okay again everyone we're about to get started we can silence our cell phones like I'm doing and if you need to continue conversation please go into the lobby we have a lengthy agenda thank you very much okay good evening everyone we are on the record today is Wednesday the 8th day of May in the year 2024 this is a regular meeting of the Jersey City municipal Council we had a scheduled 6 p.m. start the clock on my cell phone is showing 6:07 p.m. May we have a roll call for the commencement of this meeting council person Ridley here council person priner here council person bajano council person Cay here council person Solomon here council person Gilmore council person Dees here and council president Waterman we have eight council members in attendance at 6:07 p.m. can we kindly rise for a moment of silence please Rivera Senor and that is the reason why councilman reer will not be present tonight thank you very much on behalf of council president Waterman and members of the municipal Council in accordance with New Jersey public laws of 1975 chapter 231 the open public meetings act also known as the Sunshine Law adequate notice of this meeting has been provided by the posting on the bulletin board of the first floor City Hall the annual notice which is a schedule of meetings and caucuses of the municipal Council for the calendar year 2024 and filed in the office of the city clerk on Thursday November 30th 2023 in addition at its time of its preparation the agenda of this meeting was similarly disseminated on Friday May 3rd 2024 at 6:35 p.m. to the mayor minicipal council business administrator coroporation Council and the local newspapers and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law council members before we move on to our regular order of business we do have three items to add to the agenda as discussed at the caucus first item is 3.7 and I won't read them into the record because I have to read them into the record anyway I'll read in the uh resolution and item 3.8 so 3.7 is city ordinance 24- 036 3.8 is ordinance 24-37 and item 10.56 which is resolution 24- 363 council members I need a motion to add items 3.7 3.8 and 10.56 to the agenda motion motion made by council person CLE may I have a second second second by council person Solomon all in favor excuse me on the motion to add items 3. 7 3.8 and 10.56 to the agenda council person Ridley I council person priner I council person Bano council person SLE I council person Solomon I council person Gilmore I council person Dees I and council president Morman motion carries 80 with council person Rivera absent to add items 3.78 and 10.56 to the agenda right council members if you would allow me we're going to go on to our first reading ordinances item 3.1 city ordinance 24-30 just to confirm as discussed at the caucus with the ba we are withdrawing item 3.1 since it's a duplicate of 3.2 correct you don't have to you know thank you all right so we're going to move right on to item 3.2 city ordinance 24-31 is an ordinance granting an easement to Carney Associates urban renewal LLC affecting real property owned by the city of Jersey City known as block 287 lot five as shown on the official tax maps of the town of Carney item 3.3 city ordinance 24-3 032 I believe we're also withdrawing this ordinance correct Enos place thank you next item 3.4 city ordinance 24-33 is an ordinance to exceed the calendar year 2024 Municipal budget appro appropriation limits to establish a cap Bank according to pursuant to excuse me njsa 4A coling 4- 4514 item 3.5 city ordinance 24- 034 is a refunding bond ordinance authorizing the issuance of not to exceed 18,7 120,000 arrogate principal amount of refunding bonds Andor refunding notes by the city of Jersey City in the county of Hudson state of New Jersey the purpose for the funding is an emergency appropriation to pay tax appeal liabilities pursuant to njsa 44-46 and an emergency temporary appropriation to pay tax appeal liabilities purum to njsa 4A coling 4-20 item 3.6 as discussed at the caucus is withdrawn thank you ba item 3.7 which is a late item that was added ordinance 24 036 is an ordinance approving a 30-year tax exemption for a multi-site affordable rental project to be renovated by Montgomery Gateway preservation LP pursuant to the New Jersey housing and mortgage Finance Act of 1983 as amended it supplemented by njsa 55 colon4 K-1 EXC and the rules promulgated under nj5 col 80-1 EXC and last but not least item 3.8 city ordinance 24- 037 is an ordinance amending chapter 175 food handling establishments and chapter 242 piece in good order of the code of ordinances of the city of Jersey City to establish regulations for thirdparty delivery companies and food delivery drivers council members I'm going to be taking a vote on items 3.2 through 3.8 with the exception of 3.1 3.3 and 3.6 all have been withdrawn all right Sean that 3.7 being that it just came up tonight I think we should know more about it who's involved what developer and everything because uh you know the homeowners are getting crucified in the city here we're having an affordable housing uh project coming up tonight but I think we should know more about this this shouldn't be on here you know Rich this this is the um the item we talked about when they were here this is 100% affordable on on mcgomery Street 100% affordable but then ask for a tax break they explain that at the CAU meeting councilman right raise the taxes some more okay council members again I'm going to be taking a vote on items 3.2 through 3.8 with the exception of 3.1 3.3 and 3.6 which have been withdrawn council person Ridley I for introduction council person priner I for introduction council person bajano I for introduction except for 3.7 no so 3.7 no and I on the rest correct y counc person SLE I for introduction council person Solomon um I for introduction and then just briefly on 3.8 thank you to the colleagues for introducing it um I'll reach out to everyone to set up meetings to brief everyone between now and then the memo you got on Monday outlines basically all the changes uh but I think we're in a good place of of pushing hard uh to find something that you know not everybody loves people made compromis is on um but is going to move the city forward uh to create some regulations both helping our restaurants and around e delivery uh and uh you know will be implementable both from the city side and from uh the uh third party apps so with that I vote I for all thank you council person Gilmore I for introduction council person Dees I for introduction and council president wman okay item 3.2 is introduced 80 with council person Rivera absent items 3.4 through excuse me 3.4 and 3.5 are introduced 80 with council person R absent and item 3.7 is introduced 71 with council person Bano voting no and council person rera absent and item 3.8 is introduced 80 with council person Riva absent okay council members before we move on to the second reading ordinances we did discuss that we would defer to a couple couple of ceremonial resolutions that we have on the agenda so we're going to defer to items 10.44 and 10.56 so 10.44 if you would allow me to find it on my agenda is a resolution commemorating Maryann kellerer for a dedication to the city of Jersey City so everybody should vote no let's vote first Maryann you you you totally deserve it but we're just deferring to it at this point I hate to be the bearer of bad news there but you can all do that again when we vote on it okay and then the next resolution we're deferring to is recognizing Calvin Palmer Jersey City 2024 motion so on the motion to defer to items 10.44 and 46 was made by council person Cay may I have a second second I second by council person Ridley on the motion to defer to items 10.44 and 10.56 council person Ridley I council person priner I council person Bano I council person CLE I council person Solomon council person Gilmore hi council person thees and council president wman hi Sean Snider is here now okay so what we'll do is We'll add it 10.8 to that motion to defer to items 10.8 10.44 and 56 10.8 if you would allow me to read it into the record is recognizing Henry Snyder High School for the achievements of the CTE fashion design program since I already took a motion and we voted council members are we remaining the same votes yes thank you very much so motion carries 80 with council person Rivera absent so we'll take them one by one council person um excuse me council president would you like to read the first one into the record and that's what going to be Snider's High School's resolution minute give me a second okay just one second so that would be resolution 24- 315 item 10.8 recognizing Henry Snyder High School for the achievements of the CTE fashion design program whereas Henry Snider High School CTE fashion design program has strong guidance and mentorship provided by Miss Francis Hernandez the CTE fashion instructor she has played a pivoted role in inspiring students to push boundaries Embrace or Embrace originalities and cultivate a positive mindset necessary for Success whereas Henry Snider High School CTE fashion design program is strongly supported by the CTE fashion advisory board members school and District supervising staff including Dr Troy Smith vice president Kama McKenzie Mr James Morales assistant superintendent Ellen C coordinator Melissa president of the CTE Advisory Board Sandy Webster and vice pres vice principal of the C Advisory Board Alex Gonzalez and therefore let it be resolved that the the municipal Council of the city of Jersey City hereby recognize Henry Snider High School CTE fashion design program for its remarkable achievement dedicated contribution and talent towards the fashion industry congratulations Snider okay council members before we ask them to come up and say a few words we'll take a vote on the item and then we'll ask them to make a couple of comments not to put them on the spot or anything okay council member Ridley on your vote on resolution 24- 315 uh i' just like to say congratulations and to encourage you to keep up the good work that you're doing over there at Snider high school we know that you have a lot of great happening and um you know this is just one of them one of the many so continue to do the good work for our kids and congratulations thank you and council person Prince are so congratulations and thank you for continuing to exp Inspire our young people to be the best that they can be and to bring out the best in them they true treasure and the the fashion program is really a great program so I'm glad to to be able to honor you guys with this I vote ey congratulations and I vote I okay council person bana council person CLE I just want to thank you for the work that you do and for allowing us the council the opportunity to highlight the all the good that is happening within our school system it's a win for all of us for all of Jersey City and I proudly vote I thank you council person Solomon thank you for everything you do for our children um this is an extraordinary achievement and richly deserved I do want to say just on a personal note um if you can help me with some fashion things having none no fashion sense myself I'll talk to you offline but I proudly vote I council person Gilmore um doc thank you Dr Smith you're doing a great job at Snider um really turning that thing around so we really appreciate you for that um this program is huge seeing that you're dealing with a demographic that is extremely into fashion literally some of these kids go to school just to show they fast and Niche so we're figuring out a way to help them Channel their their entrepreneurial Spirit their intellectual capacity um so I think it's great and I want to commend you guys for doing a great job I proudly vote I thank you council person deice I work at a CTE district and I understand how hard that work is for for a district and I can't imagine a school that just has the one program how difficult it is you're really doing transformative work and you're helping our local Workforce thank you for all that you do v i and council president wman I want to say congratulations uh Dr Smith you have a fan um James Johnson all right okay he he praise you guys um he he always speak highly of you what you're doing into the school I know his wife was on the board he was telling me with fashion and how important fashion is and what fashion has done for the students there and I know fashion is a way people Express the themselves it gives them an Outlook it gives them another way and for children to have that Outlook is a positive thing because we must find creative ways in which we can express ourself and fashion is one of them and if anything that I know growing up when you're young fashion is important because you want to be accepted no one wants to be left out so I commend you congratulations continue to do what you do and I will definitely speak to Mr Johnson by tomorrow and let him know that you know you have received that resolution he fought for you guys to make sure you receive it God bless you and I vote I City res City resolution 24- 315 is approved unanimously 80 with council person Rivera absent would you like to say a few words I would I would and thank you city council for recognizing Henry Snider high school for their fashion department and the work that Miss Fernandez does um but I'd be remiss and saying I want to appreciate all the teachers on teacher appreciation week for all the work that they do daytoday in the trenches with our P right so so the small things that I do to kind of navigate the ship the heavy work is done in the trenches with teachers like Miss Hernandez and fellow teachers of herself so please mandez thank you so much this means so much to me and and to my students we are a community we're Snider family and I was pretty much raised here it's my hometown so to me it's a blessing to to give you know what I learned out in the industry to get back to our community thank you for caring for the students at SN high school and and the city I really appreciate this God bless you guys thank you stay there think the council is going to come down and present you with the fancy resolution and take a picture if you'd like e e okay oops and now we are Let's Get r no um now we're going to defer to item 10.44 resolution 24351 a resolution commemorating Maryann kellerer for her dedication to the city of we we're gonna read it into the record then we're gonna take a vote then you all can stand and Applause because she definitely truly deserves it you're going to hear all nice things said about you Maran and with that being said council person Ridley oh we didn't read into the record I'm sorry see I'm looking to get council president do you have that resolution uh oh uh oh Stacey anyone you can read it from the record and I'll have it printed do that councilman Solomon's gonna read it into record we got it on the online Okay um technology what do I always say after every meeting Teamwork Makes a DreamWork right it's true it's facts all righty okay councilman we have um resolution 24-35 5 1 agenda item 1044 a resolution commemorating Maryanne kaher for her dedication to the city of Jersey City Council offered and moved adoption of the following whereas Maran ker was born in the Margaret heg in Jersey City to filamina ker of Ireland and Dennis ker of Jersey City she is the youngest of four siblings Michael Kathleen and Colleen she deeply cherishes the role of Aunt to Tera Anne and Julia Lee gloc and whereas born and raised in Jersey City kellerer is a graduate of St Aiden's Grammar School St Dom's and St Peters where she earned her Bachelor of Science and marketing Communication in 1944 in 2018 19 I'm sorry I'm just reading the reading the words and 2018 K her obtained her master's degree in clinic 1994 what did I say you said 44 Maran you look fantastic I I was I was thinking I guys I was thinking of the mar Margaret heg I'm sorry 1994 reading is fundamental in 28 in 2018 kaher obtained her master's degree in clinical mental health from New Jersey City University and she is a national board certified counselor and licensed associate counselor in the state of New Jersey Maryann worked in advert we got it back up and running ladies and gentlemen we're back on the record we're back on guys we're back on ladies and gentlemen we're back on the record I know we all love Maryann live it so just for anyone who was watching at home the live stream there was an update on the computer that teams runs on and unfortunately it did an update and it shut down the meeting temporarily but um would its's help and your clerk experience with it we got to back up and run in less than 5 minutes so we're back on the record we are now at the point to take a vote on resolution 24-35 1 council person Ridley yeah thank you okay we'll come back to Denise not council person rley I said Denise because I heard it repeated council person Prince AR so Maran first of all it is a testament to who you are and the work that you do when I look out into the gallery and I see all of the people that are here for you today you have truly touched all parts of Jersey City with the work that you've done and so for that I say thank you um personally I've had the pleasure of working with you in multiple capacities first with the parks Coalition and the great work you did with the memorandum of understanding between the Coalition and the city then second I guess we healthier JC for the partnership for healthy or JC working directly with you I got to see the good work you did within the department and the division and I want to thank you for that personally and then finally in this current iteration on Council and division director and and I want to say thank you for your honesty thank you for your fairness thank you for being a very straight shooter you don't always see that especially in city government and it is not always yeah sometimes you don't like to be on the receiving end of it but it is ultimately very refreshing we're being honest here right I would never be less than honest to you so so I just want to say thank you again for everything that