##VIDEO ID:6MQZEGfOiyA## e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e me when when I'm receiving half answered question I mean half responses and the administration hands over a proposed this is not even an itemized budget I I almost feel disrespected that they will even hand us something this that's lacking so much detail then come to find out there's no no definite that the Pomo Center is going to occupy this white box there's no Financial mechanism to fund the complete buildout of the box once the developer um turns it over to the city furthermore I want to explore options where maybe they get an abatement only in the tower where the pmad center is going is there opportunity to have some affordable housing on site um um it's just it's it's so much uncertainty here and I I feel like it's Our obligation as stewards of the city's Municipal budget to make sure that we're looking out for the best interests of the constituents of Jersey City and what's probably the most problematic when I proposed the question on how much revenue the city would receive with a pilot versus without a pilot the mayor and the administration's position was they cannot tell fortunately for me in doing research um krg seemed to understand how much the city would make what the other Tower they did and this is a statement verbatim from one of the spokesperson from their organization as it relates to another Tower they put in Journal Square we are committed to moving ahead with a much needed investment long-term future of General Square we will provide nearly 4,000 Union construction jobs applia and 180 million in tax revenue for Jersey City over 30 years how is it that they can have a projected amount of dispersed tax revenue and as an Administration we can't calculate what money is coming in it tells me one or two things either they didn't do they due diligence as it relates to getting a proper financial information or their dismissive of the financial information and their withholding it from the council so in light of all that on top of what my councilman um colleague boano said I want a motion to table this um at least until the next meeting that way we can have Community input ultimately is the community's money anyway so council members be before before I take that motion the business administrator would like to address the council Council uh thank you for your comments uh we're just asking as the administration to proceed with an introduction um you know we've had conversation around other projects and um ideas with the uh whether it ultimately passed or failed but we always gave it the honor of introduction it introducing it rather because that's what makes it exist right it's just a theory until it's introduced that also prompts the public meeting that we're looking to facilitate and the public hearing that will take uh uh that is set for the uh final adoption of it so we're asking the council we did the presentation uh the meeting to to uh introduce it this would be formally introducing the project we're just asking the council to consider introduction before moving forward joh um at the Caucus meeting I know we spoke about um councilman Gilmore requested the public meeting we are definitely yeah we're moving forward a public hearing um uh we'll have more public information on exactly when and the time and everything because we're working with uh other entities to to book time in that uh that area with Hudson County Community College so we are looking to uh propose that and that public information will be available within the next 24 to 48 hours John confirming there's we can't have everybody talking at the same time wait go ahead I get to talk a few questions so there there is a confirmed public community meeting that will be within the next 2448 hours is that correct the information will be made available within the next 24 to 48 hours for the public to engage in that meeting we'll do a similar presentation open up to question similar to what we did here at the Caucus meeting on Monday a second question regarding the financial analysis piece the financial analysis is based off of both completed towers and obviously overtime so you wouldn't be able to project unless both Towers were completed and you're getting the full tax revenue once those towers are completed because you can't tax them as a full tower if it's just like vacant land or they just built the base is that correct yeah there's there's vacant land then there's construction uh um phases and then there's completion and then there's um calculations on top on the perform of that so so different different tiers and and just to add to that you know we do have uh NWR Financial experts which are third party independent um advisers that that go through those numbers with us but for an abatement it would be an agreed upon amount of taxes that essentially would go directly to the city and the school board is that regardless of their income correct so that that's where the number is coming from correct okay I just wanted to put that on the record um and just a point of inquiry are we which motion are we doing are we doing the uh first reading like this is first we didn't vote I didn't vote yet first reading nobody this is all first reading on this is just first reading all right so John just introduction hold on I I had a mo a point of inquiry John you can have one meeting but it has to be more than one meeting I don't see why this can't be pulled let uh Kush on where we at explain this the detail let the mayor's office to explain it in detail uh because having one meeting on a Saturday is not going to do it John councilman respectively we had a Caucus meeting the mayor came for over an hour with the developer and the independent we made that information public we're going to continue dialogue with the public it's not it doesn't exist unless it's introduced we gave that courtesy to every other project whether past or ultimately failed and it also prompts for the community to have a public hearing at second reading so that's we're we're looking for you know uh from a position of um moving something forward as we do with everything else not regardless of you know Independence look I'm not against it John but intruction Community it's just an introduction voice is concern let him voice his concern even if intr can voice his concern council members parliamentary procedure like can we follow it council members I need you guys to talk one at a time can't have you all talking at the same time because Tracy's going to go crazy and she's going to pull my hair out instead of her own what here so count Sean so what I have I have a motion to withdraw city ordinance 24- 086 from the agenda by council person bajano ohore I thought you had said that yeah I'd like to see it and then we sit down with everybody work this out over the next month so okay is that a second John I walked the streets for the last three days and people really are annoy that they weren't really brought into this whole issue okay so we have a motion to withdraw city ordinance 24 days 086 from the agenda by councilman Gilmore do I have a second second second by council person bajano on the motion to withdraw city ordinance 24086 from the agenda council person uh I'm going to uh vote no to withdraw it uh I agree with some of the points that uh councilman boano and councilman Gil Moore has stated and I do believe we need more discussion um I'm glad that the administration is committing to that meeting and I believe that as a council uh we can introduce I'd like to hear what the public has to say during public comment so that's one of the reasons why I want to move forward with introducing it but additionally uh if we don't want to move forward at the next meeting with a vote we do not have to and we can pull it at that time so uh I'm going to vote no to withdraw it council person priner so knowing that there are additional meetings planned knowing that this has been part of a conversation for a little bit of time now and knowing that we um can't discuss it as a council if we don't introduce it we cannot get the full Fe Public comment back if we don't introduce it um I think that it is in we should introduce it I'm going to vote no and um and again I agree with a lot of the concerns I think that they're all very valid this has nothing to do with that part of it but we can't continue this dialogue until that happens and this is just for an introduction it is not for a final adoption and your vote council person Bano I said yes and I'll tell you having one meeting is nothing it's not going to work you got to go out and speak to the people in the communities they are absolutely ticked off about this whole thing and uh you know it was brought out improperly to the people and people are tired of it uh you know there's so many issues going on in the city right now especially in Journal Square that uh it's a major issue so uh you want to carry you want to do it this way I think you're wrong I think you I think and I think that the uh people involved in this and the development side should understand that they have to go to the community explain things in detail okay I just got a word again that the audio is out on the live stream I thought we corrected that can people hear at well I don't know who I'm asking now does anybody have it up in the chambers that they can hear the meeting before we move forward I did receive a complaint that it was uh not working but there was no how long ago councilman uh 6:15 yeah 619 it was working so it went back out at 627 we just got confirmation that it's being heard okay okay all right so just for everybody at home who was during the live stream motion to withdraw ordinance 24086 was from the agenda was made by councilman Gilmore seconded by council person bajano um the vote for council person Ridley was no council person Prince Ary no council person Bano yes and we're at council person CLE I believe reasonable Minds can disagree and I believe that councilman Gilmore and councilman Rich boano have nothing but love for Jersey City in their hearts I think that we will continue to discuss this as a community we have been discussing it I have Poma overdose at this point because it's been over a year or two years at this point that we've been discussing it there's been it many iterations of the plan now this current iteration of this proposal is going to go through the same process we're going to introduce it we're going to have the public discussion and um yeah we're going to have a community meeting so I don't see how we're going to change the rules just for you know this so with that I vote no on tabling a first reading ordinance and for those at home first first it's introduced and then the second reading is when everyone would vote on the ordinance so so I don't understand we pull ordinances all the time let them talk so council person council members let's make sure we're using the correct terminology it's not tbling it's withdrawing the ordinance because we didn't even vote on it yet so we're the motion is to withdraw the ordinance from the agenda got it all right council person it's okay council person Solomon um you know I appreciate the folks who have uh brought the Padu forward and and I understand why they're pushing for it um I think everybody wants worldclass Arts accessible to all and you know it been public with uh my opposition to the proposal before the council um at the end of the day um we've seen the difficulty in uh moving this project forward we're three years in from the original announcement and have already had a number of serious pitfalls the city is making an extraordinary Financial commitment through both the abatement and then if the M Museum was in through the funding of the annual operating costs and given the rise in taxes given the extraordinary needs beh before the city um when it comes to affordable homes better schools more youth opportunities I just don't think this is the right direction to go in while respecting the motives of those who are pushing for it so with that you know for me folks should can and should have more meetings although on my end I think um you know under diligence so I'll vote Yes to withdraw but you know have that I think my position is is pretty clear at this point council person Gilmore yes I'm going to um vote Yes to withdraw I just oh God I just it just really amazes me this is no disrespect to anyone up here but it just really amazes me what things get rushed through and what things we have to take time to do who things get rush through for and who have to do the normal process I I just don't it's not a hard act to withdraw to have dialogue for the people who's going to ultimately be responsible for paying for the project I I I just I just can't understand like like how is that a hard act with the way it's set up now you vote to introdu you vote to introduce it this community meeting is nothing more than due diligence to to say that you've done it I can't imagine that you're really gearing up to take reasonable feedback from the people in fact the mayor said in his own words if we're going to do it we have to do it now but ultimately the vote reside within the jurisdiction of the council at some point we have to vote in the interest of the people and if the people are asking for more Community input and more dialogue then why can't we give them that at the very least push it back one measly meon so I vote I to withdraw it John Sean thank you council person Dees I understand the feelings on both sides here I know that it's a short turnaround but I know that the the timeline of construction and the architectural drawings is coming into play here too and I don't know if it's too much to ask for the public meeting to also include the consultant from pompo being that a lot of the issues that the community has brought up at least you know to me and on social media is the the hardship that the city might have to take on if the museum and the this Cultural Center isn't going to be you know funded by Revenue how is that nonprofit board going to be formed like Liberty Science Center has and I think some of the concerns are giving tax money to the Arts that you know have been around the world and not the local Arts so I think having a not this isn't just about the abatement I think it's more about granting the abatement but it's about the center itself um so if a consultant from pompo can be present I think that would be important for the community yeah the administration's confident that we could have a representative from that um similar to the professionals we had here at the caucus um we'll make sure that they're included as well uh with that being said I vote no you said you vote no thank you council person Riva no and council president wman no motion to withdraw ordinance 24- 086 from the agenda fails three six would council members bajano Solomon Gilmore voting yes and the rest voting no before I take a vote on items 3.1 through 3.10 for introduction business administrator 3.4 as I understand is going to be withdrawn uh yes thanks councilman uh Council shifting uh Council um this ordinance is uh pertaining to our Central Avenue location for the seniors and some of the staff there um we put this together with um some conversation with the law department and the department but we still want to go through the process of uh traffic and transportation that we uh formalize with every um uh chapter 332 uh change so we just want to make sure we follow suit um so we're just going to ask the carry at one meeting and uh proceed from there okay um oh the other all right council members with that being said I'll be taking a vote on items 3.1 through 3.10 with the exception of 3.4 which has been withdrawn for introduction council person Ridley hi for introduction council person priner Hi for introduction council person buano obstain on 3.10 I for the rest thank you council person sole I for introduction council person Solomon on um 3.8 we're going to introduce but just make sure we're going do a little more study on this one uh before the second reading um related to the parking at 16 in Danforth and then um I'm a on 3.10 so I on 3.1 through 3.9 and no on 3.10 thank you council person Gilmore v i on one through nine and I vote no on 10 two times council person Dees IID it for introduction council person rera I and council president uction okay I can just recap items 3.1 through 3.3 are introduced unanimously 90 item 3.4 has been withdrawn item 3 items 3.5 through 3.9 are introduced unanimously 90 item 3.10 is introduced 6 2 one would council person bajano abstaining and council members Solomon and Gilmore voting no so again that is 621 on introduction okay before we move on to our second reading ordinances I believe we did speak about this at the caucus or it was just brought to me that we were going to defer to a couple of resolutions we have some special guests in the audience so I believe we're going to be deferring to items 10.4 I'm going to do a compound motion to defer to items 10.4 10.9 10.10 and 10.11 may I have a motion motion motion made by council person Cay may I have a second second by council president wman and just a reminder to make sure that the council members mics are on because we can't hear your vote uh especially the people who are watching at home so the motion to defer to items 10.4 10.9 10.10 and 10.11 was made by council person Cay seconded by council president wman on the motion to defer council person Ridley I council person priner I council person bajano I council person Cay I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees council person rera hi and council president Waterman motion to defer to items 10.49 10 and 11 is approved unanimously 90 okay so first resolution is 10.4 resolution 24- 652 is a resolution honoring Osman gani as a community leader of Excellence if you allow me to read it into the record is a resolution honoring Osmani as a community leader of Excellence whereas Osman gani was born in India on March 15 1961 to his parents and whereas Mr gani married his wife pervan in 1995 and they have two children um aib gani and masabi gani if I'm mispronouncing the names I do apologize uh whereas Mr gani and his family moved to Jersey City 27 years ago and whereas Mr Gan gained success as a manager of Mark and Spencer Inc as an owner of several properties in Jersey City whereas mrani is known for his kindness to others and the founder of moon Welfare Association whose mission is to help the underprivileged people in India and whereas Mr ghani who enjoy serving the community became a public servant and works for the city of Jersey City as a codeing compant inspector thank you for your service and whereas Mr gani continues his dedication to care and serve others as an executive board member a public relations officer of the indian-american Hudson County cedar citizens Association and whereas Mr gani is welln and well respected at and has been elected three times as Democratic committee person and is on the board of the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation and whereas Mr gani has been a faithful Serv to his Indian culture a public servant for the city of Jersey City a democratic representative in his neighborhood and now there for it be resolved that the municipal Council of the city of Jersey City hereby honors the life dedication leadership of Osman gani and recognition of his accomplishments and kind-hearted nature on the mo momentous occasion of the 2024 Indian flag raising go on I that back yeah right okay council members before we celebrate see we clapped again a little before we put the cart before the horse here let's take a vote on um resolution 24652 and to make sure that we're approving it council person Ridley congratulations and I vote Yes council person Prince AR congratulations aie thank you for your exemplary Public Service your service to your community and your friendship I council person Bano a see I don't know about this Azie look I drive you crazy you are one of the best city workers in Jersey City I call you every day sometimes two and three times and every time I call you you go out and take care of the problems you you are what you are the best inspector in all of Jersey City and probably in the whole state of New Jersey and I'm proud to have had Pam Dana myself and Katherine are proud to know you to have you in the office and to see you all the time because you're really good to everybody you're good to the people of Jersey City Azie thank you and I'm glad you changed your hat from the one you had on the set thank you Cosman yeah wish should vote Rich oh you want me to vote Yes for him I'm not telling you how to vote of course I'm G to vote for [Laughter] aie council person s Azie you are a pillar in the community I am lucky enough well the city's lucky enough to have you as a friend uh the city is lucky enough to have you as an employee and I'm fortunate enough to have you as a friend and you've been working for us for so long and you know I'm blessed to know you and I see the work that you do in Ward D and Ward C and all across Jersey City and this is welld deserved and you're an unsung hero but today we're singing your Praises all right congratulations that I vote I thank you councilman council person Solomon Azie thank you for your service to Jersey City we're very lucky to have you and I proudly vote I thank you council person Gilmore thank you for your services we appreciate you actually been working for the city longer than I've been born you worked for the city for 27 years longer not not 27 years Oh I thought he said 27 I thought about to say you I moved to Jersey City 27 years oh you've been here longer than I was born okay all right I vote i 26 did did someone ask us your no never mind I wish I work for 27 I could have been retired by now councilman Gilmore you will forever be young council person Dees I won't call out the fibbing on record but Azie you're such a great man and I know your phone was just going off and I could imagine it's someone asking for help in some way because you are always there for everyone and I don't know where you find the energy but thank you for what you do congratulations I v I thank you so much council person rera H you're you're all right man I we I mean you are a a person that is so anybody can adjust to you you know your spirit is you know bright uh I remember when we were campaigning I never knew that uh Sip Avenue vanwagon and all that area had so many side streets in my life but you know you are uh a true example of a great person that lives in this great City I vote I and council president wman thank you co Azie um I vote I but I want to say that you