okay if I can have your attention please we're about to get started if we can close the back door and any side doors that are open thank you and please silence your cell phones again we're about to get started so if we're going to have conversations you can take the conversations outside and come back in we need to conduct business thank you good evening everyone we are on the record today is the 24th day of January in the year 2024 this is a regular meeting of the Jersey City municipal Council we had a scheduled 6 PM start the clock on my cell phone is showing 6:05 PM may we have a roll call for the commencement of this meeting council person Ridley here council person priner council person bajano here council person SLE here council person Solomon is not here council person Gilmore is not here yet council person Dees here council person Rivera not here and council president wman we have Rivera is here oh council person Rivera is here moim present at 6:06 p.m. so we now have seven council members in attendance at 606 PM can we kindly rise for a moment of silence please thank you very much on of council president Waterman and the members of the municipal Council in accordance with the 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 the 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 January 19th 2024 at 4:33 p.m. to the mayor minicipal council business administrator Corporation Council on the local newspapers and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law I see council person Gilmore here and I'll mock council person Gilmore present at 6:08 p.m. so we now have 8 council members present at 608 okay our first order of business there are two additional speakers added to the agenda which we'll get to um at the end before we started and there'll be speakers numbers 81 and 82 so we're on to our first reading ordinances first reading ordinance item 3.1 city ordinance 24-2 which is an ordinance amending and supplementing chapter 3 Administration of government article 11 Department of Public Safety sub Article 1 division of police of the Jersey City Municipal Code uh thank you Sean uh the administration's going to uh withdraw this item for consideration tonight for first reading um we did have a presentation by the director uh Shay and there's been a lot of feedback from the Council on wanting to create potentially a subcommittee I spoke with councilwoman priner and uh we're going to withdraw it work with the council and repres presing uh um there might be some material changes that we'd have to reintroduce anyway so it's best that we just take it off the uh for the vote tonight okay that being said that will be withdrawn 3.1 is withdrawn item 3.2 city ordinance 24- 003 is an ordinance supplementing chapter 332 vehicles and traffic Article 2 traffic regulations amending section section of Westside Avenue and Pavonia Avenue as a multi-way stop control intersection okay council members so I will only be taking a vote on item 3.2 since 3.1 has been withdrawn for introduction council person Ridley I council person priner Hi for introduction council person bajano Hi council person CLE hi for introduction council person Gilmore I council person Dees hi per introduction council person Rivera I council president wman item 3.2 is introduced 80 with council person Solomon absent council members we have no second reading ordinances so we're going to move on to our public hearing request before we move on to that I just want to State for the record that I know that you know when you come up it's a very pass we're all passionate about the subjects that we're speaking about I just want to make sure that we're all respectful to one another if you're going to applaud please wait until the person is done speaking and then you can applaud afterwards if you applaud during the when the person is speaking you're just using up their time so with that being said council members you're G to you want to make a statement before we uh proceed yeah councilman Sole and councilman boana want to make a statement sure all right very good okay uh first of all I want to thank councilman SLE and councilman Solomon and meeting with me and the recreation director lucenda mlin about the ice skating ring we support the communi and recreation's requests that a new ice ring be installed we should partner however the ring is used by people people in other parts of the county we should partner with Hudson County and Hudson County should get involved and help the cost of this new ring New Jersey Devils is already partnering partnering with us at Lois they're getting quite a bit of money from us they should partner with us on our ice rank how can we have the New Jersey Devils in the city with no ice rank we need to act now on accessing the $1 million Grant secured by Senator Angela mcnight to utilize for a study John can we have a dedicated City agency or person that can work with Recreation on this study John C uh could you answer that please I just want to put on the record that this hasn't been an Administration verse Recreation verse uh Council initiative the director uh mlin had presented to us that there was significant issues the ice rink that were Beyond repair or we could decide to dump potentially millions of dollars into a repair that may not have uh the longevity that was worth the investment so the discussion was that it needs a suit to nuts type of um re reinforcement and reconstruction and then the discussion was how large is that footprint do we do we um redo the um existing roof the locker rooms is there other ideas for the exterior you know so that was kind of the conversations we had about doing the study and and how far-reaching it would be we do understand what we need as far as um designing the actual ice rink the requirements for the refrigerant and all that type of uh um requirements so the the feasibility study is going to say if we allocate the upwards of the $5 million as it's been discussed what does that enable us to um do as far as facilities in addition to the ice so um that's absolutely something that we're engaged in and reviewing and we also are presenting a capital stack to to the Council next month which will include the funding for um some of these ice rink uh initiatives and we have been in Communications with the uh New Jersey Devils on potentially granting us some funds or programming once the new ice rink is open but John can we get somebody from the city who'll be directly responsible and answer the questions to us that we need answered yeah so the process would be that it would it would be a project initiated by the department of recreation with assistance from infrastructure director Patel and they'll work with outside vendors we don't have any professionals inhouse that build ice RS so we'd hire a professional agency and they'll Ste us through the process they can do presentations before Council and and we'll you know we could do monthly updates or whatever the council desires as far as the Devils go we're giving them I believe $30 million I think they should be very heavily involved John oh yep I Echo I Echo a lot of what uh councilman boano said that um we definitely would like to hold a meeting with you John Metro the mayor and Bara director Patel um and to move forward with uh using a portion of the $1 million towards getting a feasibility study as to how to repair the ice rink um we want to have bi-weekly check-ins with the community um and then the last item that we want to do is continue to set up meetings with Craig the county executive Ida Pon lipsky um and our New Jersey State Legislative Representatives Raj mcgie Angel mcnight you know Senator stack all these Senators um so the issue isn't done and definitely like to partner with councilman boano on this and councilman Solomon to bring the ice rink back to full capacity and what it used to be um and I'll share notes with the community at a later date um from our meeting this week um I also have a proclamation that I want to present um is it if you would entertain me okay it's a proclamation for international Holocaust Rememberance Day um whereas the city of Jersey City is proud to recognize International Hall hust Remembrance Day on Saturday January 27th Jersey City New Jersey and whereas International Holocaust Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the liberation of owitz Burano the deadliest concentration camp of the Holocaust and is a day to honor the victims of the Holocaust and promote Holocaust Education globally whereas the Holocaust stands as enduring symbol of the darkest chapter in human history marked by the systemic persecution and genocide of 6 million Jews as well as millions of others including the Romani people disabled individuals LGBT plus Poes Slavs political dissidents and others who suffered under the brutal regime of Nazi Germany whereas it is our solemn duty to remember the victims of the Holocaust honor the survivors and ensure the atrocities committed during this period are never ever forgotten whereas Holocaust Remembrance Day provides an opportunity for reflection and education en encouraging people of all backgrounds to learn about the historical significance of the Holocaust and the importance of preventing such atrocities from occurring in the future and whereas a society we strive to combat anti-Semitism Prejudice intolerance and hatred in all of its forms promoting understanding empathy and protection of human rights for all people whereas we recognize the resilience of those who endured the horrors of the Holocaust and we express our deepest condolences to the families and communities affected by this tragedy and whereas we stand in solidarity with Jewish communities in Jersey City Across the Nation and around the world and honor the memories of the victims and embracing survivors and descendants whose resilience and stories Inspire us to combat hatred in all of its forms now therefore be hereby resolved that I step M FIP mayor of Jersey City do hereby Proclaim Saturday January 27th 2024 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in the city of Jersey City I urge all citizens to take a moment of reflection engage in educational activities and participate in remembrance events to honor the memory of the victims and Stand United against anti-Semitism hatred and Injustice and to my knowledge this is the first time uh Proclamation has been issued for international Holocaust Remembrance Day I do believe the United United Nations is doing uh coordinating activities as well and I'd be honored if I could present this on behalf of the mayor to uh members of the community I know yes okay Sean all righty so we are now going to approach our public hearing request so please pay a close attention to your agenda I'll be calling the number and the first name of the individual and with that being said our first present uh speaker is 5.1 HL good evening my name is HL gas and I proud to serve as an inaugural member and current chairperson of the Immigrant Affairs committee I'm joined by my fellow committee members and thank you for supporting our appointments but also to thank you for your leadership in priority izing the integration of our immigrant neighbors our committee has worked tirelessly in the past year and we are honored to present you to you your annual report our annual report in our report you will find a month byon record of our engagements with various immigrant communities as well as our Communications with your offices while Jersey City is proud to be known as America's golden door the dynamic landscape of immigration rules and migration crises make it necessary for us to be ever vigilant Beacon as bright as the torch Illuminating the great Statue of Liberty for this we are fortunate to have you our elected council members to Champion the work of welcoming you continue to support the work of immigrant Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services which is still the nation's only Health Department to provide federally accredited legal accredited legal services to our residents you have joined us as Jersey City residents became citizens at ceremonies held in this very Council ch Chambers you've honored so many national flag raisings and sought to empower immigrants who have come to Jersey City as their place of Refuge schooling employment growth and empowerment to work for the American dream that you have all witnessed become realities for your constituents you are essential leaders in making Jersey City such a diverse unified and proudly American city I stand before you to also share an incredible opportunity our committee has recently concluded a multi study of Jersey City's very unique linguistic landscape as you may already know nearly 42% of our residents are born outside of the United States per capita that's almost that's more than New York and Los Angeles our committee has found blind spots and inefficiencies in non-english messaging that can be addressed we've investigated what other other cities are doing how our non-english-speaking residents prefer to engage in build and we've received input from our own departments especially Communications we've looked at the Immigrant Affairs division at HHS and seen superb example of how to engage non-english speakers they cultivated the best practices informed by other cities and harnessed the strength of trusted Partners within immigrant communities they were the first to mail out PPE with multilingual instructions to send text messages Al message alerts in Spanish Arabic Udu Creole and French to establish a set of Target languages that adjusts for linguistic overlap and English proficiencies and to cultivate relationships with quality language service vendors the payoff at Immigrant Affairs HHS has been remarkable not only did HHS employee refuse it add testing sites thank you thank you um we have to move on to the next speaker okay thank you our next speaker 5.2 Stephen good evening everyone one my name is Steven DeLuca thank you for allowing me to appear here today I'm an attorney admitted into practice law in New Jersey I currently serve on the Immigrant Affairs committee as well as On The Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Coalition against human trafficking I also work with the arch stes of newer to ensure all clergy employees and volunteers are screened and trained in the prevention of child sex abuse uh the resolution that we are moving is resolution number 24-37 uh human trafficking is the recruitment harboring Transportation provision or obtaining of a person through the use of force fraud or coercion for the purpose of forc Labor or sexual exploitation it involves the exchange of money or something of value and it takes many forms the force fraud or coercion element is not necessary when it comes to sex trafficking of minors because they cannot consent to commercial sex in New Jersey it is considered a form of child abuse and it's mandatory that we reported to dcpp in New Jersey labor traffic trafficking uh uses violence threats lies and other forms of coion to force people to work against their will in many Industries New Jersey's Agriculture and hospitality industries along with a large number of undocumented workers provide the perfect setting for labor traffickers Jersey City is considered a major trafficking Hub because of its Transportation networks and large number of migrants who live here and pass through here the first law passed in the United States regarding trafficking was the trafficking victims protection act of 20 and its amendments the Coalition worked with many stakeholders to create one of the first comprehensive Statewide laws on human trafficking with the passage of the human trafficking law of 2013 since then we have worked with various stakeholders to have these laws amended and updated at the state and federal levels both the federal and state laws established January 11th as human trafficking Awareness Day some 10 years ago the Coalition started a proclamation project seeking to have every municipality in New Jersey adopt the proclamation or resolution recognizing January 11th as human trafficking Awareness Day Jersey City did that and so did Hudson County at this time we are proposing another resolution before you today for Jersey City to reaffirm our commitment to fighting human trafficking in addition we have begun discussions about how to augment our efforts to fight trafficking here in New Jersey with the anticipation of the World Cup coming here in a couple of years we're also looking at working with the mayor and the city council and others to prepare for that as we anticipate an increase of demand during major sporting events so at this time we're we are just introducing the proposed resolution and we ask that you adopt it thank you very much thank you hey our next speaker 5.3 L Happy New Year to all next month is February is Black History Month and next month I would like for this Council to recognize a business on uh monel avue right down the street from our Council it's a Heir product place it's been there they be 50 years in this city the father died the son took over the business and I think I I went there today and I because they see the old pictures where they used to be on MLK in Atlantic Street and they moved to Monella independent beauty supply place and to be still standing in our community for 50 years I think the father has passed but the son the mother still alive and the son took over the business and I think we need to recognize them and have this city this jersey joural and all this stuff to a business that still with all this new Beauty Supplies people coming in with different types of stuff they still standing they used to distribute to our local Beauty PS and barber shops which a lot of them has closed up I went there today and to see them old pictures of his father and the old building that they used to be and you know what I'm talking about so can you do that for me look into that and recognize them next month they anniversary of 50 years in a black business that's still standing and I appreciate it if you can couns been look into it for me and do something and then and then the other thing is I have a problem with housing I have some people keep calling me two ladies on dialysis living on shelter and other ones living in the sea caucus and the hotel for a year they about to put it out she was supposed to go in the Web building on Oak Street the owner sold to the city and now she still having problems getting in here she's on dialysis born and raised here another young lady on dialysis she was living with a relative that can't continue to keep her and these are people that live here born here raised here they did work it couldn't help they got sick so I'm praying for you or pray for me thanks Li our next speaker 5.4 Tina hey guys Justice for drill Justice for juill first of all I just want to say I'm still going by nonprofits for our community our nonprofits is of the foots on the ground in Jersey City you already know education and Gilmore because they was a fire here who you reached out to oh Community treasure anyway I don't even get paid for that but hey but hey but yes I just wanted to let y'all know that the nonprofits is really out there y really do need to form some type of board to help out the nonprofit I can't do my paperwork I can't um share it and all that cuz I'm am out there on the field of doing it last night me and Edward went to Medical Center to drop off a basset that baby was in the hospital for three days because the baby could not leave the hospital without a bassinet they called me who Community treasure and asked to get that bassinet and get a car seat for one of the other mothers we made that happen we bought that and I was so happy because no mother should sit in the hospital and worry about how they going to get home how they baby going to get home before first of all we got to worry about our chest leaking we got to worry about our privacy and stuff like that we shouldn't be worrying about how we goingon to get our baby on it should be some type of team that's helping it out but see but me being in the community they knew who to reach out to because y'all y'all the big dogs right here so I'm going have to move up and get them big dog seats right there because they knew to reach out to to community treasure and I want to thank you Chief staff afca because we didn't have no water in my building that's what I mean about leaders leaders mean I can call you and let you know what's going on in the community you picked up that phone educational Gilmore you picked up that phone Jeffy Walker picked up that phone and I appreciate you I appreciate you mirror for having that meeting I had I said to y'all a couple of weeks ago have a meeting with me I let you know what's going on I thank you for