A Long Day's Journey into Light

A Hoboken resident visits the 9/11 memorial at Pier A

By: Pamela Ross 

For the past few years, I have been a grateful resident of Hoboken. A refugee from the wrath of Sept. 11, I am still healing. Every day I spend in my adopted "hometown" is a welcome day. My favorite walks are up and down Washington Street or on the river walk. I have found my favorite stores and hangouts. I smile at people on the street. I nod to the denizens of this friendly town. I am beginning to feel like a denizen, myself.

Recently, I went into a local store to find out the exact place of the memorial. Somebody said "Why bother? nobody cares any more."

"What?!?" I wheeled angrily around to face this person. I saw sad eyes and a mournful mouth.

Let's hear how mayor spins it

December 22, 2006 JJ
Letters to the Editor
 
My last letter raised a number of important questions.

1) How long have the apartments owned by Mayor Roberts on First and Monroe streets been vacant rather than be offered to needy families?

2) After all the grandstanding, how many dollars of the mayor's salary have actually been paid to homeless Hobokenites?

3) Exactly how much does Mayor Roberts get annually as his pension? And oh yeah, how much would that pension be if the less than five years he served as a firefighter weren't counted in his municipal service?

These are questions the city's public information officer should be answering.

Mr. Bill Campbell shouldn't be spending his time making legitimate questions about the mayor's finances into political sport. And while he's getting answers to those important questions, let me ask one more: Why does Mr. Campbell, who waxes poetic how wonderful it is to live in Hoboken, choose himself to live in Union City, in direct violation of Hoboken's residency requirement for city employees?

TONY SOARES UNION CITY

In this holiday season of peace on earth and good will to man, it is disappointing that Tony Soares would choose to write a scathing personal and public attack on Hoboken Mayor David Roberts.

Recently, Mayor Roberts made two stunning announcements. The first, that he will no longer accept his $124,000 mayor's salary - Hudson County's highest.

One thing Roberts left out was that he recently started collecting a very large pension from his time served as a firefighter. If my memory serves me correctly those years total about four years tops, the rest served as leaves of absence while he was 6th Ward councilman. But the public pension systems being what they are in New Jersey, Mayor Roberts can now cash out as 16 years served as a councilman. Nice spin.

This coming Wednesday, December 6th, the City Council will vote on whether to approve the takeover of Saint Mary’s Hospital.  Many of us want to save the Hospital.  With other area facilities filled nearly to capacity and a large segment of our community unable to afford to go elsewhere for medical care, Saint Mary’s has a vital role to play in providing quality health care to Hoboken residents.  Also, Saint Mary’s employs nearly 1,000 people, many of whom live here in town.  The loss of those jobs would be a blow to many hard-working people and to our local economy as a whole.  So we all can agree that saving Saint Mary’s Hospital is an important community goal.

But this does not mean that the Mayor’s plan will achieve that goal, or that if one supports the Hospital, one must support that plan.  In fact, as I have read through the materials that were put before City Council and the Hospital Board, attended the City Council and Board meetings, and talked to other Hoboken residents and experts in the field, I have come to nearly the opposite conclusion – that the plan entails severe risks and puts healthcare and jobs in danger.  No one on the Council or the Board is asking the questions, openly and publicly, to ensure that the plan is successful or that there are no better alternatives.  For example:

When the mayor decided to save St. Mary Hospital, he didn't suggest a referendum in which the citizens would decide whether or not to foot the bill. Instead, the issue is now in the hands of our elected representatives on the city council.

So let me directly address the city council members:

In your hearts, you know this is wrong.  You know that you are getting us, the taxpayers of Hoboken, in too deep.  You know that you don't know enough about hospital funding, Medicare reimbursements, insurance schemes, or the future of the medical industry to make a sound decision. Admit it, you have a hard time deciphering your own health-care plan. You are buying a failing hospital and hoping and wishing and praying that the people you hire don't run it into the ground like the folks at UMDNJ did to that hospital.

Detective Lombardi's letter is emotionally driven, not fact-based

11/25/2006  HR
 
Dear Editor:

Detective Vincent Lombardi's letter published November 19, 2006 (Blood will continue to flow in the streets) is emotionally driven not fact-based, and comes at a critical time in contract negotiations between the City of Hoboken and the union that he represents. His statements are irresponsible and disingenuous at best and may have instilled in our residents an unjustifiable sense of fear.

The facts are clear, in 2005 the violent crime rate in the United States was 4.7 per 1000 population; in the State of New Jersey it was 3.6 per 1000 population; and in the City of Hoboken it was 2.9 per 1000 population. This translates into an increase in violent crime in the United States; a 0 percent increase/decrease in violent crime in New Jersey; and a 19.1 percent decrease in violent crime in the City of Hoboken. What is more impressive is the fact that the violent crime, rate for the City of Hoboken year-to-date in 2006 compared to 2005's record breaking crime reduction is down an additional 6.5 percent and the non-violent crime rate is down 23.3 percent.

Responding to Mr. Lombardi's letter regarding our police department

11/25/2006 HR

Dear Editor:

We write in response to Vince Lombardi's over-wrought letter, entitled 'Blood will continue to flow in the streets', published on this page on November 19, 2006. In his letter, Mr. Lombardi eagerly points his finger at the Administration and City Council, displays utter disregard for truth and reason, and callously exploits the victims 'and tragedy of crime.