are such a kind man when this s situation happened with a neighbor how you went beyond and made sure that the neighbor was taken care of and you really never left his side you or your family you know that's really a sign of a great neighbor not even a good a great neighbor so Azie you always care about people you always calling my office if if if there someone need help you you're out there helping them and your a voice for them so I'm glad I can vote I for you hzy and may God bless you and your family resolution thank you so much go sorry resolution 24- 652 is approved unanimously 90 congratulations all right Azie to put you on the spot a little bit would you like to say a few words to the council and to the members of the public thank you so much Council people councel president Joy thank you so much for trusting in me and um I really wanted to thankful to my family as well for the full support I always wanted to help people who's really in need because I'm a committee man being selected and um this is my city just a city I feel this is my hometown 100% to care for the people who really need and to serve them as much as I can and um at the same time I appreciate all the help and support from my Council people the city of Jersey City I love the city thank you so much so Azie stay right there because I believe the council's going to take a nice photo with you and your wife D you know on your phone you take a picture you can send it to everybody okay our next resolution that we defer to is item 10.9 City resolution 24- 657 it's a resolution recognizing and honoring detective Lorraine map on her retirement councilman Solomon not to put you on the spot but I believe you have the honors to read that into the record all right it it is my honor to read the resolution to the record so whereas the city council of Jersey City deems it necessary to highlight the accomplishments and bestow Honor on City residents who are committed to Excellence and consistently strive to improve the community and whereas detective Lorraine Maps is a 20 20 year veteran of the Jersey City police department she's born in New York raised in the West District of Jersey City attended ps37 and PS excuse me PS downtown ps33 and ps38 elementary schools she then graduated with honors from Snyder in 1993 U detective Maps furthered her education by attending Douglas College at Ruckers where she studied Public Health along with Porto Rican and Caribbean studies prior to joining the police force she audited medical records and as an auditor collected pertinent information used to track Health Trends in the state whereas detective Lorraine Maps joined the Jersey City police department on October 29 2004 her career in law enforcement began in the Patrol Division in the North District shortly thereafter She was transferred to the east District where she spent the majority of her career Patrol Division in the East gave her the opportunity to serve the community in various capacities her early years of suit us included but not were but were not limited to calls for service bicycle Patrol undercover assignments assisting the HC poo law enforcement explorers Mentor school resource officer Megan's Law unit lgbtq plus leaza and resiliency officer detective with the SVU and the East investigative units whereas detective Maps has have the opportunity to Foster positive relationships with Jersey City youth by being a mentor in the law enforcement explorers program it provides young men and women from the city's diverse communities with an introduction to the to a career in law enforcement or criminal justice she was very pleased to learn years later that a handful of students students in the program are now successful officers today this experience educated detective maps on the many issues youth face in Jersey City years later it was only fitting that she became a school resource officer at Ferris as a school resource officer it afforded Dr detective Maps the opportunity to have personal interaction with youth grades 9 through 12 she was in the position to positively Inspire students and shape their future she was also able to educate and illustrate to the youth that law enforcement officers were regular people just like that this is one of her favorite experiences as a law enforcement officer the fact that she was able to make a difference in a child's life is something she holds very dear to her heart and whereas on March 1st 2018 detective Maps was appointed the lgbtq plus liaison for the Department unsure of what her responsibilities would be she took the position with excitement being a woman of color and identifying with the lgbtq plus Community she was eager to serve in a new way as liaison she took an oath to trust and promote a positive working relationship sh between law enforcement and the Community Education and Outreach she serves as the north Jersey point of contact for fellow law enforcement Liaisons throughout the state and her continued efforts as a liaison she's as her continued efforts in as liaison she has participated in a working group that contributed to the attorney general directives on lgbtq plus education in law enforcement and whereas detective Lorraine mapers participated in the working group regarding lgbtq plus training for new law enforcement recruits lorine has not only been committed to fostering positive relationships with the lgbtq plus community and law enforcement she's also committed to fostering the same positive relationships between lgbtq plus officers and their peers although serving in the community is Paramount she has also shared the vision with her fellow Liaisons to support one another in the workplace and whereas detective Maps continues to dedicate herself to the Jersey City police department with efforts as an officer and Community safety and Bridging the Gap between community and law enforcement there now therefore be it resolved by the city council Jersey City that on Friday November 1st 2024 we congratulate detective maps on her well-deserved retirement and wish her many years of Happy adventure in the future your dedication knows no bounds and your presence and commitment will be missed congratulations detective Maps okay I know we love to clap but we didn't vote yet so we'll get to clap again all right on resolution 24657 council person Ridley uh I vote yes and thank you for your service and I want to wish you all the best and happy retirement thank you council person Prince AR so thank you for your service to the city and your your exemplary career in law enforcement um you put the notion of community policing into practice and that is so incredibly valuable for our children and everyone in our communities across the entire city I'm glad we have you for a few more months but congratulations on your retirement I vote Yes council person Bano I remember correctly I had you in the police academy is that right boy time went by fast congratulations and enjoy your retirement I'm out 15 years now so so collect that pension good luck I vote Yes of course Council par SLE I'm gonna vote Yes just off the fact that you went to Douglas College at ruas University um and also thank you for your service and also just want to point out the fact that she started in the North District so um I proudly vote I and thank you so much for everything you've done for Jersey City council person Solomon but remember SP most of the time in the East and barison downtown but thank you detective Maps you are as councilman prer said a model for what we want policing and law enforcement in Jersey City to look like every time we see you out at events whether it's Pride or Community fair you're always such a positive example for our city so this is a well-deserved acknowledgement enjoy your retirement take more than one crew and I proudly proudly vote I council person Gilmore yes I'm going to vote I she's a 38 alumni as myself a Ruckus alumni as myself um and I know it's it's a hard job being an officer you know it's it's one of those things I can never do so I commend you for all of your commitment and all of your years of service um and we will miss you but thank you for everything and congratulations on all of your endeavors I thank you council person Dees I vote I congratulations thank you for your service and I hope in your retirement you get to continue your work in Jersey City it's on us now to make sure that the mark that you've left on the jcpd stays there and that their commitment to your model stays as well thank you council person Rivera Wella you're going to be missed you know uh and uh not only you know the Jersey City police department is going to miss you all those lives that you touched while you was a school resource officer that example that you gave to them those guys are going to miss you too should' be very proud of yourself that's I am extremely proud of you thank you so much for what you did for our great City I proudly vote I and council president wman thank you for your service um thank you thank you for were entering into a profession that was quite challenging for women to enter in and you held your head up high and you did it with Grace thank you thank you for all the young girls that will look back and realize you paved the way for them thank you truly do thank you and have a good retirement do what you want to do nobody have to bother you now congratulations okay City resolution ution 24- 657 is approved unanimously 90 congratulations enjoy your welld deserved time not to put you on the spot but if you would like to say a few words to the council and the members of the public that you have the floor thank you councilman Solomon I would like to thank mayor fulli all of our elected officials Gina Aban for this recognition bring the mic up a there you go I would love to thank my family that's here with me and everyone that's tuned in live that couldn't make it congratulations to all the other recipients um I'm grateful to have been able to serve the community with 20 years of Police Service and representing the Jersey City police department as a lgbtq lgbtq law enforcement liaison for several years what a wonderful feeling to be honored for the hard work put forth over the years nothing can ever compare to being recognized for who you are and being placed on a platform where you can flourish when I think back to Stonewall and push forward to present time I'm grateful to be a part of the progression in Jersey City and most importantly within the police department it has been one of my greatest honors to stand with the community and help bridge the gap between law enforcement and all of the beautiful people that I serve each and every day thank you again for this honor if you could just stay there for a moment the council is going to come down and take a picture with you guys e okay our next resolution that we defer to is item 10.10 resolution 24658 is a resolu recognizing the contributions and achievements of Eddie Bas and I have the pleasure of reading Eddie's resolution into the record and if you would allow me to do so hello uh Eddie actually had a family emergency so I'm accepting for him okay all right so resolution recognizing the contributions and achievements of Eddie Bas whereas the city of Jersey City highlights the accomplishments and bestows the honor on City residents who are committed to Excellence and consistently strive to improve the community and whereas Eddie Bay as a native New Yorker moved to Jersey City in 2007 in 2009 he co-founded the online Facebook group gay borhood Jersey City with his husband Eric they created Gabor Hood Jersey City as a social club for the lgbtq and Ally communities to forc their friendships and connect with Neighbors in their new city the group has grown significantly from around 300 members in 2012 to over 4.2k members in 2024 and whereas in 20 2014 Eddie bayz became the producer of the Jersey City lgbtq Pride Festival which has been since expanded to over 40 events in August and includes several events throughout the year in 2021 Joseph Cameron joined him as a co- as a co- producer excuse me last year's Festival held on August 26th attracted an estimated 20,000 attendees with over 25,000 people participating in the month-long festivities and whereas while J JC pride and ghood Jersey City are passion projects for him Eddie by his career has been dedicated to to the field of HIV AIDS services with over 30 years of experience Eddie has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of people living with HIV and those at risk he currently works for the Northeast Caribbean AIDS Education and Training Center which provides Education and Training to HIV service providers and staff in New York New Jersey Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and whereas Eddie Bas is an active Community adviser to the mayor's LGBT Q task force and devoted of devoted years of his life making significant impact direct investment and last ing contributions that strengthen the cultural Civic economic success of lgbtq community in Jersey City and now therefore it be resolved the city council of the city of Jersey City to hereby Proclaim and recognize the outstanding contributions and commitment of Edie bias to the Jersey to Jersey City and to the LGBT community council members let's take a vote on resolution 24658 Council Ridley uh thank you for uh your contributions to Jersey City and I vote I council person priner so Eddie while you're not here with us just to get this on record I just thank you for all the remarkable work you've done over the years and for really amplifying the voice of the lgbtqq plus Community here in Jersey City and I look forward to celebrating this with you the next time I see you I vote I council person bajano thank thank you for all you've done for the city and I vote I council person Cay I want to First say that I hope that whatever the family emergency is that everything is okay or turns out okay um second I want to thank Eddie um for all his service to Jersey City making Jersey City one of the most LGBT if not the most lgbtq plus friendly city in the country in the United States of America and he laid the foundation for that and speaking up for marginalized voices within Jersey City and that changes the world not just Jersey City so with that I vote I and I thank you Eddie when you watch this play it back thank you for everything you've done for us council person Solomon yes obviously Eddie uh we're uh thinking of you hoping everything is all right with the family and we are just deeply grateful for your extraordinary service of Jersey City um just kind of an Exemplar of a community leader has done so much for so many um has done so much for Pride uh and has really uh you know been been a voice of integrity and honesty and commitment in Jersey City so well deserved Eddie and hopefully we all see you in person very soon so I vote I council person Gilmore I vote I Eddie thank you for your advocacy um your community involvement hopefully everything is okay with um him and his family thank you council person Dees I vote I please send him our love and I want to Echo councilman slay sentiments that this city would not be as lgbtq friendly as it is without him and his hard work and it was hard work not just for the city but the countywide initiatives that he worked on too so please thank him and send my love council person rera yeah definitely um you know give him all love from for his family but I need you to tell him something Ed Eddie is the freaking man you know Eddie is amazing uh just pure you know that guy you know you call him anytime you know he's there you know for whatever whatever he loves his community and he's engaged with his community and he does it from the heart not that many people do that you know Eddie is priceless I vote I council president wman Eddie my prayers is with you and your family you know Eddie I want to thank you for your courage so often you know um organizations Pam forth because people were bold enough to say this is who I am and during those times when it was challenging Eddie you was always in a Forefront not just you but it was a couple it was a group and so tonight we honor you but this this is not this is less like a ice in a bucket so to say and because you what you have done you know for your community is simply amazing it's bold and that's what we need in America we need people who will be bold to change the course of history so Eddie congratulations I vot I and my prayers are with you and your family City resolution 24- 658 is approve approved unanimously 90 congratulations Eddie I know Eddie was unable to make it but if you would like to say a few words on his behalf you can just identify yourself for the record and the floor is yours yes hello uh my name is Joseph Cameron I'm the former co-producer of Jersey City Pride as of this year um so a few things about Eddie for over 10 years Eddie Bas has been a producer of the Jersey City lgbtq Plus pride festival helping countless people and financially supporting artists and businesses locally and Beyond his dedication has made a lasting impact on our community elevating both the festival the artists involved and Jersey City as a whole so I would just like to also thank him for his dedication to the community all right so we're going to move on to sorry get the camera right we're going to move on to our last resolution that we defer to is item 10.11 resolution 24659 is a resolution recognizing the contributions in the achievements of Joseph Cameron who is at the podium so before we um take a vote I believe council person Prince Ary will have the honor to read this into the record so this is a resolution recognizing the contributions and achievements of Joseph Cameron whereas the city council of Jersey City recognizes diversity and inclusion and believes a diverse population leads to a more Vibrant Community and deems it necess AR to highlight the accomplishments and bestow Honor on City residents who are committed to Excellence and consistently strive to improve the community and whereas Joseph Cameron is an activ liaison for the mayor's lgbtq plus task force and devoted years of his Service as co-producer of Jersey City Pride a prominent lgbtq plus Festival in Jersey City attracting over 20,000 attendees and whereas Joseph Cameron was named one of NJ biz's leaders in digital technology and is currently the web and social senior marketing specialist at Branch eer counselors at law one of the most prestigious law firms in New Jersey he was honored by Roi NJ as one of the leading figures in New Jersey lgbtq plus community and as a Twitch TV partner his live streaming channel has garnered over 2.8 million hours watched and whereas Joseph Cameron served as a marketing specialist and coached to multiple million-dollar companies and numerous social marketers with over 17 years of marketing experience he specializes in delivering Returns on investment for his clients analyzing data for growth opportunities and creating marketing campaigns driven by key performance indicators and whereas Joseph Cameron is also a skilled website developer proficient in multiple programming languages and whereas Joseph Cameron continues to make significant impact direct investment and Lasting contributions that strengthen the cultural Civic and econom IC success of the city of Jersey City now therefore be it resolved that the city council of the city of Jersey City you hereby Proclaim and recognizes the outstanding contributions and commitment of Joseph Cameron to Jersey City and to the LGBT plus community all right Joseph before we allow you to speak we have to take the vote on the resolution first oh so oh okay on the on resolution 24659 council person Ridley I vote yes and thank you for sharing your talents with us here in Jersey City and for all that you're doing to enhance our community here I vote Yes council person priner so so thank you for all the work that you do some of the behind the scenes work some of the work UPF front um you know you've done some outstanding remarkable things that help again like Eddie and like Lorraine Elevate the voices of the LGBT plus lgbtq plus community and that is as diverse as we are as a city so I proudly vote I congratulations council person Bano congratulations and I vote I council person SLE Joseph you're a trailblazer Trend Setter goalgetter making the world better by better better and better increasing our pride post by post word by word and letter by letter I proudly vote I I did something unorthodox that's it you know whatever tell something out of the box sounds like you might get a record deal uh council person Solomon Joe everything um that I've had the uh pleasure of working with you on or being con when has just been done to the highest standard uh always focused on the community always focused on um just delivering incredible things for Jersey City so um it's a well-deserved honor we are so lucky that uh to have you here and uh we can't wait to see what more you're going to do in Jersey City so I very very proudly vote I council person Gilmore oh thank you for everything I probably vote I council person Dees I vote I thank you for everything you do and please keep up the good work council person rera keep up keep up the Fantastic work I definitely vote I and council president wman thank you for what you do and thank you for being who you are I proudly vote I City resolution 24- 659 is approved unanimously 90 congratulations Joseph well deserved and you know the drill we're going to put you on the spot and only in Jersey City we give two standing ovations to everybody remember that all right floor is yours Joseph all right uh I want to take a moment uh to celebrate the positive steps Jersey city has taken for the lgbtq plus Community while attacks on lgbtq plus rights have escalated across the country we are fortunate to live in a city that values inclusion and equality in 2023 the economic impact of the Jersey City lgbtq Plus pride festival was almost $1.5 million showcasing the strength and contributions of our community in 2024 we expect the impact to be even greater putting money directly in the pockets of many Jersey City residents Jersey City remains a safe space space where lgbtq plus individuals can live openly and proudly thanks to the unwavering support of our political allies who work to protect our rights this commitment ensures that our progress isn't just preserved but continues to grow setting an example for others across New Jersey and the entire country thank you Joseph you wouldn't mind just staying there because I the council is going to come down present you with a resolution and take a few photos fting tasting all right while the council members are making their