reaching out um Miss nise I thank you for helping my son my son had been going to 10 college had reached out to him I live on Oak Martin Luther King that was a big thing you sent him a birthday I couldn't afford for him to get nothing for Christmas I couldn't afford nothing for for his birthday educational Gilmore you Erica e they help me out I need help too just as well as me helping out the community if I can't help myself I can't continue to help out the community so I wanted to let them know I want to thank yall for our new building Steve he's doing his job there that's a blessing for that I just wanted to let you know it's a shame that the kids got to come here and not be in the field and skate and stuff like that that's what I tell you about my War F we need more resource we need to be focused on these kids and not I don't know what y' focusing on they should have been skating and instead of being here sitting down tonight y'all need to start drawing up the Border doing something else but that's okay 2020 25 is about to come New Beginning New Year our next speaker 5.5 Cameron hello my name is Cameron in Ward c um and I am I don't have any real speech prepared tonight but I'm here to say justice for Drew and ceasefire now um and uh I I don't know sounds like um the situation with the Mental Health crisis program has been installed the public uh so-called Public Safety is not meeting with um the community to talk about so that we can have a a a program that has cooperation so I'm wondering what the council is doing to push them to the table um and also um this issue of the police compensation for um you know when there's big public events and stuff like that I don't understand why the police department is the only Department that gets extra money when there's a public event um we have something like I mean I don't know what the exact numbers are but I know it's more than $100 million going into the police and something like8 million or something for Public Safety isn't that like isn't that misplaced priorities um we talk about we don't have money for RVE together the mayor says but you're putting all this money in the police um you know we need to invest in programs that that help people not harm people you can't just you know not help people and then when problems come out try to hit it with a hammer I mean um and uh also I hope I think it's extremely important for the you know every single day in in Palestine more and more people civilians children women men all innocent civilians are being killed um I think there's no hospitals left they're all destroyed um I mean what are you waiting for it's you it's time um I thank you so much to council members uh Gilmore and Sal and boano for supporting the the resolution for a ceasefire um but it sounds like we need to put more pressure on the rest of the folks on the council to take a stand um you know the majority it's majority of of people in the United States are man to see this war genocide stop and it's um I'm I'm really glad that we're we're honoring the you know the victims of the Holocaust um one thing that wasn't mentioned in that resolution is fascism that was a that was a product of fascism and fascism is knocking on the door here in the United States and the war in Gaza is strengthening the the fascist forces here in the United States so you know there's there's a genocide going on now too there's genocide going on in Sudan there's genocide going on in Congo we got to fight them all thank you our next speaker 5.6 Daniel good evening uh council members councilwoman president nice to see you guys um I came to see if there was an update on the Wayne Street version um uh guess the only person that would be Mr Solon to respond um but the other issue I did want to bring up from the past meeting about the bicycles and the fees getting in placed um I live downtown right here on Groen Wayne and one of the observations that I do make with cyclist is your traditional cyclist the majority of them do follow the rules the ones that don't are usually the ones with ebikes and scooters and those are the ones that go on the sidewalk middle of the street against traffic and it's something that somebody's going to get hurt down downtown uh when you cross Groves you got to look three ways before you even cross the sidewalk the bike lane and then the street um so I just wanted to bring that to your attention thank you again our next speaker 5.7 William good evening council members William I'm William looker this is my wife Emily my two sons who as you can see play for the Jersey City capitals Emily and I lived in Jersey City for the past eight years and the boys have lived here their whole lives William I'm sorry did you you just come a little closer and just raise the mic so we can all hear we love living in Jersey City and in no small part due to the Charlie Hager ice rank at persing field and the Jersey City capsules Hockey Club as our Council Representatives I hope you realize how important and influential this rink is to so many people's lives including our family and the distress and anger this that's being caused inflicted by the closure for over a year which has totally disrupted two winter seasons I know councilman bogano and councilman Solomon appreciate this and we thank them both for their continued support we understand the situation is complex but the lack of communication or cooperation from the community since the ring closed is completely unacceptable so far we've been drip fed sound bites with vague and inconsistent details and that's if our emails and phone calls have been responded to the story has also been changing the council was confidently told at the budget hearing last August that the rink was expected to open by winter 2023 then we started hearing that it needed 5 million to fix properly a number which is so far been completely unsubstantiated and frankly questionable whether this is actually required or whether it's become an aspirational vanity project at the very least it doesn't seem to have been well thought through as we're now hearing about a feasibility study using the million dooll Grant from the Department of Environmental Protection granted in August last year specifically for repairs improvements and upgrades to the rink and now we heard earli I think from John Metro that this could be tens of millions so it's getting more and more vague by the day why has the city been sitting on this money for six months before considering a consultan and what sources of funds are being explored for the shortfall and where is the mayor in all this he's been in office for onethird of the life of the equipment that was left to fail and the issues that we have been well known for a long time it would be nice if he made a public statement to commit to reopen the rink like some of the candidates likely to run for mayor next year I appreciate his his priority may now be running for governor but it doesn't give me much confidence that he can that he can run a state if he can't even keep an ice rink open hopefully hopefully hopefully the strong attendance today demonstrates we have a passionate group of people who are not prepared for this issue to be swept under the carpet for any longer we deserve more transparency and for our voices and opinions to be heard so we urge you to get the real details from the relevant people and to support our request to establish an oversight committee with representation from the community where we can work together constructively for a positive outcome and until then we will be creating a lot of noise and attention thank you thank you thank you on you want to reiterate let them know when they clap we can't hear them please when may clap we can't hear what they saying yeah so so again before I call the next speaker if we can just hold the Applause until the end of the person who speaking till they end their comments only because if you interrupt it and the person still continues to speak while you guys are clapping the council cannot hear exactly what they're saying we know we all know it's very passionate but again we just want everyone to be heard okay thank you with that being said our next speaker 5.8 Richard honorable council person I uh want to talk about uh New Jersey Senate Bill 4132 I left a copy for each of the council people that's to register and ensure the ebikes and scooters the last meeting that I heard I heard councilman Gilmore and borano were were quite upset that we keep passing bills and there's no enforcement well apparently this bill will have a great to great deal to do when enforcement because the penalty for no insurance is 300 and the registration is 100 we have a lot of people who deliver our our products from our restaurants to people and we have a lot of people who were employed by using ebikes I think it is important that we have enforcement but I hear we should have training before we should have enforcement it came out of committee in December 14th of this year and they said about 180 days later they were going to enact it I don't know what the state Senate's doing but it seems like we have a halfy year before this comes to Jersey City where this will be enforced we have a lot of people who are employed we have people who can help them register their cars I mean their bikes uh we have the Jersey City Restaurant Association they work with these people they can help them uh we can talk to the Outreach programs like team worker we can get the message out through committee uh to the community Through bike Jersey City safe Street Jersey City and I think we should have uh director uh Shay give us a you know some sort of plan he's got six months at least to put something together we have four districts for different issues downtown's different than the south and east and the West there'll be plenty of time to go ahead and do those things we should get a contact from motor vehicle when is this going to go into effect because it seems like if we stop somebody as a police officer and give him $700 of tickets and make him spend three court appearances for something I don't know about it it doesn't seem to be fair if we educate him for six months then enforcement will be less and we won't have the confrontations about going on how would you like to get a meal that gets there later because they get stopped the bike getss impounded and everybody has a problem it's plenty of time to work on this project you got at least six months to do so I don't know if this day is the right date but I think we have time to at least look at it thank you thank you our next speaker 5.9 Albert how are you council members um I'm going to make my uh I'm going to make this short and sweet okay I just wrote a little note about Holocaust Remembrance Day and then after that I just have one little thing to say Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as a solemn reminder of the atrocities committed during World War II we must honor the millions of lives lost reflect on the unfathomable suffering and vow to prevent such Horrors from repeating It's A Day to Remember educate and Stand United against any hatred ensuring that the lessons from history guide us towards a future rooted in tolerance and compassion and that would mean tolerance and compassion passion to or all people all religions I have been up here I think three four times in a row just asking for the people of Jersey City to find some way for us to get together and sit down and let's work out our issues within this city together okay whether we be with the council members without the council members whatever is necessary I'm always around I can always be reached and I just think that it's important that the people of Jersey City come together and just solve our unique problems together the other thing I just wanted to mention is we there everybody's talking about the ebikes and the bicycles and so on I'm always on The Pedestrian Plaza last year there was a police post on The Pedestrian Plaza with two officers on Newark and Grove two offices on Barrow two offices on Jersey Avenue and a supervisor that's gone they the police pulled that post I don't know why I don't understand why it's dangerous when you see what people are doing Halloween with hundreds of people walking the streets and ebikes and scooters flying about was really dangerous somebody is going to get hurt thank you thank you our next speaker 5.10 Jenny good evening uh thank you for ackn first of all thank you for acknowledging our advocacy on behalf of the Jewish Community I recognize that speaking out on a controversial matter requires conviction especially amid tension it gives hope that open dialogue can truly make a difference in Ena change real change doesn't happen overnight it's a gradual process of re-evaluating the past and challenging unconscious biases steps have been taken but I ask our city to continue to reflect on what more can be done to combat Rising anti-Semitism here some points to consider if an openly anti-semitic comment is made in this room it needs to be immediately condemned and that individual could be asked to leave when addressing anti-Semitism necessitates mentioning islamophobia in the same sentence it results in decentering from a valid concern please recognize the following statements which I'll read in a moment as anti-Semitism these statements and others of similar nature have spread in our city and they violate each aspect of the official definition of anti-semitism outlined by the international Holocaust remembrance Alliance Zionism is Terrorism this denies the right to Jew self-determination and threatens the political movement essential for the security and liberation of Jewish people after centuries of persecution Israel buys American politicians perpetuates an ageold dehumanizing stereotype that Jews are tied to money and power long live the inata calls for harm to Jewish civilians in the name of radical ideology it is right to Rebel Israel go to hell justifies harm to Jews by calling to eradicate Israel these are some statements that have been seen around Jersey City on stickers and also seen on online uh also there have been calls for boycotts of Jewish businesses Beyond being blatantly discriminatory this holds Jews collectively responsible for actions in this um happening in the state of Israel I urge you to offer actionable alternatives to this political divisiveness such as encouraging volunteering with Refugee communities in Jersey City I've volunteered for years in support of families from Syria Afghanistan Ukraine and Beyond and I know there are some amazing nonprofits here this and education in public schools to combat discrimination should be our priorities thank you for your consideration thank you our next speaker 5.11 Tony good evening Council evening I want to start by saying thank you Uso for the proclamation that you delivered today one of my um favorite parts of that Proclamation was to combat hate in all forms and we just heard a pretty comprehensive list of the hate that needs combating within our community right now it is interesting for me as someone who has never been a part of the Jewish Community to come into this three years ago by marrying my wife who is Israeli Jew and also to now have two daughters that are both Jewish growing up white and in West Virginia I did not experience much hate at all so I have a hard time understanding a lot of the hate that is required by people to be demonstrated in the ways that it has been what I do understand is that there has been moments within this community where it has been asked of us to just ignore it or to be silent and it brings very eerily similar to another point in the history of the Jewish Community where they were asked to be silent as well and if anything what these hateful comments and stickers and the anti-semitic arts and craft show that has been on display in our community has done it has made the community stronger more mobilized more resourceful and louder because I have two daughters that I will raise to know that if they see or feel anything that isn't right they have have the right to speak up about it and I hope that they do there was an experiment in around the 19th century where if you put a frog in a Boiling Pot of water it would jump out if you put a frog in a pot of water and then slowly dialed up the heat it would not jump out out it would simply sit there until it got boiled to death now why there's a lot of science that rebukes this particular experiment the metaphor lives on as the inability to recognize the danger of something because it progresses so slowly that we don't notice until it's too late there are parts of this community right now that are boiling and I don't want it to become too late barem Amel thank you our next speaker 5.12 Lynn thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak here today I want to start by expressing my deep gratitude to all of you for recognizing Holocaust Remembrance Day special thanks to councilman you her spearheading the proclamation it means so much on my mother's side both of my grandparents are Holocaust Survivors and on my father's side they fled Morocco and it became unsafe for Jews I never imagined that I would see a Resurgence of anti-Semitism in our world and the silence we are experiencing today eerily resembles the silence before the Holocaust to remain silent in the face of rising anti-Semitism is to ignore the lessons of our history the recent appearances of anti-Semitic stickers here in Jersey City might not mean to might not mean much to some but to me in the Jewish Community it represents something much deeper one such sticker reads globalize the inata when I was just 13 years old I lived in Israel during the second inata a Time marked by a wave of terrorist attacks suicide bombings in malls bars and buses I remember one day when I was home alone doing my homework I heard a deafening boom a bus had been blown up a few blocks away from my home in a suicide bomb attack claiming the lives of innocent people people who were my neighbors during that time when the violence continued every time I left the house I wondered will I die today seeing these violent stickers calling for the globalizing of the inata brings back those same fears to some walking by it may mean nothing but to me it signifies that there are people in the city who wish harm upon me and my family you all know my beautiful 11-year-old daughter Mia born and raised here in Jersey City who goes to vanor park to play with her dogs and play with her friends how do you think it feels to have to explain to her what a sticker means that calls to abolish Israel when her grandparents and her whole family live there what do you suggest I say to her I probably I I've proudly called Jersey City my home for 15 years years now dedicating a decade of that time to running a Jersey City blog I was always so proud to live in a city considered the most diverse in this country a city that stands up against hate and Injustice towards any group that a a city that welcomes people from every walks of life and to be honest I've been personally dealing with microaggression since I started the blog 10 years ago because I'm Jewish people blaming me for gentrification putting up stickers chickp equals Isis attacking me online when I express sadness after the uh hate crime at the Jersey at the Kosher Supermarket the list goes on I could talk about this for hours but the magnitude of the hate I've personally had to deal with um in the since October 7th has been devastating and scary thank you thank you our next speaker 5.13 Jackie good evening council members I here this evening to ask you to prioritize reopening persing Field Park Ice Rink after its closure more than a year ago uh excuse me can can can you just stop for one minute of course I can can can you tell the the clock yeah yeah that's not a problem not a problem okay oh you guys all listen listen up can they come up here while you talk let the kids come up here while you talk now get a picture of this Jersey City's making history again you let me know when you're ready all right you ready for me okay yes okay I'll let you start Studies have shown the Impact Sports have on children coming out of the pandemic there has been even more evidence proving the importance of youth sports and recreation for children's mental health showing children who participate in sports display higher levels of self-esteem self-efficacy and social support and lower levels of depression loneliness self-reg and fatalism evidence has also shown the importance of providing access to multiple Sports and recreational act activities especially for those living in cities and urban areas such as Jersey City for the children you see here tonight up there next to you and for hundreds of others who are not here tonight one of