The Jersey City Desk is holding it's first contest!

What a unique idea, right?

OK, here's the deal. We want you to go and photograph the oldest left behind No Parking sign (most likely it'll have duct tape on it and be in tatters) within the Jersey City limits. If yours is the oldest Johnny will make a donation in your name of $50 to the Liberty Humane Society (He'll give it anyway but it'll just go in under YOUR good name). We'll run this until July 4th, an easy date to remember. You can email them to Johnny, post them to Twitter and @Johnny on it, or if you Facebook it or Instagram it do let Johnny know as he's not got an account on either.

So, you see these goddamned awful looking things hanging off trees, fences, light posts etc and they all look just like shit don't they? The Jersey City Parking Authority is simply too lazy to go clean up after themselves. How hard is it? They're all over town and obviously have a record of where they put them so clean them up. They often paper over the exact same spots around construction sites. Do they clean up the old ones? No they just put the new ones over the old ones.

To quote the Mayor of Mount Rose Minnesota in the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous, "Lazy sons-of-bitches."

Some of these things are YEARS old and that's where you come in. If they won't clean up we'll simply publicly embarrass them (if possible at this point).

Go, times a wasting!

What is dead may never die -- Jersey City Parking Authority to be folded into the city government

Once a state board looking at the question as to whether or not Mayor Steve Fulop could move to roll the Jersey City Parking Authority into the auspices of city government (currently the JCPA is an autonomous agency) said he could, the JCPA's days were numbered. All Fulop needs now is a vote of city council, of which he's got more than enough support, and JCPA becomes city property. 

Current chair of the JCPA’s board of commissioners John Tarantula said taking away autonomy for the 65-year old department was a "big mistake" and "political payback" since the JCPA supported then-Mayor Healy in the last mayoral election.

“I believe they want to lay everybody off and rehire who they want to,” Tarantula said.

Longtime city spokesmodel Jennifer Morrill said Tarantula's comments were “ignorant and self-serving.”

While we agree with Mayor Fulop in rolling the department into the city government makes good economic sense, we do have issues with Ms. Morrill's comments. “Ignorant and self-serving.”? Did you forget who you worked for until last May Ms. Morrill? Jerry Healy. Now you want to say others are making “ignorant and self-serving.” comments?

Pot meet kettle.

Om nom nom, the delicious irony, it nourishes Johnny so...

Just fill out that paperwork anywhere...

The Jersey City Parking Authority is letting "the privileged" have boots taken off their cars for free

Hope you're ready for some strong opinions here Jersey City because even on Winter Storm Snow Elf Day Johnny's heated up.

So, once again Terrence T. McDonald with the Jersey Journal does some excellent work and begins to ferret out what are called “boot void sheets,” which Parking Authority workers must fill out when taking a parking boot off of a car as a favor. So just who is getting favors? You know, a friend of a Parking Authority worker, maybe a family member, or someone like Jerry Walker (we like Jerry Walker and are just using his name here so you can see the kinds of people, unlike you, who don't have to pay the full boot fee or pay to have their car towed).

Johnny, when you say "the privileged" could you elaborate? We'll let the article take that one on:

More than two dozen boots were removed as JCPA employee courtesies, nine supposedly for family members of agency workers. At least 21 “employee courtesies” were given to people whose names don’t show up on city or JCPA payroll records, including someone associated with a tavern in the Heights that’s popular with local pols. Paretti said that person is a family member of a JCPA worker, though the boot void sheet identifies her as an agency employee.

Despite Parking Authority Director Mary Paretti's insistence anyone can have their case heard and get a boot taken off for free, that's not what her employees say:

But a JCPA employee, who asked not to be identified criticizing high-level agency officials, said that’s not true. Someone like Rivera can call and have a boot removed for a friend, but if you don’t know someone powerful, you’re probably out of luck, the employee said.

"That is select enforcement to the fullest," the employee said. "That's where the injustice lies.

OK, first thing. Mary Paretti needs to go. Fired. Bounced. Gone. Listen no further than this: In the article Paretti said now that the Jersey Journal is doing an investigation she's going to get on these free unbootings. Did you hear her? Now that someone is paying attention she'll do something. Not because it's the right thing to do. Not because it helps cut graft but because someone is now asking questions. WRONG. Fired!

If you think Paretti's deer-in-headlights answer was bad we'd like to introduce you to a complete jackass named Aurelio Vincitore, JCPA attorney. Get the reason as to why he doesn't think the Parking Authority should have to come clean to taxpayers over the free boots:

"Vincitore denied the newspaper's request, saying that releasing the sheets substantially interfere with the state or federal government's ability to protect and defend its citizens against acts of sabotage or terrorism if disclosed.”

Terrorism? You idiot. That's a complete douchey fallback answer to everything right now. No, the United States war on terror would NOT be harmed by giving out the sheets of people who had their cars unbooted for free in Jersey City pro bono. Are you a complete moron Mr. Vincitore? Are you completely mental with reasoning like that? You too should not only be fired but tied to a train and have it sent to the next town down and they can decide if they want you. If you're going to hide behind terrorism over parking boots you are simply not up to the task you've been given.

Mayor Fulop, City Council, it is time for a hard rain to fall at the Parking Authority. Rolling it into another department might not get rid of dead weight like Paretti and Vincitore. Eradicate the whole thing, be like the Romans at Carthage and salt the very ground the Parking Authority stands on so people like those who run that department leave Jersey City and never come back.

No street sweeping in Jersey City until Jan. 2

So hopefully the city also had the good sense to stop giving out tickets for not moving your cars for street sweepers to come through. The city is also allowing free two hour parking in municipal lots through Jan. 2 as well.

The article we're linking to is priceless. It's two sentences long and while talking about Jersey City street sweeping shows a Hoboken street sweeper in the image. Well done there!