way back up to the de we are now going to move on to our second reading ordinance is first second reading ordinance is item 4.1 city ordinance 24- 066 is an ordinance amending chapter 160 fees and charges section one fee schedule established subsection 10 chapter 254 Property Maintenance the fee scheduled for the lead base Hazard inspection of rental units pursuant to pamphlet lore 2021 c.1 A2 this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member wish to be heard of the public please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion second motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 066 was made by council person Rivera seconded by council president Waterman on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 066 council person Ridley hi council person priner Hi council person bajano I council person Cay I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees I council person rera Hi and council president wman motion carries 90 to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 066 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 066 council person Ridley I council person Prince AR hi council person budano Hi council person SLE hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi council person Rivera hi and council president wman city ordinance 24- 066 is adopted unanimously 90 on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.2 city ordinance 24- 068 is an ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 263 Article 4 retail and Commercial premises to hbit the distribution of plastic straws and non-reusable food and beverage accessories by Food Service establishments this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record I can just have your name if you spell it for me and I'm just going to put you on camera while you do that sure um my name is Erica e r i k a last name is BAC b as in boy o s as in Sam a c k a a C is in carrot K is in koala thank you you may proceed thank you good evening council members um thank you for the opportunity to speak today as I mentioned my name is Erica BAC and I'm the policy attorney for clean ocean action which is an environmental nonprofit whose mission is to improve and protect the Marine water quality for for the Waters of the New York bite which is that inward cature of the New Jersey and New York Coastline I'll be speaking mostly in my professional capacity tonight but I also wanted to add that as a Jersey City resident I really really appreciate the council taking this matter on and working with stakeholders on the language of the ordinance before it was introduced um so first these single use ordinances are a huge win-win for businesses and the environment many consumers don't want these items that businesses are spending money to provide and I'd be surprised if any of us in the room tonight don't have an Ever growing pile of plastic utensils Chopsticks and sauce packets Gathering dust at home or work some may not bother to waste the space and just throw these unwanted items away instead and in either case a manufacturer produced and packaged those products and Shi them to the Food Service establishment and those resources were wasted it's also easy for those items not to be disos of properly we see thousands of them ending up on New Jersey Beach bees as litter to be exact in my organization's 2023 Beach sweep litter cleanup events which is just 2 days for 3 hours each day we collected 2,226 plastic forks knives and spoons and 1,338 plastic and foam takeout containers I do appreciate that you included those extra food containers as well in the ordinance so it's clear that we need an ordinance to reduce the amount of these items going into the waist stream by reducing the amount that consumers are receiving often unnecessarily but I would be remiss if I didn't bring out that the ordinance would have been more effective without the exception for non-plastic Alternatives reducing the amount of unnecessary waste is always preferable to substituting it even with a more eco-friendly material than plastic I won't get into the weeds but depending on the material there will likely be concerns about production methods land use recyclability and compostability and it's unclear from the language has written whether those plant-based plastic like materials would count as non-plastic you may already know that compostable plastic is expressly not allowed in the municipal composting collection bins in Jersey City like the one right outside this building um and that's because there are no industrial composting facilities in the state that can currently process that kind of uh material and that like plasticky material doesn't break down like organic material does so it's then treated as contaminants by both composters and recyclers most importantly though in to simplify a lot of these non-plastic materials would still end up unused or thrown away nonplastic waste is still waste the exception also doesn't mesh with including Chopsticks and list of utensils that can only be provided upon request because those are often already made of wood or bamboo and Chopstick should definitely be included in the list of cover each time thank you Erica time is up oh thank you this is still a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please up to the podium and state your name for the record you can just spell your name for me and for our court report I greatly appreciate it Marta young first name Marta m a r t young y u n g thank you so much Mar thank you very much I here representing clean water action um and I just want to thank you all for all of your work for or 24068 commonly called skip the stuff this is as Erica just said this is such an incredible triple win for everybody restaurants save a lot of money by not unnecessarily providing Cutlery and condiments that customers more often than not take home and proceed to throw away over 40 billion single use uh utensils are discarded unu are discarded in the United un States yearly and more than half of those are never ever used so it's an absolute unnecessary burden on the restaurants and then customers are thrilled not to have to have that junk tour that so often gets filled or the back of the refrigerator at least in my case I take the cutlery and the you know I take the condiments and I put in the back of my refrigerator until it you know until it expires and I have to throw it away but the environment is also greatly impacted you know um plastic does not biodegrade it breaks down into micro and nanoplastics that end up in our water that we drink the air we breathe and the food we eat it is they leech toxins unnecessary chemicals that create Cancers and uh all sorts of fertility and mental health issues that's unnecessary and I just want to thank you all very very much for all your work I know you have put forth a lot of work getting the language right in this bill we're working on state legislation now and you will be we now have in the state of New Jersey over a dozen Municipal towns with uh with this ordinance and you all Jersey City is such a leader and it is wonderful to see you guys continuing to be the leader that you are thank you so much thank you this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 068 any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion motion made by council person Cay to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24 day 068 seconded I Believe by council president Waterman is that correct okay on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 068 council person redley I council person Prince hi council person Bano council person SLE hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi council person Rivera hi and council president wman motion carries 90 to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 068 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 068 council person Ridley um for this ordinance I do have some concerns about how exactly we would enforce it uh but I know that there are currently options on the food delivery services um that ask you whether you want to uh include additional items or not include additional items and I also know that for some of our smaller businesses not having to include that in every order does save them some money uh so with that I'm going to vote I you council person priner Hi council person Bano council person SLE great idea I vote I you council person Solomon than you council president for bringing this before the council and uh thank you to the folks who came and spoke and you know anything we can do to reduce the the waste that we're producing um you know whether it's you're walking at cave and point or you know go to another part of Jersey City you see that waste and you go down the shore you see it um and we have to do our part to preserve our world so I proudly vote I council person Gilmore I council person Dees thank you madam president for presenting this I vote I council person reer I and council president wman I vote I city ordinance 24- 068 is adopted unanimously 990 on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.3 city ordinance 24-0 69 is an ordinance amending chapter 332 vehicles and traffic Article 1 General provision and article three parking standing and stopping this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion second motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 069 was made by council president wman and seconded by council person CLE on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 069 council person Ridley I council person priner Hi council person bajano council person SLE I council person Solomon council person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi council person Rivera hi and council president wman motion to close the public hearing carries 90 on city ordinance 24- 069 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 069 council person hi council person priner Hi council person Bano council person SLE but I thank uh all those that worked alongside me on this uh councilman Solomon Joyce uh Madam president excuse me um uh councilman boano and um just getting this ordinance passed does uh essentially no street sweeping for holidays uh we added juneth uh Jewish holidays Muslim Hindu Etc so um this will help relieve the pressure on different communities in Jersey City that I vot I council person Solomon thank you to my colleague for moving it forward and I vote I council person Gilmore I council person Dees hi council person rera Hi and council president wman city ordinance 24- 069 is adopted unanimously 90 on to our next second reading ordinance item four 4.4 city ordinance 24- 070 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic Article 2 traffic regulations Section 3328 prohibited right turns on red signal to prohibit turns on red at all times at the intersection of Montgomery Street and Grove Street this is a public hearing on this ordit any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion second motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 070 was made by council person Rivera seconded by council person CLE on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 070 council person Ridley I council person Prince AR I council person Bano council person SLE I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person rera Hi and council president wman motion carries 90 to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24-70 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24-70 council person Ridley I council person priner I council person bajano council person Cay I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees council person rera Hi and council president wman city ordinance 24- 070 is ad adopted unanimously 90 on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.5 city ordinance 24- 071 it's a franchise ordinance granting permission to number spot Inc to allow the number Spot ink to install a handicap Entrance Ramp beyond the boundary line of lot 9 block 18503 and for the benefit of lot nine block 18503 commonly known as 539 Martin Luther King Jor drive this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record second motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 071 was made by council person Rivera seconded by council person Cay on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 071 council person Ridley I council person AR hi council person bajano council person s hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rivera I and council president wman motion carries 90 to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 071 a final consideration and Adoption of ordinance 24071 council person Ridley I council person priner I council person bajano council person SLE hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi council person Riva I and council president wman city ordinance 24- 071 is adopted unanimously 90 on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.6 city ordinance 24-72 is an ordinance authorizing the city of Jersey City to execute an extension of a lease with the New Jersey schools Development Authority on real property at block 21102 lot 52 on the city's tax map located at 70 igy Avenue for the purpose of temporary parking for the Via JC service this is a public hearing on this ordinance and I see philli Carrington go ahead Philip members of City so on the issue of ordinance 24-72 for any ordinance I have two questions and I know how the government work the question to you is are these laws made for black people as well as white people yes or no in other words do you have a separate set of laws for black people and for for white people question again is this law or any law you made I made for black people as well as white people did I get a yes or no no answer the question is if these laws are not properly enforced or they're questioning or they affect black people in a way quite different from white people what governing body what division office or section do you go to to have a respon quite interesting isn't it the reason why I'm asking this is because I have and had several situations but recently or as I walked in we were talking about the same cultural business and I had a cultural event and pH Phill we got to stay within the I'm making a comparison I know but you got to roll this in you got to stay within the topic walking you're talking about parking via I I was doing comparatively speaking I'm not just talking you're you're the one with the time so we get in I'm not getting the answer so I have to do some kind of comparison in order for somebody to answer if you're not answering question of your laws you're making the laws and if the laws are being made by you and you're not answering the question you don't answer any question you don't even answer when I go to court so what do I do what do you do here I mean you come here you say you're not going to answer us you don't answer you're making your laws I'm making asking the question about your law so then I take the matter to court the law division don't even answer they don't even answer in Discovery answer why people so you must making laws for white there has to be two laws one white one black separate and unequal this is the laws for black people are in osmosis you would even answer a simple question these laws for black as well as white yes or no this is the ordinance on Via and the Via parking lot so you have to address the actual ordinance itself if you want there's the public sector where we could talk about anything and it's going to come up soon your time is up now Phil you're on the speak I love to listen to you I just you know you got to talk about the ordinance like you are on the speak lville but I know For Whom the Bell has sto thank you this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 072 and I see Erica Walker yes good evening Council uh yes I am chief of staff to councilman Gilmore's office but I am speaking on behalf of myself and um my own neighborhood as an individ indidual and a resident of Jersey City um this parking lot is located in a residential area via UST to park in a commercial or industrial area where I think it's a better fit for them this is the second time I believe that we have extended this parking for free the vaa is not paying us to use this space um and I believe this is state-owned property that's deemed for educational purposes now it's not our fault that you know the state hasn't done anything with this property yet um but I just ask that if we are going to give away space for free to a commercial property that have of more of a benefit to the city that it's around also um I I do want to thank Mike manzela for um welcoming our Council Office to have a meeting with via to talk about marketing efforts but I think via has been failing at um marketing their servic especially that they get I believe like $2 million a year from the city um to subsidize the services I can I I love the fact that V is only about $2 250 350 sometimes depending on when you're using it where you're coming from it's a great alternative to Uber and lft and it does a great job at um you know uh helping us because we're losing bus lines so I I understand the initiative but I don't think enough people know what these purple cars are four and I think via needs to do a better job at advertising this awesome subsidized Transportation option um especially to senior citizens especially to disabled persons because they do give special services to seniors and disabled persons where they'll provide door-to-door service versus everybody else where we might have to walk a couple blocks to catch a via car again the service is awesome they just need to do a better job at marketing it our office has been trying to get them challeng them to do more marketing say having signs at every bus stop about what via is for and how to use it um and then again emphasizing that this lot is in a residential neighborhood so now the Via drivers drive their own personal cars to this lot and then pick up the purple car so you have more traffic coming to this area they can plant more trees in our neighborhood they can donate you know to some environmental make some type of Environmental um donation to the area because they're adding fumes to the residential neighborhood I just want to emphasize that this is a residential neighborhood not an industrial neighborhood I think they should take their parking elsewhere maybe along Garfield or somewhere else that's it thank you thank you this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24 day 072 and I see Tina hey guys yeah Erica you already said it I like that y already know that should not been in our community like we have other stuff that's going on in our community and y'all threw them casts I I guess they did exactly what you said Mr Phil black and white exactly what you said they damn show put them in our community and left all the smoke in our community and W you live right there in the corner with the kids I'm so surprised you even let them park right there but hey I see who you got back up with you that's why 2025 guys we going to have a new team and a new different attitude with my community F I should not be out in the community for free and the purple and white people flying past and Miss ver can't even put it on her phone because you don't have internet to connect to even get that so we put stuff in our community that y'all don't even ask about what do we need in our community I'm running around doing Outreach doing homeless cuz we got people sleeping by McDonald's and they shopping cart and y'all got I'm disgusted okay this is still a public hearing and I see leverne approaching come on Counsel come on come on this is a disgrace if I ever seen one in my city right in my hood you know like te that said I'm a flip phone I use a flip I'm not on the computer but I do a lot of things without all that being done that space up there deserves better than what's going on up there all the people that's homeless we got a couple that lives acoss the street in front of the city property by McDonald's and over there by HR Block it's a disgrace you see them people there almost 24/7 and this like somebody said if they were somebody else they wouldn't be there they wouldn't be there laying around like that Sunday through Monday it's a disgrace that we allow stuff like this in the city there's churches around the corner people get off that PATH train right there and they got to look at that it's a disra that property to be housing not a parking lot if you ain't going to put another school there it is a this gra we got all this helmet we put on chars there we got to do better this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24072 any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24072 was made by council person SLE seconded by Council president Waterman on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24072 council person Ridley I council person priner I council person Bano council person Cay I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rivera I hi thank you Council and council president wman motion carries 90 the close of public hearing on city ordinance 24- 072 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24-72 council person Ridley um I think this is the first time we I'll speak for myself this is the first time of uh me hearing that the residents didn't want the lot there I know that councilman Gilmore has been advocating to make sure that that lot stays clean and working with the administration to make sure that there's uh trash in that area I know where the cars were previously parked is now uh a school being built so they can't go back there and ba correct me if I'm wrong this is State Property I know the state has been saying they're going to put a school there probably since I was in school I'm not that old though but since I was in school and that has not happened um so I understand people's concerns but I'm not really sure how much leeway we have to decide what goes there um and ba correct me if I'm wrong but I just want to get some clarity before we vote yeah thank you um um we did discuss at the prior uh conversation with via to work with councilman Gilmore and his staff on maybe identifying a new area or carbon offset um to that lot just back by background as the councilwoman said we did use to uh Park on Commercial Street which is now being developed as a school um and then we had an option of taking a property that the state owns that they'll eventually develop but they have no uh plans for within the next 8 months that we know of um at no cost which would mean that there's no additional cost to ridership or we could lease it from somebody private in a commercial area and then return