you've done I proudly vote I I'm going to miss you terribly but you know and you're not going too far away so so when I get those calls you'll get those calls congratulations again thank you and I'm going to go back to council person Ridley okay Maran 28 years is a long time to be anywhere especially a city of Jersey City so we know that uh you have definitely paid your dues um you know we appreciate all that you've done for our city we know that it is not easy um running a city of this size and each one of our employees helps to make that happen on a daily basis and we can't do it without you and you've been helping us do that for 28 years so your service does not go unnoticed and I just want to say congratulations and best of luck in this new chapter oh I vot I council person bajano Maryann you didn't bring Mom and Dad here tonight where are they all right mom and dad you must be all right I've been friends with them for years and years and years and I know Maryann marry her for many many years and the city's losing a tremendous person and uh good luck and I'm happy for you and I'm going to miss you so thank you and Mom and Dad I know they're very very very proud of you and I can't wait to get a hug from you Mom curious I vote Yes of course of course we got to get it on the record council person CLE Maryanne Maryanne Maryanne what are we gonna do without you oh my God today I I am a loss of words because it's a very Bittersweet moment you know you you put in you earned your stripes you put in your time 28 years you're Jersey City in through and through you have put Jersey City on and you have preserved our culture as a city you have always put the city first you have helped us get through covid you've done so much and you are finally getting your time in the Sun and you know I wish we could keep you for a little bit longer and you know I got to know you professionally through our years in covid when trust was Paramount when disseminating information to the public was key to battling the virus and you did an outstanding job and you were working you and the rest of the health department were working around the clock and we couldn't have gotten to where we are today without you as a city we appreciate you so much it's so sad to see you go I know that wherever you're going next they're going to need you and you know I just wish we cloned you before you left the city so I I proudly proudly and sadly vote I thank you thank you council person Solan um on a personal note just a deep deep thank you for all the service for Jersey City um your work through Co and healthier Jersey City was you know so so appreciated and and truly saved lives in across the city it did and um you there's a kind of a a concept if you will of of uh like you know different things and you talk about Mount Rushmore and it's like you to put four people on Mount Rushmore and I think in terms of people who truly embody Jersey City and who love it so much you know you're up there like you're one of the four people I think of about this is the person who belongs in Jersey City's Mount Marsh so I proudly vote I thank you council person Gilmore oh this is beautiful moment Maryann thank you so much thank you for being true authentic telling it how it is hardworking dedicated it is truly well it was truly an honor to work with you to know you you have the best sister and Colleen you have the best mother and Miss Kellen her I love your family um I remember when I used to deviate from my task at the health department I would come over there um with you guys we could say it now I'm elected official you're retiring let the cat out the b now um and you just was always true and authentic with your conversation with your advice um and it's hard to get that in humans nowaday so oh man man we're going to miss you I still have your number I'm still going to use your number um and I look forward to great things coming from you I know you'll still help out in any way you see fit because you're you're a team player and you care that it's done the right way um so huge huge congratulations it is oh my goodness it's almost like a prison sentence working for the city for 20 years it's rough especially when you go through different administrations yes well yes you are free you are free uh I'll probably vote I thank you council person the g i I don't know how you're gonna top that one but you're on I will not try but I cannot thank you enough Maran you have had the same smile and attitude since Brett schundler since the 90s most people going into their retirement not that they slow down but they start to you know ease into that retirement and you've never did that you just continue to progress and your entire team and the entire divisions and departments that you work with have that same happiness that you do and your authenticity like everyone is saying like it's contagious whether people need a hug whether people need to be celebrated which you always did throughout your career or if people need to be told to check themselves you were able to do that as well um to do it under so many different administrations I don't know how many people have been able to do that successfully how many people wanted to do that because each of those administrations were so different from one another and the staff that came in and you were able to just keep your pace keep it moving and the initiatives for Jersey City only grew and these cultural events didn't take place behind your desk you didn't sit in the city hall for for very long you were around the city all of the time you were out on weekends late nights working with every different department to make sure that everyone's religious cultural celebrations little and big went by without a hitch I can't thank you enough and I really hope that you've you know left some directions a rule book a guide book or something but just your smile thank you so much my aunt Lois send her love and still wishes that you married her son but thank you I vote I and best of luck to you in the future thank you council president wman oh maryan you can see how how well you're loved you know sometime when you work a job you don't know how people appreciate you until really it's time to exit and you can see with the uh audience that here and you the Applause we done gave you about two or three times that you really are appreciated I I know you to be a woman ofage courage um you stand up for what you believe is right and I salute your parents for that because it it it takes good parents to tell children what to really fight for and you have been a voice for many who had no voice I I commend you for your compassion that you have for people you've been in every neighborhood in this city there's no neighborhood that you was not willing to go into and that says a lot about your character and also you are committed you are committed to the job regardless of what city Administration took place you were committed to the job you was committed to the people and that says a lot about you you really care about the city of Jersey City so I know I'm going to miss you we had plenty of conversations you are you know a woman after my own heart you know we we we talk about women issues we try to be a voice for women and you have always been that um for me too and always encouraging me so I want to say congratulations I will definitely miss you but I do have your number on speed di I do have your number on speed do and you know I wish nothing but the best for you and I pray that God bless you and your family and you continue to shine and let your smile let your smile radiate wherever you go because that's who you are with that I proudly vote I so I don't get a vote okay and before I recap the vote I just I'm not going to repeat everything that was said because everything was said beautifully but Maran I remember when we first started working when I first met you at the senior affairs we're working with a Brett schundler um I seen you giving orders around and I was like who's this person wow you know I want to follow her but throughout your whole career no matter what administration dealt you whatever cards that you were dealt you always had a flush always Royal Flush so it didn't matter what administration you always kept that smile and your work speaks for itself you know in Hudson County we have a bad rap as employees but see people like you are changing that perspective we there really are good employees for the city of Jersey City and the county of Hudson we're going to change that perspective together so again congratulations so welld deserved and may I say your resolution is approved unanimously 80 okay we're going to put Maran on the spot and hopefully she doesn't say anything negative I'm only kidding actually kind of hard to make me speechless so um I want to invite my mother and father to stand with me yeah because they deserve they deserve all the praise you really overwhelmed me I'm very excited that I'm G to have a like Mount Rushmore who said that unbelievable where's my dad come on Daddy all right so you've overwhelmed me incredibly so if you'll indulge me one last time I know I've been up here driving you nuts at times the last week no I want you to stay here mama um last week has been emotional I'm excited but uh was going through files Sean I was scanning some files to make sure they're still here um so 30 years years ago when I graduated from St Peter's College I thought I landed my dream job I was working in an ad agency which was ranked number four worldwide when I got a faithful call from Jersey City one that would change my whole life and career trajectory the new mayor Brett schundler wanted to launch a meth multiethnic Festival series promoting our richest asset are diverse people the event company that I interned for in college and by the way the owner is here tonight Monica zazow who's been my friend for 30 years mayor had called her and she said oh no I can't do that but you should called this kid Maran kellerer I also later learned that my old boss Michael Young had referred me to in my interview mayor schundler shared this concept that heaven is a place where all the world's people get along and since Jersey City represents all the world's people we should invest in and celebrate our little Slice of Heaven here on Earth our Jersey City well I just loved all of that and I came home and I nearly gave my poor dad a heart attack when I told him I was leaving my corporate job in Manhattan to work here reporting to City Hall and my dad said you know maryan politics can be very Cutthroat here he wasn't wrong but I did it anyway like a good daughter toi my father um what started as a job planning events became a vocation I spent the first exciting year year meeting in Hindu temples mosques Caribbean restaurants Greek churches Taco Irish pubs and the Dante aligar I earned impeccable friends and a better world viiew without ever leaving my my hometown together we celebrated the vibrancy of our extraordinary community and it is they all of them who helped me to find my voice as an advocate working alongside our often marginalized ethnic and cultural arts communities the desire to achieve equity for everyone became my greatest career goal and 20 years later I was able to reach out to those same friends to build a partnership for a healthier Jersey City and together we worked to make greater Health Access a reality with the people involved in the decision making so many of our partners were helpers during covid some of them have here cat hecked Jan nordland sharing all of our info Distributing PPE the amazing Jersey City Parks Coalition they helped make Jersey City healthier too I leave municipal government having earned incredible lifelong friends who have booed me through five Administration changes and the turn the tumult of politics that my father predicted some of those cherished friends are here tonight my City colleagues folks from the incomparable Jersey City Parks Coalition Jersey City's first pride festival hcom pakistanis for America the Jersey City theater center friends of Liberty State Park the indo-american senior citizens of Hudson County the Egyptian Festival my beloved St Peters University and St Dominic Academy tonight I am celebrating the importance of mutual respect and these important friendships in my life that strengthen our city so I'm almost done the only thing better than being a resident of Jersey City is being a kellerer my extraordinary mother and father taught me that every person deserves to be respected but for the grace of God go I says she they taught me that it's really nice to be important but it's a lot more important to be nice and I want to thank my father Dennis for having the most impeccable moral compass that I hope to emulate it's really unbelievable and I want to thank my mom who I call Philly the grape from modeling bravery because this little woman boarded a boat in Ireland at the age of 17 for the promise of America and her Journey serves to remind me every single day that the road to here involves great loss and to have empathy for other Brave igre who contribute to our City's greatness and built many parts of our city that we celebrate today my life's fiercest allies have been my beautiful brother Michael and my big sisters Kathleen and Colleen uh they've stood by me every step of this journey and it's quite extraordinary to grow up knowing that you're always protected always loved they still like to boss me around and they were doing so this evening but I know that I'm really fortunate to have been raised by really strong Champion my nieces are beautiful striving and accomplished but most important they're kind and they are our proudest Legacy so council president Waterman and members of the city council please um please accept my deepest gratitude for acknowledging my years of service to Jersey City tonight this has been a labor of love thank you for your trust and patience when I called you to passionately discuss some issue or another over the years I take what we're all called to do very seriously and I believe that the greatest litmus test for True public service is love and compassion for the people we serve please continue the work on behalf of and in concert with the people who come to this Das seeking your really important interventions I wish you open hearts and strength of conviction in your work to uplift the good people of Jersey City there is no place on Earth with greater people than here who deserve government's time and investment serving Jersey city has humbled me and has been one of the greatest honors of my life thank you can't be much ah thank see maryan they're they're taking their time taking a picture because they just don't want you to leave City Hall M come on Mom I guess don't don't tell everything Ma yeah why you all hanging back in the come to the future we got a des need P picture take the send to everybody that want them you ready uh hold on thank you I love you stay here for this picture that's Billy Richardson I thought we were done with the photos oh yeah of course I got order in the building uh oh and we have all the council people back to the day is all right guys oh oh damn okay yeah they got enough pictures all right ladies and gentlemen if we can exit if we are exiting the chambers quietly we still have another honory recognition here in Jersey City to get you it's it's 7:05 and we we're we're at and if I can have my council members back on the DAT I greatly appreciate it yes okay if we can exit quietly I greatly appreciate it because I want to get to the agenda and the next resolution that we're deferring to is item 10.56 resolution 24- 363 recognizing Calvin Palmer Jersey City 2024 senior of the year so we're going to read it into the record and then we'll invite Calvin up to say a few words if he likes if he would like to not to put you on a spot oh okay I did but the nicest way okay council president I'm going to turn it over to you again and members council president before you start reading if we could just exit quietly and close the back door I greatly appreciate it thank you so much go ahead council president congratulations Calvin whereas Calvin Palmer has received numerous Awards in alkalins alkalides including military honors such as the US bronze Stars medal the civilian recognation recognition such as the Hudson County art show in exus County 4H youth Calvin Palmer is described as a patriot generous kind embracing energetic and helpful he has embodied the spirit of service and compassion whereas Calvin dedicated to his community his family and his personal interests EMP emphasize the value of resilience compassion and generosity now therefore be it resolved that the municipal Council of the city of Jersey City hereby recognize Calvin Palmer as Jersey City Senior of the Year 2024 for his outstanding contribution service and achievement as part of the national Rec of older wiser handsome American I had to add that because when they said old I just said [Laughter] ah go ahead okay with that being said I'm gonna take a vote on resolution 24363 council person Ridley uh Mr Palmer congratulations uh on being our senior of the year it is welld deserved and uh you know we just thank you thank you for your wisdom and thank you for uh representing our uh senior of the year for 2024 in a great way I v I thank you council person Prince so Mr Palmer congratulations thank you for your service and for your continued dedication to Jersey City um it's always great when we get to celebrate our seniors so with that I proudly vot I council person Bano I thank you for your service congratulations and it was been very good knowing you all these years I vote I of course I don't know why I have to say that Sean you know I'm loing it is for the record sir for the record council person SLE Calvin I want to thank you for your service to our community service to our country you know I really hope you could uh give me some of that wisdom and uh a few nuggets of knowledge and I proudly vote I thank you council person Solomon echoing my colleagues thank you for your service to our city and to our country and I just