Wednesday February 21st Council president council members we're on page four of the agenda item five reports and recommendations of City officers boards and commissions thank you so much Madam Clerk and good morning to everyone welcome any questions or comments from Council Members regarding reports and recommendations seeing none next item Madam clerk public hearing second reading and final passage 6p SFA is an ordinance adopting the Fourth Amendment to the Waverly yards Redevelopment plan by authorizing parking as a principal interim use and amending two of the maps and deleting two of the maps within the Waverly yards Redevelopment plan any questions or comments from Council Members regarding 6 psfa seeing n next item 6p sfb is an ordinance granting a 30-year tax abatement to cso townhouse developer urban renewal LLC for a project to construct 15 residential town home rental units of which three will remain affordable located at one Center Street questions or comments from Council Members Sienna next item 6p sfc is an ordinance granting a 30-year tax abatement to Center Street owners urban renewal LLC for a project to construct a approximately 268 housing residential units and 2,100 Square ft of ground floor retail commercial space located at one Center Street questions or comments from Council Members CNN resolutions 7r1 a and 7 r1b are temporary emergency Appropriations a is the New Jersey victim of crime act and B is the support the education of a diverse nurse practitioner population and underserved communities questions or comments from Council Members CNN 7r1 C is a bid contract to provide Construction Services for the newk Riverfront Park phase C project questions or comments from Council Members regarding 7 r1c we're on page eight CNN 7r1 D is substantial amendment of Hud one-year action plan to amend the 2019 one-year action plan to reflect increased funding for the Emergency Solutions Grant questions or comments from Council Members regarding 7 r1d page nine CNN 7r1 e and 7 27 R1 J are applications acceptance of Grant funds e is for the sub award for the central Ward project f is a sub awward for the East Ward Project G is a sub awward for the north for project H is a sub award for the South forward project I is a sub awward for the westward project and J is a sub award for the shiny Baraka Women's Resource Center thank you um is there someone here to talk about what these funds are going to be used for good morning good morning council president and fellow council members good morning welcome um just name for the record for us Isaac Grant compliance manager Office of violence prevention traal recovery thank you thank you so much for being with us so just a quick question what are these funds going to be used for these funds will be used to supplement staff salary for the vocal Grant which the city has been um receiving since 2018 prior to um the inflamation of 5% of it's kind of hard to hear I know I know it's the mic going stretch up too high we gonna get somebody to try to help help you out a little bit okay is that better yes okay great um once again Isaac grain uh compliance manager Office of violence rent trauma recovery These funds will be used to supplement staff salary as well as um hotel stays bus tickets and um the services that would be provided um through each Ward as as well as the sh B Rocket Center questions additional comments and questions from Council Members councilman cromp thank you council president quick question though with regards to what you just mentioned what they what they're going to be used for is that universally across all the different grants or is that as specifically for certain areas and certain uh uh in the shaie Baraka center with with regards to not just salaries but you said uh bus transportation and Etc yeah so it's across across the board for each Ward as well as the shy Baraka Center um the budget is set up for staff salary bus tickets and hotel States for victims of crime and and the budget is universal amongst each of them is that that's my question so the total award the max that you can receive is 137500 which we received the max for each War as well as the shiny Baraka Center okay but my qu my question is across the board you have a budget for each one of them are the bud that's correct there's a budget for each one the budgets the same or they're different they're different budgets okay and what are the differences based upon as far as for instance say let's say $100,000 for salaries in one 50,000 for salaries in another uh you may need more transportation in a certain Ward I mean what how do you determine the budget well it's based on the um the staff um so some um in some WS we have medical social workers we have senior medical social workers we have Outreach workers um as well as like I said the bus tickets and the um Hotel stage for the victims of crime and it's based off the need that's correct correct based off the data the crime data that's correct okay all right thank you all right uh any councilman Gonzalez you had a question was answered okay any other questions or comments seeing none thank you thank you 7 I'm sorry 7r1 K and 7r1 L are contracts with subrecipients to provide Community Based violence intervention K is for part Partners uplifting our daughters and sons and L is push peers understanding strategies for healing got it is someone here from the Department talk to us about these organizations okay swing Hill good morning good morning Madam president and Council kyisha Winfield Hill director of The Office of violence prevention and Trauma recovery push is currently being well is looking to be funded for HRI coming out of the West W they are located at 96 on at 95 16th Avenue um in nework they are looking to provide for our young people up to 200 people up to 200 victims in the west W life skills training advocacy training community outreach incredible messenger training healing techniques case management mentorship cognitive behavioral therapy and this is for 200 residents in the west ward um and they're being funded for highrisk intervention this um what's the address again I'm sorry director the address is 95 16th Avenue and this is where they're going to be servicing their young people yes they already have a they've been a standing location they've been funded for youth mentorship already and so that is their location questions or comments from Council Members councilman Kelly yeah I just want to say um thank you to push they have been doing the work in the community already um they they've helped me with several different things in the westw already so I definitely support this and um I appreciate it thank you okay Council M Kelly would you like to sponsor I would like to sponsor it Council M Kelly wishes to sponsor is there second second by councilman Quintana any additional questions for this particular organization Cena next item I believe um oh she already rdit yeah yeah yeah this is Partners uplifting our daughters and sons they are being funded for domestic violence they're being housed at the shaie Baraka Center they are looking to provide services between now and December um rise up workshops for teens and adults ages 18 to 30 looking to service up to 300 victim of domestic violence okay questions or comments from Council Members yes councilman Gonzalez it's not related specifically to this but let's say we spend a lot of money on violence prevention but doesn't seem to be working because we have a lot of violence events in the city so what is what is the say why are we investing all this money and the violence it doesn't doesn't go down I I believe that we could have more violence but we have a lot of shootings we have a lot of er incidents of starings recently so why is it that that that is not going down as we invest more money in trying to prevent it so I think that qu uh the answer to that question is extremely layered but I will say that based on the data that we have in front of us and not to take anything away from anything that you've said but violence is going down here in the city of nework in fact we are at a 60-year low in violence reduction we are seeing numbers that we've never seen and that's the data that is not just me talking we do believe that we need more resources we do not have the capacity um and there are certain gaps and that's why we are investing These funds because the carceral system based on the data that we have has never done anything for black and brown people especially in cities like newk and so we are trying to invest in community understanding that we can atas our own communities and if we invest in the people putting the public back in public safety then we'll see a reduction in violence even better than what we saw in 20203 thank you uh director for that and I I do want to commend you and your department I mean we are at a low um I think people see notifications come over to them and violent things are happening you know uh they believe that we have this organization and it's supposed to wipe out all all violence but I do know that we're at low numbers even compared to last year um in some of our numbers and that's the important part I mean our Police Department as well as ovp are working really hard and we know that we need more resources and things so uh I definitely you know just want to come in your department and come in our nerk police department and all those out there doing the work um because it could be worse I think that's the point too you know uh all of the things that organizations are working hard and doing with conflict resolution and different things those things help or will be more um violence happening um you know despite the ones that we don't want to see happen it could worse so thank you for that any additional comments or questions from Council Members Council Melly thank you council president I just want to speak up uh to that as well you know um growing up in the west w we see a lot of I've seen a lot of violence um I just want to thank the office of violence and prevention and the entire umbrella of all of the organizations that they have uh assembled and put together because I know a lot of those people who are in those organizations used to be a part of the problem and now they're a part of the solution and I I actually see it working I'm out there with them I I see it working they have boots on the ground and it is making a difference whether you see it whether you don't see it because we see a stabbing here or we get a notification of a shooting here like council president said it could be worse you know um I just want to commend them because the people that are on the ground have boots on the ground doing the work they really are saving lives and I'm witnessing it you know so I just want to thank them we might not see it from a notification that we get from the police department or whatever but the data is saying that that crime is going down and you know it just gets frustrating sometime too when when people put all these lists out and all of this about newk New Jersey when it's really the opposite thank you Council M Kelly any other comments yes Council MC I i' just like to concur I think um ovp TR is doing a great job in our community um they're they're they're they're there when we're not which I think is extremely important and we know of a number of instances where they have stopped