It’s been way too long since I’ve posted anything about Hoboken. Sorry I haven’t written much. I’ve been busy with things outside of Hoboken (gasp!).
Today’s rant is brought to you by the makers of Hoboken411. Hoboken411 is one of - if not THE premiere website for all things Hoboken. Although I haven’t met the person(s) who run the site, I get the sense that he really cares about the community - or at least enough to make a living off of it by promoting the things that go on in it or are important to it. I normally scan the articles for anything major and stay away from the comments. But that’s changed recently and I’m actually sad to report that not all Hobokenites are who I thought they were. Many (but not all) of the commenters I find on 411 are, in my opinion, not the nicest of people - some, I feel, are downright racist and bigoted.
In the article on the new NJ Transit Bridge, someone called the Newport Center Mall area Hinduport - an obvious and (I’d say) derogatory reference to the Americans of Indian decent that live there. Forgetting the fact that ethnicity had nothing to do with the conversation at all, I found this to be done in more than just bad taste. Other people made references to the people who shopped at the Mall believing they bred homelessness which would spill into our “gentrified” town. I distinctly remember seeing a comment on how this new bridge would let people from Jersey City come to Hoboken and “rob us” more easily. And while cooler heads called many of these classless people out for their appalling comments, very few did. Even more troubling is how rudely people are treated in other conversations.
In the Russo endorses Obama article, the conversation easily led to hate speak posted in the comments; it became a race to see who was the first to say something politically incorrect. And when Hoboken was in the middle of its own election fiasco, all the wild, wild, wests came out and said some heated words that were rude (at best) and derogatory, disparaging, and (perhaps) defamatory (at worst). It was clear that the commentors were engaged in an all out war.
Regardless of one political officiation, it doesn’t take much to be polite to someone who you disagree with; its called respect for one’s opinions. And for as “monied” as Hoboken can be - with its 500k to 3m condos and luxury cars everywhere - there isn’t a lot of class in this town. There is just no reason why someone has to belittle an ethnicity or bigoted in any way in a an urban environment such as this. If you don’t like your neighbors’ heritage, I’d say you’re better off moving the segregated south of 40 years ago.
That kind of hate speak is something I don’t want in Hoboken and I hope that the comments left by a few classless individuals is not indicative of the population. But there is a reason the saying “One bad apple spoils the bunch” exists…
It’s true.
Today I witnessed something I thought deserved attention. A fire truck, racing to what could have been a massive fire, could not turn onto First Street because a car was illegally parked at the corner. To make the turn, the fire truck had to straighten out, backup, and make the turn slowly to avoid hitting the car. I was so angry, I took a picture of the car.
As you can see, the car is parked illegally. The spot is clearly marked with yellow paint denoting the space as one that is not for cars. I even think there were signs up saying ‘No Parking’ right next to where the car was placed. They obviously knew they weren’t supposed to park there because they had their hazard lights on blinking as if to say, “Its OK that I’m parking here, I’ll only be a few minutes.” You’ll notice that they are from out of state - Massachusetts (so you know they are a bad driver, too) - but had a parking permit on their dashboard; I’m sure that blocking emergency vehicles from responding to an alarm was not allowed when they paid the $5.
It says something, though, about our town where the parking is SO BAD that, to find a spot, you have to block intersections and prevent firefighters from saving lives. It also says something about our enforcement (or lack thereof) when people know they can get away with park illegally.I don’t know if there was a big fire that minute. But if there were, I know that the truck got their late because this arrogant jerk blocked the turning radius. Someone could have died because of a poor response time or the fire could have spread to adjacent buildings all because the rescue personnel couldn’t get there on time.It’s about time the city of Hoboken crack down on these illegal parkers. Fine them, ticket them, tow them. Do whatever it takes to get these cars off our streets so that people can live safer. And forget about the damage that could have been cause if the two vehicles hit! The guy is lucky his Pathfinder is in one piece. Other cars, haven’t been so lucky.
On Thursday I went to see a band called Mere at Maxwell’s. I’ve seen them play before they had an album out and thought they were good. But having seen them again and listened to their new CD, I think they got even better. They’ve got a great sound, refreshing lyrics, and a variety of songs to listen to (slow, fast, etc.).