say I I can only hope to look half as good uh in a few years I proudly vote I council person Gilmore Mr Palm I want to thank you for your service um for the country for one then subsequently I want to thank you for the service for Jersey City and congratulations I proudly vote I council person deice thank you very much for your service and all that you've done I hope that you continue to do more I vote I and council president Waterman um I vote I I want to say congratulations to Calvin thank you for your service um for being in the um army thank you for your service for the the youth I call it the youth center because when I go over there to the senior center they full a whole lot of life that's why I call it the youth center and every time I go there Calvin is about doing what he do making people laugh being entertaining he's just you know he's just really is a fun he's a fun young man and and for that I proudly vote I keep doing what you're doing Calvin keep making people laugh keep making people feel welcome that's what life is really all about God bless you city city resolution 24363 is approved unanimously 8 Z as Calvin comes up to say a few words because I did put him on the spot and he acknowledged that um and council person uh president acknowledged his so that he's so handsome as well so we want to make sure that he's rewarded by Juliet fora I like to bring her up to pres do a nice little presentation to Calvin before you speak sir did you council president council members thank you so much for allowing me to speak this evening uh one nation under God indivisible right I pledge allegiance to the flag Calvin Palmer did that so many years ago to serve our country and uh Master Sergeant I want to thank you so much because you've paved the way for someone like me to join the military and to serve proudly this country that we love so dearly so uh Council and mayor allowed me to create a coin for our veterans here in the city of Jersey City and it is my honor as a division director for Veterans Affairs Jersey City to present you with our challenge coin from the Department of Health and Human Services Division of Veterans Affairs I will say this Calvin yeah I will say this Calvin your dedication to this division your support of our division over the years has meant the world to me and I just want to publicly address that and just say thank you so much sir I commend you and with that said I would like to hand off the challenge coin in the fashion that it is handed off in in the military for those of you who don't know what a challenge coin it is handed off from a Commander to his subordinates in order to uh recognize a job well done and I would like to recognize that job well done this evening sir thank you all right Calvin you're officially on the spot life is good all right I would like to respectfully thank my mayor Steve Phillip and the entire Council for this honor especially council president Joyce Waterman you see I heard through the grapevine that you had someone else in mind but settle for me thank you so much you're welcome you know the last two years at the Mary coryer Center has been a breath of fresh air under the leadership of darling green and I would like to thank her personally for allowing me to express myself through our classes which she allow me to teach on Thursdays I would further like to say that the presence of Darlene over the last few years has made the youth shall I say the seniors feel like youth we have obtained new televisions New Ping BL table new dart board we have a new what do you call it when you shoot pool table okay okay security has been front and back door I say this because I've been there with three other directors but only Darlene had the foresight and I believe the wisdom to help protect us seniors now I'm a senior they say that I am because I'm 75 okay but in my mind and I haven't got there [Laughter] yet final then I will take my seat and I thank you for allowing me to speak in the rear of the Marine corer building is a vacant lot approximately 75 by 100 I am a master Garden for 12 years I received my thousand Hour Gold Label pen that you get when you compete thousand hours I'm very proud of that but I'm saddened because the lot is vacant and and many of the seniors the one on the second row would love to have gardening done my point is that I would like so strongly one day in the future that this committee finded Within their heart to do something positive with the lot and with the seniors God bless you peace thank you Calvin Calvin Calvin Calvin Mr Palmer hold on Calvin can you come back can you come back to the podium I I I think Calvin just meant please pass the uh resolution no no we we passed it we want to take a picture with him thank you right oh oh that's not all right be funny what happened is y always select somebody and they said well we know Calvin I said I know him too so put it there that's how that happen I'm not se you I'm 29 years old I affir got it you going to three sty wants one you should get in PE I appreciate everybody's patience and the audience and watching at home just remember that pitches says a thousand words and last a lifetime so congratulations again k I can you standing on the okay thank you God bless Tommy we'll get the council back up on the day we'll move forward with our agenda he was in Vietnam that was that medic okay on to our second reading ordinances our first second reading ordinance is item 4.1 city ordinance 24- 019 so with this ordinance we um the last meeting when we were thinking about putting a new ordinance on we were going to make a motion to Def feat so just to do a little explaining the ordinance that got introduced tonight is replacing this second reading ordinance so the ordinance item 3.8 city ordinance 24-37 is replacing this ordinance 24-0 one9 in essence because it is a huge Amendment so it's just better off in a cleaner way to introduce a new ordinance and we're going to take a motion to defeat City w 24019 without conducting a public hearing so with that may I have a motion sh motion motion made by council person Cay seconded second by council president wman on the motion to defeat city ordinance 24019 without conducting a public hearing council person Ridley I council person priner Hi council person bajano Hi council person CLE council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees and council president wman motion carries 80 with council person Rivera absent so for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24 days 019 council members we are not voting I we will be voting no on this so council person Ridley no council person priner no council person bajano no council CC person SLE no council person Solomon no council person Gilmore no council person Dees and council president wman go city ordinance 24- 019 is defeated Zer eight with council person Rivera abson haven't heard that many no since I asked my mom to watch the Giant game no never mind um okay next second reading ordinance item four .2 city ordinance 24025 is an ordinance expanding the boundaries of the historic special improvement district to include sections of Marin Boulevard mmit Street Brunswick Street Forth Street and Newark Avenue this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and when you do come up to the podium I would like you to print your name on the board that's there there's like a clipboard with your name and if you could just spell your name for our court reporter I greatly appreciate it I will not start the time until that's completed first Speaker I can't hear you can't hear you I just want to say I'm a little jealous with tonight's uh retirees I worked for the city for 44 years I retired during the pandemic four years ago so this will be my day up at the podium so you you just print your name and spell your name for the core reporter yes my name is Janine j e a n n i n zampella z m p l a thank you um so I'm here tonight to speak on the expansion um my family's property has been in the Sid for a long time um we received a letter in the mail just saying you're in a sid you're getting specially assessed and boom uh started at a few hundred we're up to $2,200 a year that I pay in the special assessment to be in the Sid um that being said I'm not oppos to SIDS I think they do wonderful things sweep the sidewalks and the streets um a snowflake at Christmas time a Christmas tree uh banners um during all the Four Seasons and sometimes flower pots during summer spring and fall scattered about um and I I think some of it is a good thing what I'm here tonight about is this expansion there seems to be a lot of confusion on what properties are in out and what have you um this was fast tracked I I understand it was started in January but the general the the people that are in the Sid whether you were currently in one 200 fet next to it or in the expansion only received a letter official letter from the city which by the way my property received two of them I hope I'm not getting charged twice uh uh we only received it after the first reading and you know with the mail and everything like that so some people just got it over this past weekend um there's a gentleman here tonight that just got it over the weekend and so um I also want to speak about some of the properties there's a building at 388 Nork Avenue it's um between 5th and Division I believe it is on Nork Avenue it's been left out entirely it should be included it has Ground full commercial um then there's also PS number five the fir housee the cemetery and Mary Benson Park that have been put in it these are public properties no commercial why are they in there what is if they will not be assessed and will not receive any of the services what is the purpose of including them in it uh see what else not a great public speaker so Janine I'm sorry time is up are you kidding me no is this the Oscars like really uh it's three minutes we just all sat I understand but it's three minutes okay well I think you get my point I'd like to ask if this can be postponed till uh everybody has been satisfied with thank thank you okay this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24025 any other member wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and please sign the form on the um clipboard and spell your name for our court reporter first name is Michelle m i c h l e last name is l Monica L capital m o n ia- r I just want to I am the director for the historical harith Cemetery Michelle just bring the mic up to a little bit yeah there you go I don't need it um I'm the director for the historical hus Cemetery at 4:30 5 nework Avenue and I panicked because we are a part of the siay and I just want to know please answer me are we or are we not we are a private semetery can anybody answer me don't want to come up um I think when the public speaking is over the administration will answer these question all the questions when the public speaking portion is done the administration will answer all okay so that's exactly what I wanted to ask about the historical hor Cemetery it is a private cemetery and I also want to um ask about Mary Benson Park and the school but Mary Benson Park if they are going to be part of the Sid and that scares me thank you thank you this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24025 and if you can just sign the clip for me sir and spell your name for court reporter hi my name is Lazarus Ramos l a z a r u SOS r m o put your mic up yeah just bring it up to you there you go is this better yeah all right um the reason I'm H here is because I received this letter literally over this weekend and it was sent to my mother of course I have to on her behalf work and follow up and see exactly what this meant I know uh Mr Solomon is our councilman and trying to figure out exactly what this is and the time frame wasn't really appropriate to let us know to understand what you're providing in this service I can't say I'm against it or for it if I don't know exactly or given the time to fully understand what is actually in front of me the map itself is unclear when they sent it it was not really in detail it was hard to see exactly do we fit in that or not so I'm hoping at least more explanation and a little bit more time to understand what's being brought an our benefit in a sense by the okay that's it thank you thank you this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24025 any member of the public still wishing to be heard please come up to the podium state your name for the record sign the clipboard and spell your name for the court reporter motion second okay so we have a motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 025 made by council president wman seconded by council person SLE on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24 d025 council person Ridley hi council person priner council person bajano Hi council person Cay I council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees and council president Waterman hi motion carries 80 with council person Rivera absent to close the public public hearing on city ordinance 2425 before I take a vote I believe our BS assistant business administrated would like to address the council thank you Sean thank you Council uh just to address a few points um one I think most importantly regarding the notice it's by law how the actual notice went out they do certified mail that goes out after the first reading now I know the hdsid who's work with the city and work with the council uh they've had several meetings going back to 202 three including one at City Hall so there has been various public meetings about this um they've addressed the business owners they've written letters to business owners so most of the commercial properties should or you know would know about it um additionally as far as the PS5 in the Mary benon Park the reason why it goes down there is we tend not to cut the S off at half a block so if you know that corner comes a triangle the Sid extends the entire way just to go around the whole block it doesn't stop when the businesses stop because you know part of the SIDS responsib that clean the streets do things to the streets it would look odd if they went halfway down the block and stopped so they won't do anything to the park they're not going to do anything to school on their property it's just really about cleaning the streets around it making sure it's all one kind of cohesive environment um for the cemetery it only applies to Commercial and in real retail property so it wouldn't apply to the cemetery it doesn't apply to any residents or any homeowners merely applies to the commercial property that have Frontage along the Sid okay and I think it's everything C's questions sure let me let me just add a couple points um that were asked and and adjust so um Miss sella uh noted the one property uh at fifth division that wasn't included that was an error um it does have commercial retail space we are expanding it so we will separately work with the administration to add that in the coming months but because of these very complex noticing requirements stopping it now to to correct that is you know going to waste the city money because we have to send that registered mail to all the properties over again so that will be added and corrected in the coming months um for Mr Ramos um we will uh get your specific address and and go over the property details with you uh I believe if again if you have no retail space there will be no additional assessment but what your street will get is a clean team coming on a daily basis as well as some of the additional benefits there but we'll meet with you individually go through your property uh and work with you and my a Isaac Smith is here and he'll get your contact information and work with you uh on that specifically um and I think those were the um other outstanding issues obviously Peter confirmed the other items Peter um coun just address one the other councilman mentioned if you did get a duplicate notice it doesn't mean you're charged duplicate it's only one charge per property I was going to ask that okay Peter um if you can explain um how does the notification process how does that work and what's like the time frame I know typically they do send two notice out one for certified just say hey there's a signature attached and then two the other one is via regular mail but like what's the turnaround is it like so this is set by state law in the DCA actually goes to the clerk's office but what happens is once we have the first reading within 200 feet of the affected area so that' be every property in the Sid they get a certified notice there's no regular mail just one certified notice however as a practice the Administration has encouraged every time the SD wants to EXP and that they meet with the residents beforehand host public meetings do more due diligence before we actually s out the official notice that way it's not a surprise of individuals and they're not bombarding the council and everyone else with questions council members do you have any other questions okay and just I think Peter touched on it earlier um remember we have to notify all properties within the 200 defeat notice so even though you got a notice doesn't mean you're actually going to be taxed it's just required by law and it's required to be by certified male so and our office does all that heavy duty lifting with that being said for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24-25 council person Ridley hi thank you council person priner council person Bano I council person Cay hi council person Solomon um you know we will work on the uh addition adding the property work with Mr Ros and any other property owners that have any concerns um but on the whole we have an SID that uh you know really covers the downtown norc Avenue area um and is now expanding to kind of cover the full commercial area that includes getting norc Avenue up to the turnpike um as additional retail spaces have been built in that property um and specifically on a couple blocks particular the block of Mammoth between third and fourth I had both the businesses and residents for years