violent actions from occurring um so I think it's important that we continue to support organizations um through ovp and continue because as C president said and and Council McKelly said it could be worse and I think it you know the data says that numbers are good that things are do going well the reality of it there's always going to be a spike here a spike there or something that just is sensationalized or over sensationalized but I think you know it would be a disservice to discredit the work that ovpr is doing thank you councilman thank you director thank you Council Madam clerk 7r2 a and 7 r2b are private sale Redevelopment agreements a is to build three two family new construction dwellings and sell Homes at market rate council president council members there's a motion to amend on the floor to remove the north Ward toly noted we can do that Council as a whole to remove the north W property um any other comments or questions from from council members of the west and south as those are the two remaining properties councilman Council I'm fine councilman Kelly okay any other comments from Council Members councilman Gonzalez what would be the selling price now that we're taking piece of property out okay is there any other questions before we have Deputy Mayor come back up no that's it okay Deputy Mayor um good morning Council president council members Alison lad director of Economic and Housing Development um unfortunately I do not have that exact number for you but I will provide it to you it's going to be simply a removal of the uh North Ward site at $8 a square foot and we'll just um itemize it for you before tonight's meeting okay okay any other questions for the deputy mayor see you n next item thank you seminar 2B is to provide new construction of city-owned proper property into a multif family residential home for purchase questions or comments from Council Members fine with the item Madam chair I'm sorry Council Moun I'm fine with the item okay any other questions or comments see n next item 7 r2d through 7 r2f are Professional Services contracts C oh I'm sorry my apologies Madam president 7 r2c is the C claring an area in need of Redevelopment designating an area in need of Redevelopment in the central Ward questions or comments from Council Members CNN 7 r2d through 7 r2f are Professional Services contracts D is to provide real estate appraisal services e is to provide legal services for redevelopment land use matters and F is to provide legal services for redevelopment land use matters matters questions or comments from Council Members regarding the professional service contracts councilman Gonzalez yeah we have a a firm here that is getting a contract for 800,000 I would like to know how much in total we're paying that law firm not only from economic development but in other areas of the city okay can we have that sent to the administration to request a full amount that we're paying this particular firm from all departments in the city okay doly noted any other questions or comments seea next item 7ar 3A is a professional service contract for Central Avenue Bridge over New Jersey Transit City subway questions or comments from Council Members regarding this item I will just make a note that we had a great meeting um this was it this week I don't know which week I'm in last week probably was last week with the uh group of Michael Baker International Inc I know that there were other council member staff that were on as well just talking about the bridge I mean this is a project that's long out um but we were having great conversation especially around Community involvement um as well as our um director of engineering was there and her staff so we're ahead of the game and we are prepped and ready to go and this is you know we should be doing for all of these uh different types of projects um so that we could be well ahead of the curve so thank you for that next item 7 r8a and 7 r8b are whole harmless and indemnification agreements both sponsored by councilman Ramos A is for the senior day of Hearts brunch and B is for the north War job fair do we have a a second for the okay second for councilman Quintana for 7 r8a and what about 7 r8b okay councilman Gonzalez wishes to Second 7 r8b next item 7 r8c is a supporting World Peace resolution to encourage and support International Peace sponsored by councilwoman Scott rry anyone Wishes the second this item second by councilman Kelly next item 7 r8d is recognizing and commending resolutions and 7 r8e is expressing profound sorrow and regret right I don't think there's any questions or comments about that next item 7 R12 a through 7 R12 D are change orders a is to execute a change order for the corrosion control B is for sewer cleaning C is for sewer cleaning and D is for sewer cleaning any questions or comments from council members regarding these items councilman Gonzalez not specifically on these items but uh I understand that we the city has the water department has a list of plumbers that they recommend to people coming to to have contracts in the city and only those individuals on the list are allowed to do work I want to confirm that that's the case and if that's the case I would like to know why is it that we are providing a a let's see an exclusive list of contractors if I have a a project and I have a contractor that is licensed by the state I don't understand why that individual or company can be ER excluded from work in the city so I would like to confirm that that that's the case because it was mentioned to me and it was disturbing okay before I assume is there someone here from the water department oh okay Mr the business administrator will take this on good morning Eric Pennington business administrator uh councilman Gonzalez raised the same exact issue several months ago and it was represented by the director of water and sewer Kareem adem that the list is not exclusive but there is a list of uh contractors plumbers that the city has used before or has worked with before and they are um individuals or companies that can be used but they're not required to be used by them and it's not an exclusive list it's for individuals who ask questions can you recommend someone no we can't recommend someone but here's a list of individuals that have performed in the city well in the past and you're free to use them or any other licensed contractor that you need to use if however they select somebody who's not on that list and there's a question about whether or not they can connect with our water mains for example and have the skills to do so even if they have uh the license uh we may not uh allow them to to work on that without vetting it more carefully for the safety Integrity of all residents of the city if there's any individual contractor that you have who you would like to have on this list um I'm happy to take that and get it into the hands of uh our department of order and sewer and uh have them reach out to that individual no no I I don't have any specific entity I just heard from someone that somebody that he brought wasn't allowed to do the work yeah I don't know he had to he had to go to one of the seven I believe it is that is on that list yeah so I believe that reuting someone without knowing if that person is let's say without betting as you indicated sure ER might be correct but how do you know if the person can do the work if you don't allow it to to work I think what uh I'll answer this this is very hypothetical since you're not identifying anything with more specificity uh I would say this is is not the kind of uh work that would allow somebody to engage in to practice on and make a determination as to whether or not they can uh adversely affect our water system or not and by our water system I mean the the water Ms that run through our street for example they may have to tap into the water man um I can tell you anecdotally that there was a on Mount Prospect three years ago there was a company who was tapping into the main for a doctor who was putting facility up there and they uh adversely affected the water line for everybody who lives in that area reason I know I'm familiar with the case and the the Street Cave in and all this stuff so not only did the Street Cave in but I didn't have any water because I live right down the street from there so I remember that one and that happened to be a a contractor a plumber who had not been vetted and so we have to protect uh the residents including me and you it might have affected you too since you know we live pretty close to each other um so that's the that's the basis and the reason why uh that information out there not to exclude anyone arbitrarily to exclude people who don't have the expertise to tap into our systems and protect the Integrity of the infrastructure I I tend to agree with that ER my my concern is that this that list might be dwindling and uh if you if we don't allow let's say other people to prove Pro that they can do it that least may become one at one point in time because people are going to H to move on or to to die or to retire from the profession so I believe that it's important that let's say that we keep the list but that we at the same time allow more people to prove to us that they can do it I agree okay Madam chair yes councilman yeah I I I respectfully disagree Mr ba I I don't want anybody to to try uh to work on our infrastructure that does not have the expertise or experience you know I do think it is important you know that that we recognize that we're talking really about um you know the repairing and restoring of our infrastructure uh and making sure that the people that are able to do it are are prudent enough professional enough uh and have the expertise to do it now if if the agreeance is you know trying to make sure that we have a pool or of candidates uh that have the the feasibility to make sure that this work can get done uh but I this is the kind of situation where I would not want to you know have someone have the expectation of give me a try and let me figure it out uh because it would probably put us back in a bad situation uh that we fought really hard to come out of you know with this work through the administration and counsil sure my agreement councilman council with councilman Gonzalez is not that we let anybody work on our system my agreement is that we should not allow the list to dwindle to one we have a single soul uh provider for uh plumbing services to work with the city uh director ad deem just reminded me that we do have a vetting process in place and that there is an opportunity for those individuals who want to be on this list to contact the water department to go through that vetting process and this spring there'll be another determination as to who will be on the list of those companies that we have vetted that's still it's not an exclusive list it is just the list of individuals that we know have been properly yeah yeah I just wanted to expound on that a little more because I think it it really deserves the kind of of conversation around it about the purpose and intent of all of this right as it relates to uh Us coming out of the situation that we were in but also really taking a hard look at how we repair move forward with with our infrastructure in a way that can hold the capacity of what we're trying to do and building density uh uh in this uh and then making sure uh that