uh additional costs um so that's something that will'll work with Council M Gilmore and his staff um if we'd like to switch locations see how that would affect and impact ridership and costs or how we can negotiate that through the RFP so that that's kind of the process for now but um at this point it's at no cost to the city and if we did uh charge via the money would go back to the state because we don't own it okay and how long is this extension excuse me this is a renewal until February of 2025 um and that allows us to go through the process in November and December of um doing a new RFP in which via or an alternative microtransit uh company will be established uh within jury City okay um with that I'm going to vote uh yes for it and ask that the administration work with councilman Gilmore to maybe possibly find another location but I just want to make it clear that once the van move it doesn't mean that something's going to go in that spot it's going to go back to the empty lot that it's been for years so I will lie thank you council person priner Hi council person bajano oh I'm so I'm sorry it's hard to hear council person Bano no council person s uh quick question if it's an EMP are there any plans for that lot other than it to be a lot or so designated to State Property that's owned uh for for school development and it's really on the state to decide how they how they proceed with that um regardless of if we continue to utilize that lot or not we are committed to work with councilman Gilmore on either um finding a fee that would be Associated to offset that lot or additional uh lot that would be at cost just say be careful because if you if it's an empty lot people start dumping so it just you know I I vote I but uh just with that caveat just a gentle reminder the council members if please make sure our mics are on when we're voting I'm having a no I it's not you just I'm not picking on anybody in particular I just need to be able to hear the vote council person Solomon sure given it's a six-month extension and there's a commitment to work with the councilman on addressing any issues Andor alternative locations I vote I council person Gilmore yeah um I vote I uh I just hope in the near future that whoever's the transportation provider have where they're going to park their vehicles um eyed out and I do I mean I understand the concern about you know it being an empty lot cars being there you have more admission there's no trees understand all the arguments but you know a porun of is that is I mean we can't do nothing about it we don't own the property um if you noticed before was there the lot was just sitting there anyway you know and and also with regards to to the homeless people that's um across the street and in the city's defense they have offered services to the mother and the daughter um they in fact they've told me that they self um but part of the problem with when you're dealing with homelessness and you send them to the shelters this rules they don't want to abide by these rules because they don't want to be in at this time they don't want to be out at that time so it's a whole you know different Dynamic um but it was very Troublesome to hear that they were actually busting from another or Uber in from another municipality that sent them up here for us to deal with um but all in all I just think we have our work cut out you know we have to roll our sleeves up and get to work thank you council person Dees council person Rivera hi and council president wman city ordinance 24- 072 is adopted 81 with council person buano voting no on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.7 city ordinance 24- 073 is an ordinance of the municipal Council adopting the fiet Broadway Redevelopment plan this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion second motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24073 was made by council person Rivera seconded by council president wman on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 073 council person Ridley I council person priner Hi council person bajano I council person Cay I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person de council person Reber hi and council president wman motion carries 90 to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 073 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 073 council person Ridley I council person priner Hi council person bajano hi council person SLE I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person zes council person rera Hi and council president wman city ordinance 24- 073 is adopted unanimously 90 on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.9 excuse me item 4.8 city ordinance 24 day 74 is an ordinance regarding the proper storage of road salt and other solid deicing materials on private privately owned properties this is a public hearing on this ordinance and I see Philip Carrington good evening once again just simple quick question is this ordinance going to um allow you all to build or correct the way the salt is stored in other words it is stored outside and it get rain the rain create water to uh R water water runs all over the Earth is this ordinance is permitting you all to build or enclose or make an enclosed storage for the salt I just need Clarity DPW explain to him how they install their salt that's what he wants to know um we we uh this is to follow the D regulations uh that requires because we have do have a combined sewer system as you mentioned um there are requirements for tarping and coverage and we're making sure that we fulfill the D requirements so that the combined sewer systems not adversely affected question answered okay this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24074 any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the rec motion motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 074 was made by council person SLE may I have a second second by council president wman on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 074 council person Ridley hi council person priner Hi council person Bano I council person SLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees hi council person Reber hi and council president wman motion carries 90 to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 074 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 074 council person Ridley I council person priner I council person buan Hi council person Cay hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi Council person Dees hi council person Rivera hi and council president wman city ordinance 24- 074 is adopted unanimously 90 on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.9 city ordinance 24- 075 is an ordinance authorizing a lease agreement between the city of Jersey City and Verizon New Jersey Inc for property located at 71 Madison Avenue Jersey City New Jersey this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record Mo motion motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24075 was made by council person Cay may I have a second second by council president Waterman on the motion to close the public hearing on ordinance 24- 075 council person Ridley I council person priner council person bajano I council person Cay I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees I council person Rea hi and council president wman motion to motion carries 90 to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 075 I believe that there is a slight amendment that we're going to make to ordinance 24- 075 it's in the first whereas um I'm going to have Corporation Council just read that into the record for us and to make sure that it's not a substantial change which would require re-advertisement sure uh the it is just replacing the first whereas Clause it will now say whereas the city of Jersey City has a need for parking spaces for city employees assigned to work at nearby City buildings this is just to make sure we include the local fire department as well and we're removing where it says the police West District correct okay and it's not a substantial change thank you so much Corporation Council with that being said oh I I was confused so I was under the impression I thought that we I thought the property was ours and we was letting Verizon use the towers there but we're using the parking and the parking is for All City employee well really only the five Fighters what others there will be no other city employees in the area that would uh just the West District councilman so um West District was a point of reference for location but we do have the fire squads there as well um this was negotiated years ago with the unions uh to provide parking in each district and this was the closest neighboring District if you recall prior the West District was right across the street so they agreed to continue within the same radius in the same parking lot and we get it at only a 3% increase okay and um one quick one more quick question um we've been having somewhat of an issue they put these they put the scaffolding up and the scaling is a invite for I guess for homeless people and they've been like laying over there defeca like what is I mean you probably don't know off hand but what is the policy as it relates to how early or how long can scaffold be up I mean there's no set there's no Li not it's actually um helping Abate a dangerous condition I know New York City has had yeah because they I mean it's been up a year and some change so I guess we would just have to reach out to them to see how long it's gonna take them to do whatever it is what we'll do is well have Ray Meyer from construction code follow up if they have any live permits or anything or if they're actually facilitating any work on location okay all right council members so I need a motion to amend ordinance 24- 075 motion motion made by council person Riva may I have a second second I'm gonna give that second it was quicker by council person Ridley got it on the motion to amend city ordinance 24075 council person Ridley I council person priner council person Bano hi council person SLE hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person Rivera I and council president wman motion to amend city ordinance 24- 075 is approved 90 for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 075 as amended council person Ridley uh thank you to the administration for including that Amendment and I vote I council person priner I Council person bajano I council person SLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees hi council person rera Hi and council president wman city ordinance 24- 075 as amended is adopted unanimously 90 and on to our next and last second reading ordinance item 4.10 city ordinance 24- 07 six and it's an ordinance dis establishing the Jersey City municipal construction board of appeals I believe I believe we have a motion that's going to carry city ordinance 24- 076 to the September 25th Municipal council meeting do I have that motion motion and just to provide some context um the construction board of appeals did meet this morning they had a reorg meeting and there was a change in leadership so before there are a few more things that we should look into before we bring this back to vote um whether or not to dissolve here and move to the county so we're just asking for two weeks and we will bring it back at the September 25th meeting who do we get a list of who's on the U yes I will'll provide that to the meeting Council prese can you bring the mic a little closer I just want a list of those who are on the board yep all right I'll I'll email you the uh list of board members council president and if you want I can email the entire Council thank you Sean yes I'll second the motion thank you thank you Danny so we have a motion to carry city ordinance 24- 076 to the September 25th Municipal council meeting made by council person priner and count seconded by council person Rivera on the motion to carry city ordinance 24076 to the September 25th council meeting council person re um britley hi council person priner hi council person bajano Hi council person Cay hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person thees council person Rivera hi and council president Waterman motion to carry city ordinance 24 days 076 to the September 25th council meeting is approved unanimously 90 and the last public hearing we're are going to have is a public hearing on the special improvement district of 2024 d225 McGinley Square special improvement district assessment role and budget this is a public hearing on their assessment role and budget any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record motion are you speaking on the special improvement district yeah okay just give me one second Bill get the camera on your and set your time I I think I'm I'm registered to speak but this is what I wanted to speak about so I don't know if I'm is this the right no this is this is fine as long as you stay on the subject of the budget great and assessment role great everyone good evening my name is Billy Santoro I am a uh lifelong member of the McGinley square area in Lincoln Park and uh I just I wanted to take a moment to talk about the budget since the budget was getting increased substantially and um one of the things that uh caught my eye pertaining to this is the function of the of the Sid is to fulfill the greatest needs of B of businesses in the area and I think in order to accomplish that raising funds for activities you know to supplement the municipal Services uh is very is a very important item that the Sid should participate in and this increase is I believe we're going almost 40 between 30 and a 40% increase which is a burden to the business owners and a few business owners started to make a petition already um which was that the tax hike is extraordinary with the uh with the existing Municipal tax hike that's going on so digging in a little bit further I think there's a determination on the Central Avenue Sid that says that the raise can't be more than 10% of what the value is from the year prior before a consideration is made to approve this budget I would ask that the board please please or the council please acknowledge that this is a pretty tough Welcome Matt to new business in the Sid to to encumber such a large increase yeah Billy do me a favor I got a complaint tonight just before the meeting about this would you please do me a favor and speak to Pam and she'll tell you about it okay okay thank you thank you Billy John quick question oh sorry yeah hold on once I'm so sorry okay if you can just state your name for the record and I will start your time my name is Ashley a h l e y Caleb c a l e b good evening thanks Ashley my name is Ashley Caleb and I am the executive director of the Square special improvement district since my appointment in November 2023 I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the unique energy and potential of McGinley Square today I stand before you to speak in support of the proposed budget increase from our for our Sid from $1 15,723 194 for the 2024 2025 fiscal year this budget is crucial not only for maintaining but also for enhancing the quality of life in our business community over the past several years the assessment income for rsid has remained stagnant at $ 15,723 to, for staff salaries and operations have left us with just over $53,000 to manage all other needs this amount has proven insufficient to maintain our sidewalks provide marketing support for our businesses and enhance our public spaces currently 79.5% of our properties pay under $1,000 a year in assessments far less than what is required for the kind of Maintenance and beautification efforts needed to support the thriving growth in our district the proposed budget includes a 90 ,000 allocation for a comprehensive Quality of Life program that will allow us to extend our sidewalk sweeping services from the current 5 days a week 6 hours a day to 7 days a week eight hours a day this increase will not only keep our streets clean but also support more seasonal maintenance and beautification projects ensuring that McGinley Square remains a desirable place to shop dine and explore the influx of foot traffic the emergence of new commercial spaces and the addition of nearly 1,000 new residential units over the next 5 years necessitate an increase an increase in our resources to maintain the vitality and appeal of our district this is more than just a budget it is an investment in the future of McGinley Square the growth we are experiencing is not only an opportunity but also a responsibility without this increase our district will struggle to meet the demands of our expanded community and sustain the economic Vitality that benefits all of Jersey City a strong economy in McGinley Square creates a strong economy for Jersey City thank you for your consideration Ashley uh one second Ashley mea and I are both basically on the board we're assigned to the uh Sid maybe we should carry this and sit down speak about it and maybe find out what more the city can do to help you uh by taking care of some of the problems that the city can't help don't put that out that's actually not that's actually not under the just just for clarity that's actually not under the purview of the city corre as it relates to special Improvement districts so so while there might be an interest in doing that unfortunately that is not within our power is not I'm saying the city can help clean up the streets the city could do a lot more with the uh quick quick question um so you have you have you guys met with the business owners within a jur sck so they they're aware of all this correct yes peran Le Square Sid bylaws we have to do an advanced notice for meeting uh I believe it's two weeks in advance we held that meeting May 30th at 6:00 p.m. um at Old Bergen Church directly in the district okay and I don't know if John or legal can help with this question um as it relates to the threshold of the increase can it it exceed 10% of the previous year budget is that accurate or what there's nothing in the McGinley Square Sid that has the same app okay what we can see so all right and if I may I'd like to add that currently um I believe Public Works does provide one sidewalk sweeper that is there I believe every other day and is only in District 4 hours versus a private company where we're able to have them 8 hours and Beyond thank you Ashley that's thank thank you this is still a public hearing and I see a next person up for speaking if you can just state your name and spell it for us for the record please hi my name is Risha Baker it's reih sh re e i s h a my last name is Baker B A k r thank you so much um so I'm the president of the McGinley Square Sid I'm also a business owner in the district uh coming into Administration in May of last year uh there were quite a few things that was a Miss in our district uh we found that our core Capital Improvements simply was non-existent and further investig ation into our budget and our finances we found that after paying um our admin uh our management company we really didn't have enough money to do anything to clean the streets to add flowers to our district or even to do anything regarding the public safety so we've been through quite a process in about a year of laying New Foundation for the Sid oper opally and processes and systems so that we are running in such a way as a a real business ought to um in addition to that we felt our board also felt like there is a grave need for us to increase our budget to benefit not just the business owners but our community as a whole uh when we first started there was nothing in place for us to clean the streets especially along Bergen Avenue and monery Bergen Avenue is the area where a lot of trash is seen most of the time we went from nothing to being able to contract uh CDs who is there five days a week about six hours a day and with the new budget increase we're looking forward to being able to increase that to seven days a week eight hours a day which is a far which is completely um different from when we first started uh so we believe that this is going to allow us to improve on our core values which is the Capital Improvements which is the beautification we have self-watering Planters throughout the district um we have annuals in the district we're going to be able to switch that out for the fall to keep our uh business uh our districts looking beautiful um we're looking forward to also amp ramping up on our Public Safety there has been some issues with that some of our business owners had complained uh we're looking forward that the new budget is going to allow us to also do um more for our community in that way but thank you for your consideration thank you thank you still a public hearing and our next speaker good evening to everyone good evening having me my name is marisco marcco you're gonna have to raise that mic you're a big man we need a bigger Podium for [Laughter] my name is marisco m r c i s last name Morrison m o r r i s o n thank you I've been in Jersey City uh for quite some time I attended New Jersey University graduated played basketball there so I've been in over 24 years I know what jersey look like and what it has uh come years I'm a resident of MC square I own a business there I have two business here in Jersey City I I've seen what M square has been like and this budget will help tremendously in helping the the community uh Excel I am the VP on the board along with uh Miss Baker I'm here in support off this this budget increase because it will help tremendously as I mentioned with the sweeping um anyone who runs a business know that business cannot operate successfully with paying out 61% of your your budget to management team and so forth on uh the rest could never operate a business you're going to go bankrupt at some point we have done um it's my second year on on the on the on the the board and we have done some things to um to to minimize the spending and get more out there and also we're getting some grants that helping the the neighborhood this budget will help tremendously with the unification along with uh uh security which has helped I'm secured myself in the neighborhood because I've done many things I've sweeping and so this would help tremendously if the board could help I look forward to it thank you thank you thank you this is still a public hearing on the 2024 d225 McGinley Square special improvement district assessment role and budget any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record second second motion to close the public hearing on the 2024 2025 McGinley Square special improvement district assessment role and budget was made by council president