asking me to something about trash there um by bringing the clean team there uh it's now uh been addressed and uh I think on the whole this will be a good thing for downtown so I vote I council person Gilmore I vote I um and since the young lady Jenny brought it up um congratulations on your retirement did you hear that did you hear we congratulating you shine did you hear that okay resolution you cannot I'm sorry council person de and council president Wardman Peter maybe you know when we finish this vote you need to talk to Janine because she have some more questions that um she need understanding and clearance on okay so after we vote I vote I speak to her city ordinance 25- 025 is adopted 80 with council person Rivera absent our next second reading ordinance item 4.3 city ordinance 24- 026 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 7 metered parking section 332 d482 d57 on street parking permit zones and article 7 permit parking section 332-5800 in residential zones for parking regulation changes in the area between Marin Boulevard and the Hudson River Waterfront this is a public hearing on this ordinance and I see the member of the public just give me one second while I'm doing that if you wouldn't mind signing the CLI did you Victor did you switch the it's a different one sorry we just have to switch the clipboard for you while he's doing that if you can print your name and then spell your name for the court reporter and I'll start the clock after that is completed my name is Gary Murphy g a r y Mur p y thank you Gary you know how sometimes you have a pet peeve for decades it has been a pet peeve of mine that block after Block in my immediate neighborh neighor Hood the the the streets have been essentially confiscated by the city and turned into a linear long-term parking lot for primarily out of town commuters so I am very thankful that two-thirds of those spaces are going to be repurposed and recaptured really for use by um residents our guests um and the businesses in the neighborhood and people who come to to patronize those business business es I only wish that the last 45 or so um commuter spaces that are being preserved by this ordinance were also um being repurposed so I hope you will vote for the ordinance tonight and I hope to be able to be back soon uh to speak in favor of an ordinance eliminating those remaining commuter parking spaces there is absolutely no shortage of long-term commuter parking in in in this immediate neighborhood here walk you know there was discussion in the preamble to the ordinance about how the neighborhood has changed one of the things that's changed is that massive parking garages have been built over the last 10 or 20 years and for the most part they are not full I really don't understand why the city needs to operate its own long-term parking right on our public streets thank you thank you thank you very much this is still a public hearing still a public hearing on city ordinance 24-26 if you can just print your name and spell your name for the court reporter and then I'll start the time I greatly appreciate it my name's uh Katherine Mo k a t h r y n m o o r uh hello thank you for re reviewing this ordinance and giving us an opportunity to let you know how much we appreciate the time and the attention that councilman solom and staff um has given us to review the parking downtown um I'm Katherine Moore I'm a board member of the PowerHouse Arts District neighborhood association and I've lived in downtown since 2005 um we've taken well advantage of Zone 4 um when we came in and um I used to be a car owner but still understand the need for on street parking in our area many of the older warehouses have no off street parking and surprisingly a small amount of parking garages are public many are private and the many businesses in the area depend on the traffic to be able to visit the retail while living near public transportation it helps there is definitely a need for on street parking for the locals adding zone for permit and muted parking in the neighborhood will help greatly uh We've showed the changes to the pad residents and and the feedback we received was positive uh we're still growing so there uh there will be changes needed as we grow but this will leave us in a good place for now uh and then I'm just going to add this one moment once the congestion pricing goes into effects this summer we do not know well how that will change with the commuter parking but having some more devoted spaces for residents and short-term 2-hour parking will keep folks from parking all day and hoping and hopping the public transportation into the city we look forward to seeing these changes later this year and I and we support this ordinance uh just as an added note just in this neighborhood where the last 45 spaces um are nearby uh a building at 20 Columbus uh Drive uh is going to bring 800 units to the neighborhood that used to be commercial and it's now residential and that was just approved last night and then 72 mcgomery is adding a 50 Story Tower um right there in the parking lot so that is going to be a lot more uh residents coming to the neighborhood on where those last 45 spaces are so we're definitely going to have to revisit this and we look forward to getting rid of all of it thank you thank you this is still a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 026 any member of the public still wish to be heard please come up to the podium state your name for the record and print it motion motion to close the public hearing hearing on city ordinance 24- 026 was made by council person Cay may I have a second second by council president wman on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 026 council person Ridley hi council person priner Hi council person bajano council person SLE hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person thees and council president wman ocean carries 80 with Council Rivera absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 026 council person Ridley hi council person priner council person bajano council person SLE hi council person Solomon just a couple quick thank you for we had an intern that really worked very hard in this project so chenhan so I just want to publicly thank chenhan and then Isaac as well worked very hard on the project um thank you to Katherine for working with us uh to kind of revise it over a couple of of iterations and and get a good proposal in um and then Gary thank you for your comments and just to reiterate um for the additional spaces that are still remaining in the zone the 45 or so of them um they are uh going to create a Jersey City preference uh most of them there are people who live in the towers nearby uh who aren't part of Zone 4 who oftentimes rent them uh it can't be specifically given to them but but by creating the Jersey City preference where most of those uh spaces are going to go to the folks in the neighborhood as well uh so with that I think it's a long overdue change it'll help the business businesses it'll help the residents um and uh you know commuters have the options of parking in the parking garages so with that I vote I council person Gilmore I council person Dees and council president wman city ordinance 24 days 026 is adopted 80 where council person Rivera absent on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.4 city ordinance 24- 027 is an ordinance amending chapter 29 six streets and sidewalks and public rights of way to clarify the duration of time that a dumpster may be legally placed in the right of way 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 and print your name on the clipboard and spell it for our cor motion second motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 027 was made by council president Waterman uh the second was made by council person SLE yes thank you on the motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 027 council person Ridley hi council person priner council person bajano council person CLE hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees and council president Wardman motion carries 80 with council person Riva absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24-27 council person Ridley I council person priner I council person bajano council person B your Mike I I didn't mean to cut your off sir that's all right I I may be a better shut up council person s hi council person Solomon um I council person Gilmore I council person deice and council president wman city ordinance 24027 is adopted 80 with council person reera absent on to our next second reading ordinance item 4.5 city ordinance 24- 028 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic article 9 parking for the disabled of the Jersey city code designated Reserve parking space at various locations throughout the city this is a public hearing on this ordinance any member of the public wish should be heard please come up to the podium you know the drill motion oh I believe we have a motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 028 by council person Cay seconded by council president wman on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 028 council person Ridley hi council person priner council person Bano hi council person C hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi and council president wman motion carries 80 with council person rera absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 028 council person Ridley I council person priner I council person Bano I council person SLE I council person Solomon hi council person Gilman hi council person Dees I and council president wman city ordinance 24- 028 is adopted 80 with Council Rivera absent on to our last second reading ordinance item 4.6 ordinance number 24- 029 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic Article 2 traffic regulations Section 3328 prohibited right turns on red signal chapter 332 article 3 section 332-22 parking prohibited at all times and chapter 332 article 3 amending section one limited duration parking to implement safety improvements along mly Avenue this is a public hearing on the ordinance any member of the public wishing to be heard please come up to the podium and state your name for the record and you know the rest motion motion to close a public hearing on city ordinance 24- 029 was made by council person Cay may I have a second second by council president wman on the motion to close the public hearing on city ordinance 24- 029 council person Ridley I council person priner council person bajano Hi council person cite hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees and council president wman motion carries 8 Zer with council person Rivera absent for final consideration and Adoption of city ordinance 24- 029 council person Ridley I council person Prince AR I just want to thank the um infrastructure department and in particular our traffic and traffic planners to um director menzela and director Wong for your work on this um and also to the residents along mallerie Avenue who um gave really good input and help make sure that we um were implementing the no right on reds um in the right intersections this is um been a couple years now that we've been working on safety improvements along mallerie Avenue and in particular as mallerie hits communa Avenue we hope this will make a very big difference with that I vote I council person Bano council person SLE hi council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees and council president wman city ordinance 24029 is adopted 80 with council person Rivera absent that concludes our second reading ordinances we're going to moving to our public speaking list there are 58 on the list your agenda is probably showing 57 there was one that signed up right before the beginning of the meeting so with that being said I'm going to call the number and the first name of the individual please pay close attention to the agenda with that being said lever 5.1 even Council I just very upset about Jersey City without traffic especially in Ward F whatever w a that have so much construction going on at the same time with he Garfield Avenue closed then Ocean Avenue then MLK this a this grace that the way is set up like we got to pay driving and checkerboard way and during the day if we can do part at a time it's well needed but the way it's set up it's a disgrace for that area that's jam-packed from school is still in to like about six and even counselman that we got all that jam going on and and it's it's not I go in all communities it's not like that that we got to be like that Ocean Avenue M okay and Garfield and we got to do something I appreciate you jery walking you over starting the training I'm out passing out the flyers for the training and the walk we got so much going on the couple of days that has been warm and we need Liberty Park done if you ride out leave here tonight and go on Barry Lane Lena Edwards on on uh Johnson Avenue 22 all in this area our basketball course are full Garfield Avenue ter here we need that Park open to have more space this city is getting large we are the largest city population in the state of New Jersey not nework not patteron Jersey city has went up into the sky we got to do better we need help in our community I run my stomach here I have nowhere to take my kids thank God this year I'm trying to put a play area up at the church at the parking lot our church at Heavenly Temple the pastor has gave me the permission we need help in this city I got 30 CS for housing we got a problem with the section A the Housing Authority brought the Web building they doing a good job with the security but there's apartments in there that people still waiting for and they need them we need help in this city and anything I can do to work with anybody up there I'm willing I'm really willing and we need this bad counsel we talk about everything else but we need help in this city too many people are standing on the corner people are getting shot people are getting stabbed we got babies we don't want to be like New York or nor or nowhere else we need help right here that man up there that retired he took at me he's only a few years older than me but he took care of me as a teenager in this city as a Jersey City C thank you L thank you L okay our next speaker 5.2 Tina that's this [Applause] pill hey guys I just wanted to say thank you guys for tonight um I have been doing Outreach for a while not only with my nonprofit as giving clothes out but I started doing Outreach when education of geore started running and um I thank God for that position because now we've been getting so many phone calls so many text we had brought um wfi down to Jerry spot and a lot of people have been coming because like Miss web said a lot of people have been getting denied for housing and everything not only for young people it's a shame that seniors also have been calling too as looking for partments too I know y'all do a lot of work that's why I'm asking y'all and I'm asking for the respect for y'all to also come together with nonprofits because now the community actually saying that we are listening to them and we are seeing exactly what's going on I really want us to make hisory here in Jersey City of showing everyone that we are definitely could change in our community I also been bringing the GU around education Gore and Jeffy Walker to show the guys to believe in and to show them it's more in Jersey City that we can do and to believe that it's different things that we can do I see that now that we are all coming together as cleaning the block sweeping the blocks and giving out all the information that anybody that need for the um Community like I said guys I wish y just come together with all of us let's come together with our heads and let's try to do something different for Jersey City thank you guys thank you Tina our next speaker 5.3 Edward I just saw on X no longer Twitter that President Biden had an interview with Aaron Bernett of CNN and uh it's too late like it's a little too it's a little too late right and so um where's the ceasefire now resolution coming from this body some of you sit back like a little bit too comfortable right we have people who experience the worst of it firsthand and um I don't know exactly what it feels like to have colleagues that it feels like you know aren't listening or simply just don't care that's just a little bit too cold for me you know so the ceasefire now resolution is is it's long overdue you know um and um I have the authority to come down and um and do just that like say that to this body like it's more than just a disgrace the occupation that's happening the genocide it's more it's it's it's a Humanity where is the compass coming from this body where's the compassion coming from this body let's talk about the quality of life in our city I'm part of meetings with the Attorney General's office and so the RFP let me just tell you Jersey City Medical Center failed us the first time how dare this body try to give them back that same Authority when who there Works knows what we go through in our community looks like us speaks like us understands what H what's happening in our community it's trained who cares what is going on here what are you not why can't we get any cooperation from the public safety department we haven't gotten an answer for years from any Administration but definitely this one right now there is no response from public safety director Shay on what in RFP should look like going forward we already have members of the public of community organizations fighting at the table willing and able ready where is the public safety department you allow this may to just run over you and run over us musab Ali thank you musab he's running for he pointed out on his social media the recent cost of housing and one re and one new development coming a disgrace more than disgrace you're displacing us is happening at an astronomical like rate gentrification like never before you're undeserving of our support many of you on this body and so is the mayor we need new leadership and we need a new direction thank you how thank you our next speaker speaker 