No more soup for you (if by soup you mean stand around jobs for cops)

Mayor Steve Fulop has pulled back the ladle and put the lid on the "off-duty" (Johnny's always preferred the 'stand around' connotation because that's what they did, or in the JCPD's case didn't but got paid anyway) jobs that pay large sums of money to the JCPD officers who want them and embarrassment to the city when dozens of these same officers get caught up in a federal investigation for not paying taxes on money they took and didn't bother to show up for in some cases. Worse yet, some cops on active duty were pulled off patrol to go stand around construction sites. You can go back to the earliest days of the Jersey City Desk and see Johnny imploring first Healy then Fulop to end this nonsense. It's too bad it took Fulop this long but ding dong those jobs are dead:

"For too long the program has been abused with police officers more focused on off-duty work than on-duty work," Fulop said in an email to The Jersey Journal. "The widespread corruption was known by countless officers within the department and the degree of abuse is astonishing."

OK, so no more obscene amounts of money for very very very little work. Let's play "How do you think that went over with the JCPD" with your host, Kramer:

Did Carmine Disbrow, president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association call the mayor's decision:

A) Wise considering all that's gone on recently
B) Hasty
C) Poopy
D) "Mayor Fulop has shared no plan with the union regarding the future off-duty jobs," Carmine Disbrow, president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association, said in a statement. "We'd much prefer to have this conversation with him face-to-face than through social media or the press. While we understand the need for change in the way assignments are distributed, we hope that he understands how critically important these jobs are to keeping Jersey City safe."

If you chose "D" just understand that Fulop DID just share his plan with the union regarding these jobs Mr. Disbrow, he said they're over. A one-sentence plan really.

Usually this is where Johnny would end the story with something about a D+ force in a B+ city but the best city reporter anywhere, in fact an Ace Reporter, Terrence T. McDonald asked Ward C Councilman and former Jersey City detective Richard Boggiano his thoughts on the end of all things stand around and boy were they colorful. You simply have to see what Boggiano thinks of the towns and hamlets surrounding Jersey City. But you have to put munny in Mr. McDonald's pocket first since he asked the question, you follow this link but trust Johnny, it's worth the click.

Runoff night in Jersey City with a shock in Ward E

Four wards in Jersey City had runoff elections today with three favorites winning in Wards A, B & C.

Denise Ridley is far ahead of Joe Conte in Ward A. Far ahead. She will take over for Frank Gajewski.

The boss shivved Chris Gadsden in Ward B, turning loose (and Gadsden put out the video to prove it) dirty politickers with former council member Phil Kenny and even council President Rolando Lavarro on scene where campaign materials were being 'fiddled' with. Mira Prinz-Arey sidled up to the Fulop machine and handily beat Gadsden today. Ward B loses a fine young talent on council in our opinion.

Ward C sees the return of Rich Boggiano who ran independently of Fulop but still won the runoff vs John Hanussak. Boggiano gonna Boggiano.

Which brings us to Ward E which will, for the next four years be "Unbought and Unbossed" as James Solomon pulls the upset over media and endorsement favorite Rebecca Symes. Symes had all the momentum, all the television ads, all the local endorsements from government groups, local businesses, style bloggers and even outgoing Councilwoman Candice Osborne. In the end the question Johnny asked on the first election night, would the Hudnut and Grillo vote move to Solomon and apparently at least some of it did. Johnny also heard from more than one person the whole ChicPea incident however well intentioned, didn't help. This was not Johnny picking that scab, this was people discussing it around him. There were also claims of a nasty push campaign in Ward E. We'll have time to go over all these races but tonight is, as an old boss of Johnny's used to call it, 'The quick and dirty" analysis.

The Journal Square city council debate is set

Loew's Theater will host the Ward C council candidates forum this upcoming Saturday from 10am til noon. We kind of like the breakfast with the candidates feel of this meet up. Ward C's rep, incumbent former JC cop Rich Boggiano, 74, is facing Janet Chevres, 53, a business administrator at JPMorgan Chase; John Hanussak, 48, who works for the city Resident Response Center; and Rekha Nandwani, 40, president of the Jefferson Avenue Block Association. More on the event here.