wman and the second was made by SLE council person SLE all right on the motion to close the public hearing on the special Improvement District budget and assessment role council person Ridley hi council person priner council person bajano council person select I council person Solomon council person Gilmore I council person Dees I council person rera and council president wman motion carries 90 to close the public hearing on the 2024 d225 McGinley Square special improvement district assessment role and budget council members before we move on to our public speaking portion of the meeting two of our council members are going to have to exit a little early they're not exiting right away but they will have to exit early and I would like to take their vote on the claims and addendums number one two and three and the resolutions so if you would allow me to take council person Solomon and council person R's votes on the claims and addendums I think I'm G leave too Sean this I'm to get mine out the way too man I'm at the same party they're at are we going to lose a Quorum now I'm just kidding I'm here okay all right on claims and addendums number one two and three council person Solomon um I council person Rivera I okay and I'll be taking your vote on items 10.1 through 10.15 with the exception of four 9 10 and 11 which were approved earlier council person Solomon hi council person Rivera hi okay on items 10.16 through 10.26 council person Solomon through 26 yes um I council person Riva I on items 10.27 through 10.36 council person Solomon in 1033 with u Millennium strategies I I think a fair resolution moving forward instead of just renewing a contract given what happened with the cbrs Washington Grant would be for us to just reissue an RFP would give them a chance to demonstrate their track record but also acknowledge that we shouldn't just sort of take a you know there should be some accountability for for a big thing um a big mistake so I'm going to vote no on 1033 hope there's a chance to reissue an RFP and and allow a fair opportunity for them to make their case and a fair opportunity for others to demonstrate what they could do um I think that'd be a fair resolution moving forward and then I vote I on all the rest thank you council person Rivera I vote I and items 10.37 through 10.48 council person Solomon I vote I council person Riva I and for the balance of the resolutions 10.49 through 10.59 council person Solomon so in 1058 it's a little too much money I'd be open to doing this at a at a smaller cost so no on 1058 and then I on all the rest actually I'm sorry let me let me back track that so I believe that the administration is going to be withdrawing items 10.56 through 10.59 is that correct yeah Council we did receive an email from a director or yeah chairperson uh was Mary mcfaden um asking that we entertain everything in a more robust conversation at the next caucus so with that being said we are withdrawing items 10.56 through 10.59 I'll take your vote on items 10.49 through 10.55 all right I for those I apologize for that council person Solomon council person Riva I okay that concludes your I can just say I apologize to folks that I'll miss their public speaking later I have family commitment at 9:00 I have to be up which is my kids so I apologize I'll be there and my apologies I'm I'm actually getting admitted to the hospital now I'm G have a small procedure I'll be out tomorrow night oh peace thanks we wish you nothing but the best council person Rivera all right with that being said I want you all to be pay close attention to your agenda I'll be calling the number and the first name of the individual with that being said our first Speaker 5.1 Le be safe counsil I love you Rivera this summer like let uh councilman excuse me Gilmore councilman Gilmore councilman Gilman I need your attention I'm serious okay thank you no I'm serious because last summer and this summer you know I run a summer camp every year for about 30 years but last year and this year I ran it for the complete summer and I never in my life 76 years seen what I've been seeing the past two years that I had the caner to five weeks to 10 weeks our children in this city whether they in public School Char school they getting left behind they pushing our kids to Upper grades that can't read can't write can't spell and they doing this cursed writing and I change it and I'm teaching them regular ABC write them down and instead I even my Camp is not federal government Grant a I get my money through developers and through me being a developers money I earn uh like gini Plum they hire seven of my kids and they pay their salary for the time they be working with me and other people help me like that I get no Grand money and none of the above I try to get back to this community and try to help I think my pastor at Heavenly Temple let me use the church for free and bring these kids I had 75 kids on my list that I took care I had 20 Council people that I took here and to get back since even some of our Council people have problems Council people please check into our school system they are pushing kids through school and then they got to go to summer school how did you do this this was in a Char School grandmother said my granddaughter went from the fifth to the sixth grade and had to go to summer school but they let her graduate you don't do this when I went to school in 22 if I didn't pass you stayed back and you had to do that grade over again and then you went to after school and got help and stuff and you went the summer program these people are not doing that no more and we send a bunch of educated dummies out there that's why we have so much crime in our streets cuz these people are not getting no education in our school system and they get to school boards and and do this and do that I know time just give me one minute thank you Le this is really hurting I understand Le and seeing we have a long speaker family out there I'm going cuz I gotta go see about my grand kid but you have family out there and education G I'm very proud of you keep doing what you doing for our children thank you our next speaker 5.2 Ashley good evening council members I'll keep it brief again one of the number one complaints I received from my business owners in the community is that the district is too dirty again a $90,000 allocated to quality of life improvements is an immediate fix to the number one issue that our businesses have business can't run in a dirty neighborhood and we're looking to add on to what brings um business to our neighborhood um incre and allows the McGinley Square economy to drive and allows the Jersey City economy to drive thank you okay our next next speaker Tina Justice for Drew Justice for [Applause] Drew we just had something for Drew and we'll never forget we'll keep fighting since the mayor said it was uh it was his fault anyway so we'll definitely continue to be out there in the community I just want to ask you you you you you you you you where can I get the key from for the city cuz I'm the one who been doing the Outreach for the community okay let me know okay I'm having a fashion show for my organization to raise money because you already know I be looking for money I've been doing this for 28 years helping the community it's like a song song song song this actually going to be my last date here coming on Wednesday unless it's something important because I'm going to continue to be out in the community because being here is like a waste of my time leis the community understand me they they they look for me they need that they need my help I'm right there for them and they will make sure they talk back to me and make sure they give me some response or show me in the right way I wanted to find out too what happened to the Martin place on Martin Luther King what really happened anybody out here know because they don't know okay let me know when you get that um I started with education of Gore at his spot he always told me to use my voice ever since then education and getmore I've been using it jery Walker I started working for him for doing his skills and development as his Outreach we have been helping so many family I am so proud of the Outreach the the connection of them getting a apartment I didn't not believe by me being out there it really was going to help but me seeing the change in our community it's really coming and it's really have been changing I also wanted to say too we also been sending them to the hotel to the shelter to the gas house I've been visiting them to make sure they are doing the people right I just wanted to say to garmore thank you for still looking for me a spot for Community treasure I really appreciate you people don't understand that that's all we ask if you see someone who's really doing it don't give up on them continue to help them because this is a hard journey being out in the community not only I'm serving family with clothes I'm also helping the hospital with new mom with car seat I just bought one up there I don't get paid for that so to see other people also looking out for me I really appreciate it thank you Mr n for reaching out St and you'll get a ticket for me for the fashion show thank you guys our next speaker 5.4 Edward the summer was a little too long even though it is my favorite season and I only get to see you all once though I didn't get to see you every month once but I am back now so it'll be good to be back bi-weekly to use my voice and I like to do that um it's 911 and I just want to take a couple of seconds I was a junior in high school at Dickinson High School that early morning when it all happened it was biggest tragedy in all our lives and I just want to shout out John Stewart as a public personality fighting lobbying our federal government to take care of people who were First Responders and people who were devastated people who need support Health Care need to be taken care of and it's just a shame how hard he's had to Lobby how hard he's had to fight but thank you so much Mr Stewart for caring about our own and loving us and it's been a year and about a month now as I fast forward 2024 to Wi Drew Justice for Drew Drew was murdered by our Jersey City police department while he was having a mental health crisis he was shot and tased simultaneously well since then we've been lobbying we've been trying to gain support for a proper response to Mental Health crisis incidents in our city so what's happening I did see the mayor was here for the Caucus meeting so many instructive questions were asked as far as the Arts Center goes but I do feel like there's more things that we need that are more important than an art center right now at this time right now at this time some of you may be so disconnected because of race because of income because of gender because of what I don't know but there are real challenges going on and many of them are going unseen and then they're unheard it's on us to continue to come down here right and it doesn't have to be in a consolatory tone either because that's undeserving my life is in your hands and the most dangerous policies right let's talk about the Via parking lot so okay what would be instructive for each of you to do is have some Community meetings what do you think we should do about this parking lot how should we Lobby the state to finally use that school for educational purposes right and then Turnpike expansion so more pollution coming our way we could do much better and in the name of Drew Washington we will do better we owe it to him we owe it to all of our stuff we owe it to everyone I'll have to be back thank you Edward by our next speaker 5.5 Michael Michael armman EHR MN I'm representing uh Journal Square Community Association council president and uh members nice to see you again I hope you've had a good summer thank you very much for your vote in August beginning in mandatory affordable housing in Journal Square uh you all said from the podium that you recognize that you'd only started the task I want to talk for two minutes about next steps uh you have now enacted uh our ordinance for two districts representing 30% of the total potential area they're five districts that are not at this point in the ordinance I want to make this suggestion uh districts 57 and 8 and four and 4 a in clusters are quite different from one another and we are suggesting to the counil that the next step it takes is to take a look at districts 5 seven and8 they represent only 15% of the entire area but they represent Bergen square and India square two key parts of the neighborhood we'd like to find we do not have at this point one or more sponsors for an ordinance going forward for those three districts leaving the remaining discussions which are more complicated to take some time we believe that there's no reason to delay one of the arguments that's been used about uh five seven and eight is that somehow it's improper to not include 4 and 4A together with them the reality is if you look at the data that uh 57 and8 are much more alike one and three which are already passed than they are the than four and 4 a the second thing that has been stated is that uh there's this problem of of one to four families uh housing being threatened by the bonuses in this law five seven and eight and we've given you this uh material only have 12% single family lots of 2500 and and less size that's not a large number of Mom and Pops they have a great many larger areas uh that that are ripe for development that need to be dealt with and finally some of you will say well we have to wait for the planning department study that's going on now the planning Department study is includes affordable but is mainly focused on other things uh inia square and Bergen Square are going to remain part of Journal Square no matter what changes they're made you have a planning department uh reg resolution to include affordable housing there's no reason to delay we'll be in touch with you in trying to find us you Michael time is up okay next speaker 5.6 sha shanam 5.6 not here 5.7 Christopher Christopher went to the restroom that's Christopher right okay good evening my name is Christopher Campbell and I'm a Jersey City residents of 43 years and I'm not even sure if this even the platform to I'll wait till they finish I I just want to be heard anyway um I have some grievances that I would like to discuss with you guys and maybe you can point me to the right direction of who I should be talking to but I'm here today to talk about um police activity that's going on in the neighborhood that is directly affecting me and the people in my community okay so um I am a school teacher of children with special needs for 20 years and I've been arrested numerous times numerous times never convicted of a crime ever because obviously I wouldn't be able to work where I work but these false arrests have definitely had a big impact on my life and I think the reason for me sustaining so long other than the grace of God is just my ability to do research but why I'm here today is because it's a lot of people that might not speak as well as me and are fearful of the police fearful okay so um last year um police showed up to my house after getting a call put me in handcuffs didn't ask me any type of questions then they began their investigation when they did their investigation and they realized that this man should not be in the back of this car um officer um Michael petrona um petranella um badge number 3122 um decided to walk around for 23 minutes to make up a crime on body cam footage so what I did was relaxed because I know that I can obtain this body cam footage it took them 5 months to get this body cam footage to me giving me reasons why it wasn't available to me and I got it after five months and it was just upstairs okay so after that five months they they drugg me out longer because that's what they're doing at the court systems they're basically dragging people out who doesn't have endurance and they're poor so what they do is they cop out they cop out but not not Christopher Campbell what happened with that is I fought until they got exhausted and decided they wanted to dismiss all of the charges against me you know as if it would be some type of favor to me but um I took it a little further went down and mind you none of these police officers showed up for court so that's what they do they just let you keep coming hopefully if you don't come if I don't show up to court I have a warrant for my arrest they don't show up to court we'll give them another chance and another chance and another chance so I went down to aernal Affairs and I filed a complaint on these officers that put these charges on me but did not but did not show up to answer to them so obviously you know they're coming next um court date Mr Campbell your time is up unfortunately thank you for your opportunity I just want to say that one last word one last word and I'm going to say this I've been documenting this entire ordeal and I wanted to see if I could come here to get somebody to listen or just give me anything but okay I don't really need that I documented this entire situation and you guys will remember my name mher Campbell know that I came here with this to you guys thank you what w are you what w do you live in next speaker 5.8 Chris Capers yes good evening my name is oh one second Chris it's my first time using this give me a second here come Sean okay all right here we go all right good evening my name is Chris Capers I live in Ward F I'm a member of the labor Local 3 I'm here to speak about the ordinance 24- 076 that you guys carried over um thanks to Local 3 I have been able to support my family with good wages and health benefits as a union laborer unfortunately not all construction work workers in Jersey City could say the same while serving as a chair of the construction board of appeals Sunny Kumar allowed workers to be underpaid overworked and exposed to dangerous conditions on his job sites he must resign ordinance 24- 076 is a way to hold him accountable but doesn't help these workers this isn't just about one bad contractor or one bad project development in Jersey City relies on worker exploitation we the labor un Union are fighting back in the last six months we helped non-un construction workers in Jersey City recover nearly half a million dollars and stolen wages imagine how much more money is owed to workers across doen projects that haven't been investigated construction workers put their bodies on the line every day to put food on the table I hope you agree with me when I say that every Jersey City construction worker deserves to go home with enough money in their paycheck to provide for their families passing ordinance 24076 doesn't help make sure workers are treated fairly in Jersey City this board should not continue with sunny Kumar as a member we need an ask you War to do more thank you thank you all right Chris Chris Britney's gonna get your contact information so we can add this into this discussion as it to the ordinance all right all right thank you all right if I can just make one one comment for the record I appreciate Chris everything you said um three of the council members uh myself the council president councilman Bano roughly a year ago met with leadership of Luna around increasing worker safety and uh I think we haven't heard anything back after that meeting from the leadership we're here to work with it's not you obviously we're here to work with the leadership to to make our F folks safe in the city just want to put that on the record that uh we stand here ready willing and able and uh we're still waiting to hear back okay thank you okay our next speaker 5.9 Dy 5.9 Daphne she here no okay next 5.10 Billy I'm Billy santamore I got excited before because Mrs Davis was my seventh grade teacher and I haven't seen her in a while I I just wanted to land the point um the the increase on the Sid tax is too much I think that the the ordinance is 2410 which is the which is what Central Avenue passed to cap that 10% number from the year prior which I think is a which is which is great and I just want to land the point that I ask that the board uses a multi-tiered combination funding method where they could not only use the assessments but they could use sponsor ship income membership income and event income of which I don't really see that much going on within the district to for other sources of of monetary uh raise so I just uh wanted to land that point Thank you thank you Billy do you go to the meetings they have I'm just curious do they notify you say it again I'm sorry do you go to their meetings uh I I went to the meeting on uh May 30th that we that we that they mentioned and I mentioned this at that meeting that I that I thought that the the raise is too high right because I want to make sure that you connected with the meeting because um I can't hear you I I want to make sure you connected with them with the meeting because a lot of the issues you're dealing about is with your board you know y'all have to really discuss it there's certain things that we don't really do as a council when it come to the Sid but I want to make sure you was connected to make sure you are showing up at the meetings right I don't I didn't know what Forum to to use with make sure thank you okay our next speaker 5.11 Gina good evening Gina Davidson WF as always i' would like to thank Council for their time and attention and a few of you for your advocacy first I want to give an update of the state of the Jersey City animal shelter I'm part of a collective of animal rescue leaders and volunteers speaking tonight as an individual and I want to thank you all you all heard us you supported us and ultimately the city has responded and stepped up just eight months after they took over from Liberty Humane Society our city shelter is providing support and services at a level that we haven't seen in decades thanks to an amazing team and thanks to our shelter and ACO director Mark Burns uh we've had a lot of progress the shelter was locked and shut for years now there is activity movement and progress a few months ago we had our first big Community cat spay neuter day where 26 Community cats across eight different rescue organizations were inoculated against rabies distemper and fixed so that the cat population does not continue to grow all this in mind I would urge you all to vote yes on item 10.24 resolution resolution 24- 672 providing a contract with Hills Pet nutrition for the shelter the shelter has been operating without this which is unheard of and so I urge you all to again to vote Yes so that we can get that contract pushed through and get a food delivery to