5.4 Carrie good evening I've uh brought my daughter Zoe along with us to uh join the the festivities today uh I've been coming here about four four months now to talk on the same topic you know my shiel you know why I'm here um the streets in our community in Ward B are drowning and trash there has been no improve Improvement or progress into the last time so here I'm in again I printed out these packets over the winter so that everyone on the council could see for themselves what the streets in our community look like these were shot in late 2023 a good amount of this trash is still on the roads today in May 2024 I have time and dat stamps for every photo I take in Daily documentation of this issue in my camera roll there should be no questions about the authenticity of these photos we want to feel proud of where we live right now when I mentioned INF Avenue people make a face like they ate a lemon my daughter next my next door neighbor told me you know I grew up in the hood in Brooklyn I'm not ashamed to say I'm from the hood but I'm ashamed to say I'm from this Hood I know Jersey city has had programs in the past to put economically struggling people to work to keep the streets clean where are those initiatives the trash problem requires a couple Solutions number one a program to give neighborhood residents a small cash incentive to pick up the garbage there are families on my block living out of cars that said they would do this for 20 a day but no action is taken a change in a law needs to be made that the Department of Public Works is responsible for the sidewalks and not just the roads the present system of citations passes the responsibility to clean the sidewalks of property owners it is a gift to slumlords if you don't believe me call the Jasco property management company that manages many of the neighborhood properties when I called and politely asked that their buildings clean up their manager told me we pay our citations we don't have time to babysit the tenant this is how the landlord class see most of the people who live in these buildings they see the citations as a cost of doing business and they could care less and everyone knows it and the city has to hold them accountable how many times does this have to be brought to the attention before something meaningful is done about this these citations don't work the DPW has to do its job what grades would the city council give itself on this I mean it's not an if they show up but it's got to be more now I'm a prop at St Peter I'm an Adjunct professor at St Peter so I believe cman Solomon knows what I make and salary over there and if I can organize block cleanups on my own on my own dime cleaning the street then a city with a $700 million operating budget can send some people to clean and a few trash bags for Congressman solman our property taxes have been raised 15% in the past two years so I'm going to leave the city council would just meditate on these questions and reflect what is the plan to clean our roads when can we expect results thank you for your time you thank you our next speaker 5.5 Anna thank you our next speaker 5.6 Eliza good evening Council people um I just like to start with we are aware that council person Rivera's father died and while there's a number of members from the Jewish community on the role tonight we are only going to have two speakers in order for you guys to be able to spend oh sorry it was a little too high for me better um in order for you guys if there are if there is something tonight um for the week or the funeral that way you guys might be able to attend um as Y show a holocaust rembrance day has just passed I think it's important to only remember the horri to not only remember the horrific events of the Holocaust including the 6 million Jews murdered and an equal amount of people including Roma lgbtq afro-europeans political denters Polish people PS and disabled individuals that were also killed I also think it's important to understand why the Holocaust happened I didn't it didn't just happen out of the blue it happened because coded language was spoken propaganda was spread and speech became more hateful racist and anti-Semitic and increasingly violent actions were taken against the communities I listed for those that did not partake in these actions but did nothing to stop them they were also complicit I say all this because over the last seven months I have seen it happening again not only around the world but right here in our city this started when I was coming to a council meeting in December and heard a member of the jcpd say I quote I cannot believe they let it get this far don't the Jews control everything I did file a complaint with the with the department but it was the officer's word against mine and he didn't have his camera on so the only take action taken was a note on his record two weeks ago right in this chamber a speaker said that you the council took money from mayor fup and the elephant in the room was APAC American Israel public affairs committee and that money that both was spread around was tantamount to a bribe to do the mayor and Apex bidding do you think it was coincidental that the speaker mentioned the mayor who was Jewish and APAC supported by Jews and others and money in the same sentence I'll explain our Mayors who our mayor who happens to be Jewish is giving money away or as the speaker said bribes and an American lobbying organization that advocates for Israel israel-based causes if you can't see the correlation it's an implication that again Jews control everything and they control it with money this is one of the oldest anti-semitic tropes in the that exist if the speaker you if a speaker used thinly coded language about any other ethnic cultural or religious group I believe that speaker would have been stopped quickly due to derogatory offensive statements when will you our council members recognize that rhetoric like this is hurtful harmful and toxic when will you take action to stop this type of speech that only breeds more hate both passive and overt instead of saying and over it instead of just saying thank you after every statement when will you our elected officials take action against anti-Semitism after the Holocaust we said never again it has become increasingly apparent that never again again is now and unless you take actions to stop this hateful anti-semitic rhetoric you will be complicit in it as well thank you thank you thank you our next speaker 5.7 Tamor thank you I appreciate you letting me know 5.8 thank you thank you for 5.9 I'm sorry I 5.12 okay so 5.10 and 11 are not here 5.12 David thank you so much for your help appreciate that right here in Jersey City we're graced with an unparalleled view of one of the world's most iconic symbols the Statue of Liberty she serves as a beacon of freedom and democracy that shines her light direct our backyard the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty The New Colossus was written by Emma Lazarus a Jewish American poet as you can imagine this inclusion sparked some controversy and mixed responses on the one hand some were supportive of having a poem by a Jewish woman because it embodied the statue's message of immigration and America as a Melting Pot Society however others felt her Jewish faith made the poem too overt in promoting immigration and some Elites wanted purely American representations though facing resistance at first Emma's words found champions in activists who fought to have them permanently memorialized in 1903 over time The New Colossus became inextricably linked to the Statue of Liberty symbolism representing a message to immigrants of Hope and welcome and the highest ideals that America has continuously stried towards ideals of equality inclusion and opportunity for all regardless of race religion gender orientation or ability while progress has been made the journey is still underway as lady Liberty's torch shines onto Jersey City reminded of something very powerful true Liberty does not cast its glow inwardly but outwardly onto the people Jersey City is a vessel of diversity and chains and as such we carry the responsibility to be beacons of Tolerance and understanding so we must be careful incredibly careful when we see the pendulum swing away from tolerance and civility to hatred and segregation of Americans burning and replacing the American flag and occupying and sabotaging the halls of American universities what comes next I remember months ago he a debate in this room on whether we should focus on what was happening in the Middle East or to focus on what's happening in Jersey City now the question becomes should we focus on what's happening in the Middle East or what's happening on American college campuses or what's happening in Jersey City the answer is we need to stay focused here otherwise if we don't we may be asking should we stay focused on what's happening in Middle East or what's happening on American college campuses or what has happened to Jersey City Jersey City must not become a safe place for anti-Semitism not while you're watching not while Lady Liberty is watching you Jersey City must join together Guided by you this Council to extinguish the Sparks of hatred and intolerance we need you to shine the light of respect acceptance and Liberty onto all those around you only then can we all create a Jersey City worthy of the nation's highest principles thank you thank you our next speaker 5.13 oan thank you next 5.14 J how about 5.15 no how about 16 5.16 thank you again am am's here thank you again appreciate it is a fast track to 16 right right so good evening uh Jersey City together and Our Lady of Sor Parish Claremont and ocean Avenues I'm here really to thank the council for taking a first step and particularly the council project designes Gilmore Solomon and Rivera because we are taking the first step to apply for the seber Washington funding that will become available July 1 this of course is community-led crisis response and to Ed Perkins point at this phase and our first step we don't work with the public safety area but that's to come but for First Step this is a good one and that the proposal is due the application is due by the 21st of May that's also very encouraging um yesterday on the webin that the state LED they made a couple of very important a lot of important points but two that I want to highlight they told us that these kinds of Crisis Intervention team initiatives lower escalation this is the research and the projects across the country they lower escalation in crisis situations they lower the use of force and they save money I think it's a no-brainer and I'm so glad that we're all on the same page when you working with Bill Lis of Jersey City together and others from the community and the three principles on the project pointed by President Waterman we're very pleased about this and we're grateful to take the first step when we go oh the second piece is yesterday they stressed Crisis Intervention that's critical but you don't leave them at the medical center for an overnight stint and the next day they're on the street and in a week or two or a month the recidivism is astronomical you make sure there's followup you make sure there's longer term care we need to make sure that's in this application or the state won't smile upon it so that's very critical please come on May 25th we'll be able to report about this application having been submitted with very hope of getting successful response and please join us at Our Lady of sar's Claremont and ocean 11 o'clock on May 25th so we can commemorate George Floyd Andrew Washington and Naji cbrs thanks so much and have a good rest of night thank you our next speaker 5.17 Joseph Joseph here no next by Point 18 Michael good evening council president and uh members of the council I represent the Journal Square Community Association I've been here before with you all uh about seven months ago I'm uh rising tonight to ask you to pass your agenda item 10.55 resolution 24- 362 to get the process started in finally getting uh mandated uh affordable housing in Journal Square Katie Brennan's going to be speaking in a few minutes about some of the details of this amendment I want to do some thanks uh starting with the council as a whole back in on November you all I think that's the right day you all passed a resolution uh supporting what we're doing here and asking for goed planning here we are back again does that mean we've Stood Still not at all because in two major respects what we're considering now represents superb progress from before we had always asked for affordable mandat uh mandatory affordable housing because we did not think the Citywide IO would work in Journal Square the city resisted that position for a long time they wanted to keep trying out IO after your Council vote the city stopped resisting sent us a report in which they for the first time accepted the idea of mandatory so we don't have to fight that anymore they also um suggested that they did not think this could be done without extra consideration to the developers we had always thought that there was enough upzoning in our Redevelopment plan to support without any consideration city was adamant and that gets to my second uh thank you very Aus of thank you to councilman bojano who signed on early to our affordable Venture within a month after I asked him to and then got hit in the head after the city's report on something that he never imagined he would ever have to think about which is adopting endorsing additional bonuses to developers in an area in which he felt if anything it was already too much upzoning and he spent three months uh going through the due diligence and said yes affordable housing is so important that we have to do it so why should you vote tonight and get this going number one we have a good plan it includes bonuses which were actually suggested by the City Planning Commission number two your colleagues efforts of the last seven the last two years deserve support finally we need to start the time clock at City Planning thank you thank you Michael our next speaker 5.19 bashkim not here 5.20 William good evening Council evening I wanted to come back here tonight and thank the council and the business administrator for for your support regarding the reopening of the Charlie Hager ice rank in particular Council Solomon for his commitment and guidance for an issue which he has stepped up to support councilman Bano for being vocal on the matter and business administrator John Metro for the productive conversations we've had today and for the commitment to reopen the rink before the start of the 24 season I'd also like to take this opportunity to remind the Council of the special place the rink holds in the fabric of our city we earlier heard Maryanne liken Jersey City to Heaven which may be a slight stretch but I'd like to remind Council of the special place reserved for the Charlie Hager ice rank in our Heaven it is part of the fabric of this special City and must be better protected from this type of negligence in the future and restored to its former glory and one more thing please take notice and do something about the helicopters flying low over the heights we have friends that live over there and we're generally concerned about their mental state of mind with the constant noise at all times of the day and night thank Youk you yep Council we just want to put on the record we had a meeting with the councilman or multiple councilmen and the group about the persing field um we just want to put on the record a few things just an update since we don't have any resolution introduced tonight um essentially we are in talks with a consultant who's guiding us through it we're at a very strict deadline right now so we're exploring with purchasing the best way to make sure we can meet that deadline and get the rink open by September for the upcoming season so we're on track with all that we'll anticipate we'll have more information for the council shortly we're just working right now with the law Department purch to make sure we can do that um through them and get that all put in place so we will have that open by uh September thank you thank you okay our next speaker 5.21 Jackie hi good evening council members um I'm here tonight also to express my appreciation and gratitude on prioritizing an Ting the repairs needed to reopen persing Field Park Ice Rink after being closed for two seasons um we truly appreciate the city's um public commitment to reopening persy Field Park Ice Rink um for this upcoming season it's extremely meaningful for our community and our community's children especially want to thank the council the mayor and the city um business administrator for making this commitment publicly we look forward to skating on the ice very soon thank you thank you thank you our next speaker 5.22 Emily good evening thank you so much for having me um open by September let's put that in writing and put it out with the Press um I um have to be honest with you guys that I'm not from Jersey City I grew up in Oklahoma um I have found my home here with my husband and my family it would be very easy for us to move to the suburbs and we don't want to do that we we've really grown to love this community it's a really cool place and we want to see it grow um so it's really really disappointing when super basic things haven't been able to be delivered for our family we're we're really passionate about this we're not going to let it go um we're definitely not going to let Philip hear the end of it um for his for his for his governor race um I'm sure he's a great guy but it's just to have that type of um you know thing I guess happen in in our city is really just not acceptable so really proud of my husband in our Jersey City capitals Community for holding feet to the fire um you know having just run here from Gateway Park watching my six and a halfy old play instructional baseball um spending last night at Roberto Clemente field on six on Sixth Street there's so many cool Community things that we can do in Jersey City for the entire community and hockey is one