's just there as a caretaker. Okay. Like
that's why I vote no for withdrawing. Council person Solomon. Sure. Um just briefly, the um you know, kind words of support for Miss Hulinkings that were said today
will all be true in two weeks. And while the prior two times has this happened in both WD D and in W F, um it was demonstrated that you can have an open process that is fair. It doesn't mean everyone's going to follow it, but
you can. And we were notified of the vacancy obviously um at the end of our last council meeting. So this is not something that people have known about for a very long period of time. It came by very quickly. We received a few resumes over the course of the last week, but we just received a resume
yesterday from a former WB council person who would obviously be extraordinarily wellqualified and should be considered. So, it's hard to say, well, well, we've considered every candidate when we got a resume yesterday. Um, a resume from an extremely well-qualified possible
candidate. And I agree frankly with Councilman Gilmore's point that at the same time there is a statewide conversation about reforming the way we do politics in New Jersey. We're not practicing what we preach here
in Jersey City. Um and that we are trying to just move forward quickly with a name um as opposed to setting a clear fair process that every single person could have agreed upon. And that's not to again speak to the individual whose
name is before us and and I you know not going to say anything negative because it's not about that. It's about being able to go to the residence of ward B and say we set a clear process. We had considered every candidate. Each of us then decided who we think is the right person. We then had a vote and
ultimately a majority decided upon the interim ward B councilman or the temporary WB B council person. Um that I think would have been a much fairer better process. So again, I don't see any harm in waiting two weeks other than yes, you'll have some constituent services over two
weeks not handled, but we also have three at large council people. We have the five rest of us who can step up. We have an entire administration in RC. There's really no harm to a two week wait, give us all the time to do the interviews, interview the person who
raised their hand just yesterday. Um, and be able to then go to the residents of Ward B and say very clearly we considered every candidate and here's why I think this person is the best choice. So with that, I vote I for the motion. Council person Gilmore. Um, I just want
to say Moren, I really hate that you have to go through this. Um, but you know, just listening to all of the characteristics that people were describing with you and the word that comes up which applied to this instance
is she's fair. She's fair. It's one of the principles she stand on. She's fair. So, if we're asking for a fair process, right? Um, why don't we just have a fair
process? I would really wish if the administration would have just put forth all three of the candidates that applied. It was only three and then let us choose amongst the people that apply. But again, they said, "All right, we
think this person would be the best here. Vote on it yes or no." That it's not a fair process, right? Are we in the business of doing what's right? Are we in the business of talking about what's right
and what's wrong? Right. So, I vote I to uh to withdraw. Council person Deise. No. Council person Rivera. No. And council president Waterman.
I lost my voice. It goes in and out. Um sitting on this council when there's a vacancy. I see how we operate here. Now, when we had a a vacancy for recreation, there was a resume uh I mean
a resolution put forth for a gentleman that none of us had an opportunity to speak to, but it was on the agenda. Okay. The councilman put that forth because that is his right and we know that the director was leaving that department. But that was his right to
put it forth and was our responsibility to vote on it or you know I mean to agree or not to agree but he had put it forth before any of us even put up another candidate for a director. We knew uh Councilwoman Prince
Arie left last council meeting. None of us put anybody up forth. We just didn't. We had an opportunity to do that. The administrator put somebody forth. Now we trying to say this wasn't a fair process. But when I look back at when the councilman put the recreation
director up forth, none of us saw that until the person walked in the C chambers, but we had to vote. We voted we voted down because we didn't talk to the person. That's what we did. But I just want people to know this is what has been going on here. You know, it's not like we doing this for that person
and that for that per it gets confusing because you know why? When it's time for us to put anything up, we want it to go our way. But if we want a fair process, then do the fair process, then we all have a right to put someone up. None of us did it. None of us did it. The
administrator did it. So now we are just making a choice. Should we vote for her? Should we not? That's all this is. And that happened before when the recreation director left. It was the same thing that we doing now. So with that, that's why I'm voting no.