their Sports is hockey to play hockey these children must have access to a rink a rink that Jersey city has willingly let Decay for the last year with no public comment on a reopen date nor a plan for what's required meanwhile this team the local hockey team is left to scramble searching for ice across the state so their players can play and for some families who I know personally they had given up the sport entirely because driving hours upon hours a week for practice and for games is simply not possible how shameful how utterly shameful the lack of progress and communication on this matter is unacceptable and the children of Jersey City and the Hudson County area deserve better the desire to fix hering Field Park Ice Rink has been displayed the demand to fix persing Field Park Ice Rink has been displayed the need goes unmet how much longer when will this Community start to see a concrete plan with facts and figures instead of finger pointing and fabrications of costs 5 Mill ion do where did this number come from Google this community wants the department of recreation and Youth Development and the mayor to publicly post a concrete plan to reopen hering Field Park Ice Rink which outlines the full scope of repairs and Renovations a timeline for the project and the budget and any potential obstacles anticipated it's time for answers and actions and unless you do that the fate of persing field park remains on thin ice thank you thank you that's a good experience yesterday we yesterday I had the Girl Scouts up [Laughter] here I guess tomorrow be the cup Scouts okay our next speaker 5.14 William William F good evening Council members my name is William Fong I'm a lifelong resident of Jersey City a former player and coach for the Jersey City capitals and a member of the Jersey City Fire Department hockey team I'm here to speak on the importance of the Charlie Hager ice rink that is to this community and also the state of New Jersey for the past few years the Charlie Hager ice rink has sat in disrepair this has forced the organizations that call the rink home to find alternative ways to get on the ice this makes it difficult for them to practice it even it makes it even more difficult for them to compete at the state level in which they play on a more personal note I have many fond memories of Persian field I took my first steps on the ice with my dad played my first hockey game with the Jersey City capitals played for the St Peters prep team where I was the assistant captain and we were the number one team in the state and I also play in charity hockey games with the Jersey City Fire Department I also took my wife on our first date to a public session at Persian field when I played for the Jersey City capitals I was forced to go elsewhere at the age of 10 because there were simply not enough kids to fi the team the capitals have come a long way since then now feing Fielding multiple teams at each age level from eight and under all the way up to 16 you some of which have won League championships put putting Jersey City on the New Jersey youth hockey map the longer Persian field sits vacant the more likely kids today will be forced to go elsewhere like I was please take this into consideration and thank you for your time our next speaker 5.15 Caroline I believe she's not here next speaker 5.16 oleny good evening council members my name is on and I am 8 years old I am here because I love hockey and we don't have a ring to practice or play games I feel mad sad and frustrated that our rink is still broken please fix our rink so everyone in our community can use it thank you thank you great job great job our next speaker 5 point7 Marty good evening council members my name is Marty Cox and I am eight years old it hurts my feelings that some kids had to quit hockey because our rank is closed we had to travel far distances to play hockey and our home Jersey just feels useless because we don't have a home rank I would like you to fix our rank so kids don't have to quit hockey and hockey and we have a place to play in our city thank you for your time I have to say I'm always amazed that the young ones coming up in public speaking and having no issues with it totally amazed it's great Jersey City's great with that being said next speaker 5.18 Jeremy good evening council members thank you um I'm Jeremy battles I'm a parent of two New Jersey capitals I'm here to ask that the rehabilitation and reopening of persing field ARS ice rink which has been closed over a year as you know be prioritized whenever I see something in the news or social media about Jersey City it is almost always a splashy headline that touches on the themes of growth progress and investment you cannot walk around downtown or Journal Square without seeing a new Building Development the most recent splashy headline from City Hall from our mayor was at Bank of America signing a 550,000 square foot lease in Newport we have developments which have garnered International headlines and attention underway in Liberty Science Center with scitech City and in Journal Square with the ppao expansion and it's not just commercial and residential real estate Investments though over the last over the years the last 10 years Georgia city has built entirely new parks in Barry Lane Park Kohl's Park Fount Park Bethune Park and there soon to be Courthouse Park and City Hall Park right out back of this building businesses institutions and families are all investing in Jersey City the sky the limit what's not a splashy headline though for Jersey city is Jersey City upand cominging major International City neglected lone recreational ice hockey rank to the point of disres disrepair one year later no changes no plan kids who play hockey good luck amidst all the growth progress investment which are all great all we're asking for is the city not let this ice rank slip through the cracks and that it' be prioritized and get these kids back on the ice I have a little extra time so I'm going to read on behalf of Thomas who is also Jersey City capital with like my two kids the persing field rank is very important to me because it is is where I learned how to skate it's where I learn to play hockey with the Jersey City capitals the rink is not just for hockey but it's also for everyone that skates wants to learn how to skate we need a home base to play and practice please fix and open up the rink so we can all enjoy it also a concession stand would be nice thank you our next speaker 5.19 Evan hello my name is Evan and I am a father of one Jersey City capital player you may look at me and think to yourself that does not look like a hockey player and you would be correct I've never played hockey or shot a puck I can barely skate and yet I still agreed to coach my son jaylen's team you may ask how did we come across hockey well I'll take you back to covid uh 2021 I was at of Dunkin Donuts and I saw a small girl with a lot of hockey gear on and I asked where does she play hockey her dad told me about the capitals clinic and we signed up immediately this was during the height of covid and we were thankful that we had a place to go and be outdoors on the first day of the clinic there were many kids that were learning how to skate my son included some of them never left the wall but my son did and he proceeded to fall he'd get up and fall and get up hundreds of times on the first day his skating got better but I never imagined it would get to where it is today my son is on the second year of travel hockey with the capitals we're always traveling because we have no home ice we play our home games on other people's ice but Jaylen is a gamer he plays hard on defense and scores goals from time to time he's a friend to his teammates and over time we've become close closer to each other because of our shared hockey experience briefly to describe our experience I'd like to regail you with our dominating record but that would be untrue we lost more than we won sometimes in in preposterously lobs sited Affairs you'd think that would deter our kids but they keep coming back and loving the game they keep playing together and they get better and wouldn't you know it they ended last season winning two out of three games and this carried over to this season I understand that success is not measured in wins and losses but our kids have learned so much from their hockey experience they've learned to practice and play together and focus on winning plays over winning this will carry forth for the rest of their lives so we have everything we need we have a program we have a team we have kids that love the game and coaches and parents that support the program we have everything except what you actually need to have a lasting hockey program we have no ice Justice for Drew thank you very much our next speaker 5.20 Phillip C council president why members of the city council I am Phil Carrington looking back and read through spec I give you all a copy of a flyer uh evidence last week and in that it it I'm going to point some facts on that nowhere else in the world and a person a black man follow the law according to their requirements and still have to pay a fine in that fly it shows two exits and that's what the law calls for you can have an exit here at least two the inspector say yes on the oath that the door does exist and then went on to say no the door does not exist the wicked Law Department certify the no although they heard a yes nowhere else on Earth n these children would accept a yes and a no answer to the same question and so they certify yes that's considered operating in bad faith in the black communion it just mean that they're lying like hell the judge heard that judge Christine vnet heard that and they all approve the no again you have to pay a fine for not having a door that you already have Additionally the next question is should you have you must have an access door to the basement again in the picture you have an access door we raised the issue the issue was raised do I have the door the inspector say yes well then I meet the requirement no you just said yes and no again this is two yeses and no to two different questions again the wicked Law Department certifying the no again the evidence is here and the statements is in the transcript I'm not making this stuff up and again the Lord uh the judge uphold the no third you must have a call a nox box which is really a key box the question was raised again do I have an KN box yes well I mean requirement no you just said Yes again and no and again so I'm paying fines for having something that I supposed to have and they're saying that I don't have that you always tell us to go to court and and and fight things out which we did I exhausted as far as I possibly can and I can't get a simple answer give them a copy they're not going to touch it they're not going to answer because they operated in bad faith but this is just as wicked as it possibly can again I ask you all to go and look whether you look or not and anyone can challenge me so you pay a f only because you're a black man there's no white person in Jersey City will be fine for having something that they're supposed to have it just does not exist when you go to court you need two things either the law is on your side or the facts is on your side the laws on my side the facts on my side the evidence is on my side and they're lying on the oath in all four things I still lost the case Steve Phillip needs to be removed from office he's correct thank you thank you Phil our next speaker 5.21 Julia hey um there are two days during the year that commemorate the Holocaust one is this weekend and we're really grateful for the council councilman C and the mayor for commemorating this weekend but this weekend's date is chosen because it commemorates when the Americans liberated aitz in the Jewish calendar however we honor those we lost in the Holocaust on yasawa this happens in the spring and it commemorates the warsa uprising we choose that date as a Jewish Community because it's when Jews fought back against the Nazis we fought back in the ghettos of Poland and refused to be taken away like cattle to our extermination in the Hebrew calendar we honor those we lost by remembering the legacy of the Jewish Community who didn't wait for someone else to rescue us but rather took our fate in our own hands and rose up to fight against the Nazis we do this to remind ourselves for what is needer for our future we fight for our survival my children descend from Holocaust Survivors they descend from Jews who were ethnically cleansed from variety of different countries in the Middle East they descend from Jews who fled pograms in Europe and they are Jews who helped build the modern state of Israel to protect the Jewish future they're Jews who continue to survive we are now here in J Jersey City building what we hoped could be a good life for our children never in a million years when I was growing up in New Jersey what I think the phrase never again that was grilled into me as a child would be something that would be applicable to my life and my children's life here in the United States but unfortunately it is we grieve now as a Jewish community over the resurfacing of barbaric violence that we saw on October 7th and the continued violence against Jews that has been emboldened by Hamas around the world we we leaned on each other with the realization that many not only turn a blind eye to this violence like the city has until today but some people here in Jersey City openly support it and they voiced that that opinion right here in the council as an Israeli I'm not standing here today asking you to make any statements of support for Israel because we don't need it to know that fighting for our survival is not only just but is our only option we're asking you today to support the Jews of Jersey City because that is the community that you protect and you should protect everyone regardless of their ethnicity I'll fight for my children to make sure that they embody not only not the people who were liberated in awit but the ones who fought in the Warsaw to make sure that we didn't go to owitz so here's what you can do first the anti-semitic rhetoric that gets thrown on Council needs to be called out it's unacceptable and it would not be tolerated if it was any other group I encourage the city to bring forward a resolution adopting the IH definition of anti-semitism and you need to address the anti-semitic stickers that are constantly putting up around the city I really appreciate everything you did today thank you thank you our next speaker 5.22 Phillip the other [Laughter] Phillip hi my name is Philip and I'm 7 years old I'm here because I love hockey and I really want to ask for your help my uncle used to play hockey and he taught me out to skate it was so much fun when I when I asked my mom if I could play hockey too she said there was no rink around with the team but luckily she found the Jersey City capitals at piing ice rink I didn't learn to play there because it was easy for my family to get to now I play on the M team hockey means a lot to me I dream of playing the NH when I'm older but I can't do that without an ice nearby to practice on my teammates and I work really hard we just need some more I to perfect our skills these teammates and mine have become my best friends I don't want to see the team break up we are very proud to play for the city and we want to win for you please help us reveal personing ice ring thank you so much for your time next speaker 5.2 23 Leo Leo where's where's Leo where where's Leo where's Leo tell Leo Leo come over here Leo come over here Leo so cute come over here hello I want Leo you what you're going to say you're going to say from out here okay so come over here sit up here hello okay so he's not going to be able to see the time so we'll make sure we'll let him know hi I'm and I'm I really party and I need you have I've been pushing I've been my team isn't doing so we really want to win but we need a lot more prac and I time for that to happen please pleas help off F so my team better and more things thank you for listening council person Riv council person Rivera I think we might have found your replacement I don't mind that at [Laughter] all all right our next speaker 5.24 Tom is Tom here Aran Tom no next 5.25 Jackson listen up hello listen up listen up hold on guys hold on and just show you you you know listen it I think it's extremely important that that these kids be heard right uh so if every kid that's going to speak tonight I want you to come up here and you address what you want to address from up here because I need the people to see you guys you need to make it strong and you need to let these people know that you're serious so you just come up here and address everybody from up here okay now we're going to have a lot of replacements for council person Rivera to choose from even Jersey City Council my name is Jackson Charles Hagar I am 8 years old as you can see I play hockey for the Jersey City capitals my papa coached hockey for 43 years at Persian Fields he was an important role model to many and sometimes a father figure for kids who didn't have a dad my dad and uncles played hockey for many years in that ring my mom who grew up and my mom who grew up two blocks away frequently skated with her family and friends I would love to keep the tradition alive and follow in my dad's footsteps playing and learning about hockey in Persian field I'm sure members of the community would love to enjoy it as my mom did learning how to skate in their own City instead of having to travel to other ranks I hope I can skate again in the ring where my popup dedicated so much of his time that the Jersey City Council named it in his honor the Charlie Hager ice rink thank you thank you it's truly amazing truly amazing our next speaker 5.26 Mary Bary here Mary M no I think she's coming down isn't oh I don't think she's here okay I didn't see her okay next speaker 5.27 Rachel I don't know how I'm gonna follow that but um first I want to thank you for your show of support tonight with the proclamation I still want to talk to you about standing up for your neighbors that feel unw unwelcome and unsafe in Jersey City just because they're Jewish I am one of them I have personally taken down hundreds yes hundreds of stickers with anti-semitic messages that have flooded our streets these are just some from only the last two weeks that have been removed I won't let P off the many messages of hate written on them because I know you already know what they say but what I would like to do is describe how they make me feel I'm a single woman I live just a few blocks from here and I walk my dog alone every day around our neighborhood since October not a single day has gone by that I've been able to step out of my home without being reminded that I as a Jewish Jersey City resident am hated I remove these stickers so I don't have to look at them but every time I go to remove one of these stickers my heart races I look around and I wonder will someone confront me as I do this will someone call out these hateful messages to my face will someone take my photo and post it will someone try to hurt me this is real fear every single time but I still take them down many of you have said there is no room for hate in Jersey City and I do appreciate that but no one has responded specifically to the onslaught of anti-Semitism that we're experiencing not without making sure to also mention islamophobia I know there has been several cases of islamophobia here in the last few months but you and I both know there are not hundreds of islamophobic stickers being plastered around the city if we wake up tomorrow to that by all means please speak out condemn it but that's not what's happening right now right now Jewish residents of the city are facing hundreds of hateful stickers being bullied online being slandered by our fellow residents in these very meetings that's why I'm asking you to condemn anti-Semitism in Jersey City full stop not because hate of other kinds don't matter but because this specifically this is an enormous problem in our city right now in the last council meeting it was said you don't want to amplify the voices of hate condemning anti semitism doesn't amplify the hate it just lets the community know that you won't stand for It For Better or For Worse people see what you post on social media and I can't comprehend why you feel a simple post condemning the significant rise in Jewish hate in our community would amplify anybody's voice for your own I ask you to continue to stand in solidarity like you said in the proclamation with your the Jewish Community here thank you our next speaker 5.28 Justin good evening Jersey City one of the most diverse cities of the United States has failed Palestinians