of those things so thank you for your commitment to opening the wre in September it's really important thank you to councilmen who who listened to us and heard us out and supported us um we will hold you guys to it okay thank you so much thank you you our next speaker 5.23 Mary name is Mary maragua you don't have to put your name there Mary no okay so good just make sure you're by the mic want me to pass it out yeah um I'm here representing the April ballot Coalition we're here to explain our purpose and ask for your support Jersey City Board of Ed is in complete disarray and I think that's a polite way to describe what's going on there and not only that it isn't new it's typical of how they have operated for the last several years we proposed to move the school election back to April as part of the solution to establishing sound School leadership the November election has not dis delivered the expected results of inv involving more people in the school election process an election in April will photus focus voter attention fully on the Schoolboard candidates and more importantly on the school budget voters will have an opportunity to vote for against the budget a privilege they don't have now the board has been in disarray now for several years they've experienced frequent turnover in leadership theft frequent e ethics violations of members against each other and a lack of educational Direction November elections have been dominated not by groups of citizens and parents but by narrow interests public transparency is needed this year a $ 1.1 billion budget passed with little transparency the superintendent has called for State oversight a shameful admission of her failure focus in April will be on the school board and the school budget alone it will allow the community to get to know the candidates and the issues better support by the city council favors transparency public Parn participation and clear direction to the board of community needs we would like to ask you to support us by passing a resolution to put this on the ballot thank you very much thank you thank you our next speaker 5.24 Katherine again uh thank you for this opportunity to speak in front of you this evening uh my name again it's Katherine Moore I live in downtown Jersey City since 2005 I'm one of the committee members representing the April ballot Coalition we urge you to give the people a say should the Board of Education election be moved from November to April that's all we want to know in 2012 Jersey City voted to move the Board of Education elections from a standalone election in April per state mandate to November to the November general election this move to November might not have achieved the outcomes that motivated the move I'd like to review the basic points to consider with this change moving to April Jersey City voters will again have the opportunity to review the budget and vote for or against it should the voters say no to the budget city council will have a role on the budget's direction the budget question was eliminated removing transparency and the opportunity to scrutinize the board of education budget because the Boe is now in the November general election there's a risk of high ballot rolloff with the Boe candidates getting lost in the noise of the upper ballot races we're asking voters to know all the state and local races as well as the largely unknown Board of Education candidates citizens are guessing who to vote for or don't vote at all tiny margins can leave good candidates off the board because of the lack of name recognition April voting will bring back the focus to only the Board of Education candidates and the budget review voters that truly care about the board of election matters will show up this ballots initiative goal is to give the voters of Jersey City an opportunity to revisit the 2012 decision by adding the referendum question to the ballot thank you thank you thank you our next speaker 5.25 Elna hi good evening members of the city council my name is Ela mukaida and I am a 39y year resident of Jersey City uh first of all I'd like to say thank you really to all of you for your good service to the people of Jersey City I know it's a thankless job um I will I will not repeat the points my fellow April ballot Coalition members eloquently presented but I am here to ask that each of you each of you on the council let democracy work please please give the choice to the voting public and place the question on the ballot to move the school board election back from November to the state mandated April let the people decide please thank you very much thank you our next speaker 5.26 Arena Arena not here 5.27 Gina not here okay 5.28 is not here 5.29 is not here 5.30 ktie hello good evening my name is Katie Brennan and I'm a resident of wardc in the Journal Square area I'm also like Mike a member of the Journal Square Community affordable housing task force and have spent my career working in affordable housing so I too am asking for the support of the resolution as my co colleague Mike outlined this initiative was born from the city's inclusionary zoning ordinance and because of the development plan our neighborhood is unique and the io has not produced the intended affordable units it's imperative that we take action before it is too late the resolution today is years of partnership between Journal Square councilman boano input from all of yourselves community members developers and the City Planning Department our proposal attempts to offer the lowest possible incentive to create affordable housing while ensuring that we do in fact get some affordable housing it attempts to create the same Dynamic that would occur if the io was working so what are we asking for that all new buildings 30 units and larger be required to have affordable units the affordable requirement will match what the io says in most of Journal Square that's 10% in a small area it's 15% again the goal is simply to accomplish what the io was supposed to so in the core area of Journal Square the parts with the highest highrises we all see a 22 floor building might become 27 that's 300 units 30 would be affordable in the other areas with lower rise buildings say a 60 unit building with six affordable units six stories it could maybe go up to eight the affordable length is the same the management through the city's office affordable housing is the same but because the Redevelopment area is so permissive there's little need to ask for the variances that trigger the io and that's why we haven't gotten any so this makes affordable housing required and the bonus give is a small price to pay to ensure that we all meet our common goal after this meeting City Planning will make further recommendations we look forward to their proposal and reaching a path forward to make an affordable diverse and dynamic Journal Square thank you thank you thank you our next speaker 5.31 one teror an encampment is a group of tents or temporary shelters grouped together in one place recently I noticed the increased use of this word in the news media there are currently more than 45 armed conflicts and corresponding encampments throughout the Middle East and North Africa including Israel Palestine Syria and Yemen Asia is the theater of 19 non- International armed conflicts with encampments happening in Afghanistan India Myanmar Pakistan and the Philippines Armenia is O occupying parts of azerbijan Russia is currently occupying Ukrainian territory with encampments in Crimea and the six armed conflicts that are taking place in Latin America are split evenly between Mexico and Colombia invariably military encampments lead to refugee encampments but at least with the honor and page of United States citizenship one can choose to join a student political protest encampment of their own free will what one does not necessarily join with honor privilege or free will is a homeless encampment is for this particular reason but I've been hearing the word so often the debate over homeless encampments and the punitive steps cities are taking to criminalize homelessness through fines and potential jail time jail time for camping or sleeping in outdoor spaces think about that with the attorneys representing the UNH house are arguing in front of the United States Supreme Court is the basic human need to sleep I wake up every morning with an anvil on my chest wondering if my mother and I will be among the next to join the ranks of the unhoused I am officially overstretched in budget spirit and lack of sleep over whether or not I will be able to keep a ro roof over her head and M and then I look out my window with the tiniest peak of a view of Liberty State Park and think perhaps my mother and I will be lucky enough to be able to stay in Jersey City and can join the homeless encampment that will invariably pop up in the Open Fields of Liberty State Park if the mayor continues to be complicit in and party to the unaffordability and eviction crisis in Jersey City of all the potential Visions for Liberty State Park homeless encampment will become the deao purpose long before Paul fireman can successfully complete his influence campaign over state and local government acknowledge the unlawful acts of equity residential and members of Jersey City government and enforce your own ordinance 260 thank you thank you our next speaker 5.32 Kevin hello city council I strongly urge you to vote no on resolution 24- 344 which would approve a contract with the law firm Eric M Bernstein and Associates this resolution appears to violate the Jersey City contract their payto pay play payto playay reform ordinance designed to prevent conflicts of interest in a warning awarding City contracts Bernstein's own disclosure which is attached to the resolution reveals a $44,900 contribution to full up for governor on June 7th 2023 less than one year before this resolution furthermore Bernstein made $220,000 in contributions to the Super PAC Coalition for Progress just days after submitting the business entity disclosure certification this pack actively supports mayor FIP and other local politicians spending over $100,000 in the recent Hudson County Executive primary alone it seems clear these contributions violate the pay to-play ordinance which prohibits the city from entering into contracts with entities that have made contributions exceeding $300 to candidates for city office or pxs supporting local elections within one year of the contract I believe approv this contract would betray the public trust and make a mockery of our anti-corruption laws I implore you to vote no and send a clear message that our city government serves the people not well-connected donors shifting gears while we are not qualified to determine if there were any Rico violations related to what we and the tenants of other buildings have been subject to we continue to ask questions that reveal a disturbing and hard to explain patterns some might say these patterns appear to match the Le definition of an Enterprise and predicate act which I Now understand includes inaction that enables illegal act importantly these patterns cover significantly more buildings than any single court case 600 speeches 600 counts since our last appearance before you have had the opportunity to discuss aspects of these patterns in person with Craig guy Rob Menendez and most recently Bill OD day a candidate for mayor of Jersey City each of these experienced politicians offered valuable insights and their help as you may know at least one documentary is being filmed about our fight to compel Jersey City to enforce its own laws Bill o day and his team consented to being filmed for a few hours at Portside Towers which happened just a few days ago together we were filmed reviewing some of the very disturbing documents and discussing Ric I have Mr ode commissioner od's permission to share his strongest recommendation with this Council he suggested this city council immediately obtain independent legal council I wholeheartedly support a resolution to cover such an expense I also encourage each of you to reach out to Bill o day so you may hear his Impressions directly thank you very much you thank you Kevin our next speaker 5.33 David good evening I'm Dr David Mason and I can't actually believe that this is my fourth time speaking directly to the council about the exact same issue uh it it blows my mind to think that my neighbors have been out there have been at this for probably three four 10 times as long as I have like that's doesn't strike anyone as absurd that that we're still talking to about the same thing without any results I I I don't really have a speech per se prepared I have a number of questions and OB obervations any of which I would be happy to receive an answer to so I'm happy to pause if anyone wants to venture an answer to any of them I think the first one I'd like to start with is are you surprised that we're still coming here to talk to you about the same issue the obvious question that follows that is if you're not surprised that we're still coming to talk to you about the same issue why not shouldn't it be surprising that we're still talking about the same thing this long after on the other hand uh if you are surprised then are you doing anything to help us stop coming to talk about the same issue happy to take any answers if anyone wants to offer them if not I have another question are you even listening to us I I can't really help but notice that the council bench at at various times throughout the several times that we've been that I've personally been here I've seen that the council bench empties virtually for nearly huge Windows of time while the lot of us are speaking half or more leave for like 10 minutes at a time I I I don't really know if anyone's listening heads drop to look down I I I I don't know if are we talking to the wall or are we talking to you it's not clear to me um I suppose another question that that would seemingly very be very straightforward uh and would get a straightforward answer are you going to do anything it's May folks it's May the ordinances that were the the rulings that we're talking about happened in October of 2023 and August of 2022 it's May are we going to keep coming back until October 2024 25 to talk about this again and again like are we doing anything April 10th was a deadline as I understand it for Equity to turn over leases going back to 2016 have they have you forced them to have the recalculations started are we doing anything it's not clear to me that we are I think my my last question is how much longer are we really going to be at this we're happy to keep coming I mean you you see it we're here every time we're happy to keep coming I'm going to keep coming too but don't you think enough is enough thank you our next speaker 5.34 syvia good evening evening more than six months ago when the rent leveling board had decided that our Towers would be and should have been rent controlled we rejoiced we thought that this was the proof that when you have enough evidence and that the LA is obviously on your side it is possible to win we had a party that following weekend and I joked around with my neighbors should we go one last time to the City Council meetings what will we have to say oh boy little did we know that even with enough evidence and even when the law is obviously on our side the power of money in this city is still far superior Equity residential Revenue in 2023 was $2 2874 billion dollar they have registered a 5% increase year over year oh boy the money you make when you already have enough to disregard the law the money you can keep making when you are so powerful you can buy politicians money is power and we don't have that we do not have billions we do not have millions in fact we're getting poorer every month we haven't been able to save one cent this year because like many of our neighbors more than 50% of our income goes into our rent payment so here we are again hoping that even though the city refuses to enforce its own laws this country still can't be brought when we win in federal court we will rejoice again and we will stop coming here for good but it will be forever remembered that you were on the wrong side of History unless unless it's not too late and you can save yourself from this National humiliation Food For Thoughts thank you thank you our next speaker 5.35 Drew good evening council members my name is dreo chanowski and this is my seventh time speaking before you on this matter um I had a fairly short statement prepared this evening as I'm sure you're sick of listening to us but the more I continue to write I realized the more I had to say let's just hope this one sticks and I won't have to speak for an e time but let's also keep in mind that is minimal compared to some of my neighbors behind me who have been here 20 plus times over the last few years I'm struggling to find the words and ways to reiterate what we've been fighting for week after week to retain your attention to said matter I'm just perplexed by equity's blatant violations and the utter lack of enforcement by you all and the office of landlord tenant relations I was going to start off my speech with a rhetorical question of rhetorical questions of what you're not understanding to help us fight illegal rents but I feel I've done enough of that in the past so I'll get to that later you must either not understand what what we're saying or just not care let me paint a clear picture for you on further steps you can help us take on March 19th the director of the lto shyron Richardson sent a constructive and clearly defined letter to equity of fines and penalties they would face given they've ignored the rent Control Ordinance so why has shyron Richardson not taken action in enforcing this maybe he's not qualified to maybe he doesn't quite understand what his job description entails or perhaps it was all an act of good faith to keep us Portside tenants quiet for a while well guess what that was 51 days ago we've waited and have been patient but now I'm here to tell you that the act of good faith won't keep us quiet because we continue to see a lack of