not just the density that we build but the infrastructure that is underground is is suffice to be able to you know hold it and so I think we we should you know if if there's not Clarity on a longer range of goal from from either one of our Council colleagues if if that at some point can be shared or given out to what that long range plan is I know we had some discussion about it but I think is in is integral at this moment that we understand it I agree thank you so much and I don't see any other comments so thank you so much Mr ba you're welcome next item 8A is an ordinance amending title 8 businesses and occupations to create chapter 39 smoke shops and establish rules and regulations hey questions or comments from Council Members councilman Council yeah M Madam chair I'm I'm going to uh ask for this item to to be deferred but I really uh am in support of the totality uh of the ordinance uh I just think that we have to begin to look at really prohibiting in certain areas I know there was some certain designations of C C2 and C3 uh but we're really you know faced with a A traumatic kind of thing that is happening in all of our communities about the closeness of all of these kind of things smoke shops variety stores bodegas convenience stores and we really have to look at how do we work uh to give some distance and some spattle space to it 500 feet apart th000 feet apart uh so that other businesses can be able to grow and develop in those areas I think the ordinance is is is great but I don't want to see in the C2 or C3 Zone that we go into that area and the whole uh area is just congested with you know smoke shops because we're saying that they're allowed in this area and we don't give other kind of businesses and things to to grow uh and and and to you know manifest itself fully noted is there a second for the deferment second by councilman Kelly any other comments from Council Members councilman Ramos yeah Madam president um I apologize for being late but um could could someone from the administration explain what the purpose of this is if it did originate with them you know I understand councilman council's point but the reality is that the new zoning laws make it a lot easier for these kind of establishments to um emerge in different communities so you know I think the changes that he's proposing are contrary to what we just well some of us support some council members support it as part of the new zoning laws but as it relates to this ordinance I'd like to hear from the administration what their intent is doly noted can we have someone approach please good morning good morning uh governing body Jocelyn Wingfield um special tax and tax abatement Central licensing and permits cannabis norc so the intent behind this or ordinance was to um simply mitigate some of the issues surrounding the smoke shops as it pertained to operating hours in the illegal cell of Canabis um and it was sort of kind of a way for us to track the amount of smoke shops that we actually have currently in our city council Madam president you I appreciate that because you know the the reality is like I said before you know we we currently have smoke shops emerging in a lot of our commercial corridors uh the new zoning regulations make it a lot easier for these shops to emerge and biggest quality of life complaint that we're getting from the community is regarding hours of operation and the fact that many of these establishments are illegally selling cannabis products so you know hopefully at some point we can move this along because I think uh is it's definitely needed and it'll give the city some tools from an enforcement standpoint uh to address some of these Bad actors that unfortunately are um doing things that are not appropriate so what I'm going to recommend um is that this ordinance go to at least the Cannabis committee um to work with I mean the gentlemen that you're hearing from today they're on a committee anyway um to talk with about what what needs to be added in to kind of better understand this before it comes back to the full body of the council and any council members that want to see other things added in and thus far to definitely send those things over to councilman Council who's the chair of the Cannabis committee um and allow him and councilman Ramos and I believe councilman Silva um to you know work through this and bring it back to the committee I mean to the council as a whole so if that can happen um that will help better you know for the full Council and like I said that council members can definitely put their input into the chair um so that we can make sure we get everything we think we need to have into this piece of legislation absolutely we'll do thank you councilman Gonzalez yes I I know for a fact that that say some actual grass is being sold in some of this this places not the products but the actual drop is being sold at in these places and we have the police has a vice division that should be I believe enforcing the the law and trying to prohibit or make sure that it's not distributed in these places I I know for a for a fact because there was one that is very close to a place that I go to and you see the people smoking the weed outside so it's it's not a secret and I believe we have to be more forceful in the in the implementation or the be vigilant and the in applying the law duly noted councilman Gonzalez I would um love to talk with you afterwards to know how do you know about that Gras being sold in those different places but I'm not going to talk about in front of all these people um but duy noted councilman Gonzalez and thank you director I mean uh yeah director um next this is being deferred of course councilman Council councilman Kelly seconded next item 8B is an ordinance amending title s State uniform construction code enforcing agency to add Provisions exempting City occupied properties do we at least have someone from the administration to talk about this item okay good morning director good morning good morning council president council members lores wooden um Department engineering director um this particular uh uh line item is for uh the exemption of fees by uh buildings built for the City by the city in city property or portions uh if we um just take out a portion of the building and revamp it we're Exempted from uh fees by the building department we need this information in our city ordinances in order to um have the state wave the fees questions or comments from Council Members Council M thank you council president just a question is so is there is there a process to which um a a building has to come in or or build or contract has to come in and request to Fe be waved or is it an administrative thing that that is done by by your office yes so it has to be administrative and has to be proven that you know the city owns the property so in the documentation when you put in um an application for building you will Den notate the building as uh being owned by the city okay and does that include buildings that are being built for the Ci's use for that the city is leasing or is it just for buildings that the city for the City by the city yes councilman Gonzalez yes I'm sorry just just one thing exclusive for the city of Newark we're exempting the city ER and the city I suppose has a let see significant number of projects ER can would that mean that we will expedite the process for the the projects that are not City owned because we have a a backlog a people come to me developers complaining that the process is too long that they go to Jersey City and a couple of weeks they have permits to construct ER so are we what are we doing to expedite the process okay so um as you um all know we do have um partner with EHD they have the um supplementary board and in the engineering side we're doing the same to supplement that um so that the process get I'm talking be much before they go to the zoning board ER they say when they go to the to your department they's say to get the permits to construct and all that stuff ER and to when they submit the plans to you and all the plans go physically from one office to the other instead of having a a common table where everybody sitting at the table and everybody examines those plans at the same time so that we don't w we don't waste weeks in in in a plan in set of plans going from one office to the next if that person is not there H that the plan is going to remain in that office for a couple of weeks so in the meantime the builders are losing money because let's say interest may go up uh fees may go up ER and uh and and the project gets DeLay So why why are we causing all this let's say delay when other places that are smaller than than we are ER have a more expedited process right so um we are now in the part of the solution we are holding technical reviews with upcoming projects again EHD Water and Sewer engineering and any other department or division that may be in the room we're beginning to meet ahead of time to look at these presentations um mostly take uh place on Wednesdays depending on the applicant list if they want to meet with the city um on the building department we're having pre-planning meetings um on traffic and signals we're having um pre construction meetings for Logistics so we're taking it from before the project comes through while the project is being reviewed in the application prior to the permit and there will also meeting with um the applicants to let them know what the expectations from the city is once they are in the construction phase thank you no problem Council MCC Madam president if I can just uh since since it was brought up when will the and this may not be a question for you director but for uh Deputy Mayor lad when will the supplemental board be seated and begin hearing matters this is definitely not a question for director wooden any other questions for director wooden that's okay we can bring the deputy mayor up too but any other questions regarding this item or for director wooden okay thank you so much Deputy Mayor lad there's a question on the floor from councilman Crump about the supplementary zoning board when will they take their seats and begin to work basically uh yes uh good morning council president council members Alison lad director of Economic and Housing Development um on both uh topics I just wanted to relay to council member Gonzalez's question um last year director adem Water and Sewer director Wooten from engineering and EHD we did meet to create this technical Review Committee which is now um memorialized in the nuzzler in the newwark zoning and land use regulations uh this year in 2024 that formal process has started uh especially helpful for those larger projects that are trying to understand um compliance before they submit site plan application and before they go to either planning or zoning board so that process has started they do meet twice a month um and I do believe that will help um all parties from the development side understand City requirements for Planning and Zoning water and sewer and Engineering uh so I did just want to place that on the record um and it was something that this Council voted on when you adopted the nuzzler last year so wanted to clarify that and then second on the supplemental zoning board um yes the council did approve the creation of the supplemental zoning board last year uh second I know the members have been