Motion to withdraw item 10.34, resolution 25-294 from the agenda fails. 3 five with council members Ridley, Solomon, and Gilmore voting in the
affirmative. So it is defeated. Council members, I'm going to be taking a vote on items 10.23 23 through 10.36 the exception of 10.33 which was approved earlier council
person Ridley. So on 1034 I want to say that uh Moren I have had the pleasure of working with you. You were previously in my ward. I know your work ethic. I don't have a doubt in my mind that you will
take this position seriously and that you will do a great job uh as the council woman for the term um you know the until this term is up if you are voted on tonight. Um I would also like
to say that uh Ward B has been through a lot through the years with changing of council people. Uh and this is something that happens. has happened across a lot of different administrations. Uh and it's something that has been going on on
this council for years every time someone leaves. Um but I do have the confidence that uh Moren will fill the seat and uh be a great asset to the council. Uh so with that I vote I for all.
Council person Bajanna. I for all. Council person Sole 10:30. The helicopters that are flying all around Jersey City and Hoboken are literally terrorizing our communities
and they need to be stopped immediately by the FAA or through the immediate passage of Assembly Bill A1371. And the Senate, the state senate needs to act immediately as well to pass that to ban
tourist and recreational helicopters. Our our people have had enough and we needed to stop now. Um when it comes to 1034, each council person can make their own process, right? I interviewed with
every council person. Every council person had a a different set of questions, different process, and ultimately it's on us. Okay. We sat after the council meeting two weeks ago in the council office and we wished
councilwoman Prince Ary goodbye cuz she broke the news to us. And since then, we could have profered someone and put a resolution up or people could have reached out when they heard the news on Monday. And you know, I love Danielle Manny. She is a WB B resident and she
knows W B like the back of her hand and if not for Moren I would definitely be supporting you. Um and I know Moren is going to serve the people of Wart Bonorably and diligently and that's why
I support her and I know she's going to be a steady hand. She knows everything that she needs to know. there's not going to be any um learning curve and that's important and you know there always is a learning curve usually with government when you're new but she's
been around the block and she's just doing it to serve Ward B. With that I vote I for all. Council person Solomon. Sure. Um so I will be voting um I for all except on 1034 and I'll be voting no. And um I
know based on the prior way the votes go, I could issue an an early congratulations. Uh but if you don't think the process is good, you can't then uh uh vote yes on the nomination. Uh so that is my vote. I for all except no on 10:34. Okay. Council person
Gilmore. Jeez. Um goodness. Just say this. Um it's been a it's been a long night. It's been a long four years or however, however long I was up here. Um, I just want to say that
I just have I just have faith in one day that the people will prevail. I'll say that. That's all I'm going to say. Um, I'll vote no on on 34. And again, Morin, this is nothing personally against you. I personally I don't know you. I have
nothing to say negative about you. Um, I just try to in good conscience just try to be fair with everybody, you know. I even do it with my kid, with every I just tried to be like that. I just tried to have a fair process. Um, so this is
not a no to say that you're incapable, that you're not deserving. This is essentially no because the process in which this transpire again it is not fair. you can consult the records, you can see how many
times things were put forth. Um, and in light of all of that, because I don't want to go through this again, if the administration can tell us what so the rec director was appointed and it's only 90 days, when is the 90 days up? When
can we submit? When can we interview people? Because the administration, you guys just just play these games over and over and over and over and for some reason you have a mayor that think he's smarter than everybody else with all this
foolery that's going on. So Peter, if you can tell me the 90 days is up for the rec director. How are we going about this? Because at this point this Can you just tell me that Peter, please? Yeah, C. I don't have the exact appointment date in front of me, so I can't give you the specific date, but I
can send you an email tomorrow with it and then let us know how we can go forward to address it. All right. Thank you. All right, Sean. Uh uh I vote no on 34 and I arrest. Okay. Thank you. Council person Deise I.
Council person Reber I. And council president Waterman I. Okay. If I can just recap items 10.23 23 through 10.33 are approved unanimously. 80 item
10.34 is approved 62 with council members Solomon and Gilmore voting no and items 10.35 and 36 are approved unanimously 8. With that being said, may I have the
magic words having a motion to adjourn at 11:20 p.m. Motion was made by council person Rever. May I have a second? Second. Second by council person So Cle. All council members by acclamation, please say I. We are out of here at
11:20 p.m.