actionable Duties by our City's elected officials you I'd like to think there was sincere care behind this letter but to J your memory on what it all entailed I'll State a section of the fines from said letter and I quote please be reminded that pursuant to chapter 26017 a violation of any provisions of chapter 260 is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and or imprisonment for a period of up to 90 days and or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days a violation affecting more than one tenant shall be considered a separate violation as to each tenant so that strongly worded letter shows the city is on on our side or so we thought now we need enactment on that letter of promised fines potential jail time and other penalties please work with Mr Richardson and make good on the letter as Equity won't stop violating the ordinance please share what you plan to do please share a timeline and please show us you care about our cause because as you know we are a strong resilient intelligent and adamant group of your constituents who plan to be here until enforcement is followed thank you thank you our next speaker 5.36 Daniel good evening city council members on March 20th 2024 us tenants from Portside Towers presented over 40 examples of blatant violations of Jersey City's rent control laws committed by Equity residential on March 19th 2024 so just one day before that the director of landlord tenant relations shyron Richardson signed a letter warning of fines and penalties resulting from rent Control Ordinance violations specifically the letter stated since the requested proofs are currently being reviewed and the appropriate base rents have yet to be established the rents imposed on the tenants during the 2023 or earlier lease term are no longer the legal base upon which Equity residential is permitted to apply any increase to in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance therefore any increase in rent applied to that of which paid by the tenant from 2023 or earlier May violate chapter 260 of the Jersey City municipal code please be reminded that pursuant to 26-17 a violation of any provision of chapter 260 is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and or imprisonment for a period of up to 90 days Andor a period of community service not exceeding 90 days a violation affecting more than one tenant shall be considered a separate violation as to each tenant it's pretty straightforward the direct dor of landlord tenant relations literally said that Equity residential cannot increase rents he also said that violations are punishable by fines and jail time so where are the fines and where is the jail time I understand that all of you are very busy a lot of people a lot of citizens come to you with a lot of different complaints a lot of different issues and some of you especially councilman Gilmore have showed your support for us in our cause and we truly greatly appreciate that so join us in holding Equity residential accountable use your power and influence for good use it to ensure the office of landlord tenant relations makes good on their word to issue fines or jail time people's livelihoods are at stake families are struggling to pay their rents because they're being overcharged by thousands of dollars each month so I ask of you please stand with us on the right side of History work with the office of landlord and tenant relations to stop the continued illegal rent increases that are still occurring to this very day thank you our next speaker 5.37 Rihanna here thank you next 5.38 Joel good evening it could appear to a reasonable person that the city is beyond reluctant to enforce any of its laws that will cost our landlord its precious profits is there a special relationship between Jersey City and Equity residential suspicion number one enforcement of chapter 260 Equity gets a pass a continuing pass one of the points in Michelle's last speech was that we're paying more in illegal rents than ever before and it seems the city officials and Equity are working hand inand to manipulate the law to extract Millions more in illegal rents she also mentioned Rico don't forget that the rent leveling boards determination was nearly seven months ago suspicion number two uniformed security law Equity gets a pass the city is actively avoiding telling us how we can deal with equity's non-comp liance with the uniform security law which surprise it's been non-compliant for nearly a decade complete non-compliance but the city would rather put our safety in Jeopardy than dare cause Equity to spend money on mandated uniform Security Service John McKinny knows all about this because he spoke with several Port Siders in his office about this very issue in late October 2023 and since then he's been as hot to help enforce this law as he has been to answer the council's questions about Citizens First Amendment rights yeah oh boy suspicion number three annual landlord audited financial statements to maintain a long-term tax abatement Equity got a pass again June 22nd my landlord emailed us in June of 22 my landlord emailed my landlord emailed us saying we are working with the city to clear up any confusion that may exist around our exemption status working with the city indeed let's once again follow the money my landlord is the third owner of Portside Towers Equity did not develop Portside yet since 1998 it was the beneficiary of long-term tax abatements abatements mean pilots pilots mean the city wins because it keeps 95% of that payment and our landlord wins because the variance between its pilot and what would have been paid in taxes exceeds a million dollar a year when landlords who benefit from these Pilots act as also act as if they are exempt from rent control they raise rents and the city benefits from those illegal increases in 2019 the city conducted an audit of its pilot agreements and found that our landlord has been out of compliance since 2016 because it has not submitted its audited financial statements yet Jersey City permitted it to live out its inherited long-term tax abatements of course it did no annual audited financial statements means no vetting of payments which in general is very convenient for doing naughty things with money thank you Joel our next speaker 5.39 Gabby not here next 5.40 Brendan my thank you my name is Brendan I've been I've spoken here multiple times and this week I actually forgot to grab my speech so my question is simply this we hear about the enforcement that the city can do on equity and other landlords in the city I'm curious what is the history of the city actually enforcing writing tickets and then pursuing them in court because from what I've seen they haven't done jack in ages we've had buildings in 2023 burned down and well refused to be torn down because a historical Val of a pillar outside of the building that is our city right now when is when are we actually going to start enforcing our laws and actually working to improve this city thank you thank you our next speaker 5.41 Derek evening Council um this is my fifth or sixth time here speaking to you um coming for a few months now uh I typically do write something in preparation of these nights uh tonight I didn't um just kind of wanted to speak to you guys also was kind of a hell week at work and to be honest it's a little uh frustrating and exhausting to try and muster the enthusiasm to speak to you guys about the same thing over and over again um so I guess really want to talk about consequences I mean you guys have heard that there are real consequences for real people uh for the things that our bad actor landlords doing and the inaction of the city um over the last couple months years um you've heard about multiple accounts of these real consequences for real people the people that live in your city the people you guys represent um I I originally moved to Georgia city in 2012 um I've only been at pide for a few years but majority of the time I've spent at Portside the city has known about the uh um the violations of our landlord uh pretty wild to think about um so why that's important to me now is um while my wife and I are expecting our first child in August a little baby girl and um while this is a super exciting time for us uh honestly a little scary um it became very real you know we both work uh full-time jobs long hours uh Child Care is going to be a necessity um and we know how expensive that can be in my few years at Portside only three renewals I'm now paying over 25% more per month than I was when I first signed my lease um as you can tell my financial situation changed a bit so I might be the next to add to that list of real cons consequences um I don't know if I'll be able to afford a renewal uh I can't help but think that maybe that 25% that I've been charged on top of already illegal rents might be better used for child care but instead I may be looking elsewhere to live so um I guess my question is you guys have known about this for a while the city's known about this for a while you're looking at the face of consequences right here so um I don't know I'm just so curious what you guys talk about behind closed doors when you guys are discussing this do you even discuss this does this matter to you it feels like it doesn't so I don't know maybe I'm just talking to the air thanks our next speaker 5.42 Sonia today is May 8th Victory Day on this Day we celebrate the formal acceptance by the allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender on May 8th 1945 this day marked the official end of World War II in Europe as a German I feel I have to acknowledge this day on January 27th 1945 Soviet troops liberated the largest Nazi concentration camp aitz in occupied Poland 11 months before Victory Day on June 6th 1944 before the Allies invaded normandi marking the beginning of the liberation of FR France and the rest of the west of Western Europe what do we learn from these historic events change doesn't come from one day to the other it takes time and continuous hard work no one can change the world alone it takes Alliance change lives on Courage it takes everything to step up against those who misuse their power as a German I will be forever grateful to the Allies for liberating the country I call home and the entire world from the worst dictatorship in history it brings tears to my eyes when I see old footage of men from my now home away from home jumping from Planes and ship at a French Beach willing to die for the freedom of the world it brings tears to my eyes when I the the photographs of little children greeting Allied soldier with the victory sign knowing even the smallest ones that the horror is over that the war has ended that peace won this is what America stands for democracy Justice Freedom peace it's what my grandfathers both World War II solders against their will told me when they talked about this horrific times and about how specifically the Americans saved us from even worse it brings breaks my heart that the narrative has changed sadly when I talk with my friends around the world America about America today and yes about our story different words are now being used many cannot understand why we are still here many quote The Sopranos many tell us that they are scared to death for the world as the guy with the red hat and the guy with the red star seem to be the new alliance it m might sound too big applying these General themes to our situation I leave this to your judgment but I also want to remind you that democracy or the loss thereof doesn't happen overnight in the capitals of our world history is written every day and every day everywhere in the tiniest Village in Austria in the second largest C city of New Jersey I beg you finally do the right thing let's be remembered for victory together our next speaker 5.43 Dila um good evening our first amendment rights were taken away at the state of the city address JC City police and private security harassed us at the last council meeting we very much appreciated councilman Gilmore ask King City lawyer mckin the resident have the right to assemble and the right to protest even if it's an event such as the state of the city correct Mr mckin I'd rather not discuss this in a public meeting I'm happy to answer your question right now in your office if you want Mr Gilmore follows up because it's a public issue I would like to discuss it in public I've read that individuals have the right to protest Mr mckin I don't know if anyone is planning litigation on this so I'm not going to comment on the record publicly about anything here first of all I think we all can agree this is a public matter about public law it's very interesting this Mr mckin says answer right now in your office this means he knows the answer but he doesn't want to provide it this is very concerning again we are not discussing an individual case but a general question about the right to protest under General law Mr mckin goes on to say I don't know if anyone is planning litigation on this are we now in a situation that just because someone might plan to do something city officials cannot do their jobs anymore this is like saying oh we cannot establish a law to Grant rent control per default tenants might plan to exercise it oh that's a bad example last time here I talked about censorship by mayor full up and about how even contractors are scared to talk to the Press perhaps Mr mckin is scared to talk in public about public law well I can talk about it yes we have the right to protest at a public event as long as we are not disruptive which we weren't and didn't plan to be there are multiple rulings confirming that the job of a City lawyer is to keep the city out of legal trouble to protect the city not to protect the mayor as an individual after all what happened every alarm Bell should go off president Waterman so we are asking again who ordered the sign B did you follow your duties as defin be the for fogner act and start an investigation then let me finish with a dialogue from the TV show Yellowstone lawyers don't scare me they should no one knows how to break the law better than the one who knows it thank you our next speaker 5.44 Shannon good evening last week I had the honor of going to Washington DC with my professional nursing organization we met with senators and representatives from our home States to ask for their support for three different healthc care bills that will go a long way toward helping reduce maternal mortality and morbidity and pre-term birth I got the chance to meet with our representative from the eth Congress congressional district after we spoke about the bills we got a chance to visit more casually when I told him I live in Jersey City he asked me where and when I said Portside Towers he had a look on his face and said oh I know all about what's going on there if felt great when he encouraged me and us to keep up the good fight he mentioned his disappointment that working people like nurses have to struggle so hard to afford rent in communities where they work and communities where they serve um and not only that but to have to fight against unlawful increases and I'm here to tell you tonight that if I can go to Washington DC to Lobby you better believe that I'm going to keep coming here we all believe so mightily in this cause and we're not going to go away it occurs to me that I would think everyone would hope that when a politician local or otherwise hears that I'm from Jersey City and that I live at Portside Towers we would want the end of that story to be one that favors hardworking people like nurses and teachers people that work hard to make their communities better I think that's a better ending than Jersey City having the reputation of a place where rich landlords get to ignore your laws wouldn't you agree I would really hope that we can appeal to your decency to investigate equity and help us by enforcing 260 I also just want to mention I'm so tired I have been on my feet for 13 hours today it's nurses week and we had this big celebration at my hospital but we were too busy on my unit for me to go down um to take part in the festivities so when I left work I said I'm not going to go speak I'm going straight home because I'm too tired but I passed this beautiful building and I found my car just stopping and saying no my feet are tired but I have to speak that's how important it is to me um I have a little bit of time so I'll just add the sentence that this Saturday Kevin Weller is meeting with new Yark mayor Ross Bara who was running for governor of New Jersey he's heard that this gentleman has an interest in learning what the r of Jersey City think of Steven fup thank you for listening and Happy Nurses Week Happy Nurses Week to you it's actually Municipal Clerk's week too but I'm just saying is it really it is okay you guys got a whole week yeah but nothing's ever done anyway um 5.45 Mel he's not here thank you 5.46 Michelle good evening I'm here to underscore the concerns raised by Kevin and implore you to vote no on resolution 24- 344 agenda item 10.37 as a tenant facing illegal rent increases due to the city's failure to enforce the rent Control Ordinance I'm appalled by the administration's attempt to hire Eric M Bernstein and Associates this Law Firm has made substantial political contributions to Mayor fulli and his allies creating a glaring conflict of interest and eroding public trust in our legal representation the evidence seems to show that these contributions violate the Jersey City contract doctor pay to play reform ordinance Bernstein's $4,900 donation to FIP for governor less than a year before the resolution and $20,000 to the Coalition for Progress Super PAC just days after submitting the business entity disclosure certification C page 33 is very concerning and may disregard ordinance designed to prevent such conflicts of interest it's an insult to tenants that the city wants to hire Bernstein to defend its failure to enforce rank control after he made significant contributions to the very officials responsible for the failure this appears to be a Brazen attempt to circumvent the ordinance and reward a