Gins and its own residents for months we have demanded this city council pass a permanent cease fire resolution in a vote before the new year the council did not pass a prop resolution with the majority choosing to abstain I will remind this Council that choosing an action is an act of support for Israel's rampant hyperviolet genocide on Palestinians and my last address I asked on behalf of Jersey City residents for the council to reconsider and take on an opportunity to reconcile your grand mistake I had hoped we could return from Winter Holiday recess with the council having finally chosen to join leaders and organizations across the globe who have answered the urgent call to action from Palestine but here we are during Muslim heritage month with still no action from this Council what a shameful lack of conscience 109 days of Terror and bombardment over 26,000 civilians dead of that number over 10,000 children equivalent to almost 18% of the population of children in Jersey City Mass displacement of over 2.2 million continues nearly 85% of the entire territory forcefully moved out of their homes and land one in four facing extreme hunger and famine people do not have bathrooms shelter and many other basic necessities we are all entitled to Aid sits in trucks in Northern Gaza and at the Rafa Crossing ready to enter but is blocked by the Egyptian government and Israel desperation is consuming Palestinians with the collapse of the health system and the bombing of 26 hospitals there are only 10 left partially functional disease threatens to to consume and kill Goins by the thousands this genocide is a major women's rights issue as well with women being left without menal care and birth support every day at least two mothers are killed every day approximately 180 women give birth unable to receive appropriate postnatal care miscarriages are up by over 300% Israel continues its total power blackouts on Gaza using them as opportunities to Massacre by the hundreds while preventing coverage on the ground 120 members of the press dead I could go on but that merely scratches the surface of the reality of what it is to survive in Gaza and Palestine we demand answers we demand a permanent ceasefire we demand a return of the land all of it to Palestinians this Council will be disgraced with their inaction during a genocide that threatens to increase global conflict and kill thousands more by choosing to do nothing this Council has the blood of Palestinians and their allies on their hands Jersey City residents will remember this long live the an father thank you all right all right let's calm down let's calm down all right all right let's don't insult nobody okay let's don't insult no one that's what I'm saying let's don't insult nobody that's what I'm telling them okay all right all right our next speaker 5.29 Amory good evening Council and good evening community members array behind me here I have three points firstly we are grateful for your responsiveness two weeks ago in these Chambers we asked to learn about a date for the next RFP Behavioral Health response planning meeting and we heard back from your Aid council president Waterman and we received an email reply on behalf of the three counselors that you've charged with working along with the community and developing the gold standard plan that we've been asking for for mental health and addiction response from 911 secondly the requested second meeting we learned on Friday through email will be scheduled either this week or next we will hear about the scheduled dates for that next meeting and we're grateful about that as well we're pleased thirdly to work alongside councilors Gilmore Rivera and Solomon and their AIDS as well well as Britney from legal and other members of the administration who sat down with us on December 19th that very important first meeting we were also very pleased that Nicola Flora the executive officer of our Jersey City police department was at that planning table we felt very much that he listened he heard us when we had that first meeting on the 19th we believe in his intent to enhance Public Safety through involving community and Community relationships and that he means what he says when he said he wants to drive engagement with the community this is so critical and what we've been asking for from July 2021 that collaboration true collaboration from our Police Department from our Public Safety department thank you counselors and thank you community because without your voices at all of these meetings we couldn't have gotten as far as we did as Jersey City together and other community groups who are working for this thanks so much thank you am our next speaker 530 Evelyn Evelyn I not here okay say again next 5.31 miam sorry hi all again my name is Mariam Cara and I'm a Pakistani American Muslim and a Jersey City resident I'm here in my personal capacity again to demand our city council member members reintroduce a ceasefire resolution two days ago journalist bisan shared from Gaza quote this might be our last call we are dying Gaza is completely collapsing there were dozens of raids and three hospitals were besieged in Kan yunes Al Lal Hospital affiliated with a red crescent alare Private Hospital and Naser medical complex the largest Health institution in the Gaza Strip people killed in the bombing were buried in front of our eyes in the hospital yard due to tanks blockading the streets the wounded were on the ground without treatment and there was not enough medical staff massacres are still being committed we are facing hepatitis and intestinal diseases in the southern Gaza Strip and starvation to death in the northern Gaza Strip end quote before I quote the next journalist I want to tell you a little bit about her like many of the speakers we've heard from today she's a sweet and brave child she's gaza's youngest journalist and her name is Lama and when you're watching her videos and reading her posts you can't help but be struck by How brave she is at 9 years old she doesn't Flinch when she can hear military strikes she doesn't Flinch when she's speaking with other children who have lost limbs and can barely walk she doesn't Flinch when she sees adults around her jumping over one another to get to even a small amount of Aid she smiles brightly in every single one of her pictures and videos and if she's scared she doesn't let the world see it on January 14th 10 days ago she shared quote people all over the world live in warm houses under a roof under blankets we've lived like this under tents without water or electricity these people want their basic human dignity and Freedom the children of Gaza are feeling cold please World Stop the war end quote every single day we choose not to take action poses an imminent threat to the lives of countless innocent Palestinian civilians and the remaining hostages be brave like Lama and bring back the ceasefire resolution to Jersey City thank you our next speaker 5.32 Mo good evening good evening it's day 110 of the genocide of my Palestinian people and this is my fourth time speaking on be behalf of my people in front of you all that's four times too much because I shouldn't have to show my face even once to ask that You' be human beings by calling for this killing to end aren't you embarrassed by the fact that you can't physically get yourself to unanimously agree that these nonsensical murders need to stop you're literally embarrassing this entire city that shamelessly still touts its diversity while completely dismissing and dehumanizing an entire population of Palestinians shame on mayor Steven FIP and Governor Phil Murphy for using the diversity of this city and the state as props to prop themselves up for votes and then spitting in the face of diversity by allowing this to continue without a single mention of the Palestinian people and I don't I don't think we didn't notice that you didn't BR that you brush this under the rug after failing to pass the resolution last month do you find it easy to move on with your daily lives while 100 Palestinian children are being killed per day more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in total with 60% of them being women and children and now they're moving into mass murder By starvation and this is for you now Council Salah councilman Salah I know it wasn't easy for you to pull together the ceasefire resolution and that you were met with many obstacles difficulties and constant verbal gymnastics to get the language on paper so thank you for pulling it together and voting for a ceasefire last month but I can't say that I'm not disappointed as a palestinian-american it should be your absolute duty to continue to put forth ceasefire resolutions as many times as humanly possible until all of your colleagues understand that Palestinian lives matter this is your moment to shine as a leader not only for your palestinian-american citizens but for your most diverse city of Jersey City and I'm telling you this as a friend and fellow Palestinian American brother of yours that this is not my opinion alone there's a large palestinian-american community that thinks that the ceasefire resolution presented last month was just the means to check off a box and then move on with our normal lives after it fails and I find that unacceptable I know your character and I know that you're not one to give up and probably are not are having a tough time sleeping peacefully at night knowing that our city is not one of the exemplary cities calling for a ceasefire to end the killing of our very own people so like I said this is my fourth time here speaking to you all and I'm sure you're all sick of me at this point and respectfully I'm here to tell you that the feeling is mutual as I'm personally sick of coming here constantly requesting for you to be human beings as you know Jersey City's Mantra is Jersey City make it yours well I personally can't make it mine nor do I feel comfortable safe or seen or heard as a citizen in this city as I've lived here for 17 years now and I can't call it home as I feel shame in this city that refuses to acknowledge Palestinian lives also condemning the state of Israel is not anti-Semitism in fact tying Israel's genocidal actions with Judaism is the most anti-Semitic thing in existence ask the Jews that march with us please bring that back the resolution as it's the very least you could do at this point and bring back the ice ring too thank you thank you our next speaker 5.33 Rema she's not here our next speaker 5.34 Mera good evening thank you for this opportunity to address the council I'm a retired Jersey City public school teacher and part of a growing Coalition of thousands of Jersey City residents calling for a ceasefire in Kaza as we speak the death toll since October 7th in Kaza from Israel's massive and Relentless bombing campaign has reached over 25,000 over 70% of those killed have been women and children Amnesty International finds the intent inity and cruelty of the C current bombardment to be unparalleled the New York Times reported that the pace of death during Israel's campaign has few precedents in this Century according to the United Nations and Aid organizations 2.3 million people face imminent risk of famine in the near future due to lack of food and water with all the hospitals destroyed and no humanitarian Aid allowed to enter the World Health Organization has said that the Health Care system in Gaza has now collapsed there are still 132 Israeli hostages and over 300 Palestinian prisoners held captive in Israel's Israeli jails without charge or due process many of them children continued bom bombing by Israel with financial support and weapons supplied by our tax stop has not led to peace but instead has heightened tensions in the region and around the world some argue that Israel's military campaign must continue in order to destroy Hamas but Hamas cannot be destroyed by military means Hamas or its equivalence will persist as long as Israel continues to hold the people of Gaza in what Human Rights Watch has called an open air prison in a territory that the United Nations has called unlivable over which Israel has made maintained an illegal blockade for over 16 years before October 7th the people of Jersey City are in anguish over what is going on their relatives and their fellow human beings are in danger or have been killed a majority of Americans want to cease fire but our political system isn't responsive most of our officials in in the state and in Washington don't listen to us they are not being responsive to public opinion which now says that 79% of Democrats are calling for a ceasefire so you as our local elected representatives need to magnify our voices to get Washington to hear us we are appreciative that council members Gilmore s and borano had the moral fortitude to vote Yes on the ceasefire resolution proposed last year we hope that one of you will stand on the right side of history and resubmit the permanent ceasefire resolution thank than you thank you our next speaker 5.35 Mustafa hello good evening uh my name is Mustafa aerk I live across the street from the ice rink and I'm here to uh voice my opinion that uh the ice rink needs to be repaired and and quickly um just want to note that I I moved to Jersey City because of ice Frink used to live in Hoboken kids uh skated at the Jersey City capitals with the Jersey City capitals like the neighborhood and moved uh toward SE um I've been I've been thinking about uh what I would say tonight and I and I been trying to think about um what the base most basic thing people in the city government do uh in the municipal government and in Jersey City and I can't think of anything more basic than maintaining facilities if if if this is a hard task I don't know why our elected officials are you're you're up you're you're you're volunteering for this this position to maintain our facilities and and and if if this doesn't bother you if you don't if you you know go to sleep at night without being upset that the Jersey City rank is not functioning for over a year let's get some new leaders in that will take on the manual and do this work um we're we're a big city uh I I heard some numbers 5 million those numbers sound big but we're a city of 300,000 that's 20 bucks per person in living in the city we should be able to fund this on our own it should be repaired immediately and if you want to make a facility big nice facility great I'm all for it we should have the capability to do this thank you very much thank you our next speaker 5.36 Mana um 20 approximately 25 years ago I read in local paper newspaper that people in Georgia city speaking 150 for languages I was shocked so amazing City amazing opportunities to bring all together people but from time to time Rise new and new problems friction between people it's very sad to see it anti-Semitism racism anti-muslim anti-christian it's a amazing everything and sadly I'm 87 years old I nearly Escape ason aitz when I was this schooler together with parents and I'm very frustrated when I see it tension unnecessary tension and sometimes uh artificial tension I'm talking now about our community at 100 Montgomery State it's very sad to see what is going on in this building our management has not feeling toward there no respect to people no nothing what can connect people something opposite always always and Miss Waterman again and again I'm asking you come to us come to us and set up the order it's impossible look last fer was uh management distributor our building if you will not be home we will drill out your luck you will come and you will pay for restoring this L who have right to enter apartment without tenants permission and management I would like I have to say exactly manager use this subject racism and Mona is number one resistant as building if I will show to you number three notice to to seiz you will see what I they put in my mouth Words which I never use they put in my M the cing where I never use it in in my Russian language thank you thank you thank you m Waterman come please come our next speaker 5.37 Judith okay thank you next 5.38 Tara okay terar tonight I would like to address the letter this Council received from Derek Reed the lawyer for Equity residential after the letter complained about your questions and a small group of vocal residents Mr Reed attempted to mislead this Council and take advantage of an obvious math error in an email from the bureau here is exactly what the written board determination mandated the bureau is instructed to obtain the records necessary to review and adjust the rent on all units within the buildings dating back six year six years from the filing of the first illegal rent petition at issue in the instant matters for each building on November 27th the bureau sent all relevant parties a letter that rent proofs should be sent covering a look back for only four years from the date of the first illegal petitions first petitions were filed in 2022 2022 minus 6 equals 2016 the legal team representing the port side tow is ten responded to inform inform the bureau that 2022 minus 6 equal 2016 the bureau responded with a correction on January 5 2024 the bureau came up with 2022 minus 6 equals 2017 a number of tenants have reported this issue here yet no correction has been issued by the bureau Mr Reed is disingenuously taking advantage of this obvious math error how do we know this we need only read the federal lawsuit Mr Reed filed against Jersey City I will read directly from that lawsuit further the board erroneously ordered that the rent leveling administrator should adjust the rents charged at Portside Towers to a rent controlled level during a look back window beginning in 2016 through the present is he telling a lie in federal court or is he being significantly disingenuous in his letter to you according to chapter 26017 a violation of any provision of chapter 260 including Mis statements is punishable via chapter 125 with fines of up to $2,000 and or imprisonment for up to 90 days please instruct the Law Department to help the bureau communicate a correction that 2022 minus 6 is actually 2016 and issue any fines as appropriate for Mr Reeds Miss statements in writing to this Council thank you our next speaker 5.39 Kevin hello everyone I was out of the country on the 10th or I would have been here I did tune in though uh I really appreciated that you were as outraged as we were that Equity residential is continuing to violate at run control even after The Binding board determination I also appreciated uh assistant Corporation Council confirming there is no stay and that she would provide a brief to all of you so you will understand the law and your options we will add to whatever she may have shared with you by bringing a few key areas of the ordinance to your attention tonight I invite the council to ask the legal team to explain these key ordinance sections so we may all be on the same page if you choose to ask the legal team any questions it may be easier if you do so directly after a speaker brings up an issue rather than trying to remember everything at the end if you do we know we are not to say anything unless asked also I would like to thank councilman Rivera for coordinating multiple meetings since the last council meeting here at City Hall including just yesterday I feel we are on the verge of a breakthrough and I feel really good about that when this Council listens to us it means a lot we know you are listening when we see action such as what was said at the last council meeting we also listen to what each of you say and now I want to briefly comment on something I heard Madame President Waterman you said we don't think you care to my memory this is at least the second time you have said something like this so I want to address it because responding to you is just as important as you responding to us truth is the most important thing to me if someone lies to me there is virtually no coming back from that this is something I pay a lot of attention to Madam Madam president we've only ever had a few conversations and have only ever heard you address your our situation a few times publicly here I have paid very close attention to everything you have I've heard you say and I believe you have always told me the truth therefore I believe it when you say you care about what is happening to us I understand this has been difficult to navigate especially during the administrative process now that the board has ruled and our landlord is continuing to do the wrong thing you pressed the Corporation Council for answers finally you were unlocked and at that moment you acted as you hear what we have to say tonight I believe you will find your action and the action of the other council members satisfied what we were looking for and today I'm simply asking