named by the council um since January of 2024 um we are looking we were looking to have the first meeting in February uh the reason why we have not is is we wanted to onard award the members of the zoning board so we'll look to March for the first meeting okay any other questions for Deputy Mayor La okay thank you thank you thank you thank you next item HC is an ordinance amending title eight businesses and occupations to create chapter 22 commercial motor vehicle parking lot license and establish rules and regulations questions or comments from Council Members councilman Council yeah Madam chair I'm going to ask uh if this uh item can be deferred uh and if we can uh find a originator and have some conversation um I I just believe that this is counterproductive to ordinances that we already have in place uh and the totality of the ordinance really goes against the growth and development of neighborhoods that we're trying to you know grow uh in the city toly noted councilman council is there second second by councilman Kelly do we have someone from the administration to at least come up and talk about this item so Council can at least get some understanding and then we'll open it back up for questions from Council Members good morning good morning Council first assistant Michelle Nelson um this particular ordinance is to address the regulations we have put a lot of ordinance forward dealing with Trucking especially not um parking on the street so there are a lot of truck parking lots however there are no regulations and there are no way to monitor those truck parking lots so this is what this ordinance was for and we'll be happy to discuss further with you some of the changes or any amendments you would like to have com I have a question yeah uh thank you Madame President and to the administration and and again another big issue that that's impacting communities across the city um we do have a lack of approved parking for these commercial vehicles so people get very creative and where they Park um you know commercial vehicles and tractor trailer so um you know I'm interested in researching and looking at this to see how it's going to help us better control that process and require these operators to apply for licenses from the city in order to appropriately Park these commercial vehicles um again the zoning uh laws create the the rules in terms of where this kind of activity is allowed the intent behind these pieces of legislation is really just to regulate um how this particular business should operate so you know I I fully support it and and commend the administration for at least trying to um take a step in tackling this problem because right now it's definitely out of control in the city doly noted councilman Gonzalez yes I I totally agree with that I believe that and that there was a conversation like months ago that trucks were being parked on the streets and the we wanted to control where they Park I I thought this was the the the ordinance that would control that that would establish parking for for the trucks that are they are not parked in the the streets in the neighborhood I I totally support that I would love to have let's say a more H EXP explicit explanation of of the of the ordinance but the the principle I support 100% so if possible if we can get more of a detailed breakdown from the Law Department regarding this item I will just say for a note I won't spend too much time I don't want to spend too much time because we have so much time together today um to go into it but I will say that right now the ordinance says that these commercial vehicles and trucks are not supposed to park on residential streets and and right now that's not being enforced right now and it's not to you this is probably to the police department that's in here because I ride past trucks all the time parked in the middle of a residential it's not a warehouse or lot nowhere to be found around there and I stop on purpose I look at the dash to see if there is a ticket there and guess what's not there a ticket and I go by because they could be parked there for multiple days sometimes I text the captain of the area and I say you know it's a 18wheeler it's been parked on such and such street for quite some time do you think you can be able to send someone over to check it out or give them a ticket I mean just the other day I spoke to one of my captains and there no no punt against them but um there was a commercial vehicle that had been probably parked at this location for for probably over a year um and there was no ticket or anything on on this particular um uh vehicle but uh to say in short they're just not being enforced right now with the current ordinance with all of these tractors and commercial vehicles parked wherever they please to be parked at so I do understand like the attend and you know trying to put some restrictions but just currently in today today in this Council this body just increased the amount on how much a ticket would cost for those uh commercial vehicles and for those tractors that we have parked and still we are not ticketing those Vehicles we're not doing it we are not doing it and it is a problem just talking about today of how that is happening we get residents calling us all the time complaining about tractors being parked heck it's been a it's a tractor that literally pulls their truck up to 280 down at the interest of newk and if you don't believe me go by and see because it's there every night they pull their tractor up a big long truck not the short one when they take the back off the whole box and the truck park on the side of 280 in norc entrance they don't take it up to the Livingston part or you know the other parts they they park right there at nor borderline when you're getting off that First Street every night and we have asked who is responsible for getting that truck off of that road like that is insanity but they've been doing that for over a year councilman Quintana president in terms of 20 years ago we had we had towing companies that would were hire the nework police would call the towing company ticket the vehicle if the vehicle did not move at a certain time that vehicle was removed and the towing expense was given at the time right now what's going on is the truckers come they leave the rig and they take the tractor and these are they just lay right on the streets and then they come back the next day without they come back the next day and pick up trailer or whatever it may be with the rig and then they bring and that's how it's it's being done and it's it's I have reported it to the newk police in numerous occasions the captain has done in terms of in the northp the captain has done a great job in terms but again back 20 some years ago we would tow the New York police would call the towing company say I want this Tow and that's the way it was done so I can't I think we need to get a little stronger here and start Towing I mean to tow a car we tow cars when there're when there's an event going we P people's cars out and you tell me that we can't to some track tractor trailer we have companies that can take these trailers out and they got to pay for this this just should not be allowed in the city we 20 years ago against it was it was here it was late D Tucker Who let that way who said look get all the contractors he told the Police director at the time get all the contractors and hire let's put them on a list and the New York police will call and put them in a pound because these companies do have where to put these trucks so we need to we need to look into this Towing them I mean to do all these resol all these ordinance they may not all work that's start Towing and you you'll realize how how we'll have some success councilman Kelly uh thank you council president um to uh councilman canan's Point uh the captains in the west I've had the same problem along uh the Parkway in velburg park um just trailers just parking there all day and I've spoken to the captain and he said that there is a towing process process but the process takes a day for them to get there so you have to coordinate it a day before but by time you coordinate and the the towing come out the tractors are gone the next day so we have to kind of figure out a process um how to streamline the process that that there the towing company is able to get to the the trucks and the trailers in time because the way that I was told in the west it's a day before and my by the time they get there the the trailers are gone well I got a something that be standing there all day and week and month call come they could C get those I don't know about it in the west but in the central they stay there for a while they don't come back and get them until they feel like it councilman Silva thank you council president um it's not as easy as people think and I think the Police director and the deputy director will elaborate if the trailer is full we cannot tow the vehicle uh sanitation has to come out and remove everything that's in that trailer we can't tow it with all the cargo in there the Toe Companies will not accept that uh another issue that we're having because I've had meetings with the toe company is where are we going to store these in the tow yards the to yards don't have any room they're already full to capacity and then they just sit there and occupy a lot of space so uh even though it is an issue and uh I know that nework police is doing what it can there's other mitigating circumstances that just don't allow us to just go up and tow the vehicle as it is uh sometimes the tow company doesn't have the proper record uh and again regarding space in the yard regarding if if the trailer is full because a lot of these trailers are left on areas like mlen Street uh councilman Council knows with tires inside and other debris and we just can't tow it with the stuff inside so it is a process and it becomes an issue for North police yeah but we we've had years to work it out and seriously like cuz we we brought this up to this this Council been bringing this up for years just while I've been here I'm not even talking about 20 years ago just last year when we put in the new fee for ticketing we talked about this we talked about trying to get a new company to tow trying to find like maybe some City owned space to lease out to the towing and place to to they already we already have places doing it so I I respect the process I respect the challenges but we've had time to work it out um councilman Gonzalez and the box I I believe we're we're not talking about taking the trailer full of merchandise we're talking about the head of the trailer that is could be removed fairly easy say if you have a car parked in the city of nework in the say in front of a water for for the firefighters a pump that car is sted in less than two hours so why not do this same with the trucks they say we are not removing the the cargo we are just removing the portion of the truck that that moves the cargo so I believe that we have to be more efficient in and and more active in in see applying the law because we have a lot of C lot of constituents our constituents that their cars are moved every day and they have to pay a couple of hundred dollars to go and and take him from the pound so why not do the same for the truck companies before we have responses from Administration I believe there's one more comment