The guys are local to NYC and Hoboken, NJ. But they’ve played all around the city and have opened up for big name acts like INXS, Oasis, Seven Mary Three, and a few more. Like some other bands, they have a music video on YouTube which I think is really interesting, too. It might not be thought provoking but its enjoyable to watch.
Anyway, if anyone is interested, check out their MySpace page where you can listen to some of their songs. If you like them, stop by their next show or pick up their CD. I think they are great both live and on a professionally cut CD so either way, you’ll enjoy their sound.
Update: I just noticed they have their songs on the iTunes Music Store. Check out the album here.
Tony D, in the last post entitled Mayor Roberts Should Resign, suggested I clarify why
Mr Roberts should resign as mayor of Hoboken. Tony makes a good point and I responded with a brief list of things that help support my position. To make things a little more noticeable, I’ve cut and pasted my response to Tony in this entry. I hope it clears up my reasoning behind the first post and helps people understand why I used such strong language. Here it is:
- There have been NO park space built according to the Master Plan. We are still waiting for this mythical Pier C that was supposed to have been under construction by now. Plus, the 1600 Park Ave “park” hasn’t even been started despite having funds alloted to it for at least a year. And the southwest section of Hoboken was promised a 6 acre park and, even though some groups are pushing hard for open space, they hardly can claim to get 1.5 acres of continuous space.
- Over paid city employees like the fire and police commissioners. One board of education member is reported to get paid $180,000 a year.
- Many of these city employees have a conflict of interest with the public good; they either own construction companies, consulting firms, law firms, or real estate - many of them landlords.
- We have no parking solution. Thousands of condos are going up but little parking to accommodate them. It has become a safety issue as people are hurt left and right by hit and runs - possibly due to the poor visibility drivers face when navigating our streets. Plus, the one parking solution that could have worked was botched when the city prematurely and poorly executed the take over of the automated garage on Garden Street.
- Despite the Freedom of Information Act, the Citizens for Open Government, and other safe guards, the city of Hoboken refuses to provide its tax payers with information requested regarding land deals, abatements, legal contracts, and other financial transactions. When a few documents were released, they blacked out most of the text making the act of releasing the document of waste of paper, ink, money, time, effort, etc. In effect, they deliberately withhold information to the public - even when asked to disclose it!!
- Sewage problems. Letting the sewer system get this dilapidated is egregious! Hoboken has been fighting floods for YEARS! And with the uncontrolled construction - courtesy of this administration - it has made it worse. Moreover, there is no natural place for the water to go (i.e. parks) and the 80 to 120 year old system can’t handle it all. When the town floods, you drive through or walk in water contaminated with human feces; typhoid fever and bubonic plague are just a few infectious diseases that can be transmitted that way. I’m surprised the CDC hasn’t knocked on the Mayor’s door yet.
- Complete and total financial mismanagement. We never have a balanced budget without some sort of “sneaky” deal to sell municipal property, back-door deals, or special tax shelters. There are always these abatements given to developers for “one time” tax payments that plug the shortfalls but that model assumes constant construction will happen; with the real estate market taking a hit, growth slows. In fact, there is at least one project that has stopped all together and now it looks like a total waste that attracts pests and other things. The government doesn’t cut spending either - especially to the highest paid people like the ones I mention above; we still have 4 arts festivals a year but we can’t balance the budget. Plus, there are inefficiencies in the way money is spent; has anyone thought of using mechanized street cleaning instead of paying someone to shovel it in a can? The cost of one machine is less than that of a person when you factor health plans, pension, and salaries. Also, the town doesn’t capitalize on revenue like it should; 10 or 12 dollars a year for parking is stupid when you can charge at least 50 a year and it might even cut down on the cars which helps solve the parking problem; have they even studied supply and demand? And one last point on the money mismanagement: total government shutdown. Remember that? Yeah… I do… what an embarrassment!
If I forgot anything, please let me know… it is a brief list, after all.
I’m going to make this as short as possible…
I believe Mayor Roberts should resign as mayor of Hoboken. It is obvious he does not represent the citizens of this town. Worse, he is negligent. I’d even say he’s incompetent. If we want this town to move forward, repair the damage, and build a better future, we need anyone but our current mayor to lead the way. Only by removing himself can Roberts better this town and let a real leader and manager move to undo the damage he caused.
If he will not resign, I’d move for a recall.
