Itchy and Scratchy are in a dust up over Jersey City's PILOT munny

OK, get out your homework from last night.

New Jersey State Senate leader Steve Sweeney thinks with Jersey City doing nothing but taking money from the rest of the state being an Abbott District since forever and should start paying for our own schools with the abatements Mayor Fulop can't stop giving out (One coming next week).

Mayor Fulop, via spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill disagrees (vehemently):

"While it took the senate president a week to write this letter and forward it to the press, the mayor is more than happy to debate (the) senate president on this at any time, without him being surrounded by an army of staff to draft memos," Morrill said.

To wit, this response from Sweeney's people:

Sweeney spokesman Richard McGrath said the letter "must have hit a nerve to elicit such a defensive reaction."

Itchy and Scratchy, using surrogates in the battle for who is the second most self-important Democrat behind likely nominee for governor Phil Murphy, are however battling over a serious issue. Let's dig down.

Mayor Fulop has never met an abatement he wouldn't support. His developer friends are getting rich while we the taxpayers pay more. Always plenty of do-re-mi for ridiculous, short-sighted and unnecessary abatements but none for Jersey City to put forward to supporting itself school-wise. Sweeney knows this is a winning issue around New Jersey. Fulop (and apparently Morrill) will be playing defense. This issue really nags outstate. JC gets all the new building and give money (and loans) to developers but refuse (over many mayors) to get off the state school teat.

Last September Mayor Fulop said he'd be open to some kind of revenue sharing but certainly not as much as the 5% Bayonne just put in place for similar deals. Trouble is Fulop won't give any concrete numbers as to what he's open to. Another way to stall, like he's done with the re-val, he simply does not want accountability to to truly make Jersey City a first class city by paying for our own schools, you know, something really important.

We hope that Bayonne's 5% PILOT money plan or something like it becomes state law.

Last word and salience from Jersey Journal reporter Terrence T. McDonald:

Last year Jersey City's PILOT program took in $127,800,476 from tax-abated properties. If all these properties were taxed conventionally, the total would be $211,967,791.

Johnny is gonna dig deep into the Sweeney vs Fulop PILOT fight tomorrow

He can't wait. A nice juicy steak story early on a Thursday when Johnny has no morning meetings. For now dear readers here is the story we'll be discussing so go give it a read tonight and we'll talk on it on the 'morrow.

Governor Christie fires a shot at Mayor Fulop from the right

We as a city simply can't take umbrage anymore when the Governor levels his guns at Jersey City as the Mayor is out there on the same playing field of high-stakes and high-cash world of New Jersey politics. Christie has said if he deals with anyone on moving casinos north it'll be Senate President Steve Sweeney. Christie said he's not going to deal with an obstructionist like Speaker Vincent Prieto who wants to play ball with Mayor Fulop on casinos. Said Christie:

At a press conference this afternoon at Monmouth Medical Center, Gov. Chris Christie denounced Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop as a political boss controlling an obstructionist Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32), who’s more concerned with playing politics than solving the fiscal troubles of Atlantic City, in the governor’s opinion.

“I’m not going to negotiate with two groups of Democrats,” Christie told reporters, indicating his preference for an Atlantic City intervention bill championed by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) of which Prieto is wary.

“…Mr. Prieto wants to play public sector union politics for Hudson County political boss Steve Fulop,” said Christie decrying what he sees as too-generous to public sector worker measures favored by Prieto in his version of an AC takeover bill.

Hudson County political boss? Ouch You don't want that tag but it may be inevitable. More at the link...

Kennedy vs Nixon this is not...

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has decided to elevate his office and place it squarely into the realm of Trenton. Fulop who is bursting at the seams to bring a giant mostly unwanted casino that'll bring the usual bad actors to the contracting game tables and of course more traffic and more crime while well-connected individuals that might donate to a Fulop run for Governor run get all the concessions and the city gets shit but for the infrastructure bill, has decided he's challenging state senate leader Steve Sweeney to a debate over the future of casinos in North Jersey.

While the proper idea of a debate might be two STATEWIDE assembly figures and not a mayor interjecting himself into the process, Fulop's BFF Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto would be the logical choice here, Fulop challenged Sweeney to a debate on NJTV’s On the Record with Michael Aron anyway. That's just sad. His petulance is showing again:

“In recent media reports, Senate President Sweeney inserted my name into the discussion regarding supposed obstacles that he alleges that I inserted for political reasons,” Fulop said in a statement.

Ooooh, a statement. You didn't say that to On The Record? Oh, and by the way, Sweeney's not wrong. EVERYTHING you do now has a political angle to it. Apparently former ironworkers don't take to mayors meddling in state business:

In response, Sweeney spokesman Richard McGrath said, “The Senate President doesn’t have the time to engage in manufactured theatrics with Mr. Fulop, who once again is attempting to insert himself into the legislative process.”

More meddling than a Scooby Doo episode friends. Johnny used to call Councilman Fulop and Mayor Healy the Jersey City version of Itchy and Scratchy but this Sweeney vs. Fulop preening might get even funnier.