the shelter unfortunately that's the end of the good news we apparently care way more about animals than people in this city um I'd like to remind everyone that it has now been just over a year since Andrew Washington was brutally murdered by Jersey City police in his own home while experiencing a mental health crisis a year before that we were promised Mental Health Emergency Services in the city where are they I again ask all of you to start speaking up you could start by not consistently rubber stamping all of director sh's budget items and by challenging mayor flop flop sorry I mean FIP when he needs something from you all something like support for his Jersey City Art Museum that nobody wants you can also start tonight with voting no on item 10.38 resolution 24- 686 under Public Safety I was here on June 26 opposing the first contract with Millennium which was to put in fiber optic cables to support AI surveillance in our East District I want to thank councilman Gilmore for abstaining from that vote and ask the rest of you tonight to consider voting no on this additional contract with Millennium we know that AI surveillance is racist and problematic we are not ready for using to use AI surveillance in this city please vote no thank you thank you next speaker 5.12 Risha hi when you're ready uh so just to reiterate again that just to give a little perspective of the McGinley Square Sid has been around for 27 years and in seven years our funding has been stagnant we have been underfunded and yet our business owners are complaining about the cleanliness we simply don't have enough money being that we are part of the greater Journal Square area we are considered up and coming there's a lot of development a lot of things happening in our business district and we believe that the increase is considerable because it's going to bring us to where we should be so that we are able to afford the Capital Improvements that our business owners and prop and commercial property owners have been requesting um and so we're just hoping that our initiatives that we're that we've received emails from and complaints that we're able to use the funding to make the district uh bolster the district for um the revive um economic Prosperity uh making sure that the streets are cleaned making sure that the streets are beautiful that people feel comfortable coming doing coming to our district to do business uh to go to the restaurants that they feel safe in order to do so our tagline is the heart of Jersey City and in order for us to live up to our tagline uh we need the funding in order to be able to do so thank you again for your consideration thank you our next speaker 5.13 Amory good evening Council and Community as a member of the public health Public Safety Comm Committee of Jersey City together we want to follow up with you tonight concerning questions we have that you can ponder and then get back to us they're questions related to our 911 behavioral response initiative you know this is the one where mental health workers behavioral health workers go with police when there's a crisis involving mental health or substance use a number of opportunities five in fact and possibly a six exist currently to propel a solid program for our city at the council meeting tonight you considered resolution 24- 673 sams's Mental Health Training Grant awarded to Jersey City for $125,000 can you please share with us how this training Grant came about and the objective in getting it the purpose statement three in the federal government's description of these Grant says they can be used to train Emergency Services Personnel law enforcement fire department personnel and others to identify persons with a mental disorder and employ crisis deescalation techniques this aligns so well with the gold standard program that Jersey City together has been advocated for Jersey City since 2021 is this the main use for these funds we hope so secondly on August 22nd patkin the AG for our state issued a new directive revising the Statewide use of force policy every Tactical Team it states who are responding to a barricade situation like the one Drew was in in addition to the inclusion of highly trained crisis negotiators must include mental health professionals these mental health professionals will be selected from mental health screening centers and other providers across the state in addition to training with law enforcement they will be available around the clock to respond along with tactical teams and crisis negotiators to monitor Communications with the barricaded individual and to deescalate the situation peacefully this aligns also with Jersey City togethers proposed program how will Jersey City implement this directive from the state and over what timeline those are our questions there thirdly arrive together is a possible funding opportunity for Jersey City yesterday at the ribbon cutting for the new Public Safety Training Center Chief Shay director Shay said oh our community thinks AR together means mental health workers go out first that is not possible thank you Amry you're very welcome we'll hope to hear the answers to these questions tonight and I'll send you my remaining questions thanks so much for this time our next speaker 5.14 Santiago Santiago not here our next speaker 5.15 Kevin oh oh thank you good evening council members a month ago I stood here reporting on positive developments in our collaboration with the city today I find myself in a more complex position while we appreciate the city's willingness to allow us to join as defendant interveners in the federal case we now face new challenges that threaten to undermine the progress we've made the bureau's recent rent recalculation for Portside Towers is deeply concerning it's not just flawed it fundamentally contradicts chapter 260 of your ordinance and the rent leveling board's own rulings last time I urged a comprehensive review of chapter 26-3 in its entirety today I must emphasize how critical this is the recalculation ignores sections of 26-3 that are prerequisites for any rent increases these include our landlords failure to provide required tenant information improper rent roll registrations and non-compliance with the truth and renting statement requirements moreover the board has created a non-existent term permitted base rent that contradicts the ordinance clear definition of base rent you'll hear more about that later they've excluded various fees from the rent definition contradicting both the ordinance and our lease agreements you'll hear more about that later these aren't minor oversights they are fundamental departures from the law that protects tenants like us several units have been entirely omitted from the recalculation which is concerning given how long it took to complete this initial draft even more alarming since we were last before this Council our landlord has again illegally increased our rents the city has taken no action this is particularly egregious for 100 Warren Street which was determined to be subject to rent control since no later than 2022 just due to the building's age our landlord didn't dispute this fact and they didn't appeal dandan's original determination in that regard yet even in that Tower our landlord continues to illegally increase rents since 2022 council members we urge you to ensure the bureau takes all appropriate action especially on aspects not subject to litigation the city can and must act to enforce the ordinance for 100 Warren Street where rent control status is clear and Undisputed at least since 2022 not even subject to litigation as we prepare to stand alongside the city and federal court we need to ensure we're on solid legal ground we can't defend an ordinance while simultaneously ignoring key parts of it our legal team has submitted a detailed analysis to the city outlining these issues and proposing Corrections that align with the ordinance I remain hopeful about our collaboration with the city particularly with Mr Adelman but hope isn't enough we do need action we need the bureau to revisit this recalculation adhering strictly to every part thank you Mark thank you our next speaker 5.16 Anna hello um good evening I will keep it short because it's 900 pm on a school night um I just wanted to come with my neighbors and my daughter as you know we're approaching the one-year anniversary of the rent leveling board ordinance being enforced and we are obviously you know still waiting for Action Kevin detailed it um just under signing the below and I also Al do want to say thank you to um councilman Gilmore about the pomad center I agree I think that it um coming through in the dog days of August is ridiculous um Samuel pot who speaking later had a great editorial and one of the things that he said was when making decisions that will Outlast anyone's individual's tenor we must move beyond the personal and political Ambitions and vendettas the trophy accomplishments and campaign year jockeying and I agree with that and I never knew that may FIP was a patron of the Arts I remember when Lucy and her um Irish dance group came he was just sitting in the front playing on his phone so I don't know I hope that um you know I I I think that there's a ton of great local institutions where he can um enjoy the Arts so my feelings for tonight thank you you our next speaker the great Lucy see Davies and um uh I have so many questions but a few of them are why can't we feel safe in our apartment one day when I came back from sleep away camp my mom told me our apartment was flooded she said no one could be there but she said no one would be there to fix the floors but when we came home two guys ripped up all the floors this is a question why we can't trust our manager why we can only trust our friends and the people who are going through this um then um a couple days late ago we had a fire drill I I we had a lot of fire drills though and we never and maybe next time we might not think it's a real one and then we'll just have to go and then we'll just get confused I appreciate what you've done but I started coming here when I was seven in second grade and now I'm nine in fourth grade why has nothing happened yet thank you good luck Jessica trying to follow that up our neck oh she's not here okay she can't follow it up next speaker 5. 20 saline did I speak no David's not here I'm sorry David's not they gave me a list of people who Wen not here so 5 David's not here 5.19 Jessica and now we're at Seline hello council members my name is selem Khan I live at 155 Washington Street in Portside Towers I'm here to discuss elevator safety and rent increases in our building on the afternoon of August 21st my wife Emily who was four months pregnant and my son were in an elevator at Portside Towers they entered and pressed the button to go to the sixth floor where we live when they reached the fourth floor the elevator stopped abruptly shook before proceeding to drop two floors I can only imagine the Panic they felt while this happened the elevator stopped and then resumed back to the sixth floor the Portside Towers management team sent an email shortly after saying quote apologies for any inconvenience this incident is not an anomaly here are just a few selected examples in the past 2 years April 11 2022 car number three taken out of service for quote necessary repairs July 27 2022 car number two taken out of service for necessary repairs May 15 2023 parking lot uh elevator taking out of service for no reason given and then August 21st 2024 Cars 2 and three were taken out of service for Urgent service you'll recall this was the date that my wife and child were on the elevator the details not mentioned in any of these incidents were the time when two elderly people were stuck in one elevator for over 30 minutes or the resident who was stuck on the 18th floor with her dogs when no elevators were in service and countless other unreported incidents regarding elevator safety my wife and I should not have to worry that in a few months's time when she is recovering from labor and we have a six-year-old and an infant in a stroller that we might have to take take the stairs six flights of stairs we're a 25-story building what about the families that live in the 10th or the 20th floor with babies and strollers what about the elderly who choose to live in a building with elevators because they cannot take the stairs Portside towers and its owner Equity residential is either utterly inept or purposely ignoring the safety of its residents council members our rents keep increasing but our services and safety continue to decrease in the 10 years I've lived in Portside Towers my rent has gone up 66% I urge you to look into this matter and do something about the fact that Portside Towers residents have significant safety issues yet also some of the highest rents in the nation is only a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt thank you for your time thank you our next speaker 5.21 ranan thank you good evening council members I'm ranan m I'm sorry to have missed several meetings since May as an educator and a mom the school colies led to several calendar conflicts and this is the first time I've been able to attend much has happened and changed since May my daughter graduated kindergarten lost a tooth and mastered the cartwheel I've been to Scotland the United Kingdom had a general election and has a new Prime Minister President Biden dropped out of the presidential race the weather's changing the mornings are cooler than humidity dissipating soon the leaves will begin falling and we enter a new season the United States ascended to the top of the medal table at the Olympics and the European soccer competition saw Scotland crash out of the group stages Sunni Williams and but Wilmore left for the International Space Station for a mission that was intended to last 8 days and now they're expected to return home next February but of course some things remain unchanged unfortunately the issues at Portside Towers remain in a state of inertia water continues to pour into every crevice you can possibly imagine tenants have experienced against fires floods no locusts yet but we wouldn't be surprised elevators break down dropping floors with people inside rent calculations are still not complete despite the rent leveling board's decision approaching its first birthday tenants continue tenants continue to receive illegal rent increases Equity continues to flex its big billy muscles attempting to drown Us in legal loopholes and red tape I urge you council members to take action through the courts and ordinance enforcement I respectfully remind you that the illegal increases at 100 Warren have been going on since 2022 despite Undisputed rank control status in that building I respectfully remind you of Corporation Council Murray's August 14's request for our input related to the recalculation is there any update on the city's intentions regarding our feedback I respectfully wish to stress the importance of the bureau adhering to the ordinance and board determination ahead of our efforts in court can you please ensure that the bureau follows the ordinance strictly to be clear we are not asking for improper action just enforcement of existing laws why is there such a lack of action even on clear-cut cases like 100 Warden we continue I continue to show up because of these unresolved issues we are more than willing to reduce our speaker attendance if concrete action can be taken the court are not preventing possible City action you play a key role in what has garnered National focus and attention we are asking for ordinance enforcement and tenant protection the American astronauts went to space for 8 days and they'll come back next February can you please bring Equity back down to earth before them thank you our next speaker 5.22 Alex uh good evening Council my name is Alexandra Comm and my family and I have been dealing with the Fallout of a fire that Equity residential started in our apartment on August 7th the fire and the flooding that followed severely damaged our home and affected multiple floors at Portside West I want to pause and just extend my heartfelt gratitude to councilman Gilmore for his continued support during this crisis it really means a lot we see you and we're really happy that you're here with us let me be clear Equity started the fire and their disregard didn't stop there they've shown no respect for tenant safety or compliance with the law during the crisis Equity played a game with us a revolving door of so-called managers who disappeared as quickly as they appeared leaving us with no stable point of contact no direct phone numbers no assistance and did you know that displacement and uncertainty doesn't take weekends off but Equity staff sure did and while we were left in chaos they clocked out and told us to buzz off their negligent has gone unchecked for too long city council where are you this isn't just about my family this is about the continued failure of equity to comply with the landlord identity statement which has which you have been made aware of months and months ago this is about their repeated violations of the law and the danger they continue to put us all in city council where are you for years we've come to these meetings pleading for one simple thing enforce the laws that are already in the books not new laws just existing laws we've lived with the illegal rent increases unsafe conditions and negligence from our landlord for far too long meanwhile people have been forced to move out of their homes unable to keep up with the burden if you think we enjoy being here night after night working after working one two even three jobs just to ask you to do yours you're wrong this is not enjoyable this is necessary accountability is not just a word we are determined to make it known that it is also in action city council where are you frankly this feels like the same old tired Playbook where we're just going to drag things out until we give up or worse till we die is that what you want for people to just give up or die I'll give you a moment to consider because the longer you stall the more this looks like a strategy to wait us out to push tenants out or wait until we're gone city council where are you Corporation Council Murray requested our feedback on rent calculation on August 14th we gave it so where are we now the city has our input what are your intentions we've been waiting for Action waiting for clarity and yet here we are still dealing with the unresolved issues issues you have the power to address let me be very clear the court isn't stopping the city from taking action every day you delay every day you ignore this is another day that tenants are left in limbo and it will not be forgotten the action or en actions of this Council will determine the support you receive this election cycle thank you thank you our next speaker 5.23 Suzanne good evening council members I come before you tonight as a concerned citizen not about ordinance 260 but about ordinance 24- 086 which troubles me deeply our City's track record with pilot agreements is to put it mildly questionable we've seen Promises of development and prosperity yet time and again these arguments seem to benefit developers more than our community you are being asked to consider not just one but two extensive pilot agreements the complexity of managing these agreements is staggering and what perplexes me most is the lack of clear financial information any savvy entity such as Jersey City should never enter into a long-term contract without a thorough understanding of the financial implications yet here we are poised to commit our city to 60 years of combined agreements without a clear picture of the costs and benefits the proposed cultural art space and Promises of job creation sound enticing but without enforceable commitments and robust oversight they remain just that promises just like ordinance 260 I implore you to approach this decision with the utmost caution and skepticism while you can demand comprehensive independent Financial analyses for both agreements insist on Ironclad commitments for Community benefits our city deserves more than vague assurances and hidden numbers we deserve transparency accountability and decisions made with our long-term interest at heart I respectfully urge you to vote no on this ordinance let's ensure that any agreement we had we enter truly serves all of Jersey City not just for today but for the decades to come thank you for your time and consideration thank you thank you next speakers 5.24 Mark and 5.25 eron are not here 5.26 Drew good evening council members I'm Drew Kinowski and I'm here to talk about words simple words that seem to perplex our city officials let's start with base rent the ordinance defined it defines it so clearly it is and I quote the legal rent charged or actually received by the landlord for the rental of a housing space as of January 11th 1983 notice it says legal rent not whatever rent our landlord got away with for as long as possible the ordinance couldn't be clearer on this point yet for almost 2 years we've seen nothing but delays and attempts to draft around this Crystal Clear language it's why we keep coming back it's why there's a documentary being filmed here tonight capturing our nightmare for posterity now let's talk about what rent means the ordinance says and again I quote rent any price for the use of a housing space it includes any charge no matter how set forth paid by the tenant for the use of any service in connection with the housing space if that weren't clear enough our leas spells it out in a most in the most excruciating detail it States rent you agree to pay the amount shown in the total monthly rent section of the term sheet and all additional rent described Below in advance and without demand honored before the first date of each calendar month all fees and charges related to your residency including but not limited to late charges returned item fees parking and storage fees and utility bills that are payable to us or to our utilities billing vendor parking fees amenity fees attorney fees court fees lockout fees pet fees annual security deposit increases if any and and replenishment of security deposit balances if any are additional rent total monthly rent and additional rent are together referred to in this lease as rent and all rent is subject to an enforcement action if not received in a timely manner so council members I have a question when the ordinance and our leases are so clear that even us non- lawyers can understand them why is the city turning a blind eye for the benefit of our landlord last month we thanked you for asking for our feedback