for you to follow through so we can land this plane and move on thank you so much thank you K our next speaker 5.40 Eric good evening Council Members First I would like to say that we are pleased that you're now looking into how we can get the rent Ling board's decision enforced however I would Co caution you to take the advice you get from the office of landlord tenant relations as the only options they are supposed to enforce the rent Control Ordinance but sometimes they seems more interested in helping out the landlords than the tenants we heard last time that the corporate counselor advised that he could just file a new case with this office when The landlords don't follow the rent leveling board's decision this is the same office that refus to process the new cases we filed last February we also know that an employee there changed a landlord registration statement form taking out information about the length of the mortgage making it almost impossible to check if the landlords follow the requirements in the ordinance furthermore last month they tried to reduce the six-year look back period that the rent leveling board applied to a rent roll back rent roll back again favoring the landlords it's become obvious that mathematics is not immune to Alternative facts when money is involved it looks like the bureau and other and our landlord are happy to manipulate basic mat Concepts when they are required to pay the fact that a basic subtraction has become a legal dispute is beyond absurd so to stop speculating on the results of 22 minus 6 I asked my daughter in second grade if she could remind the adults how subtractions work will be the next speaker thank you thank you our next speaker 5.41 Cassandra my name is Cassandra all right hold on we're gonna stop for a second you're gonna come up to council person Rivera's spot because he's looking for replacements you know I'm only joking when I say that but good evening my name is Cassandra and I am a second grader at ps16 it seems that my landlord doesn't know how to do subtractions I studied that at school and so I'd like to share what I have learned so to find out how much 22 minus six makes we can count like that 21 20 19 18 17 16 it makes 16 22 - 6 = 16 any other answers would be counted as Wrong by my teacher also I was born in 2016 and can tell you that in 2022 I was six I hope my landlord and its lawyers and everyone else who had doubts about how much 22 - 6 makes now no better thank you all I could say is Jersey City's future is very very bright very bright hi um wait wait you're being summoned [Laughter] [Music] oh hi hi my name is Lucy again have you seen newes there's this line saying we're on strike and Port is on strike but still I'm grateful for you being able to help us um to help us and understand that Ren that Ren should go low um and I am glad that you're now starting to understand why we're coming here and keep on and to and keep on telling you to put the rent a little lower but um we're not really on strike but we're but we will still be loud and are going to wait and going away I'm not are not going away it's just totally mindblowing tonight I I I I don't know what to say so is it Anna yes okay hi um thank you and you know I want to say thank you for listening to us um thank you for that moment of levity and I think last um last council meeting I think that we really did all feel like we were having a conversation and you know I know that a lot of what we are going through is complex um you know the folks behind me are working you know 40 hours 80 hours 100 hours a week on top of their day jobs to sort of dig through all the records submit the Oprah requests so I really appreciate that um I do have a rebuttal to the Mr Reed letter I believe he said a small vocal group of tenants but as you can see behind me it is actually a large vocal group of tenants um so again thank you for listening like Lucy said we're not going away and um yeah see you in two weeks next speaker 5.44 Jessica good evening City Council so um I just want to say first I really appreciated your engagement in our Collective effort to Shine the Light Of Truth on the illegal rent increases in our landlord's non-compliance and bad behavior I know Equity sent you a letter and where they attempted to blur the issues and persuade you to inaction I think I've mentioned my scientific background in the past and I'm accustomed to evaluating evidence and assessing its impact so let's go through their statements together consider the evidence their actions in the law quote number one quote Equity cares deeply about its tenant relationships and invests in those relationships so that they are long-standing end quote try again Equity actions speak louder than words our landlord misrepresented the rent control status of our buildings it continues to Levy illegal rent increases while decreasing service issues continue like leaks mold rodents lack of hot water temperature disregulation and repir times of weeks or months all while maintenance staff are reduced we must have at least four maintenance staff per building it's required by law quote two cod's attorney told you about only a selected Port portion of ordinance 26- 7D he said quote payment of a rental increase for two consecutive years shall be construed to be an ingre increase but he missed telling you the rest of the ordinance language which states the board shall wave the 2-year liit limitation when the landlord is not in compliance with the ordinance so when Mr Reed goes on to say our client sees no benefit to any party for the bureau to create confusion end quote be assured there is no confusion the law is on our side and there is no such thing as a two-ear limitation in our case the bureau can instead offer Clarity and respit for tenants while the landlord continues to encourage obus quote number three Equity residentials cooperating and complying fing with the board's decision and the law so what is the law any rental increase in excess of that authorized is illegal and void any rent increases must abide by the provisions of chapter 260 the landlord shall register the rent role with a rent leveling Bureau in order to qualify for any rental increase the landlord shall provide a each tenant a copy of the truth and renting statement and be in full compliance with the landlord identity disclosure Equity failed to do all of these things so what does that mean and any year these conditions were not satisfied no rent increases are ever permitted in summary equity in writing to you agreed they would comply with the law now let's ensure the bureau takes them up on their offer please instruct the Law Department to ensure the bureau sends a clear Communication in this regard and that the bureau gets it right thank you thank you our next speaker 5.45 Brandon sorry you can bring that up to you Brandon thank you very much hello my name is Brendan and like those standing with me I'm a resident of port side now little about me I spent most of my I spent my adult life learning economics and US History specifically Industrial Revolution coincidentally when most of these rent control laws began being written now back in November I was unable to attend the infamous rent control board meeting I was working overtime to help to make sure I'd have enough money to pay my rent but I did however see the P the end result of all the pictures of tenants going out celebrating nothing like seeing that when you're reading Excel documents all night am I right now armed with that and now armed with the knowledge was decreasing I and I decided to go out to celebrate a few days later and well was able to actually afford a meal for once so it's rather nice and that's one of the things with this rank with the rent control board's decision rents are going to go down which means all of us are going to be able to actually afford to go out and spend money in this city and boost the economy I sort of feel like that's a bit of better injection in the economy than raising people's rents and letting them get thrown out because we as a society in the 30s learned what happens when large landlords control cities they get destroyed and demolished and worst nobody stays nobody lives these cities get run down or become somewhat Una affable we become next Singapore just lost my face real estate firms like Equity do not actually invest in our city they put up buildings take the money out of the economy and don't help our city we need to be we need to push them to actually do what they're require to do by law the money that my fellow tenants and I PID to equity isn't going to help improve Jersey City living might be why we don't have a ice skating R fixed purchasing field Equity claims to be acting in good faith during this roll back yet their own letter says they misquoted city ordinances and apparently don't doesn't know how to do math I'll save the math lesson to a kid for the kids the their argument by equity's Logic I could park an SUV in a bike lane argue with the officer that comes ticking me by saying well you see I'm actually finding a law in a federal lawsuit to ban all bike Lanes you really don't need to ticket me but tell you what I'll move it a block over and run over guy instead I'm sure the officer will agree with this decision thank you very much for your time next speaker 5.46 Mark oh sorry next speaker 5.47 Rihanna thank you good evening council members my name is ran Mai I'm speaking to you here for the first time my family and I moved to Portside Towers in April 2020 in April 2022 Portside Center renewal with a rent increase of 12% we were stunned we asked if we could have a renewal of a 15mon lease however Equity were very aggressive in their negotiations and this despite having multiple leaks in our roof and walls that resulted in damaged carpets water pouring through the kitchen light fittings and more efforts to address these issues remain ongoing since moving in our rent has increased by 20% council members we're Beyond grateful for this group as they've achieved a huge win for us a unanimous decision and written determination by the city's rent leveling board which states and I quote both buildings and all units therein have been for the duration of their occupancies subject to rank control later in the written determination the board concludes that Reds need to be adjusted despite the decision on November 3rd the landlord has been sending tenants renewal notices that are not in compliance with the landlord tenant law in New Jersey and have failed to comply with the Jersey City rent Control Ordinance some tenants have received notices of rent increases as high as 40% in fact the bureau determines when rent roll back numbers should be and the landlord is in compliance with the ordinance there should be no rent increases it was a big surprise to us that our landlord Equity residential has filed a complaint against the city and its rent leveling board I quote again port side will be unable to prevent unwanted tenants from physically occupying its land we who have written contracts in the form of 10 page leases with Equity who illegally overcharge us and we are now unwanted this seems to run contrary to their assertion in their most recent legal letter stating that they are committed to its residence in compliance with Jersey city laws the letter goes on to state that they've been cooperating with the requests of Jersey City rent leveling Bureau and deny that they are acting in bad faith council members when we asked Equity to be reasonable in their last round of astronomical rent Heights they refused they used tactics of intimidation to tenants suggesting that we move out if we're not happy with illegal raises telling us that there's plenty more people ready and willing to move in this is hardly good faith despite the ruling the landlord continues to increase rents if the landlord were truly acting in good faith they would not be acting in controversion of the Jersey City rank Control Ordinance unless the decision of the board is stayed or reverse the landlord must comply any increase in rents at this time is not in compliance and continues to hurt tenants now the city has hired external legal representation and labeled equity's Federal lawsuit frivolous yet nothing has changed thank you for your time and attention next speaker 5.48 Sean good evening council members it has been almost three months since the rent leveling board deemed Portside Towers to be rent control since each Tower was built in the 90s and yet Equity is still operating as if they are not my lease renewal came up after the unanimous rent leveling Board hearing on October 19th 2023 in the 3 months since the determination I have been denied a new lease because I refused to sign an unlawful lease of 10% increase from the previous year once my previous lease ended given Equity never provided me with the Le with a lease with a legal rate I automatically became a month-to-month tenant month-to-month tenants are just as protected by the rent Control Ordinance as any other tenant yet after the October 19th board determination and still to this day my rent has been raised over 60% I want to make sure I'm very clear about this I am only talking about my increase since the board hearing and that increase was over 60% also since the hearing and even since the written determination on November 6 I have been told Equity May initiate eviction proceedings given I am only paying 10% over my previous lease I am voluntarily paying more than two times over the maximum increase Equity could ever charge just to make sure I'm safe and in reality I know they don't even qualified to increase my rent at all they are supposed to decrease my rent and now I have to fear eviction the board has ruled please don't tell me to fill out yet another illegal rent petition and wait months for help I did this we one help me this is a blatant disregard of the rent Control Ordinance and contrary to the letter you received from Mr Reed where he tried to convince you that Equity cares about us and they are doing everything right this is totally against the law and yet here I am there have been no finds given to them by given to them by the city for blatantly disregarding the rent leveling board's determination and Frank I'm at my Wit's End about it you can find them Hoboken is finding landlord hundreds of thousands of dollars Jersey City can do this the longer this drags on the more people like myself will have to make hard choices and it's putting us in even more of a bind I know you might think a simple answers to move out or pay thousands of dollars in legal fees to see the law enforced but for most of us it is not that simple laws are in place for them to be followed and adhere to and so far I don't see any incentive for Equity to adhere to the law please I beg of you investigate find them for not adhering to the laws I am not the only one this is happening to please help me thank you our next speaker 5.49 Tom good evening council members it has become very clear that Equity residential would like to confusion where there is none the rent Control Ordinance is actually very clear I would like to read a portion of the rent Control Ordinance and then I will kindly ask you to either clarify with the city lawyers if something is not clear or perhaps request that they provide a brief to you as was promised at the last council meeting chapter 260 d2b any rental in in excess that authorized by the provisions of this chapter shall be void I don't think that could be any clearer there are only a few parts of the ordinance that cover rental increase authorization they are under section three which is titled allowable increases the first paragraph of this section covers the CPI or 4% whichever is less rule which we have heard theow Department mentioned to you in this very room but there are a few other paragraphs in this same section which we have never heard the Lord Department mention here at all these are the parts the bureau seems to struggle with here is an important one paragraph H says the landlord shall register the rent roll with the rent leveling Bureau in order to qualify for any rental increase our landlord has never done this doesn't this make the recalculation very simple we just take the base rate and ask this question for each year rent roll in 1998 no 1999 no and so on if our landlord never met this clear qualification this would be the easiest recalculation ever what is a rent roll what if the landlord just emails a blank file which is named rent roll that count isn't the point of the rent roll to ensure transparency and to give the bureau what they need to enforce ordinance 260 What If a landlord were to leave out information such that the bureau and the tenants would have no way of knowing if the rents are at the legal rates as it turns out the ordinance has this answer to chapter 26-9 says no rent roll registration will be deemed filed with the board unless an until submitted on the board's official forms and accompanied by all appropriate supporting documents and information and the required filing fees no rent roll no increase it is the law and that's simple thank you thank you our next speaker 550 Suzanne hi everyone I'd like you to ponder something first um why does the ordinance void un unauthorized rent increases rather than simply roll back rents to earlier illegal rent rates first it's the law second sometimes a unit in 2016 had a corporate tenant with a significantly inflated rate a rate that is illegal under rent control if the bureau were to be permitted to violate the ordinance and not void illegal rates but rather give tenants earlier illegal rates it would defeat the entire point of rent control it would cause some rents to be increased we do not need to fight the in court related to any aspect of the ordinance that is properly enforced to be clear we fully understand the board ruled for a six-year look back we are not disputing that before you when the bureau does that six-year look back they must do so according to the ordinance Bureau look back six years and when you do a recalculation of legal rents must happen in 2016 the rents were already illegally inflated the ordinance is clear about how to recalculate rents even with a six-year look back you may be aware that the city of Hoboken has issued fines against Avalon Bay and the Jordan for their non-compliance of the rent control determination against them as you know equity has willfully not abided by the rent control determination made in the tenants favor on October 19th 2023 by the rent leveling Bureau and so far we have not seen any action by the city to penalize Equity her ordinance 26-17 a violation of any provision of chapter 260 including misstatements is punishable as per article 1-25 with fines up to $2,000 and or imprisonment for up to 90 days a violation affecting more than one tenant shall be considered a separate violation as to each tenant for the ordinance furthermore each day a violation of any provision of this code or any ordinance shall constitute a separate offense as stated in the ordinance this means that continued non-compliance will result in escalating penalties for Equity we have 527 units with over 1,000 tenants start doing the math city the city can can and should impose fines on equity for not complying with the city's determination that we are in fact a rent controlled building and have never been exempt from rent control is the city going to impose said fines Additionally the council has the duty to investigate why the bureau continues to make mistakes exclusively in favor of our landlord we have been asked to submit even more illegal rent petitions why did you know we still have not received a response from director Richardson for the last two petitions which were sent in February last year now we are supposed to send even more we have submitted over 100 the most ever in the history of Jersey City and Equity is still violating the ordinance every single day I don't think more petitions at this point is the answer thank you our next speaker 5.51 Joseph good evening council members evening my name is Joseph D vitorio I am a tenant at Portside towers and I'm speaking here for the first time just a few days ago our tenant associations received a copy of a letter from our landlord's lawyer Derek Reed addressed to all of you in which they describe how much they care about us well essentially disregarding us as a small group of vocal residents I here to tell you both statements are false Mr Reed opened this letter to you by complaining that they were troubled by certain statements that were made by this Council without bothering to S to cite any actual state that was in any way inaccurate much less troubling in reality you were mostly just asking questions Mr Reid on the other hand made a number of troubling