Somewhere Nidia Lopez is kicking herself for not getting on the ballot here as she packs her Florida home to flee Hurricane Irma.

A well written editorial from a local business owner on the "ban no ban" on chain stores downtown

Aaron Morrill, owner of Two Boots Pizza (mea culpa, Johnny loves their food), took on the recent flip flop by the Fulop Administration over so-called chain stores and the 2015 ban placed on them downtown. Morrill rightly points out the evidence was there this plan would not work and why.

Also, thanks to Terrence T. McDonald who looked this up as Johnny couldn't find it in his notes; Rich Boggiano was the only council member to see this ban was the wrong idea. A good read on why facts and research must win the day over things that may sound great in theory, but just don't pass critical muster.

Good brunch reading.

The rumors are true, it's a Friday News Roundup

And of course that rumor was started by Johnny last night.

*Saint Peter's had a celebration yesterday for the CIT title won last week. A great story. The city should have thrown a parade.

*Despite flirting with the idea, Ward C councilman Richard Boggiano will not be joining the Fulop ticket and will run as an independent. Will Fulop decide to get someone on his team to run against Boggiano, a critic of his administration? Bet on it. Nidia Lopez is coming north!

*The scene outside of Dickinson High School was disturbing, awful and the powers that be better make sure this hideous crap does not happen again. Also, the kids who showed so little self-respect need to look into a mirror.

*A public shaming and a cake that now goes down in Jersey City political history have finally gotten Mayor Fulop to commit actual cash money to schools from the long-term PILOT abatements. Abatement Cake got schools funded, got shit done.

*Ward D Councilman Michael Yun has decided against a mayoral run but is trying to assemble a ticket to take away Mayor Fulop's council majority.

*Finally, on the lighter side, Jersey City is now filling potholes in Bayonne. Make sure you send 'em a bill DPW.

Be mindful to come back for the Music Series tonight.

Place your bets, place your bets

As mentioned yesterday, all the city council seats are up for grabs this November and just whom does Johnny think will win in which ward and who exactly will win? Let's take a look:

Ward A: If there is to be some big surprise it may well come from Ward A. Councilman Frank Gajewski told the Jersey Journal said he remains undecided. He'd be getting a late start. He's not the most social media friendly guy, what has he gotten passed? Not that Gajewski won't win if he runs, he'd more than likely be the biggest name in the race in Ward A but warning signs are there if a new hot candidate came forward. A real firecracker. Like most races though, the question before us is who will challenge these incumbents and have a real shot.

Ward B: Councilman Chris Gadsden won in a special election last November after Chico Ramchal was forced to vacate his seat for legal reasons, will face another race this November and has told the JJ he's in. We'd like to see what his new energy will bring. All noobs elected anywhere are most vulnerable in that first re-election run so that one needs watching.

Ward C: Councilman Rich Boggiano, despite signs around the Shop Rite Plaza on Marin, has not yet decided if he's going to run again, seek an at-large seat, or if he may also run for mayor. We'll know when Boggiano tells us. Like Johnny has said before, Boggiano gonna Boggiano.

Ward D: Councilman Michael Yun is tossing around a serious bid to challenge Steve Fulop for Mayor but hasn't made up his mind on the mayoral run yet. We'd expect Yun to run again and win Ward D as he has become quite popular in his stands (with Boggiano) against the otherwise rubber stamp council towards the current administration.

Ward E: Councilwoman Candice Osborne has said she's running again and if you want to waste a lot of time, effort and money, you can challenge her. Lock.

Ward F: It's up for grabs as Diane Coleman stepped down from the job. While council will name a new member, it'll be a quick turnaround with less than a year to defend the seat before November's elections.

The three at-large seats held by Council President Rolando Lavarro, Joyce Watterman and Daniel Rivera have all said they are running again for their seats. Rivera seems safe, Lavarro seems safe but with him you never know. That sheen wears off pretty quick. He leads a protest at Bay St. Towers (dba Trump Towers) but has he followed up or been back? He started to take a stand on spending but that was before Mayor Fulop smartly bagged his run for governor and the job of mayor was never going to be Lavarro's in 2017. Will he continue on his newfound penny-pinching mindset or will he now revert to another yes for Fulop spending? If Joyce Watterman can avoid running her campaign out of her office again, we'd say she's the favorite.