political donor with taxpayer money all while residents like myself struggle with unfair rent hikes as our elected representatives your duty is to the people of Jersey City not political donors or special interests by voting no on this resolution you can show your commitment to transparency accountability and fair enforcement of our laws Kevin's speech highlighted the disturbing patterns of potential corruption and the need for independent legal council for the city council and I urge you to heed his advice reject this tainted contract and send a clear message that our city government serves the public interest not the interests of the politically connected moreover on June 7th 2023 less than a year ago Bernstein donated 4,900 to FIP for governor this stinks it sure seems to me that Bernstein is in effect being paid with taxpayer dollars and then passing them through to Philip's political campaign accounts he contributed to fulli while FIP is still mayor preserve the appearance of the council's Integrity vote no or at least abstain or table this agreement with the rest of my time I'd like to introduce the next speaker Liv from Ward B just one of many tenants who've contacted rent control JC for assistance I hope you'll give her some of yours thank you thank you Michelle oh Michelle are you stealing my thunder that's okay you're allowed to it's supposed to be clerk week too no I'm kid uh 5.47 live try to make you laugh too hi my name is Liv Malone I've been a resident at 429 Bergen Avenue for a year I'm proudly representing Ward B today my building is a part of West of Hudson properties which is owned by Bergen a investments in LLC owned by Amir Ben johanan my boyfriend and I moved to Jersey City from Montgomery County Maryland we chose this building because it was newer hoping it'd be a safer bet for us coming out of state within the first few minutes months too of our initial lease we learned we may have been mistaken the hallway smelled of cigarette smoke on moving day and still often do our unit showed no signs of professional cleaning the dryer was filled with lint and the washing machine soap dispenser filled with mildew from the door being closed for an extended period of time time the water pressure was low running at about 65% capacity by my own estimation it wasn't resolved until about 3 months into our lease the garage door to the parking deck remained broken for months leading to car break-ins and package theft theft often still occurs in the package room this past winter roaches became a huge issue for our unit and for our neighbors on our floor west of Hudson properties had Pest Control knock on doors around 9 am. for a less than 5 minute onetime sweep by my own observation most residents were not home to receive the service so you can imagine our Surprise by the 6% increase on our lease renewal this past April it caused me pause and led me to learn more about tenant laws in New Jersey specifically if there were any rent control protections upon reading the law I sought out proof of an exemption from the Jersey City housing office they did not have one on file in addition to having no exemption on file there was also no rent control addendum in our initial lease or written notice of the building's rent control status provided to us when I inquired about this with my landlord I was first given an email response with a Google screenshot stating that because my building is less than 30 years old it is exempt automatically I here today to share that the 429 Bergen a tenants Association will be investigating further in this matter with the assistance of our Portside friends I also anticipate cooperation from the office of landlord tenant relations because as its Mission States it administers and enforces the rent control ordinance chapter 260 of Jersey City municipal code and provides education information and referrals to City residents in connection with landlord tenant issues I'll conclude by saying the law is not supposed to be a suggestion enforce 260 thank you thank you John before the next speaker live live hi can you see my Aid Britney Kelly to get your contact information so we can follow up with you right there thank yout Council before we move on I think this is all of of port side right um they do you have any more speakers no I I could tell when they move okay 10.37 can we table that till we get more information sure we can table it I just do want to say that the ordinance provided uh from 2008 have been repealed but there are the new pay-to-play ordinances so we'll look into it so okay okay there a couple of them when we get to them we'll sir when we get to them we'll take care of that okay um let me just fix the camera I'm sorry okay our next speaker 5.48 Stephanie is not here 5.49 I didn't see Charlene no 550 I did see Sam but I think he left okay 5.51 Albert is here good evening good evening I read a lot of history and I'm afraid I see what's going on in this country and I think about Germany in the 1930s I look around at the demonstrations around the country and cities in universities I see not anti-israel demonstrations I see anti-jewish demonstrations I see the hate for no other reason than we are Jews this is like Germany in the 1930s I am worried that the disease we see around this country will invade the city we care most about Jersey City it's distressing to see violence and aggression erupt within communities it's important to Foster understanding and empathy to prevent such situations from escalating if you're worried about the rise of hate and aggression it's crucial to promote dialogue and work towards building an inclusive and compassionate Community it is incumbent upon this Council to gather leaders on all sides to sit and try to work out our differences not the screamers not the haters but the people who look for good in others I am willing to sit and talk and more importantly listen I beg the council to be proactive before the disease starts to take hold here who among you council members will stand up with me to actively look to bring us all together thank you thank you our next speaker 5.52 David oh okay 5.53 Anna not here 5.54 Mo I didn't see her 5.55 I know Tom is here be Clerk's day Sean week thank you good evening council members Tom zupa president of the Journal Square Community Association urge you to adopt the resolution amending the 2060 Redevelopment plan to add for affordable housing I want to thank Mike ER Katie Brennan and Chris lamb from our Organization for spearheading this with councilman bajano and his office especially Pam Andes so uh rich thank you for taking up the Manel uh the Renaissance of Journal Square is here but what the problem has been is that it hasn't uh it's left behind some residents who have been here long term and they get to deserve the benefits of of the newc coming of Journal Square and are entitled to be able to afford to live in their own neighborhoods this will not obviously fix the issues of past development and the new towers that have gone up but it will fix uh projects going forward and again we urge you to pass the the amendment so thank you thank you thank you 5.56 is not here 5.57 Joel not here and not on your list but signed up 5.58 Sheron not here okay that concludes our public speakers lists okay right before I go any questions or comments on items 6.1 through 6.32 hearing none any questions or comments on officer communication 7.1 through 7.6 any questions or comments on report of directors 8.1 and moving on to our claims and addendum number one so council members are going to be taking a vote on claims and addendum number one council person Ridley I council person Prince AR hi council person bajano council person SLE I council person Solomon council person Gilmore I council person thees and council president wman claims and addendum number one are approved 80 with council person rera absent on to our resolutions hold on Sean um with regards to Peter um I want to request that we um push um 10 point three to the to the next meeting just so we can get clarity on exactly um where all the funds went um I know this been some time we've been going back and forth um and I just want to make sure all the questions get answered uh if you see the email thread Finance have answered their portion but uh I think questions three four five and six were not we still need Clarity on that um common did give us a little Clarity um on on the actual number although it's it's not zero she she explained that I guess when they when they Clos the books I to have to go to zero or something like that yeah C I can explain it to you now if you like so the issue is when we were accepted the grant money the money wasn't in our bank account we wanted to actually pay the contractor and start the work so the city paid the money up front the $839,000 some dollars and then after they paid that money I think they contract only use about 500,000 of that there's about $374,000 that are left over the city had to resend that back to the federal or the state AC on behalf of the federal government which completely got rid of the $839,000 then we got reimbursed from the state afterwards we received the $839,000 but we already paid everything so we're not sending the money back to anyone the money is not being sent back to the state or anything the city is already one paid the contractor two send the unexpended funds back to the state as they require and then wow we're just transfer the money that's already in account is sitting there back to the city to reimburse our sales for we already spent no I understand that but what I'm saying is one correspondence which is the resolution the expended amount is zero and then in this corresponded the um exp the grants are always going to show zero because technically none of the grant money was spent the city put the money aside spent it out of its own budget essentially because the money wasn't from the grant didn't arrive to the city yet so the money from the grant is always technically there we're just using it to reimburse itself Because the actual Grant funds were never spent okay well even even uh beyond that we still need to see um because apparently there were work done outside of the scope of the grant then there were lights installed at intersections that shouldn't have been installed um so it's still it's it's it's a lot of uncertainty to the questions as the email clearly articulated and even in the email chain when kman replied that well actually Vivian thank you Vivien replied that she cannot answer the other questions sorry I think what your reference is at $255,000 that was the amount of money that the state indicated was not in the scope of the work so they wouldn't count the grant money towards it so again all the money has been spent that's just what the state said when they reviewed our actual expenditure said that 255,000 doesn't count for the grant scope that we provide the money for so we're not going to reimburse you for it but what I'm saying is there's when when you guys hand us these documents right that story is not being painted why isn't it isn't it articulated in black and white and furthermore why aren't the directors coming explaining what happened with the money what's so odd about that well I agree that's why they come to caucus but that's why I work with your staff today to kind of explain everything and clarify that I don't want you to explain I want you to put it in black and white so I can read it interpret it and if I have further questions I can ask you what so hard with putting it in black and white that's what I want to know yeah I'm happy to get it for you councilman that's why I was working on it for you throughout the day it just until I got the answers from the Departments I didn't get until about 44 but this has been since February it has to be in black and white I don't know where I'm confused I'm looking at numbers I'm listening to statements I'm I'm I'm watching replies on an email from the Grants Department the lady clearly articulate that she cannot answer these questions the email Trail went cold you would think we just T so we table it we'll table it we'll have the accountants come in and correct we'll have a meeting on it or table it he said since February so evidently y his answer is not satisfied okay so we're going to withdraw 10.3 correct yeah all right so council members going to be taking a vote on items 10.1 through 10.14 with the exception of 10.3 and 13 which have been withdrawn council person Ridley hi council person priner for all council person Bano council person CLE I for all council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees and council president wman items 10.1 through 10.14 with the exception of 10.3 and 13 which have been withdrawn and 10.8 was approved earlier are approved 80 with council person Riva absent next set of resolutions items 10.15 through 10.26 again that's 10.15 through 10.26 council person Ridley I council person priner Hi council person bajano did you say i i c council person SLE I for all council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore hi council person Dees and council president wman 10.25 and I on the rest okay if I can just recap items 10.15 through 10.24 approved 80 with council person Rivera absent item 10 25 is approved 701 with council president Waterman abstaining and item 10.26 is approved 80 with council person Riva absent on to our next set of resolutions items 10.27 through 10.37 again that's 10.27 through 10.37 Sean we're going to be withdrawing 10:37 so we get a legal opinion so just 10:37 correct sorry I think want withraw 35 and 36 too is the the same so 1035 36 37 yep so withdrawing 10.35 through 10.37 okay so council members going to be taking a vote on items 10.27 through 10.34 10.35 through 37 has been withdrawn council person Ridley I council person priner Hi for all council person bajano Hi council person s hi for all council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore I council person Dees and council president wman items 10.27 through 10.34 are approved 80 we council person Rivera absent and 10.35 through 37 are withdrawn on to our next batch of resolutions 10 point items 10.38 through 10.51 again that's 10.38 through 10.51 with the exception of 10.44 which has been approved earlier council person Ridley stain on 40 41 and 42 and I P all the rest abstaining on 40 40 41 and 42 yes I and all the rest got it council person priner I for all council person bajano I for all council person SLE I for all council person Solomon hi council person Gilmore um I have a question F wait is 42 is that a that's a renewal right yes it's a renewal but this is the one it should be um a final bill on that one okay I'm going to um I'll vote I for all except for 42 um I remember the instance where this officer was a PL guilty and resigned and all that so I I'm I'm not going to vote for uh legal defense for um for that I'll vote I on arrest I'll vote no 142 and councilman just so you're clear it's a different incident no no I know it's a different incident but I mean it's the same officers I mean so yeah because I remember I I I voted no last time that's why I was asking was it a renewal um yeah I'm aware it's a different incident okay so you're voting I on all with the exception of 10.42 you're voting no yes thank you council person Dees and council president wman okay items 10.38 through 39 or approved 80 with council person Rivera absent 10.40 is approved 701 with council person Ridley abstaining and council person Rivera absent item 10.41 is also approved 701 council person Ridley abstaining council person Rivera absent item 10.42 is approved 6 one one with council person Ridley abstaining and council person Gilmore voting no and council person Riva abson on to our balance of our resolutions items 10.52 through 10.56 10.56 was approved earlier so it's 10.52 through 10.55 council person Ridley hi council person priner Hi for all council person bajano just want to say something I said it the C because people can't afford to live here anymore all those tall towers none of them have affordable housing the Square task force especially Michael armman and Katie Brennan have spent every day working with me my office Meera you and Yousef I'd like to thank them and everyone for their support please understand that the task force can I never intended to give bonuses especially in the form of higher density to developers Michael ER and Katie Brennan are here if anyone has additional questions but I think they both spoke before but I vote ey on everything and I'm glad to see this affordable housing uh resolution go through council person SLE did he vote said I okay sorry okay um I vote I for all and I want to thank um councilman boano councilwoman Mir preri um and especially Katie and Michael for all their hard work on the um 2060 Redevelopment plan to amend it so that we can have affordable housing in Journal Square we are definitely behind the eight ball uh not just in the city but across the state when it comes to affordable housing and um it's become unaffordable so this is really uh important for us to remedy and I really thank you for being Visionaries and really pushing uh the needle moving the needle on this so with that I vote I for everything thank you council person Solomon I vote I for all thank you councilman Bano and your team and Journal Square team for moving this forward person Gilmore hi council person Dees hi on all congratulations to councilman Boo's team he worked extremely hard and this is a great victory for the Journal Square area and thank you to everybody helped him Katie Michael Tom Council people um I vote I on all council president wman v i items 10.52 through 10.56 approved 80 with council person Rivera absent motion to adjourn motion to adjourn at 9:30 on the dot by council person Cay may I have a second second by council person Prince AR all council members present by acclamation please say I we are out of here at 9:30 p.m. thank you so much everyone present and everyone watching at home remember team work makes the DreamWork have a great night stay safe I voted for the pot so mad at himself for