statements allow me to just to review just one of those statements he claimed that ordinance 260 puts a cap of just two years on look back for damages and to convince you he quoted chapter 26-7 d by saying quote pyman of rental increases for two consecutive years shall be construed to be an agreement in an agreed increase and then he ended it there with a period he even put the ordinance reference right next to his quote 26-7 D if you actually look up that reference there is a second half to that state sentence which Mr Reed chose not to quote that half says except that in the event that the board determines that the landlord has not served upon the tenant the rental statement this board shall wave the 2-year limitations period nobody at Portside Towers has ever been served with those papers according to chapter 26-17 a violation of any provision of chapter 260 including misstatements is punishable via chapter 125 with fines up to 2,000 Andor imprisonment up to 90 days it goes on to say a violation affecting more than one tenant shall be considered a separate violation as to each tenant why do you suppose Mr Reed inserted a period mids sentence and left out the part about the lack of a rental statement resulting in the two-year limit being waved do you suppose that might qualify as a misstatement from a lawyer no less it sure doesn't seem to me that something a caring landlord would do thank you for your time thank you next speaker 5.52 Carol good evening council members thank you for allowing me to share my concerns once again as attendant the consequences of not paying rent are undeniably significant landlords hold the authority to impose late fees and the ultimate threat of eviction all within the the landlord's rights and supported by the law this is why I'm here to express my frustration with the seemingly one-sided enforcement of these rights despite our victory at the rent leveling Board hearing it's frustrating and angering to witness Equity residential blatantly disregard the law when our rental lease came up for Renewal it was with an increase above the legally allowed rate we called equity and ask them why our rent was going up at all because as we understood it our rent should be readjusted and decreased the person didn't have a response to our question and said well what more could you pay this response lacked any logic or rationale but we played along and we responded well how about no increase to which the person responded how about $50 a month increase and that's where we settled some of my NE neighbors were not able to negotiate down anything at all and this shows how riddled with problems this rent renewal process has been entirely unfair seemingly discriminatory and entirely subjective and while we are here asking the council to help us get our landlord's Equity to adhere to the law refund over payments roll back rents to Legal rates it's crucial to highlight the disparity in treatment for instance Equity can continue to demand illegal rental rates and can service an eviction notice through the sheriff or other law enforcement meaning they have the full support and backing of a legal system to uphold the law that protects their rights in addition Equity can charges tenants as many legal fees as they want for instance if a tenant were late by one day beyond the allowable time frame equity's lawyers can send an eviction notice with a fine of 10% of the monthly rental rate along with a legal fee of $1,000 in our case these fees and actions were against tenants who in reality were owed money every year is staggering 3.6 million eviction cases are filed by landlords while I do not claim that all cases result from unjust practices the possibility of a significant number being unjust cannot be ignored for example one of our neighbors was ATT tenant for 18 years and was evicted for non-payment of rent during the pandemic and it turns out that Equity residential may have owed him as much as $200,000 at the time he was kicked out as we've stated multiple times I implore the council to address these issues ensure fairness Justice and equal protection for tenants uphold the law and fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to you thank you for your time and consideration our next speaker 5.53 Drew hi City Council Members my name is Drew kachowski and I'm a relatively new tenant of Portside Towers this is my first time speaking before you I am here to show my support for all 527 units which are subject to rent control and all other Jersey City residents who are in a similar situation I moved to Jersey City just over a year ago to seek affordable rent prices because New York was no longer a suitable option for me as a young single 26-year-old professional faced with the burden of student debt illegal spikes in our rent are the last thing I want to deal with while I consider myself fortunate I know other tenants of Portside Towers face similar if not more difficult circumstances whether it be student debt credit card debt medical debt operating as a single parent and so on I find it imperative that you fulfill your duty as City Council Members to either investigate why the office of landlord tenant relations is making so many mistakes in favor of our landlord or ask the Law Department to help them to get it right the ruling was simple a look back to 2016 a recalculation of what the legal rent should have been from 2016 forward and rebates based on what we have been overcharged since 2016 for many of us rent is an already taxing monthly bill and as illegal renewals come in it's only been a harsh reality for many tenants having to move out and find a new home in a crippling economy and difficult time for many new jerseyans for every month that passes Portside residents can continue to pay illegal rents that only drive us to collectively grow stronger with a greater passion to secure what has been illegally taken from us we ask of you to please urge the bureau to request from Equity residential the leases from 1998 so the correct base rates can be known and all the leases from 2016 forward so the bureau can calculate their rebates for the six-year look back Equity has told you in writing they will follow the direction of the bureau since the October hearing the bureau has not requested all this basic information yet please take any steps you can to ensure the bureau requests this basic information without delay thank you thank you next speaker 5.54 Shannon good evening uh hello city council I also plan to read a portion of the rent Control Ordinance and then I will ask you to either clarify with the city lawyers if something's not clear or perhaps they can provide a brief to as was promised at the last city council meeting chapter 26-2 B the quote is any rental increase in excess of that authorized by the provisions of this chapter shall be void there's no way that could be clear now we navigate again to section three allowable increases again the first paragraph of this section covers the CPI or 4% whichever is less rule paragraph h as another of the tenant spoke of covers the no rent rolls no increases here is another important one it's paragraph J the quote is the landlord shall provide to each tenant a copy of the truth and renting statement and subsequent amendments to set statement and be in full compliance with the landlord identity disclosure provision contained within the statement in order to qualify for any rental increases our landlord has never been in full compliance with the landlord identity disclosure Provisions doesn't this make the recalculation very simple we just take the base rate and ask this question for each year was there landlord identity compliance in 1998 no 99 no and so on if our landlord never met this qualification which is quite clear here this should be the easiest recalculation ever and so I'll quote the ordinance again any rental increase in excess of that authorized by the provisions of this chapter shall be void no rent rolls any increases shall be void no landlord identity compliance all increases shall be void there's lots of evidence of of things that need to be voided what happens when there are void increases chapter 26-2 D explains any rent increases to the extent that such increases in excess of that which is permitted by this chapter is hereby declared to be null and void and such excess rent shall be refunded and credited by the landlord forth with Council this couldn't be any clearer it is the law please have the Law Department compel the bureau to recalculate the rents by voiding all illegal increases the lawful recalculation in our case makes this very simple the rent rate has never changed thank you thank you next speaker 5.55 Tasha uh good evening council member kha just make sure the mic is up by oh sorry sorry about that okay uh good evening council members my name is Tasha sa and this is my first time speaking to you today uh additionally my family and I have lived at Portside towers for the past seven years um Portside okay sorry guys hold on tonight tonight I would like to address this letter uh this councilor received from from Derek Reed the lawyer for our landlord Equity residential after the letter complained about your questions in a small group of vocal residents Mr Reed attempted to mislead this Council obfuscation means to make something hard to understand or unclear especially intentionally oh sorry this is what some lawyers do when their client is wrong according to the law but they are being paid to help them anyway how did it make you feel that Mr Reed wrote that the six-year look back from the rent leveling board was somehow a suggested interpretation for our attorney is deis gate a word allow me to read what the actual board determination said the bureau is instructed to obtain the records necessary to review and adjust the rent on all units with in the building dating back six years from the filing of the first illegal rent petition for each building I don't think that could be any clearer now I will read a portion of Mr Reed's letter to all of you meanwhile the tenants attorney has written to the city suggesting an interpretation of the board's November 3rd decision to mandate a six-year look back period did the board determination seem like a suggested interpretation was necessary he also wrote that Equity residential is cooperating in complying fully with the board's decision in law his client has been increasing rents after the board determined rent decreases were in order his client has informed tenants business as usual until all Court actions come to a conclusion according to chapter Su 267 a violation of any provision of chapter 260 including misstatements is punishable via chapter 1-25 with fines up to two $2,000 Andor imprisonment for up to 90 days it goes on to say a violation affecting more than one tenant shall be considered a separate violation to each tenant why do you suppose Mr Reed is representing that his client is cooperating in complying fully with the board's decision and the law do you suppose that would qualify as a misstatement from a lawyer no less thank you thank you next speaker 5.56 John hello again excuse me okay uh following the public speaking portion of the last council meeting it was heartening to hear the dialog among the council members and the legal team and we really appreciate it heartening for us as residents of course apparently not for Equity residential who are a little out by what they heard according to equity they've always been compliant with the city ordinances regarding the conduct of landlords and they care deeply about their relationships with their residents and invest in them to ensure their longevity they care so much about their relationships with their residance that when one of the Portside tenants had a meeting with the buildings manager several months ago to discuss rent increases and deterioration of services they were told that equity's top priority is its investors they care so much about their relationships with their residents that they cut the headcount of their maintenance team so much that emergency maintenance requests such as water intrusion and mold are not addressed for days sometimes even weeks or months never mind non-urgent issues which are often ignored altogether according to the New Jersey Administrative Code given the number of units in each building there should be four full-time maintenance staff in each building we you push to have this enforced Equity cares so much about their relationships with their residents that even though a key fob security entry system was installed a couple of years ago it's barely operational if a concierge happens to be away from the desk which is unav unavoidable at times to carry out their many duties people can literally walk in off the street and into the elevators to go wherever they want to go as long as the elevators are working obviously they care so much about their relationships with their residents that for decades they bypassed du process to act like they're exempt from rent control they're not not without a little assistance from the city along the way of course such as forms being mysteriously altered and of course the non-enforcement of chapter 260 the rent leveling board's determination was given in November last year and it's binding Equity residential continue to ignore it why hasn't the city pushed Equity to comply as you've already heard the city of Hoboken has written to two landlords in similar cases to ours to uh reminding them of them to do their duty to comply with their rank Control Ordinance and Hefty fines that will be imposed otherwise why isn't Jersey City doing this mayor of Hoboken told a local news outlet that we as a city will stand up to corporate greed that undermines the well-being of our community must be really nice to have a mayor who cares about his constituents council members please will work with us to push the city to do its duty to its residents thank you we appreciate your help our next speaker 5.57 Mel um okay I know I'm late in the running today so apologize if there's any repetition um I want to try and look at things from a slightly different angle so uh yes we're very glad to hear all your comments last time we're very happy to have some support and some movement and you know some real action being taken we are still waiting on May Philip to lend his words of support or empathy but we must continue to on that so I'd like to reiterate um and especially so mayor Philip his why we cannot leave Equity to do the right thing they've shown time and again that they will not and at the same time claim the opposite the recent communication that's been talked about a lot tonight uh where Equity claims to care deeply for their tenant relationships and invest in those relationships they claim a small number of vocal tenants dispute this well I'll give them that a small number of tenants may feel cared and for and invested in um surely not everybody is having the same experience but I will outline some of the many cases where this is not true for I would wager the vast majority we've been told we live in a luxury building this may have been true back when Portside Towers was first built but compare us to the new buildings today in Jersey City ports side's extremely lacking another reason our rent shouldn't be considered market rate if we needed another yet another reason there are plenty of minimal legal requirements that Equity still does not meet I won't quot quote all the legal sources many people already have here but I'll speak of the real life examples which are far from acceptable we still have drafts mold rats and mice maintenance requests even emergencies for substantial leaks and inability to use bathrooms are ignored or left for hours days sometimes weeks equities operating with a skeleton maintenance staff uh resulting in one resident who recently shared a hack to insulate their their bathroom they are adhering Bubble Wrap to the windows so that their bathroom is usable warm enough to use this obscures any view from this luxury building and it definitely reeks of luxury care and investment security is another requirement the city uh that Equity has been allowed to ignore there is a security system it's often disabled there's no security guard like there should be according to city or ordinance if fact several several services or amenities we've had in the past have been removed or decided to charge more for a worse service they've even gone so far as to remove Fly screens from Windows and balcony doors this by the way must be custom built they can't be used anywhere else to to get our own is you know extremely expensive and costly they're removing them when a tenant leaves even if they're in perfect working order so they won't be asked to replace them in the future now if you're a tenant without fly screens there are a stack of them down by the maintenance office in the East Tower some may suggest custom screens belong to the apartments they are made for so you'll have to fit them yourself but no security will stop you thank you our next speaker 5.58 Aaron testing this all right uh good evening council members I'm Aaron Kent look at the world around you it may seem like an immovable and placable place it is not with the slightest push in the right place it can be tipped this quote is from author Malcolm Gladwell who defined a phenomenon called The Tipping Point or when an idea Trend or social behavior crosses a threshold tips and spreads like wildfire a direct definition from his book I've been thinking a lot lately about the Tipping Point as one does casually and I've been asking myself when does the scale finally tip in our favor what does it take for Equity residential the city of Jersey City the office of landlord and tenant relations to finally feel the weight because this is not the kind of wildfire that anybody really wants this isn't the Barbie movie or the latest viral sound on Tik Tok this has the chance if you take action now to be contained so I ask what is the Tipping Point here is it the endlessly similar speeches with the same pleas over and over is it the new faces coming to City Hall each week when you probably thought you'd only ever see the same old ones is it the faces of the kids standing behind you reiterating the facts and figures with pure yet blunt Simplicity as only children can really do is it the news coverage that will bring national attention to this matter is the hundreds of residents now very actively aware of this situation a growing number by the day now very aware of their rights as tenants and aware of the illegal rent charges taken from them each and every month is it that we are running out of time because the longer that action fails to take place here then the action we must take outside in court is imminent is it that our neighboring city of Hoboken is on the right side of the law willing to find buildings like the Avalon Bay and the Jordan who refuse to comply is it the fines that could and should result for those who don't follow the law which when you think about it are drops in the bucket for a $23 billion corporation like Equity residential these things they weigh heavily on us and I imagine they weigh heavily on you too they are reaching a critical mass and if you stand with us you have the choice to stand on the right side to contain the damage out the spark before it catches and turns into a wildfire I ask you council members what would be the Tipping Point for us and the Tipping Point for you thank you thank you our next speaker 5.59 Michelle evening I thank councilman Rivera for his two invitations for Kevin and I to meet with his Aid IET and I thank IET for her time I believe that IET learned from us she learned more about the rent Control Ordinance she learned that equity's attorney Mr Derek Reed unethically changed the meaning of section 26-7 d by providing you with only a portion of that provision ethical lawyers don't edit the law to meet their needs they cite the entire provision she also learned I believe that Kevin and I want nothing more than the city to do the right thing and I learned that for the council to do the right thing you need not only more information but you need correct precise information I had assumed that the council was regularly informed about our case and all aspects of the law as it pertains to our case I learned that I was wrong about that and this leads me to offer a sincere apology to you president wman first I do believe that you care I now realize that our perceived inaction on the part of the council is because again you have not been completely informed about the law as it pertains to us and this is allowing our landlord to continue the harm it perpetrates on Port Siders during the last council meeting I spoke out of turn while you and Ms Murray were discussing Port