and input but this month we see no evidence of even the slightest movement towards aligning the recalculation with the ordinance what would you have us do now go away well that's not happening as long as the city is allowing harm to come to us please do more to see to it that the bureau follows the city council's ordinance thank you our next speaker 5.27 Tara you ready good evening council members I'm Tara SMI former resident of 70 Green Street another Equity residential property first I want to thank council members James Solomon and Frank Gilmore for holding a press conference at 70 green on August 20th your support meant the world to us but let's be clear one press conference isn't enough equity residential doesn't Bend to press conferences Council meetings or even city ordinances they only Bend to their own Twisted logic as Kevin Weller so powerfully stated at that event Equity residential founded by Sam zel the self-proclaimed grave dancer has brought its bullying tactics to our doorstep but they're about to learn a harsh lesson you cannot dance on the graves of the living equity's Playbook is as crude as it is cruel intimidate deny and dismiss when a city inspector declares a floor needs replacing Equity snears we disagree when the rent leveling board unanimously rules that Portside buildings are subject to rent control equities response we disagree this isn't a communication strategy it's a culture of contempt that runs bone deep to equities investors your money is being gambled Away by Executives too arrogant to admit defeat and lawyers too happy to keep billing you by the hour the 700 million lawsuit tenants has have been forced to file is just the beginning equity's inability to adapt and their refusal to treat tenants with basic human dignity is putting your Investments at grave risk and to Mayor fup your silence is not just deafening its complicity this city and this state deserves leadership that stands with tenants not corporate bullies council members I ask you isn't it a time for a press conference in front of Portside Towers the people you see before you tonight deserve more than words they deserve action they deserve leaders who will stand up to corporate greed and fight for their rights Equity residential hear me clearly your grav dancing days are numbered we will not be silenced we will not be dismissed we will not back down we have a message for you and we'll deliver it in a language you understand we're sorry this isn't the news you wanted to hear but we disagree with your treatment of tenants this is the last communication you'll receive before we take additional action you tell us to live remarkably well we are living remarkably remarkably United remarkably determined and remarkably ready to fight for our rights your slogan is about is about to become your reality CH thank you thank you our next speaker 5.28 Brendan start just give one second I don't start the clock until you're ready thank you so like many I live in port side and well a few weeks ago I got my rent rental increase as Equity loves to remind us even in these documents Equity cares and Equity wants us to live remarkably so of course they decided to send us the send send me and my roommates the notice of our renewal and our large increase in spite of the ordinance 45 days before a lease had ended Equity also happens to requires 60 days notice to leave so we were going to have to sign no matter what unless we wanted to pay an extra extra fees how lovely and remarkable of them and this happened right as one as both my roommates were out and one was considering not resigning so I had 12 days to help go find a new roommate and interview and Stage an apartment so so remarkable and this got me thinking what is this money going towards what is it actually going to be doing to help us live remarkably with Equity as you've heard we've got an elevator death trap a fire a very ineffective fire suppression system that also leaves us with lovely mold very lovely and they use that money to hire the best hopefully confident maybe even sober employees they can find that make these mistakes let's look at a small little issue I had in my apartment in May I asked them to fix my bedroom door because it doesn't close properly in July it got to the point where the frame was falling apart and I asked them could you please fix this they measured and said they ordered a door and want to say first week of August they asked hey did the door get fixed no it hasn't I've been too busy to get to remind you about it and one day I go to work and they said we're fixing your door I get home from work I walk into my room and realized something my door's missing they came to my apartment removed my bedroom door and left I was absolutely speechless I do not have a I do not live my family I a grown man I live with two other grown adults and I could not actually change my clothes in my bedroom I ended up spending the weekend and an extra day at my parents so I could actually have privacy in the apartment that I am now paying an extra raise on this is what it means to live remarkably of equity creating new problems that you don't can't even conceed not having a door to a bedroom not having lights in my living room I have one light bulb that Equity light fixture in my living room that Equity provides us that is how little they care about our homes thank you thank you our next speaker 5.29 Joel good evening thank you council members Gilmore and Solomon for voting no on ordinance 24- 086 proposing two separate 30-year pilot agreements with kushers real estate development entities our City's history with pilot agreements is troubling the 2019 pfk O Conor Davy's audit revealed potential annual losses of over 41 million from just 19 out of 179 pilot agreements with about $10 million impacting our schools directly now we're considering two more long-term pilot agreements yet crucial information is missing during Monday's caucus in response to a completely standard question posed by councilman Gilmore financial adviser Michael Hanley hemmed and haw before providing an estimated difference between regular taxes and pilot payments for these projects this is alarming especially given the advisor hired expertise NW Financial group's website list website lists Mr Hanley as a principal and proudly advertises that their experience in Redevelopment and pilot agreements Consulting it boast boasts about proprietary Financial models and their ability to provide modeling of financial impact for such agreements given these claimed capabilities it's hard to believe that detailed Financial projections and comparisons don't exist the question is why aren't these being shared with you our elected representatives or the public this lack of transparency continues to be deeply concerning are we repeating past mistakes by approving agreements without full Financial disclosure to you those who actually pass the ordinances and and resolutions how can you make an informed decision without understanding the long-term financial implications for our city moreover approving two abatements simultaneously increases oversight complexity given our tax offices history of high turnover and loss of experienced Personnel how can we ensure proper management for two complex 30-year agreements we need stronger enforcable commitments and clear oversight mechanisms for both projects at at the next council meeting I I urge each of you to vote no to this ordinance at the very least demand full Financial projections and impact analyses that must exist for this complex transaction our city deserves complete transparency and due diligence in matters that will impact us for 30 years remember this isn't just one agreement we're considering it's two doubling down on a system that failed Us in the past without addressing its fundamental flaws or ensuring full disclosure is not the best interest of Jersey City or its residents um I do want to close and um in in our battle with uh equity and and getting our stuff enforced you know here's I'll quote mayor mayor Phillip when obstacles are put in front of us here in Jersey City we don't quit in Jersey City we adapt and overcome our next speaker 5.30 Shannon good evening council members imagine a child asking for a cookie the parent says no the child asks again and again and find the exasperated parent says now you're not getting a cookie tomorrow either that is a privilege being denied but we're not children and we're not asking for cookies we're citizens demanding our rights to be equally protected under the law this council's law this isn't about privilege again this is about the law a law you swore to uphold for all citizens of this city yet here we are month after month pleading with you to enforce this law and how are we treated like nuances like nuisances like children who don't understand the word no some of you have even suggested that if we asked nicer maybe you would do more nicer let me tell you about nice picture my former neighbor a school teacher who lived at Portside for decades she stood before you multiple times hoping this city would do the right thing tonight she is homeless why because inaction and refusal to enforce the law allowed our landlord to price her out of her home how nicely should she have asked to keep her home how politely should she have begged for her rights this isn't about manners or being Pleasant it's about Justice it's about people's lives being torn apart while we dare to keep hoping that you or direct Richardson or the mayor will do the right thing some of you aspire to higher office dreaming of more votes more power remember this every person you failed every family displaced every teacher forced into homelessness we remember and we vote and we more than vote our voices have caught the attention of the press so our message will be Amplified you've told us to be nicer well here's a thought if you listened and acted we wouldn't be forced to support candidates to run against some of you you've had two years to prevent that and now elections are just around the corner council members we're not asking for cookies we're demanding our rights and we'll keep demanding them until Justice is served so your choice is simple stand with the law or stand decide we're not going anywhere I got a piece of great news late last week in my role as a nurse I was getting a raise I'm working my tail off and was given Financial recognition of this work it was a real relief because my divorce from an abusive husband has been a lot more expensive than I originally planned for pH such a relief however this same week Equity raised my rent illegally despite my going through all of the proper channels to protest and in doing so they wiped away my rise completely a 4% illegal hike displaced my 3.8% raise now I don't do my job as a nurse to get rich but because I believe in helping people I wish more people did our next speaker 5.31 danilla good evening at the last council meeting you learned about the fire the resulting flood the many families who were displaced at Portside and the inadequate treatment of the impacted by Equity but this is really just one incident the tip of the iceberg the buildings are in significant disrepair let me give you some more recent examples you know the regular stuff we have to deal with in our bathroom we've been hearing running water for weeks I opened multiple service requests despite two floods in recent weeks no one even came to look into it total opposite they simply closed the tickets many apartments have mold and dirt in their AC units service tickets just get closed without reponse it's it happened to me just this week our washing machine has no hot water for over a year year every wash no matter the setting is cold more than 20 service requests were closed without response building management told us in writing that they will do nothing about it when they do scheduled work it's their schedule we had contractors entering our apartment without permission last week despite confirmation from management that will be that they will come another day a while ago contractors entered our terrorist from above without any upfront information just appearing outside of the window and as said this is just the constant regular stuff we heard about the pregnant woman and disabled persons trapped in their Apartments without working elevators we heard about the Blocked escape route at the fire by a carelessly stored washing machine we heard about the mold and resulting health issues this is not just ignorance this is harassment and it's illegal and this it is exactly what we keep warning you about for two years now they know they can get away with it and press the last scent of profit out of us what is the city doing was there an inspection after the fire and the major leaks in the main sprinkler pipes I know the fire panel is still regularly in error mode and might not even detect the next fire what is is the city doing to keep us safe and talking about illegal things that Equity is getting away with they keep raising rents illegally on top of illegal charges you promised us calculations based on legal rates months ago where are they it is so frustrating to get treated like Commodities and at the same time our hard earned money is making billionaires even richer you know it and you just let it happen the law is clear and force 260 and Frank you said it earlier other things get Rush our next speaker 5.32 Sonia today I heard the back pipes from the September 11 Memorial across the river and I heard the names of the people who were killed on broadcast since we live here hearing the count anthonies the many familiar Italian and other immigrants last names and the places where all people came from these names of our home away from home get to us in a different way now our thoughts are with all the families who lost their loved ones in this horror I quote satis bistros our favorite neighborhood restaurants post of today every act of kindness lights to Darkness love prevails in the facee of tragedy let's remember that and let's remember why we are here week after week we are here because we're talking about our homes we are talking about our human need to be safe and protected at home tragedies come in many shapes or forms we've shared the countless tragedies of our neighbors who were forced out of their homes by Equity residentials IL legal and egregious rent increases we've documented thousands of incidents when equity residential neglected its Duty and put our health and safety and our lives at risk today I want to share one more case very similar to L to saleem's and show the public once again who we are dealing with I quote from an email of our management sent on the morning of September 4th last week yesterday evening our quarterly Lobby cleaning was performed and unfortunately the cleaners accidentally triggered the fire panel causing the fire department to respond and briefly suspend elevator service and further elevator cap 103 will remain out of service even the mentioned cause and timing of the defire Department responding is doubtful several tenants met aeton that morning highly explosive substance I don't know who called the fire department but sure enough there's no mentioning of these intense smells by our mentioning even though we had made them aware why not what's there to hide I'm asking contrary to Management's announcement the elevator remained in service that day I pressed the down button on my floor at 10:30 a.m. and car 103 came I entered I got stuck on the fourth floor then suddenly dropped to the third floor and an announcement said that I had to leave the elevator due to an emergency to get out unfortunately I couldn't because the doors didn't open instead I continued down to the first floor and after a minute of mere panic I finally got out a traumatizing experience of course I reached out to management to discuss this I don't have enough time you will get a hard copy of the email exchange but no surprise Equity closed the conversation yesterday after a few half-hearted excuses and without any offer of making this right once again we see how little our landlord actually cares about us our next speaker 5.33 ARL good evening Council okay um I'm here to voice my concerns about ordinance 24- 086 let's talk numbers in 2019 an audit found that just 19 pilot agreements cost our city over $41 million annually that's money that could have fixed our roads improved our schools or enhanced our Parks now we're looking at not one but two new pilot agreement agreements but where are the numbers during Monday's Caucus meeting the city's Financial Consultant couldn't easily tell councilman Gilmore the difference between regular taxes and these pilot payments we wondered how that could be possible so we've done some digging the firm this adviser works for Northwest Financial Group boasts about their proprietary Financial models for pilot agreements they claim to provide modeling of financial impact for these deals so where are these models why are we seeing them are we really going to commit to two 30-year agreements without knowing the full Financial picture that's like signing a mortgage without knowing the interest rate I urge you to vote no on this ordinance while the idea of a cultural art space and the prospect of new jobs are appealing these attractive propositions lack teeth without Ironclad Ironclad guarantees and stringent monitoring mechanisms in place at the very least demand to see the full Financial proje we deserve transparency and we deserve better thank you our next speaker 5.34 Michelle good evening a month ago I stood here detailing a fire and flooding incident caused by Equity residentials negligence today I again stand before you as a voice for those whose lives are still being put put at risk by equity's flagrant disregard for the law and our safety let me be Crystal Clear equity's continued flouting of landlord identity disclosure requirements isn't just paperwork it's a calculated gamble with our lives as the stakes when emergencies strike we're left scam we're left scrambling unable to reach those responsible for our safety this isn't an oversight it's a deliberate strategy that puts profits over people your ordinance demands full compliance with the landlord identity disclosure statement not partial not almost full yet right Equity can't be bothered to follow these basic rules leaving us vulnerable in our homes equity's contempt for the law doesn't stop there they continue to illegally increase our rents to this day it's about their systematic attempt to overcharge families and potentially displace us from from our homes tenants of the city deserve landlords who despite what Derek Reed tells you Council truly cares about its residents and not corporations that treat laws like inconvenient suggestions Equity residential boasts about providing exceptional living experiences really we're experiencing something exceptional all right exceptionally poor management exceptionally dangerous situations and exceptionally blatant disregard for the law their actions have United Us in ways they never intended we stand together more Resolute than ever in our fight for safe dignified and legally priced housing the time has come for Equity residential to answer for their negligence and face the full weight of their legal and moral obligations two Equity residential your error of treating tenants like disposable revenue streams is coming to an end we will not be silenced by your tactics we will not be dismissed by your indifference we will not back down in the face of your corporate maneuvering council members we continue to inform you of equity's harmful acts and for goodness sake already hold them accountable in addition we wholeheartedly support Tara's idea of holding a news conference in front of Portside Towers it's high time we collectively shine a spotlight directly at the scene of equities ongoing violations this public dis display of accountability is exactly what's needed to bring wider attention to our struggle and to demonstrate that we will not be silenced or ignored thank you our next speaker 5.35 Tom I don't think he's here and see Tom yep next speaker 5.36 Ed evening my name is Ed farmer I am the President of Millennium strategies and we have had the honor of serving as the grant writing consultants for the city of Jersey City for the past 10 years in those 10 years we have written over 500 grants that has led to nearly $60 million in grant funding for the city we have ridden 9 grants in the first8 months of this year alone and 17 of those grants are still waiting disposition and so hopefully that $60 Million number what could be up to another $28 million if all the grants get awarded um these projects these Grant dollars have funded projects such as Transportation infrastructure parks open space Health and Human Services Public Safety there's not a an area of the city a category of funding that that hasn't been impacted by this funding we're passionate about what we do we work very hard and we know we can continue to do more and we will we really ask for you tonight for your continued support and we will put our nose to the grindstone as always and find those opportunities and continue to serve the city and find new ways to work with your departments to bring in needed funds for needed projects in the city and thank you very much thank you our next speak speaker 5.37 Phillip can you read this uh license for me yes can you read me to read it yes want to show what you're reading so it says city of Jersey City Department of Housing Economic Development and commerce 2022 Carnival and Festival license has a number date issued 7 2322 date of expiration 7232 license is hereby granted to Chocolate City and your address and the type of business Caribbean Festival signed by mayard Woodson division uh director of the division of Commerce thank you just as you read that I've given the a law the Law Department ACC copy this license I've been questioning what was the purpose for giving this license and pre and preventing me from operating with the license we started a a case uh January 2023 I give the Law Department a copy I give the court a copy the Law Department been into court July 19th will on day motion for summary judgment and swear up and down that the license was never issued I don't have a license and no we do not have it I told the judge that's not the truth just read it exhibit two as you seen here the judge read it and ask them if they have a copy does order that we meet we meet downstairs in July the 22nd when me and Erica Walker give them a copy the license in their hands August the 2nd we went back to court the judge asked read the license again to him do