Ken Ferrante left work at the Hoboken Police Department on Friday a lieutenant and returned today a sergeant.

"It feels awkward," said Ferrante who was formerly a commander of three community policing bureaus and is now a first line supervisor over one four-member unit.

Ferrante is one of nine senior officers who have been demoted effective today as part of Mayor Dawn Zimmer's police redeployment plan that she has said will save taxpayers on the city's high personnel costs.

The city recently reported over $2 million in savings through the plan.

In response, the PSOA - the senior police officers' union - is appealing the decision.

The bitter fight over Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s plan to lay off 18 police officers may have come to an end.

Mayor Zimmer, Police Chief Anthony Falco, and Executive Director of the Hoboken Housing Authority Carmelo Garcia announced on Friday morning that the city – through a combination of the Housing Authority hiring five officers and a police reduction of force through retirements of some other officers – will be able to avoid the layoffs of all 18 officers.

The Housing Authority (HHA) agreed this week to hire five officers to work an overnight shift at the HHA buildings. Combined with the retirements of five other officers and commitments from some others to retire, the layoffs will be avoided and still save, in the long term, at least $2.5 million from the budget.

Dear Mayor Zimmer:

I have reviewed the PBA funded analysis of the DLGS (Division of Local Government Services) audit of the Hoboken Police Department.

Unfortunately, I agree with the conclusions of Northeast Labor Consultants, Inc. that the DLGS report regarding first line "patrol" officers is based on errors, miscalculations, omissions, and contradictions.

oboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer has hired Michael Kates as the city's new corporation counsel, she announced today.

Steve Kleinman, who has served as corporation counsel since April of 2007, has resigned as of Monday, to go into the private sector, but will serve in a transitional capacity as an assistant corporation counsel through Jan. 15, according to to a news release from Zimmer.

Kates, who is currently a partner at Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi, will start the position Monday, according to Zimmer spokesman Daniel Bryan.

Mayor Elect Peter Cammarano

Hoboken Mayor-elect Peter Cammarano shakes hands with opponent Dawn Zimmer after all the ballots were counted yesterday at the Hudson County Board of Elections office in Jersey City.

After a drawn-out election process, Councilman-at-Large Peter Cammarano edged out Fourth Ward Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer by 161 votes yesterday to become mayor of Hoboken.

"This election has been a long and arduous one and a very close one, but it is over," the 31-year-old Cammarano told Hoboken Now's Carly Baldwin shortly after provisional and newly found absentee ballots were tallied at county Board of Elections offices in Jersey City. "I'm satisfied with this margin of victory."

2nd Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason

Wednesday night, the council voted to approve a redevelopment study for the now-19 block area near the Burlington Coat Factory, where a subsidiary of the Rockefeller Group has been buying land. The area now under review by the Planning Board was expanded westward to the Palisade cliffs, including the land occupied by the Academy Bus Company.

If a city declares an area a redevelopment zone, the city can change the zoning, seek developers with plans that conform to the new guidelines, take over certain property by eminent domain if necessary, and possibly offer a tax abatement agreement.

Mason said, “If [Hoboken] stops building, it will die. It will die. You have to continue to grow to some extent. You cannot stop.”

Zimmer reaches out
 
Tuesday January 29, 2008 PM JJ

Fourth Ward City Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer sent out the following press release regarding this morning's fatal fire at 1203 Washington St.

Dear Neighbors,

This morning I talked with seniors, single mothers, and families in shock from the trauma and loss of their possessions to last night's fire. Hoboken's Public Safety Director, Fire Dept., Police, and Emergency Management, together with the NJ Chapter of the American Red Cross are working together to address the immediate needs of the fire victims. There's no official number at this time, but there may be an estimated 35 homeless families as a result of this fire.

Wednesday November 07, 2007, Jersey Journal

Just in case you didn't get enough election news last night, here's the breakdown of votes in the Fourth Ward by district, from Hoboken City Clerk Jimmy Farina:

1st District: 137 Campos; 265 Zimmer
2nd District: 49 Campos; 474 Zimmer
3rd District: 178 Campos; 131 Zimmer
4th District: 384 Campos; 56 Zimmer

So again, for machine votes, that's a total of 748 for Campos and 926 for Zimmer. In absentee ballots, Campos got 208 and Zimmer received 144, bringing the total votes to 956 for Campos and 1,070 for Zimmer. There were 41 provisional ballots - too small a number to have any effect.

So, Campos conceded, Gerry McCann called Dawn to say congrats, you know the story...This time around, Zimmah really is the winnah!

HOBOKEN - Dawn Zimmer was elected to the 4th Ward City Council seat in the "do-over" balloting last night, defeating Christopher Campos in a special election called after both candidates agreed to set aside the results of the June runoff.

Zimmer got 1,070 votes to Campos' 956, including absentee ballots. There are 41 so far uncounted provisional ballots, not enough to affect the outcome.

"I did it! I'm stunned," Zimmer said by cell phone last night on her way to her victory party. "I can say that I truly didn't know that this would happen when I gave up my seat. I'm grateful to my supporters, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of support I received by everyone in the 4th Ward and Hoboken."

HOBOKEN - Councilman Chris Campos suffered another loss yesterday when a state Superior Court judge denied his request for an injunction to prevent Dawn Zimmer, who defeated him in the 4th Ward runoff, from taking office tomorrow.

Campos will challenge the results of the June 12 runoff in a trial set to begin July 30. He went to court yesterday hoping to keep Zimmer from being sworn in until the case is settled.

Campos's attorney, Alex Booth, argued that Zimmer's swearing in should be postponed because of an important July 18 council meeting, which cannot be pushed back. Decisions made at this meeting, Booth said, could not be changed even if Campos were to eventually be reinstated.