cider's claims that the landlord tenant office was not complying with the instructions for rent roll backs as set forth in the rent leveling board's determination truly it was not my intention to be disruptive but the information that was being shared with you was not entirely accurate Miss Murray stated that Equity could continue to raise our rents up to 4% because that is the maximum permitted by the ordinance for buildings subject to rent control the 4% number was mentioned several times but all of you and Miss Murray must understand that in our case the 4% number is a red herring the 4% number is only relevant if certain conditions have been met by the landlord Equity has never met them and to this day 3 months after our rent leveling Board hearing it is still not in compliance with them until you understand those provisions of the law you can't possibly understand why we keep asking you to investigate did you receive the brief that the Corporation Council promised you uh I'm going to ask that you ask the difference between roll backs and recalculations which Al Copo did say in the transcript for our hearing please this is important so you can fulfill your duties for the record tonight immediately after my 3 minutes ask Miss Murray to explain the specific provisions of chapter 260 that are in front of you informed thank you our next speak speaker 5.60 X XB aweight not here next 5.61 Edward let me begin with my call to the mayor's office I called them on yesterday it was time for me to see if I can meet with him to ask him the most important questions and I was forwarded to the office I was forwarded to the resident response office and so miss Diane told me that she meets with the mayor every night and she'll be um addressing my questions and she'll get back to me so that was a little bit over 24 hours ago she hasn't been able to yet but I assume she will uh and I just wanted to know where the mayor stands on the CC crb bill that just made it out of the house in Trenton a1515 and also where he stands and the public safety department with the SE Brooks and uh Washington bill that the governor just signed uh the member of Jersey City together did State on record that Nick Flora was there at the meeting as AA is on for the public safety department but I'm on record letting you know that I'm here holding you responsible as the council to reflect how I feel and also the community feels about our leadership so it's okay that FL is there but we need to know where the mayor stands on for instant arrive together he denied the program that was afforded to us through the Attorney General's office and he needs to answer for that he said when the police officers murdered drew that they did everything by the book you won't all know that that book's not good enough for us this bill and Tron now affords us a new way forward that's what we demand where in the world is public safety director Shay at this moment can you all tell us how the deescalation tactics have changed what new tactics have been implemented I mean since August 27 since Drew's death because they're still responsible for responding to call there's still the likelihood that another Community member could be lost and we could suffer more so this is important to me I'm down here I remember Drew I'll always remember Drew but it's on you to bring the mayor here for some accountability it's a shame everybody coming up here and you know what personally Mr Rivera it it was good you know um I felt good about it you know but I said to myself and many members sitting here I said okay so it's not about Showmanship right because these are our meetings and it feels great but we all need support we all need support I would like to sit in that seat and speak too but we have to see the work brought to fruition you know so um I I got I have to let you know about the call thank you I have to let you know about the our next speaker 5.62 Gina good evening good evening as always I want to thank our dedicated Council for their time attention and advocacy I'm here to add to all the other voices concerned about Public Safety in our city especially as it relates to acute mental health and Behavioral Health incident response since the brutal murder By Jersey City police of Andrew Washington in August of 2023 we have not seen enough active um response and empathy from our leaders how are we going to do better in the future the state of New Jersey just legally recognized that here in New Jersey we have some of the most extreme racial disparities in policing and police violence in our country it would go a long way for us to hear director Shay's recognition and support for the seab Brooks Washington act tonight I am encouraging the council to continue to hold our Public Safety department accountable and in fact I'm asking you to step up the intensity at this point on Monday director Shay welcomed you and your feedback unlike other directors in our city he said he takes full responsibility for the actions of his Department that's great let's take him up on this please put pressure on director Shay to dedicate more time and resources towards deescalation training and programs tonight you all are being asked to approve item 10.12 resolution 24-44 providing embarrassingly expensive furniture for that new million dooll police training facility we just hired 25 Cadets uh and as a diverse and dense City we have an opportunity to show the world a different kind of policing in spite of that opportunity we are seeing deescalation training continue to be a footnote in director Shay's plans before the holidays I shared with you some preliminary stats as academics and social scientists are starting to measure the effects of these deescalation programs and their impact and I want us all to remember the number 36 tonight it's the biggest number in these measurements and it shows that 36% reduction in officer injuries is possible that's director Shay's team those are his direct reports that's his team that we're talking about where we could encourage less violence and less injury to our officers what boss wouldn't want a 36% reduction of injury to his Workforce or her Workforce why aren't we more focused on reducing these incidences of violence director Shay should be focusing on reducing harm for both citizens and his employees rather than building a militarized city out of Jersey City we don't need another cop City we need Justice for Drew ceasefire now thank thank you our next speaker 5.63 Terry be before you speak Terry could I just say something for the speakers that are going to come up on the podium you guys don't need to hug the microphone and speak like because then we can't hear you so if you can just step back it will hear you better thanks on okay um good evening Council award members um I am Terry Fox I'm admin for our local Jersey City mom Community our local Jersey City parent communities and a third Hoboken and Jersey City parent communities I come to you today um first I'd like to say thank you I know that um thank you for all your daily efforts I am truly in awe of all the good that you do for us and for our great City truly I know it's not easy um I come to you today to ask you to please find a way to fix the Persian field ice rink it is important and essential for our community the children of Jersey City need an ice rank please find a way the absence of it is truly being felt within our parent and youth communities our community can rally to help raise funds if needed or help in any way and I mean that please please find a way to save our ice rink second moms and parents in our community are worried for the growing traffic issues as a small business owner who spends hours on The Daily in the car to pick up ingredients make deliveries and get around for our local events for our mom and parent communities and simple day-to-day mom life duties I also am seeing aggressive drivers I feel people are driving erratically out of control people are not following traffic loss I'm sure that you are working on these issues and I hope that you can find ways to better the situation for all of us lastly former mayor Jerry McCain his tweets and so social media presence has been repeatedly hateful and racist he's a paid Jersey City employee from my understanding that seems wrong to me and many of us that absolutely should not be happening city employees just as Community leaders should be held to a higher standard we should be the example has anyone checked on him is he okay like seriously Jerry McCain needs to resign and without pay from our city immediately he should be held to a higher standard as is anybody who serves our community this is extremely upsetting and our city deserves better we must be better and do better on all of these matters thank you thank you thank you chair our next speaker 5.64 Joel Joel n not here next 5.65 Nicholas Nicholas not here 5.66 Sayad not here K Henry emailed me 5.67 not speaking tonight 5.68 tall left okay thank you 5.69 Luke I don't mean Sky Walker and next by 70 Karen evening good evening is this correct you hear me um I'm here because I want you to remind you about what we are losing because the ice rank is closed you probably know that the um jur re program was partnering with um hak and New Jersey and what that program do does uh in newwork since I believe 2010 in Jersey City since 2015 and they uh they work with the cities where they are they get the the ice and the rest is all them they bring in volunteers to to to teach the kids how to skate and and to then after that you know become ice um uh ice skaters hoey ice skaters and they bring in the equipment it's it's usually secondhand stuff but it doesn't matter I it's for for little kids some of these things you barely know it's been used and that means that it's hockey for everybody it truly is if you go to these if if if you see them uh playing their games or practicing you can tell that it's that the group is as diverse as the city they are in that's very important and um we don't have that dangerous city anymore they have graciously allowed us to come to nework if we want to but because so many people don't drive it's very hard to do that so since it seems you all are not getting wrecked together or even getting the ice open I'm not talking about some new fancy smancy ice skating ring in 2020 and 2021 when uh the kids when the parents weren't allowed in inside the kids would get dressed not in the in the in the in the changing room because that wasn't allowed either the only thing they had was ice and that's pretty much all you need when we go there uh we would see on Saturdays after the game people line up from the community to come to the to the ice time to do skating Friday evenings the same thing it's it's all lost on on what does youth have at the moment here uh to to do it's it's less and less and it's really discouraging to see taxes go up but but what you get back for it it's becomes less and less it just doesn't make sense so I really truly hope you will look into this I'll also have a couple of seconds left to say thank you for taking the ordinance off about the fees because I don't understand why uh they don't want to work for 150 less than 150 an hour thank you thank you our next speaker 5.71 Salvador good evening council members even let me start by saying that we have knocking many doors and nobody had listened to us on um hon County Commissioner bill oia and his assisant GGA took their time and and look at the many issues we have in our building um which are many issues but we're going to focus on the ordinance uh 22- 91 that's for emergency repairs to be amended to include elevators one of the reason that we here is because um uh in our building it's been all almost two years that our elevator is not working General we've been asking management so many times what is the reason that they not fixing it they don't get back to us we um email many times to them we text them and they don't even get back to us it look like they don't care they don't even respond it so we asking you is you can help us out with this because it's a health health issue too um because the reason that I'm saying health issue because the garbage is left out in the hallways when the uh when the elevator was uh up and running everybody used to take the garbage to the basement because we have access to when we when we have to access to the basement because we have the elevator if we don't have an elevator we don't have access to the basement what they did was they just put so many um containers outside our building and we have to take the garbage out so the issue is that we have mes and mice and rats and in in our building because of the reason that we don't have the building we are getting I'm I'm getting old and this is saring me out every time that I have to work with groceries my wife too and it Hur to see the other people too there's other people that when they come up with their grocery you see as as a neighbor I like to help them out when they see them because um they need our help this all people that can even walk we have a we have a guy a neighbor at at the third floor that he doesn't doesn't even move from her his apartment because he doesn't have access to the elevator so I feel bad when I see many of our neighbors a struggle so um the the reason that they say well and this not a not official but they say the explanation that they gave us is that Verizon has so many antenna in the um in the roof and in order to fix the elevator they have to take the antennas out and they haven't done that so I don't know how long it's going to take them to help help us out with this with this issue what's the address actually actually I can cover this commissioner od's office did reach out to us to see if we can amend the receivership ordinance so I've been in contact with the law Department to see if that is possible because it is currently tied to emergency repair with our heat ordinance so we are working on that and then earlier this evening we did receive an email from Joe barel with an update on the AT&T antennas so if you want to give contact information to my Aid Britney and Lisa and then we will also update the commissioner's office I just didn't want to do that in the middle of a council meeting so but yeah we will definitely give you guys an update we do have that information for you and his office has been in touch with my office I will also Loop in councilman Gilmore's office because the building is located on the in in W all right thank you but we'll make sure everyone's connected thank you okay thank you our next speaker 5.72 Corey hi uh Corey GGA I'm here uh speaking on behalf of commissioner Bill o day who has been helping these residents of 6:30 Bergen Avenue we are here to ask for the amendment on ordinance 22- 091 we're asking that that amendment that ordinance be amended to include emergency repairs for elevators as well the tenants of 6:30 uh Bergen Avenue have been dealing with this situation for over two years as as you've heard from Salvador and basically AT&T allowed the pro the property management um sorry the other way around Property Management allowed AT&T to put up cell towers and it destroyed the structural Integrity of the Elevator Shaft so these residents have been suffering this for two years and residents with health and Mobility problems senior citizens garbage being left in the hallways because residents can't take the stairs in July when we first went to the building we saw a woman in her late 70s carry all of her groceries up by the stairs by herself other residents have to buy groceries in peac mail because it's just too much for them to carry up the stairs we had a senior with the cardiac issues on the third floor who hasn't left his apartment since the elevators went out and then we also met with a guy who had recently had back surgery and he was stopping every other floor to catch a breath all of this went on like I said while the property management was collecting a check basically they rent the space out to AT&T and um they didn't want to remove it because then they'd lose that check if AT&T has to remove it it costs the property owner $20,000 which some of you have seen already today by that being provided to Joe Barra uh amending this ordinance will give other residents in the building a Sol in other buildings a solution if they ever have to have that same experience I'm also calling on the city to do a search to increase the amount of elevator subcode officials and that's it thank you thank you our next speaker 5.73 Steve hello everyone uh my name is Steve Cunningham I'm the founder of Team Wilderness which offers Support Services to local youth um we serve the kids that uh need it most to provide Equitable access to Nature uh but here I'm coming tonight as the parent of an amazing kid back there oh we're there um that plays hockey at the rank uh I have also coached at that rank I've volunteered at that rink and I don't know how many times I've taken my son and his friends to do the open skate there on the weekends that that's really my favorite time to go of everything that happens to the rink the it's the open skates and this is because I get to see uh more of the kids that team Wilderness works with um for many of them it's their first time ever on the ice and it's an important life lesson experience one where where um they fall a lot and they have to learn to get back up again and you know it's an experience that every youth should have access to regardless of whether they care about playing hockey and regardless of what their zip code is someone came and spoke early in the night and they said how they won on their first date at at the rank um which made me smile because when you go to those open skates you can see a lot of f dates a lot of them and if you thought seeing like two teens go on a first date was awkward like you should see it when it's on ice it is it is just incredibly awkward um you know it's really those teens why I'm here and what's what's in my mind it's for them that I feel like the lack of the ice Hurts the Most you know why can't they have Equitable access to an ice rank I understand understand the rink has a lot of issues and it's not just with the ice the roof the lights the bathrooms the the only public bathrooms are in the locker rooms so you know would you want a random spectator to use a bathroom in a child's locker room not a good situation but regardless of the number of issues really something has to to start moving faster whether it's fixing the ice while the city procures funds for a full rebuild or whether the City opens a pop-up rink while Renovations are done many towns across the state have seasonal popup rinks they put them in parts of the parks that don't get used in the winter um and it's it's really that speed at which the city um moves that's what's most crucial here I remember a few years ago when construction at the Grove Street Plaza was happening thank you 10 seconds sorry sorry pass a resol the time is up Sir pass a resolution that it happened in 183 days we we need that will we need that will next speaker 5.74 kooper oh come over here oh come on right here what you want then okay he's G take okay sa from the um hello councel I am the son of Steve Cunningham as he just spoke and um I want to make this quick because my bedtime is coming up and and um you may think I'm just an unlucky kid that has to come here because my dad is some was some coach for this team but I'm willing to come here to try to support the team in the rank and I think that everyone deserves to be happy and with what they want and I think that to make this city great everyone has to be happy which which as the world seems now as impossible but there's a way that we can be better with that and I think that you know when what my dad said earlier The Grove Street Plaza was done really quickly I think that this can be done really quickly too and I think that if we don't act on this with the way that we can't really decide yet it's probably just going to be sitting there for a really long time just just collecting dust before I make a decision so I think that you know I think that we should we should fix thank you amazing as usual um next speaker 5.75 [Laughter] Christian good evening council member members my name is Kristen zadroga har and I stand before you today to advocate for my student athletes I'm currently the athletic director at McNair academic high school we currently offer a combined 40 varsity and underclass teams and over 60% of our students participate in at least one sport during their time at mcir in my five plus years at McNair we have added boys and girls fencing as well as an Esports team just this school year we added ice hockey to our Athletic program through an njsiaa co-op with Bon high school we currently have 10 