Council maros yeah I I think everybody's kind of saying the same thing um you know we're we're frustrated at different levels I mean in Forest Hill we have people who Park commercial vehicles in their property in driveways and garages in the back and you know it's really not a police issue it's code enforcement it's building the apartment and then up and down the city we started with Baxter terrorist they illegally converted that into a parking lot for tractor trailers and commercial vehicles there's there's a lot on marter Highway across from the strip mall there that converted into a a parking lot which I don't believe it's it's properly zoned or approved for that use it it's all over the city of nework and you know I support any attempt to try to regulate it I agree that the lack of enforcement is a problem but where this kind of activity is allowed that goes back to the zoning law right where these parking lots are allowed to house commercial vehicles have nothing to do with this ordinance before us all this ordinance is trying to do is to create uh rules regulations fee structure fines uh but but as far as allowable use that goes back to to what the council approved a few months ago as it relates to zoning but we need to get a handle on M um mult multiple things connected to commercial vehicles from enforcement to the impact on residential neighborhoods from people parking on marter highway on 78 uh you name it in the city um you know I agree with councilman Silva like I've spoke to a few of the operators who who tow vehicles and one of the reasons they can't tow tractor trailers is if you know the the containers are full there's no space in the toll yards I don't know if the city had a sale recently approved in order to empty out um those vehicles that are unclaimed in the toll yards which would create some space in order for us to um accommodate uh this activity so you know there's a lot of things that impact this but you know we we need to get a handle on it sooner rather than later Administration yes council president Eric Pennington business administrator there are uh three principal things that are being addressed right now uh the first point is that there is no commercial parking in the city anywhere residential downtown anywhere else it is prohibited so it is an Enforcement issue to some extent our police have to be more Vigilant in ticketing those Vehicles we've had those discussions it's been represented to me that that will take place um and hopefully we'll we'll see some improvement in that area uh number two this legislation that is in in front of you is essentially coupled with the legislation that council president referenced that went through a couple of months ago regarding the amount of the fines prior to the increase in fines it was uh more financially advantageous for the vehicle owners to leave their trucks on the street rather than Park them in a commercial lot even though there is no permissible park truck parking lot in the city of newor right now this legislation is going to help address that the new zoning laws allow now for there to be commercial parking lots for trucks but they aren't uh this ordinance is going to help us uh regulate that so that's the second thing the the third issue that we have is with the lots that are out there uh at the moment um we are taking them to court the the parking lot that councilman Ramos referenced on marara Highway we just entered into a settlement essentially a settlement in principle about their use of that lot where they're going to have to pay back fines and pack back fees um to uh to address the fact that they have illegally stored those trucks on that lot there's a lot right next to as well that we are also targeting uh to make sure that it complies with these these new laws the final thing I will say is that we are going out now or drafting now um a bid for toe Services part of the problem has been the fines that we assess have been too low and the fees that we provide to Towing and companies have been too low and so it's not a matter so much a matter of them not having a place to store the vehicles it is not financially advantageous for them to do so and it's also not a matter that they can't tow tractors that are full they can there are trucks that they have who can lift up those trailers and move them and it is not dpw's job to uh remove the refug from the trucks we have been working on that with Public Safety as well we are putting out a bid to have companies that will come and remove Trail uh what do you call Tires and other things from the trucks that's not dpw's job the police department has taken the approach that is DP pw's job they bullied them a little bit and that's not going to happen anymore uh we have to work together collectively as a city and a team to make sure that we address this issue which is Citywide uh and we are addressing that um but we're taking these three steps right now the ordinances that you have uh getting the fines and fees at an appropriate level and putting out a bid to get Toe Companies uh that will be able to provide the services that we need I will say finally with respect to Route 78 and Route 280 we too have seen vehicles that are parking there that is not the city's jurisdiction but we are working with the state police to make them aware that those vehicles are being parked there and they have to take those steps it's interesting that the council president mentions Livingston we don't see those trucks parked on the side of Livingston we see them parked at the entrance of First Street and uh off of 78 close to norc but not not in norc's jurisdiction but we're working on that as well toly noted thank you I would like to recommend that the Law Department who put this forward work with other council members reach out um to try to you know get this back to us well the next time it comes back to us that it's ready to rock and roll any additional language that needs to be inputed or you know helping the detail out like councilman Gonzalez mentioned earlier about it that would be really helpful so next time we can you know move forward C can I ask council president that if any council member has a suggestion for the ordinance that they send it to me and to the Law Department I will make sure that it is vetted and what's appropriate is put into the ordinance when it comes back before the council duly noted in the meantime I do want to take um just mention again that councilman Gonzalez mentioned to Miss Nelson as well as a corporate Corporation counsel that if they can break down the piece of legislation to us in the email um that would be helpful and then council members can respond back to that email with any you know changes and thus far I'll volunteer for Miss Nelson she'll take care of that okay smiling in the back are you going thank you president thank you councilman Ros yeah could I make a suggest this is in communication same thing with the smoke shop regulations you know why can't we move it if there are amendments that the council members want to suggest you know there's plenty of opportunity to do so but some of this stuff is is really urgent because it's impacting you know residents is impacting neighborhoods and um some of the comments that I heard today there's no way these ordinances are going to address zoning issues you know that was an opportunity to address that two months ago not now so oh well it was a defer of request on the floor the councilman Council you wish to respond uh yeah one I'm I'm not going to pull it uh the defer uh we'll work with the uh ba uh to make sure it happens I really wish we would look at the totality uh of the entire ordinance had an opportunity to read it about four times that there are some critical things in there that needs to be addressed uh and trying to be uh you know very diligent any approach of of of conversation right now but I would uh prefer to leave the uh deferral in place okay any other comments CNN thank you thank you next item 8D is an ordinance amending title 8 businesses and occupations to create chapter 20 Intermodal container lot license and establish rules and regulations this is connected to that so I don't think we need to go back into a conversation is there any questions or comments regarding this item for ad okay next thing that concludes the agenda council president and council members public comment Madam chair yes councilman Council yes well we did have the uh dep uh director of Public Safety here there's been a lot of concerns I know uh Council M Kelly has uh you know brought it brought it up as well as it relates to this fire uh situation with the recruitment the uh you know movement around there in terms of recruitment standards selection processes um and if they can you know come up and and uh address those issues about what is occurring I know there was 86 people that was selected I don't know if it's about 80 now what was dropped down but the pool of people uh that was uh in in that pool and how does it uh reflect in the diversity and movement of this city uh when we're talking about uh fire and as well as police so if you can come up and please share that and then hopefully we can get the standards that have been put out if they recognize them if we can get those standards sent over to us uh as not only we continue to try to be a diversified City but we want to present and create opportunities uh for uh individuals in the city to have the right to serve as firefighters thank you councilman Council before we have the dire ctor I was in Midway of asking is there anything else Madam Clerk and is there any added starter request no okay that's a first woo all right starting off the end of February good all right um uh director good morning thank you for having me here uh the first question is reference to the the current status of the recruitment process and the second question was in reference to uh how recruit in the process so in reference to the process two things are going on in 2019 the the standards for firefighter were changed and then in 20201 it was also changed so we're reviewing um someone's goingon to come adjust your mic because it's hard to hear okay and then if you can just give us your name and title for the record Fritz G FR director of Public Safety City of nework in reference to the status of the requirements to become a firefighter in 2019 the standards were changed and then in 2021 it was was also adjusted we're currently in the process of reviewing that comparing it to both entities and seeing if there there's an issue there but those are the standards that were changed uh I think the last time was in 2021 uh in reference to the current process and the recruitment that they were referring to the list that we had uh the list is is created by Civil Service of which we we certified 250 and we were allowed to review and background 150 on the list of that list the percentage was off were uh as far as the the demographics I think it was over 80 people or 90 people on the list were Caucasian I think at that list I think 24 36 were African-American but those lists are all set standard through civil service and several years ago uh that was was changing the process how they rank we can't change the ranking structure we go in order uh in reference to the recruitment I think last year we've did an extensive uh recruitment on both encies in support of various