Lather, rinse, abate

We're running out of reasons why Mayor Steve Fulop, who as candidate Steve Fulop pretty much ran on a plan of NO MORE huge downtown condo tax abatements, continually insists on bleeding the city tax base dry. No more downtown abatements bellowed candidate Fulop, they already have too many. Fast forward to 3 and a half years later and Fulop has broken that promise to all of Jersey City in spades. He continues to give out sweet deals to just about anyone who can still find an unabated lot downtown. One tall square building and a couple project starts elsewhere still has not concentrated on the rest of Jersey City monetarily to what Fulop since becoming mayor has asked his "yes sir" council (Sans Boggiano and Yun) to dole out "in lieu of taxes." Some of these might have been be palatable if any of these new buildings had businesses. Look around. The One has A dry cleaner. A, ie 1. Marbella, nothing. Toll Brothers The Morgan, nothing. These promises of great new taxpaying businesses if a false one. The Igloos (The Art House and The Jokeman on First St.) have scads of parking put in, if you own an electric vehicle. Maybe, maybe 3 spots out of 25 are ever being used (Right now a call from the mayor's office going out to find every Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf within Hudson County to get it there NOW for the media). Sometimes those spots, 3/4 a block, part of "in lieu of taxes," sits empty. Wow, great "giveback" there Shuster. Bet that cost almost nothing to get your deal. If one looks hard enough at that row of empty chargers it would seem the city has outsourced those as well.

So, is Jersey City real estate that unappealing still, after Healy's seed money got things going, for now the budget looks OK, and by most accounts Jersey City is a big old social buzz city? Could just be the mayor rolls over far too easily.

Jobs have come here, and these are exactly where any abatements downtown SHOULD be going to. Those still have to be measured but no more abatements for condos or apartments downtown. How often must this simple idea that less spending is good and right now is the time to make developers, if they want a part of Jersey City, to pay the going rate downtown. The city isn't going to collapse if a corner stays a parking lot. Somebody will pay it, at full tax rate going forward because it's close to NYC. A Chinese company is building the new 95 story tower on Hudson. They could afford going rate rather than "in lieu of taxes," no?

Why is Johnny back on this again?

Terrence T. McDonald, take it away:

Now, city officials are asking the City Council to approve a 25-year tax break for a 52-story, 50-unit high-rise slated for a Columbus Drive parking lot.

AND Fulop wants to loan them money, like Bruce Ratner at the old Pep Boys site. No money for your neighborhoods but actual money to loan a developer. The Goldman Sachs guy in Fulop is on full display here.

The deal would also include $1 million in city-issued bonds, known as redevelopment area bonds, the city said will fund infrastructure improvements on the site, to be known as 25 Columbus Dr.

Oh, that neighborhood gets a new public school kindergarten and first grade out of it (unless the deal is changed and that happens all the time where developers weasel out of agreed to things and council lets them often back out). If you live in Greenville, or say in India Square or along parts of Communipaw, you'll pay for it, but what do you think the chances of your kid going to the new shiny school downtown is?

The answer is pretty clear looking to OUR shared future isn't it Jersey City? You want to open or move your business downtown, we've got office space, we're listening. You want money and loans to build and enrich one tiny neighborhood at the cost of all neighborhoods after all that's been given, yes given, to downtown? No.

Call your councilmember NOW. Tell them to vote responsibly or you'll look to find someone next time who will. Look at Ward B, remind them people aren't tied to they mayor's one-track desires anymore.

We know Ward C Councilman Rich Boggoiano can be kind of a crank

A former cop and sometimes local Grandpa Simpson looking for a complaint in search of a problem has introduced something he'd like to become law that would include the following measures when it comes to raucous noise made by the kids, cars and construction sites:

The measure (Ord. 16.027) would also ban certain activities during evening and overnight hours. Use of power tools, for example, would be prohibited between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., and unnecessary car honking would be a no-no. Violators could be hit with fines of up to $3,000.

Maximum decibel levels for residential properties — as measured from the property line — would be capped between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. at 65 decibels, which is softer than a vacuum cleaner, and between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. at 50 decibels, which is comparative to normal conversation inside a home.