student athletes who play on the ice hockey team they actually have a game right now which is why I am here to speak on their behalf the additions to our Athletic program offerings have happened because of the passion and dedication of our students and parents for two years the students and parents have been advocating for an ice hockey team as a cost-saving measure superintendent of schools Dr Fernandez agreed to allow us to offer hockey through the co-op system as a way to allow participation while keeping costs at a minimum the opportunity ice hockey has given to our students in such a short time is immeasurable two of our students have been recognized by nj.com as being among the best players in the state of New Jersey and their only freshmen this will undoubtedly translate to Scot scholarship offers in the next year or so to play at the Collegiate level these athletes did not learn or hone their skills through any doing of mine or anyone else at McNair these students were introduced to ice hockey through the development developmental program offered at the Persian field ice rink before it was shut down two seasons ago because this failure to maintain our facilities Jersey City residents must now travel to remain involved in the sport that they love countless children have been denied the opportunity to be introduced to both ice hockey and ice skating in general in a postco world we should be doing everything possible to support the physical and emotional well-being of our children as much as possible not kicking cans down the road and eliminating opportunities this goes for the closure of the ice shink as well as the fact that people cannot use a Persian field pool after 4M apparently due to a lack of functioning lights in the building if we want to tout ourselves as the best midsize city in America we really have to do better I hope this body will implore the powers that be to rectify this situation as soon as possible thank you for your time thank you thank you our next speaker 5.76 Felix you interpreting yes okay once again for the opportunity to speak in this council meeting I'm here translating for Felix raml who has shared his notes with me unfortunately we have had to come back to this meeting as the situation continues with rl's parking issue in Jersey City last time we were here we presented the parking issue with the driveway purchased this multi family at almost 700,000 um with an existing driveway after his purchase neighbors have been blocking his driveway yet his driveway does not disrupt or disturb any other homes renters most of them which seems as if they have either part-time jobs or not employed park at all hours which usually block rumel in in the morning for hours Ramos is willing to pay the permits necessary Ramos is also asking if he can please receive a letter to take to zoning where he can have the permission to legalize the curb cut just to reiterate purchase it this way and he has uh to deal with the renters blocking him in his own driveway please take into consideration allowing Ramos's uh driveway to to be legalized what uh what block he live on not the exact wait 59 weight I'm sorry 59 weight wait okay anything else that's it yes thank you he has thank you our next speaker 5.77 Josephine see Joseph I didn't see her either all right our next speaker 5.78 be Tiana t sorry not here and next 579 lenzo yes he he's right in front of us oh good evening council members I'm here for a couple of quick things the first thing um it's being handed out um if you could hand that out to the council members it's about the Jersey City Municipal Taxes and it speaks to 22 2022 versus 2023 it was reported in more than one newspaper or articles that there was an increase of 2% when I looked at the analysis in actual real dollars from 2022 to 2023 319 million 566,000 versus 349 m926 16884 which is an increase of 30, 360,000 so why is it being put out there as a 2% tax increase when in fact it is a 99.5% tax increase just on Municipal Taxes nothing else just the municipal tax number two um well they they left earlier but uh I wanted to fully support the people at port side I've been hearing and reading about the issues going on uh with their building and I think they make a good point about you utilizing the um forner act to put a hold on what's going on don't allow those increases to happen and use that time frame to use your investigative body to do the work put a freeze on those things and then when it's over everything's sorted out things will fall where they need to go lastly I want to say that I'm looking at resolution 10.08 and 10.09 from the mayor uh for the Cannabis um appointments my question to you about the Cannabis appointments is that are you looking at individuals to see if they have conflicts of interest we know there were some issues going on in the past with conflicts of interest I want to know what's being done about conflicts of interest and are you looking at that intently and making sure that that's being adhered to thank you you next speaker 5.80 Maya there um I wanted to apologize for not being here early ear when youall were discussing the ceasefire resolution for the first time um I recently moved in with a longtime resident who's a relative and um so I'm late but better late than never I wanted to come and ask y'all to please um reconsider that ceasefire resolution um for context uh I'm Jewish my family is partially Israeli and um when I read the resolution you know I was I was very surprised that it had not succeeded um you know it was considered anti-Semitism islamophobia anti-arab racism um you know it considered all innocent lives and called for a permanent ceasefire um and a negotiation to uh free the hostages and produce um lasting political Solutions in Raza and in the region um and I I don't know why it couldn't pass um when I asked someone they thought maybe folks were hesitant to take a stand on an international issue um and so I thought maybe I would just come and and speak to that today and say you know of course if if Jersey City or Union City or any City here calls for a ceasefire in Raza it's not going to happen because a local government called for it but the place I moved from Detroit pass that type of resolution and if every city across the country passed that type of resolution it would help those of us who want a ceas fire for the safety of the hostages for the safety of the Palestinian people in Gaza for the safety of Palestinians in the West Bank and for the safety of Jewish Israelis duus Israelis bedan Israelis for the safety of everyone to have peace um it would help create that upward pressure on our federal government on our Congress people and on our president who we've so far failed uh you know to persuade enough in order for that ceasefire to actually happen um and I know that y'all have heard a lot I'm sure from from residents at those previous meetings about how personal and painful this issue is for so many of us and especially for your Palestinian constituents I know you know what is being done to Gaza right now how dire the crisis is how many people have been killed um how many people are in danger of dying from starvation from um a lack of water a lack of food um Palestinian friends uh with family and Gaza you know I don't know if they're still alive um so I I know you know all that and you you know how urgent it is and maybe the hesitation is just well what's our role um and to I would say you know there are a lot of immigrants in North Jersey for those of us who have family who come from someplace else I think we know the line between foreign and domestic is is kind of an illusion you know we feel these things that happen to our in our diaspora every day um and and October 7th was not um foreign to me and every day after watching what's being done to my Palestinian cousins and Raza is not foreign to me so please take a stand um and and stand for peace thank you thank you hey we two speakers added before the meeting started first one 5.81 Erica hi my name is Erica I'm a resident at 6:30 Bergen Avenue I'm here today for ordinance 22- 091 for emergency repairs to amend to include elevators the elevator has been out for service for two years due to AT&T antennas causing a crack on the Elevator Shaft and only came back months later to put new antennas up because management asked them to yet they have made no attempt to fix the elevators I have sent emails numerous times inquiring on the status and never heard back on on any updates do you know what it's like walking up four six eight flights upstairs multiple times a day having to haul groceries and laundry up four six eight flights of stairs it has taken a toll on my knees for these past two years my husband who had knee surgery years ago it also has been a challenge for him and he may need knee surgery again and we wonder how would manage that with no working elevator being forced to walk up four six eight flights upstairs daily 7 days a week multiple times a day did I say multiple times a day it is exhausting even my 11-year-old son who is here with me today he's tired of it as well he tells me why aren't they fixing the elevator when are they going to fix it I have witnessed people abandoning their apartments and moving in garbage bags leaving everything else behind or in the hallways to avoid carrying it down the stairs people leave garbage rotting in the hallways because they are just tired of coming up the stairs especially those who live on higher floors people have dragged their garbage down the stairs leaving a trail of garbage on the steps dangering others of slipping down the stairs please this is just not right while management only cares about rent we are forced to live under these stressful exhausting conditions it's not right it's just not right thank you thank you thank you and our last speaker for the night F 5.82 Maya good evening guys I know you guys are tired but I'll make this quick uh here on behalf of my parents who have endur I have endured hearing them suffer and witness and experience the hardship that they've been having with the issue of these elevators we've called to place formal complaints to City Hall almost every day this summer ask firefighter friends police officer friends anyone to direct us to the right direction and finally we we have a platform to discuss these issues on hand thank you so much for allowing this to happen um we take the the elevator for granted but it is not a luxury to have a working elevator it is a dire necessity for the elderly for moms with carriages folks who deal with lugging laundry up and down nearly 60 steps of stairs eight flights it is the people from the higher floors that struggle the most such as my parents tenants are persecuted for any late or missing payments but who keeps the landlords accountable in turn for receiving their payments in full my heart hurts to see my poor parents have to walk their pets three to four times a day think about going up and down those four uh flights of steps I can only imagine what other parents and grandparents have gone through for nearly two years we even struggled earlier this year with my niece when she sprained her ankle uh playing volley volleyball softball sorry and had to ensure that she had physical support from family members making sure that we had shifts of people to help her up and down the stairs let me not even get started on hearing my visiting grandmother complain about the nearly 60 steps it takes her to get to my parents apartment uh it also is an embarrassment to have to have people over and tell them that there is no elevator working or when people are coming to visit and have luggages and we're hauling those luggages up for flights of steps all the flights of steps please I ask you on behalf of my parents and all of 630 Bergen Avenue please get my parents the help they need the help that should be rightfully provided to them as tenants of over four decades thank you thank you Sean um I just want to say that I first I want to commend everybody from 6B and and from port side for coming coming out um I happen to represent both of the jurisdictions and I just want you guys to know who don't know that you have a fighter in councel and Gilmore that's G to stand in solidarity with you guys despite what push back I may receive or anything like that um it really angers me to see that people certain people just think that they're above others and they can do as they please because of their socioeconomical status um so I just want to tell you ladies and gentlemen with regards to that um and also with regards to the ice rank um I'm I'm extremely perplexed it is amazing what we can find money for and what we can't find money for you think the price of repair is high wait till you get the bill for rehabilitation because it is extremely essential for kids to have a outlet to let go it is important that we make sure we do everything in our power and this I mean our job is to really watch the the budget and make sure that you know we don't overspend and we're being good stewards of the budget um but it and some it's just some things that you just wish that will get done and get done in a reasonable Manner and that ice rength man I come from Recreation I used to work in the ice rank I seen all of the beautiful programs that came through the ice Rank and we're GNA have more meetings with the director and administration but the reality is unless and until we start acting like we care about regular everyday folks we're going to be in for a long one so so let let me let me share something being that I'm sure a lot of a lot of us up here are going to piggyback on the a lot of things here so let let's let's just speak about the ice skating rink right so as a person who was involved and ran a local Little League 25 years right started from the bottom of that little league to the top and when I left it it was topof thee line little league and continues to be I was at that Podium for 25 years I'm going to be very plain with you yelling at the politicians up here and the politicians did didly squat right zero so I am going to tell the people out there that there are limited resources that politicians appear and the city is going to do that's just plain and simple you need to as a unit as a community get together like what we did with Roberto Clemente we were playing 1,200 kids in one park in six street I'm now listen to this I'm not advocating for this but we marched 1,200 kids from 6 Street to City Hall we made sure that the politicians that were on this de made sure that we were extremely serious about our kids one thing I'm going to ask the people on this day is do not take advantage of kids have meetings with these kids if you are not going to be behind them 100% I am going to give and for my office here I am going to and it's going to be a a a drop in the bucket but we need to make sure that we put our money where our mouths is and give these kids 100% support don't say that you're supporting them R them up here for sound bites and not support them that is a horrible thing to do the reason why I bought those kids up here is to show you that those kids are important and they mean something their parents are the ones that came up here but those kids need us because they're the ones that they they their parents are telling them let's go to City Hall because those guys can do something it's bigger than that way bigger than that that please don't fool these kids make sure that you're if you bring them here you commit to them I'm speaking to us up here it's a drop in the bucket I am going to commit to $1,000 for that for that uh ice skating ring but I'm going to make sure that from my office we call whatever news people we need to call we reach out to the New Jersey Devils the way we should be reaching out we reached out to Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball gave us N Street Park and they made a big deal about it that's what you need to do so I am urging you because there was a lot of politicians when I was on that Podium that couldn't stand my ass when I was up there talking about them because I knew they weren't doing anything that is the reason why I ran for council person so I could make sure that those kids which right now 212 of them are Jersey City police officers 106 of them are firefighters 37 37 attorneys and 15 Physicians I'm proud of that but that Community stood strong and did not let those kids down I didn't count on the politicians so if we're going to be here to talk about the city and the politicians make sure you hold the community accountable hold their hands it's not an easy walk it's a rough road but we can do it but you got to make sure that you tow the line and that you stay serious and that you're with them 100% otherwise you're just doing smoking mirrors up here make sure you support these kids sure okay on to our petitions and Communications any questions or comments on items 6.1 through 6.30 hearing none there are no officer Communications reported directors 8.1 through 8.3 any questions or comments hearing none um G to be taking a vote on claims and addendums number one and number two council person Ridley I council person priner Hi council person bajano Hi council person SLE hi council person Gilmore council person Dees hi council person rera Hi and council president Waterman claims and addendums number one and number two are approved 80 with council person Solomon absent on to our resolutions before yes thought I have a question for attorneys I received a call before we started this meeting from a young lady she's talking about uh 1022 it's a she's saying it's a conflict of interest it's where Dr Gonzalez serves on the planning board and then they're going to make him the head of the uh Life mod LLC she's saying it's a it's a it's a conflict of interests is that so uh we we don't believe it's an issue or a conflict it's a renewal you know okay you're saying it's not a conflict because she wants me to get back to her okay all right so council members we're going to be taking a vote on items 10.1 through 10.14 again that's 10.1 through 10.14 council person redley I council person priner I council person Bano I council person Cay I council person Gilmore 10.1 through 10.14 to the what is that um 10 108 and 10 how do we do cuz I remember last time when I think Miss Perkins were up was up for reappoint how do with the canopus control board it is it typical that we just like reappoint or like how does that process work um you'll see them in in tranches because that's how they were um appointed right we did 2 two one I believe as we went along and it's up to the discretion of the administration to the mayor if he wants to reappoint an existing member or or a new member and then it's presented to the council for confirmation okay 10.6 shout out to Lincoln Lions um thank you councilman Rivera for acknowledging the greatness that come from Lincoln my armor ma um so I'll um I'm gonna up stain on these um appointments um 108 and 10 N I vote I on arrest standing on 108 and 109 and I on all the rest correct yes thank you council person the I on all council person Riva hi and council president wman okay items 10.1 through 10.7 are approved 80 with council person Solomon absent item 10.8 is approved 701 with council person Gilmore abstaining and council person Solomon absent item 10.9 is also approved 71 with council person Gilmore abstaining and council person Solomon absent on to the balance of our resolutions items 10.15 through 10.23 again that's 10.15 through 10.23 council person Ridley I council person Prince AR council person banana stain on 1022 until I get further information I on all the rest thank you council person SLE I council person Gilmore um I'm abstaining on 1019 and I on arrest okay council person Dees council person Riva hi and council president wman items 10.15 through 10 8 are approved 80 with council person Solomon absent item 10.19 is approved 701 with council person Gilmore abstaining and council person Solomon absent items 10.20 through 21 are approved 80 with council person Solomon absent item 10.22 is approved 701 with council person Bano abstaining and council person Solomon absent and 10.23 is approved 80 with council person Solomon absent may I have a motion motion to adjourn so I have a motion to adjourn at 9:44 PM by council person SLE and I'll give the second to council person Riva on the motion to adjourn at 9:44 p.m. council person Ridley council person priner council person B council person SLE hi council person Gilmore council person Dees council person Rivera and council president Waterman motion carries 80 with council person Solomon absent to adjourn at 9:44 pm. thank you so much everyone present and thank you so so much everyone watching at home remember Teamwork Makes a DreamWork have a great night