you have a copy of the license they say yes did he did he have a copy of license yes so you have a no in July 19th you have a yes in August so that's a lie a liar is a is a matter on the record and so that's what we keep on saying I just asked a simple question what was the purpose for issuing this and then preventing me from operating can't get a meeting can't get a hearing as I said over and over everybody keep on saying we're not going to answer you we're not going to do anything we Tak the matter to court last um last month they said that they were in uh Discovery with Parkside Discovery for me didn't answer a simple question so if you say no and yes or a matter of fact you ever say no when it is a yes it was in their hands you can say operating in bad faith you can say is dishonest you can say whatever you want to say in the black community if you you say anything other than yes it's a lie and so when I said there a bunch of bullfish Lies that's arguably that's exactly what it is you cannot say no to this I a buy this this is a city document thank you Phil our next speaker 5.38 Marta Marta here no okay next speaker 5.39 Danielle good evening council members my name is Danielle damoo and I'm a lifelong resident of Ward C in Jersey City and I'm here tonight to express my concerns about the center Padu project planned for Journal Square known as ordinance 2486 firstly this project is simply not needed nor wanted by the community our neighborhood is facing much more pressing issues our streets are desperate need of Paving there's a severe lack of parking and the resources that could go toward improving the quality of life for residents are instead being funneled into tax abatements for developers why are we giving Financial breaks to projects that don't address the actual needs of Ward C and Jersey City Jersey city has always had a thriving Arts Community why not funnel the money into supporting and building up what we already have strengthening our existing local artists and cultural spaces would benefit the community without the disruption of unnecessary developments if we truly want to create a bustling thriving Journal Square let's start by taking care of the basics we need proper infrastructure safer streets and amenities that serve the people who already live here by focusing on what our community truly needs we can create award C and Jersey City that works for everyone not just outside interests vote no to ordinance 20 28 24- 086 on September 25th thank you our next speaker 5.40 Suzanne Suzanne Carr no next speaker 5.41 ahed here next speaker 5.42 Fidel no okay 5.43 Samuel good evening uh City Council Members thank you for your time my name is Samuel pot it's spelled as m l p o TT I'm the founder and artistic director of nimbus dance and the Nimbus Arts Center for 20 years with the sort support of many fellow artists community members and staff members we have built an organization an Arts nonprofit that is sustainable and professional here in Jersey City it is now historically the largest Arts nonprofit that Jersey city has ever seen through this experience I have developed a deep understanding of the structural funding challenges that Arts nonprofits face in Jersey City and I understand what it is to build an Arts institution in Jersey City to present the New Jersey City pompy due concept as part of a tax Abad real estate development project something that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a generational investment for years to come with one week of notice to deliberate on a couple weeks to decide upon is the most irresponsible aspect of Arts planning that I have ever heard of you know you know people have talked about the uh pilot associated with this I'm not going to touch that I'm going to talk about what it is to sustain an Arts organization in Jersey City it's something that I know and I've been doing for 20 years this organization is proposed to have a 23 million annual operating budget are you aware that that would make it the second largest Arts nonprofit in the state of New Jersey second only to NJ PAC larger than the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra which has been around for 101 years is one of the most established art organizations in the state you think that this organization is going to be able to open its doors and within the first year generate funding that that r that that surpasses what the New Jersey Symphony can can generate it is just illogical you see I get heated about this because I'm passionate about it and because I know what I'm talking about even if this organization is successful at $23 million as a as a museum do you know who they're going to be in competition with do you know who lives right across the river the Museum of Modern Art do you know what their budget is 276 million they have assets worth I looked it up it's like3 billion the Metropolitan Museum of Art their their operating budget is over $700 million and they have $5 billion in assets do you think a French pompo Museum in Journal Square no offense is going to be able to compete with those museums again ludicrous we need to start investing locally in Jersey City okay I time is up Sam my time is up yes I think I made my point I I will be continue to be vocal about this because I know what I'm talking about and I hope to speak to each of each and every one of you thank you our next speaker 5.44 Bill good evening my name is Bill Lis member of Jersey City together and parishioner of Our Lady of sar's church on this anniversary of 9/11 when so many people lost their lives were injured and so many traumatized as someone who often challenges law enforcement practices at times I do want to acknowledge the fine work and dedication provided by law enforcement and firefighters and how our own local law enforcement and firefighters in Jersey City responded on that day and in the day days and months to follow and I also thought this morning's ceremony was also very well done but I'm here tonight to once again to encourage the council and City officials to be fully engaged in the effort needed to ensure that individuals experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis receive an appropriate response when emergency calls are made we're now four years Beyond The Death of George Floyd and more than a year beyond the death of Drew Washington who died as a result of a confrontation with Jersey City law enforcement a death I think could have been avoided the council knows that significant funds now available from the state and federal government are can be used to address the issue so we call on Jersey City city officials to take full advantage to utilize These funds we also call on the city to authorize the money that exists in this year's current city budget get some type of program in place I was interested to read the news article this week to see that a millions of dollars are being spent for a training center part of that training center will focus on deescalation practices I commend that at the opening ceremony the mayor took time to note a significant decrease in crime but the mayor failed to note was there's still no program in operation that we've advocated for so I make an effort to be informed I had no idea that this facility was being promoted was there any City involvement did residents of the community were they asked about the design and development I'd like to know that fellow member of the Jersey City together committee thought it was ironic that a training facility focusing on deescalation had not only one firing range but two firing ranges but once again I feel there's a need for greater effort at communication and a effort to make best practices regarding community policing Jersey City together will look at the law enforcement budget and make recommendations and we encourage all of you to get on board this particular train for social justice thank you thank you our next speaker 5.45 Dallas not here next 5.46 loisa no next 5.47 Tammy Tammy here no next 5.48 Mark qu not here 5.49 Dwayne he's here good evening ladies and gentlemen how are you long time no nice to see you again uh I came to address the issues regarding I don't know if I'm saying this right pomu right uh I just wanted to express the the need for the community to be a part of this project and any excuse me and any and all of the development that goes on in Ward F and W a uh we've been waiting around for years for some new development and we don't feel that we're a part of what's going on so I truly appreciate it if you guys would make it your business to make sure that every project and W F and W A goes to a community meeting truly appreciate it thank you and nice seeing you you thank you our next speaker 550 Cynthia so you're Phyllis okay Phyllis you're next good evening Council my name is Phyllis Gordon long time long life resident of Jersey City I wanted to express in the first sentence we should not be investing in that museum the pador M Museum the answer is no no is no the voters are saying no the governor is saying no the constituents are saying no no is no simple as that why should the taxpayer bear the burden of the pomidor museum the American dream is home ownership which is no longer a reality in Jersey City New Jersey there's over 300,000 people plus those that's probably not accounted for we all live here in Jersey City from day to day with all the road construction and the torn up streets along Garfield Avenue I no longer can say that I'll be on time for work anymore I'm about five minutes away from work but since school has reopened I've been we've had five days of school and I've been late three three of those days so let's go back to no is no these huge multiple dwellings are being built with no consideration for the low or moderate income families we do not need to begin to build the pador museum we have the Jersey City Museum the African American Museum all in Jersey City our tax dollars cover the Fire and Police Department Public Schools arts and Etc we can't afford unnecessary additional expenses building these building this Museum homeowners are struggling paying these excessive High property taxes listen to your voters no is no the voters say no the constituent says no the governor says no no is no please adhere to that it's no thank you and our last speaker 5.52 is Erica I don't I believe she left yeah okay that will conclude our public speakers so let me put the camera on us and we're going to move through the agenda um any questions or comments on petitions and communication 6.1 through 6.57 hearing none next any questions or comments on office of communication 7.1 through 7.15 hearing none any questions or comments on reported directors 8.1 and we'll go right on to the claims and addendums one two and three council members are going to be taking a vote on claims and addendums one two and three council person Ridley I council person priner I council person Bano council person CLE IC person Solomon voted in the affirmative council person Gilmore I council person Dees council person R voted in the affirmative earlier council president Waterman claims and addendums number one two and three are approved unanimously 90 okay council members on to our resolutions I'm going to be taking a vote on items 10.1 through 10.15 with the exception of 4 9 10 and 11 which were approved earlier council person Ridley I council person hi council person Bano we're going from one 10.1 to 10.15 council P SLE I council person Solomon voted earlier and the affirmative council person Gilmore I council person Dees I council person Rivera voted in the affirmative earlier and council president Waterman items 10.1 through 10.15 are approved unanimously 90 on to resolutions 10.16 through 10.26 10.16 through 10.26 council person Ridley on 10 18 and 19 thank you to everyone who came out and spoke I think that um the issues presented tonight are reflective of not just mcin Square Sid but some of the challenges with other SIDS in uh towards AF having challenges producing enough income to uh really make real changes for the businesses in their area um it is very different sustaining an SID when you're in a business district like uh Exchange Place and when you're in other areas of the city so I understand that need to increase in us as a city uh attempting to clean the whole city is we all know isn't the greatest uh option or uh we haven't been doing the greatest job at that so additional resources are needed with that I vote I for all council person priner so for for 108 and 1019 um I've been on the board of partnership for six years now and I've served with a number of different iterations of the board since that time and one of the challenges that they had consist instantly had was that then they had the lowest assessment of any Sid in Jersey City coming out at about $14 in change when every other one started at at least 1819 going on up from there um and it's it's significantly hindered the ability of the S to perform some of the basic tasks for their members and for the membership um I I understand that this is this is a jump and I understand that it is um you know not necessarily the the easiest thing uh but when you look at the work that they have been able to do since a small expansion and a small increase they will be able to do more and to service more for that now to the to the point um and again this is outside of council purview we do not have any input into their bylaws and some of the conversation in and around their budget um I do think to the board having a conversation that was raised about putting some sort of cap in place moving forward I think would be to benefit of everyone and you guys can look at different models for what that might look like um but with that I'm going to vote I and I for all thank you council person bajano council person can't hear you like me I'm assigned to the board of McKinley square but I rece as I said before I received a call from a property owner who has a restaurant on Summit for many years she was paying 500 to the Sid and now they want 800 this is a 60% increase according to them this excessive in the past when the Sid needed to increase their budget they used alternative measures like expanding the boundaries and holding fundraises not solely increasing the assessment uh I wish you look into it and uh I'll get you the name of the person or you could speak to Pam and she'll tell you the name of the person that's uh was in Priest that was complaining however I will uh I will vote Yes on it and um you know as I said maybe you should increase the boundaries of the Sid okay counc person s v i for all and regarding the Sid um I firmly believe that this is it is high increase in taxes I think that the efficacy of it will show and will um you'll see a substantive difference on the ground um the people are screaming from the rooftops regarding the cleanliness of this city and we need to make that investment not just the Sid but the city um in the respective areas that the Sid doesn't control you know we have to come up with ideas we got to collaborate and we need to make the investment so mcin Ley Square Sid I know it is a hard pill to stomach um but we do desperately need it and I think Central Avenue should look at the same thing the same model and um look into that because people are you know crying out for more cleaniness and we also need to you know we need to teach people from there in kindergarten you know how to recycle reuse and like just respect their neighborhood cuz if you if you don't teach that on the front end you end up paying for it on the back end when people become adults start throwing out throwing out garbage from their car on the you know on the sidewalk I see it all the time it's disgusting um and we just need to remember that we got one Earth and one neighborhood and this is our neighborhood and we need to be proud of it and you know thank you for taking the step I know it's not easy I know it's not popular um so that I vote I for all thank you council person Solomon voted I for all earlier council person Gilmore I'm going to vote I for all um with regards to the Sid um I do understand the challenge um however at some point the conversation is going to be have to be had when you're talking about increases trying to figure out if you can do it in increments trying to figure out if you can cap it at a certain number um you know because small businesses small businesses be struggling sometimes um so it that's a it's it's a huge pill to swallow from five to 800 um especially considering the Way businesses as entrepreneurs are hit and miss you can be doing good one two months the third month you might not make nothing you might be completely in a red um so I think the conversation is going to have to come where as though you know you're you're you're phasing these things in or we have a cap we're not going to exceed x amount um and I will say my biggest concern with with that Corridor is the cleanliness as well so I I do understand there's definitely more foot traffic in that area there's more people in that area um but I I I have the confidence that you know you guys will come together and figure out a fair and Equitable solution for for everyone so with that I vote I thank you council person Dees council person R voted I on or earlier and council president wman can't hear you vote I vote I on all but for the SIDS um I have been meeting with SIDS and I know they all having challenges financially to be perfectly honest to continue to service that has been a problem and still is a problem but you know if people really would clean up in front of their own property a lot of things would be resolved and so when people don't do that then we have to find other means on which the streets must be clean and so the Sid is one means in which the streets must be cleaned but if people would clean up in front of their own property we really wouldn't have a lot of issues on trying to get other Revenue to get you know the sidewalks and the streets clean so that's part of the problem people won't pick up behind their self all right and if they learn to do that then maybe we could use the funds for other things but right now it's just basically keeping it clean so with that I vote on thank you items 10.16 through 10.26 are approved unanimously 90 on to resolutions 10.20 7 through 10.36 again that's 10.27 through 10.36 council person Ridley 1027 to 1036 going to uh abstain on 10:33 and I follow AR rest you council person priner council person Bano high for wall council person SLE I'm going to vote I for all and um regarding Millennium strategies I you know I understand the city's consternation over the fact that you know we didn't receive the grant um what gives me Solace is the fact that no other municipality got it I don't think there was any foul play um if had another municipality gotten it um you know I would be asking you know why and really looking into that I think Millennium strategies does have a very high uh and substantive track record when it comes to getting grants for this city and um that's why voting eye for them and um the rest of it ey for all thank you council person Solomon voted I except for 10:33 he voted no earlier council person Gilmore um I vote I on all but 33 um I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place I'm kind of perplexed as to the level of expertise which the young men articulated what millennium strategy as it relates to them being able to capture grants um I'm just really perplexed at I I just feel like I feel like this contract should have been reviewed Maybe on a month-to-month extension with a probationary period or something like that um I am ex extremely disappointed that we were't able to to capture those funds and in addition to that I'm extremely concerned about the lack of communication as every step of the process for the grant um that they went through um so I'll vote no in light of all of that and I V ey on arrest no on 10:33 and I on the rest correct yes thank you council person Dees I on council person Riva voted I on all earlier and council president Waterman okay if I can just recap items 10.27 through 10.32 are approved unanimously 90 item 10.33 is approved 621 with council person Ridley abstaining and council person Solomon and Gilmore voting no on to our next set of resolutions items 10.37 through 10.48 again 10.37 through 10.48 council person Ridley yeah I know 47 hi council person priner council person Bano no on 1047 no on 1048 I unrest you council person sle uh I'm going to vote I for all and um heard on 1038 regarding Ai and surveillance definitely the next time the director of public safety's here uh would love to ask him about um Millennium Communications Group in and seeing you know what their policy is on artificial intelligence and the use of surveillance I don't think there is any for the record but I'm just going to ask so you know council person Solomon voted I on all earlier council person Gilmore G uh abstain on 38 and vote I on arrest council person Dees and council person Rivera voted I on all earlier Council per council president wman 47 and 48 have tostain abstaining on 47 and 48 right and I on all the rest an I on all the rest okay you would just allow me to recap so do that 10.37 is approved unanimously 90 Z and item 10.38 is approved 8 01 with council person Gilmore abstaining items 10. 39 through 10.46 are approved unanimously 90 item 10.47 is approved 711 with council person Bano voting no and council president abstaining and item 10.48 same vote 711 with council person Bano voting no and council president wman abstaining for the balance for the balance of our resolutions items 10.49 through 10.55 please note that 10.56 57 58 and 59 have been withdrawn council person Ridley hi council person priner council person bana council person SLE you said 1049 to 1050 55 56 through 59 have been withdrawn okay uh to the parents of ps16 just know that you've been heard and thank you for your emails um I'm voting I for all you council person Solomon voted I for all earlier council person Gilmore I'll vote I for all thank you council person Dees I council person Riva voted I for all earlier and council president wman items 10.49 through 10.55 are approved unanimously 90 with items um 56 through 59 which have been withdrawn and may I ask that magical question adjourn at 10:14 p.m. second so motion was made by council person priner seconded by council person SLE on the motion to adjourn at 10:14 p.m. all council members present by acclamation please say I hi we are out of here at 10:14 p.m thank you so much everybody in person and everyone watching at home remember Teamwork Makes a DreamWork have a great night stay safe good timing