Boggiano says the noise is really impeding the quality of life all across Jersey City and to that end he's not wrong. Like Johnny mentioned earlier today, if Rich Boggiano wasn't such a cranky guy we'd easily get behind a lot of what he's proposing. There's much more to his plan and well worth reading since it could become law.

Ward C Councilman Richard Boggiano had a bad day at Liberty State Park, cried about it

That's what it has to be called. A tantrum. Bogginao went to Liberty State Park and was shocked (SHOCKED) to find that the restaurant there is costly, that the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal Building hadn't yet reopened after Superstorm Sandy and that the bathrooms were "pathetic". Boggiano posted these comments to his Facebook page and he was so certain of his viewpoint he's taken the Facebook post slamming all things Liberty State Park down. Way to look like a crank there Richard.

The fact that there were dirt roads in a state park seemed to confuse and shock Boggiano which clearly means he needs to get out of the shoebox with holes he lives in and visit some New Jersey state parks. So his solution? Screw it, get the state out of the business of running a STATE park and PRIVATIZE how it's run. Yeah Rich, we're sure you know just the guys to jump in and bid on that contract don't you? Normally people who scream for privatization have some idea how to help themselves or friends make money. Remember Michael Chertoff former second head of Homeland Security who said everyone must now go through "certain" metal and explosive detectors that turned you nekkid at all airports? Guess who owed the company that sold those? No, go on, guess. Nope, you were right the first time, Chertoff. So when Boggiano, after one disappointing trip, screams privatize it, we wanna know whom he might have in mind to run it.

We appreciated Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, who pushed back and called Boggiano "dead wrong" and "uninformed."Nothing some funding won't fix as far as bathrooms and upkeep and reopening the Central Railroad Terminal Building, which Pesin said was coming along nicely. Interesting Steve Fulop would jump in and attack Boggiano's comments and stood for protecting LSP, you'll recall Fulop himself has backed a plan for a 95 story casino and an F1 racetrack that would claim some of LSP's land. We think we'll just listen to Mr. Pesin on this and all things LSP going forward.

We'll have more, much more on councilman Boggiano's bad day on the morrow

We'll properly address Councilman Boggiano's no good very bad day at Liberty State Park and his complete overreaction tomorrow when it can be addressed properly.

Mayor Fulop's failed leadership on red-light cameras is beyond maddening

First things first. Johnny called mayoral candidate Steve Fulop's office at least five times asking where the mayoral candidate stood on these invasive cameras. Candidate Fulop returned ZERO phone calls. ZERO.

Classy huh?

Well Fulop continues to hide from the issue. Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano brought up the idea to get rid of ALL the red-light cameras not just the one mandated to be removed because of the closing of the Pulasi Skyway. 

Rich Boggiano, a retired police detective who represents Ward C on the nine-member body, said the controversial red-light cameras, which have been installed at about a dozen locations and bring in about $2.7 million in revenue annually, are an invasion of privacy.

“If you want to have traffic enforcement, bring back the cops, bring back police,” Boggiano told The Jersey Journal.

Boggiano is right, the police should be handing out tickets. The city council agreed with Boggiano giving him near unanimous support at the last council meeting. But these council members turned tail and went back to Steve Fulop who somehow must have got the party line the council members that the city wants the filthy lucre raised by the cameras. Why else would they change their minds? It's so bad councilman-at-large Daniel Rivera is trying to delay Boggiano's vote and throw cover for Fulop.

Let's be clear Mayor, FACTS show these cameras CAUSE more accidents than they stop. Accident rates around these cameras are UP. So if and when you ever decide to take a stand on something as simple as traffic cams, and that shouldn't be too hard for a Marine, do not tell us you want them for safety. Come right out and say you and your supporters on the city council not named Rich Boggiano are addicted to the revenue, a huge chunk of which the city doesn't even see because it goes to a company at this point doing zero to earn it, they simply install cameras and the checks with taxpayer money roll in. Come on mayor, it's been years, tell us your position, stop hiding on it.

And for fun, if and when you DO ever come out and support the cameras, Johnny hereby challenges you to a debate in front of City Hall. You Mr. Mayor can support former Mayor Healy's position and Johnny will show up with books of facts on how red-light cameras make intersections more dangerous.

You have been challenged.