groups like the Vulcans uh in this case um I'll turn it over to director Jackson to talk about the recruit process which we implemented last year for specifically fire good morning good morning uh Ru uh assistant public safety director Rufus Jackson and I can speak more on the uh recruitment process but first I just want to clear something up the uh the hiring standard was changed 2017 the first time and then the second time was 2021 as per the director's uh statement um last year we went through an extensive uh recruitment process and assisting with the the actual studying of the process um we went to as far as uh Department of Public Safety hiring someone to actually tutor over a thou well we we recruited over a thousand members throughout the summer at different summer events uh School schs church and worship uh services and all types of events throughout the summer so we recruited over a thousand people um we stayed in contact with these with these individuals via email text um we actually went and recruited a person to tutor members on the process and also get them test taking skills um reading math brush up on so that they can be successful with the testing process we opened it up to all the organizations within the department to be able to participate and social organizations uh our community relations division um worked diligently to recruit or go out and find different schools throughout the community and we had the classes at all five Wards um twice a week we had over 14 classes um the classes ran um approximately an hour or two each day and we had approximately I believe 200 out of the 250 people who actually are were vetted or certified for the job um I think it was like 41 actually took our course and after the investigations or whatever May uh we wind up with approximately 20 people who are actually on the list right now who actually took our course um it's the process is long um and we plan on doing it again we actually got ahead of it this year and we created a a scan uh QR code which is on social media it was on our platforms uh we've been uh having them at different uh City buildings uh even passed them out to different members throughout the department to have people scans right now we got approximately 600 people who have signed up we plan on following these individuals throughout the whole process send them information on uh when the test is coming out the orientation guys and we plan on expanding on this just training again uh for the most part I think it was pretty successful because we did get and that's out of the 250 so far and we plan on hiring again off of this list um with the support of the and also the business administrator and and also yourselves um once we promote once we hire off this list again we hope that we pick up even more people uh who also participated in the class I think it's very helpful uh the learning the process is is half of the battle you know the fire department and the public safety is not open to everyone and everyone doesn't have it and we hope to one day have like some type of uh um platform where we can bring people in to like volunteer or help with the fire service so they can be more familiar with this aspect of of Public Safety councilman council do you have any follow-up questions yeah I just wanted to know you know why was the disparity so wide and you know when we talk about the uh internal standards uh that that we put forth uh do we have an opportunity to revisit or or look at those standards to find out if they are restrictive uh in nature sometimes we may have things that we do that may be well in intent uh but but also it can be restrictive to towards the the meaning and platform that that we're trying to put forward uh to make sure that we have a reflective you know uh fire department that looks like uh the city yes currently uh first let me say that uh the cerns that they have that were seriously trying to address although the um the the standards were Chang in 2021 we are reviewing it right now to make adjustments to that standards need there be any so both standards are going to be sent to my office right now to review the current one that was changed in 2021 I believe and now this is the first time in our chain we'll be able to adjust it and review it accordingly if there are concerns so we had the conversations uh the past several days with the ba reference to those standards and and do they affect us in that manner the other understand is that we don't have control and uh the last 40 something people that weren't investigated they're still pending on this list we had a limit of 85 to get in the academy once we got that number we stopped so we had to go in in numerical order based on what the ranking was through civil service but the last 40 people on the list I believe the list has 25 African-Americans I believe it's 20 uh uh Caucasians and 15 whites left on a list something I don't know the exact numbers but the majority is African-Americans on that list which will be subject to review for the next process but how we got to the number we investigated first is strictly by how Civil Service uh sends the list to us and it's based on the academic scores that they had in place which we have no control over what is the breakdown of of the current class now what does that number look like uh I don't have the the exact numbers have the exact numbers of the breakdown of the class right now may have been 123 eligible 149 uh were we're backround I think 24 African-Americans 76 uh whites and 42 Hispanics were on the list that came through service service so that's the list we had to do the backgrounds under and that's the list we required to use now once we got to 85 we had to stop because we only had an allotment of 85 in Mars County and then the rest of them were trying to find another Academy which is another 40 something uh 23 43 left on that current active list to complete backgrounds on once we find another Academy to send them to when you got to your 85 number what did that number look like in terms of breakdown of that's what I told you there's I think I believe there's only about six or seven African-Americans on the academy right now the majority are Caucasian and the rest are Hispanics so six six African-Americans how many Hispanics get the exact number director if you don't have the exact numbers can you please just send it to us because we don't want to sit up here guing game so let's let's get the numbers and then you can send it to the council in regards to full of the the direct um and exact numbers for the Academy right now yep the only exact numbers I can give you is when we got the list in racial demographics 149 were on the list out of the 149 24 were African-American 76 were Caucasian and 42 were herpetic that's the exact list of all the people that we had on the on the on the list possibly to get the academy but as I said before we have extensive conversations with the ba uh and and the and the mayor's office reference to us me re-reviewing the current standards uh how the list comes we can't change but the standards on how we accept review we can review and discuss which we're doing that in the process right now okay councilman Gonzalez and then councilman Kelly no director uh when do we have or are we going to have the academy approved in the city of nework and where are we in that process uh the the academy approval we the process the application has been submitted with with with flying colors we've met all the stands we need to meet the inspector has gone uh to review and inspect our offsites which is weekway park for a track uh the meal lands for our evok training and then they're going to inspect the facility uh we hope to have them completed uh they started this uh background I think in the investigation sometime the first week in February they usually take approximately 30 days to review it and then hopefully we can have a meeting with the PTC which the mayor has requested because he spoken front of PCC uh they meet B monthly so they had a meeting in February which we which we went to uh to try and appeal to get us done sooner their next meeting would be in April but we've requested a March meeting to get approved but I see no reasons in in when we wouldn't get approved in fact when when the um inspector did a a review of the facility unofficial he just he wanted to come through he said that the current Academy will put the other academies to shame that we have a state our facility that shouldn't have any concerns so I don't foresee any reasons why we wouldn't be approved by a minimum if we have a emergency meeting and they scheduled it for us in March will happen in March but officially their official meeting should be in April and we should definitely be approved by that and that I suppose would save a ton of money to the city because now we're paying some other counties for the academy for the recruits yes yes current we wouldn't have to Outsource our recruit training process we can have it right here uh the majority of the Personnel that we have right now are assisting essis County with their Academy they would be pulled back and put in our Academy to uh uh to conduct our facility thank you Council M Kelly thank you council president um great day director Chief how you guys doing um I've received a lot of calls from Firemen and firew women in our great city of nor um and they're they're complaining they they're they're feeling they feeling some type of way about the disparity that that is in the class you know when you talk about 80 six recruits and you have only six black three women um and then you see uh social media posts that have people from different counties like Wall Township and other counties um being accepted it's it's almost demoralizing for New Yorkers who want to be a firefighter who have went through the process um I guess my question is after a candidate passes all of the exam standards uh what are some of the rest restrictions that will not allow them to be accepted into the class that that would be listed in some of the well prior to getting to us there are civil service requirements and then there's the hiring standards for fire department that's what we're going to review right now I can go in specifics you know uh for any felony offenses that that that that you've gone to prison but I can't go specific to each one it's totality of circumstances which we're reviewing right now I felonies won't be allowed but that's one of the requirements if you've been charged or found guilty or investigated for a murder or armed robbery or things of that nature you look like it will never get into a Into the Fire depart that might be a concern but the other ones are just subject to review I I I like I said when we review it I can forward that information of what the changes are if any once I discuss it with the the business administrator review the comparison between 2017 and 2019 what I can tell you is the difference and disparity on how things were chosen in 2017 the physical requirement was the was the standard for ranking people in 2017 to 2019 in 2019 it was changed to the written requirement civil service so reviewing that you see that has a demographic change of why it was shifted uh it was changed uh in that year that from that point on all the ranking that we get from the city so I don't know demographics until we get the list of who we're investigating but the rankings now are based on the actual physical written test now and not on the um the physical test so that's a big change that happened that uh that sh mad is hold on one second councilman Kelly uh is there um is there a restriction against tattoos well not necessarily there restrict against tattoos there is some uh restrictions and referen if you're involved in gting activity if they can prove you're involved in G activity if you've been investigated for there this totality of circumstan I can't go into anything specific but I can provide on a case-by casee basis based on your review but it wouldn't be just one thing that just having hat two doesn't prude you from being a firefighter just you know uh shoplifting would would not prude you based on time frame it happen but totality of things happening uh conversations and and now we're in the process of actually uh we're going to poy mandate uh audio review of the interviews to document what was written down to make sure that we're even going further to to ensure that there there's a some view of review where people can see okay this is what what happened these are the investigations going forward so we can prove that so the reason why I'm asking if you I'm sorry to cut you off councilman Duke um Kelly but if you're going to talk about like a personal situation I would advise we go into an executive session to discuss or we take the conversation offline I don't want to discuss anybody's personal applicant situation here in this full body in the public forum so I would recommend we go into executive session if you want to go into details yeah okay let's do that do you have any other public conversation for the uh the director no okay councilman Ramos yeah thank you president um you know I I do hear some of the concerns that have been raised by my colleagues and you know perhaps director and Deputy if you can get us some information regarding the number of applicants who were um considered in this last list that were norc residents and maybe a summary of um some of the reasons behind disqualifications without violating any kind of privacy um restrictions you know give us I I I mean I I could speak from experience without getting into too much detail but uh director and I were back and forth uh regarding a candidate whose mother had reached out to me and numerous individuals and you know sometimes you hear one side of the story from the applicant and their family and when you take that opportunity to investigate what some of the issues were behind the disqualification you know my experience is that more times than not there were some pretty valid reasons um what can we do on the front end you know it's always been my my question you know north public schools um we have a pretty robust group of young people who are in high school some of may not necessarily um you know be not not interested but may want to consider other options upon graduation and and we really need to expose those young people to careers and law enforcement you know police fire educate them on the process that they need to start following early as it relates to keeping a good credit history a stable uh residential a situation because those are the things that will disqualify them along the way and and you know there's some groups and and you see a lot of family members in the fire division right you have uh uncles uh fathers and and their sons and nephews who who get on the job because you know they're they're well-versed in the process and I think we need to teach you know our young people the same thing at an early age so that they can take advantage of these career opportunities so just my two sents any other comments councilman Silva uh yes uh thank you council president director I um I'm a Believer in civil service right you guys are off Civil Service list director and so's our deputy director there maybe we just need to prepare our residents a little better I know the director had classes throughout each Ward I know the test is difficult right because I took it and there's 300 at that time there were 300 plus questions uh so maybe we just need to prepare our residents a little better because um at the end of the day you said you got 20 out of uh the 149 or 20 out of what's in the class now uh but what I believe is we had a lot of applicants not pass a civil service test and that becomes an issue right and that becomes an issue we got only 149 people who passed the civil service exam but we don't even know how many took it and how many failed so I think it's a coming upon us uh the council to work with you guys uh to maybe prepare our New York residents a little better because if you don't pass a civil service test it doesn't matter what your background looks like you're not getting hired so you know we could look at what council M Kelly is saying and councilman counsel and and the background check and all stuff but if you don't pass the civil service exam you don't even get to that point so I think our first objective is to get them to pass the exam and then we can work on the rest I was going to go to another question question um because councilman Silva had a comment but question councilman Crum yeah thank you council president I guess it's more of a comment too I I just you know at this point with probably a few exceptions this class is is done but going forward I hope there's a concerted effort and it sounds like there will be a concerted effort to determine um the root of the cause of why this is occurring um and and it may be as what councilman Silva was saying we need to front prepare folks and uh for the exam um and as a council member I know others have done this and I I I also offer my support and help in that if necessary to help uh you know uh sponsor classes not sponsor classes to help folks uh prepare for the exam but um you know I think at the end of the day just keep us involved in what's going on and see where we can help and assist because at the end of the day I I think diversity in our uh fire department is important because it represents our community we know how important it is in the police department it's just as important in the fire department so that we it reflects the community that we have today and which enta entails in turn provides I believe better service for our community thank you Council mcum uh director yes I wanted to say that um uh everything you you've informed me today we've been doing as a matter of fact we've even uh at other 250 candidates Ates the new Yark Police Department only disqualified total of 14 out of 250 what's the number we could beely hear you out of the 250 candidates that we selected Newark police Newark uh fire investigations unit only disqualified 16 out of the 250 uh that were disqualified and even in the 16 that we disqualified uh since we've been since we started this Administration we pulled those 16 disqualifiers and they will be reviewed to make sure there's no other discrepancies on on the status and why they were reviewed so out of that we have 16 to review all the acceptance we also have to review prior to getting in but they have to get done first and the current lists they're all being re-reviewed right now with the full jackets for my office to review all the backgrounds now don't just stay in cidate investigation so you can be assured of what's Happening prior to that can investigator do investigations and it would go through even the acceptance have to be re-reviewed by my staff at 480 Clinton Avenue to analyze to make sure they're capable of going in and all the denials get reviewed now to ensure that we can review and make sure there's no adverse circumstances I think everybody uh every council member have called me on different circumstances at that on a one one Bas I can explain some of the reasons why I can't disclose it because some of the civil service requirements is why they're not being qualified I can't talk about that civil services requirement per their rule that they have to explain to that person individually so I can't release that because that's them to to release that information but thank you for your time Madame pres before the VOR live so you we review the ones that were disqualified but what about the ones that qualify because go we did that too I just told you that we reviewed out of the 150 that came through to us every single one that was qualified was reviewed first okay because prior to getting the Academy I have to sign it okay so we have a a separate review process which we added uh when I to over uh 2022 to make sure that my office reviews are the qualified reviews to make sure that it goes through properly and then we also look at the disqualified to make sure nobody was disapp my concern was that let's say if I'm friendly with the with the person doing the review let's say the the review the first review I may be qualified but in fact I am not so having the second the second review would take care of that yes we do all right thank you all right thank you very much thank you thank you thank you all right any other request or comments from Council Members before we move on to public comments oh nothing else okay uh public comment Madam clerk we are now in a 30- minute public comment portion of this meeting where each speaker will have three minutes to speak please state your name for the record is there anyone wishing to speak director don't go too far now don't go too far okay well somebody's going to be here I hope to talk the councilman Kelly wishes to go into executive yeah good morning yeah my name is George Tillman and um very interesting um exchange um I put in an opr request we talking about data I put in an opr request request um for the minutes and the reports and recommendations from the New York Employment Commission since its Inception from January January 2003 until February 2024 and I put that request in for the DAT is the same reason why we're having this discussion um and I was very um moved by the the engagement of the council um when it came to this issue of enforcement I heard words about efficient and active enforcement words like diligently enforcement of the law the root cause demoralizing I've never heard so much engagement from this Council I'm asking for the same sort of Engagement about the enforcement of the newor resident employment policy because there is no enforcement as much as we talked about 30 minutes on those trucks being illegally parked commercial trucks about enforcement what the police department is not doing and this and that and the third there is no enforcement the N Employment Commission that oversees the enforcement and monitoring of the nework resident employment policy is in active I don't hear that same passion up there from the council asking questions about the enforcement of the resident nework employment policy has to do with the hiring of nework residents that's the passion that I'm looking for that's the passion that I keep coming to this mic for to to to get the counselor to engage in this same sort of passion about enforcement of the newk resident employment policy that has to do with the the hiring renew residents that's all I'm asking Council that's all I'm asking so we we have a public hearing later on this evening and I just want to have the same passion about enforcement of the nework resident employment policy thank you uh thank you Mr Tillman next speaker good morning good morning um my name is dores black I'm not from nor I'm from Jersey City but I've been here I came to nor 2001 as an ex offender through the uh re-entry program I've since while there took advantage of all the resources that norc has available um got my GED while I was there went through the processes of the low income housing I became a tenant I'm going to fast forward I have three children they're 27 double major 18 graduating Donald pay tech also went through Kip um team academy and remained an honor Ro student so I started over now I have a two-year-old daughter so I'm back on the system with uh food stamps and Medicaid and lowincome however I know some of you noticed me from the angry tenant on the advocacy side who started the tenant association with gar inspirers um now with the same issues as Reservoir and Pilgrim Baptist Village where I'm currently residing um I decided to become a solution to the problem so outside of the complaints and all of the advocacy and whatever bringing lights and doing um petitions for people that's afraid to speak up because they being retaliated against and nobody can afford market rate rent when you don't have anything so I am now the nonprofit developer um taking advantage again of all of the resources that were provided here in no I completed the class through um through list that prenal sponsored back in October and I have now gained a sponsorship from a very prominent for-profit developer Eminem Development Group where Maria is allowing me to um she's going to do a purchase of a lot as well as a rehab and then walk me through the entire process from groundup and a part of her sponsorship is that she's going to purchase those under the nonprofit however with submitting the Lois and going through the process I it's like after three four weeks I do a followup oh it's no longer available it's like I'm confused because everything is being talked about is homelessness prevention so coming from that background with the administration of the Housing Authority I have the formula where we can absolutely do 100% affordable for everyone and still as a landlord receive the market rate rent because of the subsidies that Jersey is providing to prevent homelessness um so it's like a conflict on two sides on a business standpoint here's the solution to the problem operation give back now is my nonprofit um supp supportive Social Services I would love to tackle because I'm going into all of the complexes where I provide the credit repair the first time home ownership expungements vacating of default judgments whether it's landlord tenant or criminal everything to get us back going because I'm that ex offender who survived the life but it's still hard for us even as the ex offender because now I'm being looked at on as that negative aspect from the advocacy side I don't understand why because it's not on any of you or us as the residents that the property managers don't have the formula to to keep people out of court and to keep people from being evicted thank you Miss Black for your comments I'll be back have a good day next speaker seeing none public speaking is I'm sorry someone getting up yes one more good morning good morning everyone well I'm here well first of all my name is Leela mut Ali and the reason why I'm here this morning is because I'm a resident of Nork and I have lead in my house and it was found January the 8th I had to go to Health Department January the 10th and I'm still there nothing have happened yet and I don't understand why came to City Hall devil word 7th gave my complaint and I'm still waiting I don't I have two grandchildren who I've been keeping for five years one is Artistic he's five and the youngest she's two they were found to have lead which I just keep them five days a week and I've been there almost a year next month and I want to know what is my solution what do I do I'm sorry just to clarify a few things not to take away the rest of the time you have but you say you have lead yes all through the house every window some of the doors and on the porch do you mind sharing your address you want the address yes if you don't want to do it publicly I mean you can give it so it's on a private if that's fine we have our health director right in the back that okay be able to speak with you directly um and get the information from you and then we'll guide you on the right path from there okay okay then okay thank you so much catlyn if you could just wave your hand for her okay any other speakers seeing none public speaking is now closed any comments or remarks from Council Members oh um I I did want to take the opportunity because we keep hearing about this like every week meeting about the affirmative action situation and how you know today Mr Tillman talked about how not passionate we are um we've had multiple conversations with both our uh uh affirmative action team as well as our deputy mayor from Workforce from EHD and also from the ba in regards to us being in compliance with affirmative action so I mean our we we have to air off the side of what the information that were being given um from those in the administration that were in compliance but if the Deputy Mayor Muhammad who's here with us today in the chambers would like to come up and add any additional information for us regarding Mr Tillman comments that would be helpful to the council as well as the public that are here and viewing um because we continue to hear this about us not being in compliance um and you know we we're passionate about all issues obviously here in the city um so we'll give you a moment to respond of Deputy Mayor Muhammad uh BR Mah Muhammad Deputy Mayor um playment uh so I don't agree with what Mr Tillman is saying as you would uh assume uh we do have enforcement is the reason why we have a bus that's riding in the street as a matter of fact there's never been enforcement in this city until this Administration came aboard I bet you could not find a fine from any developer in the city of North prior to the Barack Administration this is the first Administration that has done enforcement and enforcement is the affirm of action Commission enforcement is affirmative action enforcement is the whb board the workforce investment board here's the other thing First Source is just not Full Construction First Source is also after the building is built that we given an opportunity for those jobs and let's be very clear those companies reach out to us on every time there's employment opportunities rather it's in fabwood rather it's in hellofresh rather it's in the new Costco building rather it's in the Amazon building that's been um placed whichever Warehouse is built in this city the First Source also covers after the development has been built and yes we have job fairs we have hire there's an incentive for them to hire over 50% of their staff to be North residents because they don't have to pay the 1% payroll tax afterwards so these companies definitely want North residence because they want to make over that 50% the other thing issue is this and I've said this on many occasion I think what andman knows this because he worked firm action I think part of what we have to have a serious conversation about skilled Workforce as it pertains to construction because we like to just push over that as if that's not an issue and it is an issue right now minority participation in a skilled trades Union is probably less than 10% and you have to understand we are the only ones that require developers to have minorities on their worksite e stor requires it her requires it Union requires it Jersey City requir so we're fighting for the same 10% we have to get more individuals in these skilled trades unions and guess what where that starts in these classrooms in these schools which we went to put proposals to the TW recommendations to try to get more people into the trades unions because otherwise we'll just be laborers which is what we are right now if you go to a construction site right now what you'll see is most of the minority ities are at the beginning of the construction cyle as soon as it turns from the labor work to carpentry to Plumbing to electrician to iron work we're no longer there and that should be our goal but that's a broader conversation and listen if that's the discussion that Mr Tillman want to have I'm more than happy to have that I've been trying to have it with unions the mayor's been having it we have been fighting to get more people in these trade unions because we just don't want laborers we want skilled Tradesmen and this has been going on for decades by the way I want to be very clear there's never been an enforcement mechanism there may have been but it's never been put in place in effect until the Baraka Administration understand the language say best efforts the ba will tell you right now we've been working on the best effort language because we want to kind of tighten it up right now because we think that the best efforts allow for them to get away with too much uh and so we try to tighten it up but the problem still exists that we need more minorities black and brown people to go into skilled construction not that you work with your uncle in the basement and you did a house or you did your mother sink that does not qualify you to be a plumber or an electrician you have to go through a fiveyear apprenticeship program or a technical trade school to be certified because you got to also read blueprints you got to know measurements it is not just on hands you got to do classroom work and so it requires you to commit five years prior to that though you got to have a valid driver's license prior to that you got to take a test an assessment test and pass it for them to even let you in the doors so we got a lot of work on that folks okay but it starts in the school system and if uh timman wants to work on that with us we're more than happy because we've been trying to work with everybody as it pertains to that but all right sounds good thank you so much deputy mayor muhamed for your passionate um response that was passionate y'all saw him banging on the um Podium if it don't work later on tonight we gonna have to charge you out of the workforce budget for a new Podium and mic okay any followup questions or comments yes councilman Silva council president we did have a uh Affirmative Action meeting scheduled last week myself uh councilman rree and councilman Kelly but it was canceled due to the snow and City Hall being closed so we're going to reschedule that again but there was a affirmative action committee meeting scheduled last week yes thank you so much for that uh councilman Silva the affirmative action committee um who deals with uh this these topics all the time councilman Ramos I just want to make sure next time rockmont comes up that we have a defibrillator in the council chamber see overly excited all right with that being said we're going to go into a executive session to discuss the um I'm sorry coun um Madam clerk you had something else yes we're going to go upstairs um we're going to retreat upstairs for executive session to discuss the Personnel M matter that uh councilman Kelly had thank you all for joining us um and you adjourn roll call oh oh yes roll call to go to Executive session Council yes Crump yes Gonzalez yes Kelly yes kintana Ramos SC Round Tree absent Sila yes president MC Iver yep