November 15, 2006

Letters to the Editor - Jersey Journal

Each week I think the Roberts administration can't get any worse at mismanagement and misrepresentation, and each week the news reports prove me wrong. I'll leave others to make sense of the 916 Garden St. parking garage debacle. Today I'm writing about "Hospital Authority asks for $52 million."

Now don't get me wrong, I support having a hospital in Hoboken - as it was promised by Mayor Roberts - at no risk and no cost to the Hoboken taxpayer. It's just been obvious to most of us for months that that is never going to happen.

Reading the Journal Online story this week, a casual reader might think that Councilman Ruben Ramos Jr. has finally come to the same conclusion. He is reported as saying that it is troubling that the council was expected to vote to guarantee $52 million in bonds with only five minutes notice and no one from the board present at the meeting.

"We want them to be accountable to us," Ramos said. And bravo for Mr. Ramos.

But how does he square his newfound sense of fiscal responsibility - after seven years on the council - with the fact THAT IT WAS MR. RAMOS who was the sponsor of the ordinance he objected to?

Sadly, he doesn't seem to think he has to explain himself to anyone. One more unsupported claim and hope the public turns to the next issue.

Remember the parks, parking, and balanced budget that got Mr. Ramos re-elected in 2005? Gone in a puff of smoke. Just like the promises about St. Mary Hospital.

TONY SOARES HOBOKEN

Surprise!
 
Dear Editor:

This week's mess at the Garden Street automated garage at 916 Garden should come as no surprise. In 2002, after 33 years of providing parking structures across Hoboken, the old Hoboken Parking Authority was closed. Despite repeated promises "not to raid the piggybank" the $8 million surplus it had saved was used to close a gap in the city's budget. (This practice of liquidating Hoboken's assets to cover structural deficits in the municipal budget has continued ever since.)

At the urging of Carol Marsh and Tony Soares, Hoboken then hired Leonard Bier, an independent parking consultant, to interview candidates to head the newly formed Hoboken Parking Utility. Four finalists were selected, but none was hired. Instead the job went to John Corea, a defeated candidate for city council. What were his credentials? According to the Hoboken Reporter (February 1, 2004), Corea had no professional experience in parking. He had been a member of the New York Stock Exchange before being found guilty of improper trading and banned for life from trading on the exchange.

Since taking the helm of the Parking Utility, Corea has not been able to prevent a string of operational failures. Now, according to the Hoboken Reporter, he is quarrelling with the operators of the Garden Street garage, Robotic Parking Systems. Robotic Parking has said--in the most graphic terms - they can no longer work with him.

One of the keys to good city government is to make sure that managerial positions are filled with experienced, conscientious, and honest professionals. The cost of doing otherwise is waste and a breakdown of important services. It now appears likely that the Garden Street garage will be shut down by August 1st and 314 cars turned out on to our crowded streets. Even if the immediate crisis is avoided, the prospects for dramatic improvements in management are dim.

What to do? The first step is to transfer responsibility for running the Parking Utility to an interim director. Leonard Bier, who was on the right track three years ago, might be a good choice. The second step is to run an honest search for the best possible candidate and hire that person. The third step is to do the same throughout Hoboken city government.

Sincerely,
Richard Kamber 

Tony Soares, City Council president in Hoboken, N.J., once campaigned as a champion of the "little guy."

The message was clear in the campaign flyer last May. Tony Soares stood in the front row for the practical purpose of being seen, but he was just another City Council candidate. That's the way he wanted it.

Soares, 38, is a second-term councilman in Hoboken, N.J., a city on the banks of the Hudson River between the entries to the Holland and Lincoln tunnels. He is also 4 feet 2 inches tall. Soares has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism that has affected the way others have looked at him for most of his life.

Dear Editor:
For the benefit of the public I must expose Mr. Lenz for his misleading statements in recent advertisements and interviews.

Mr Lenz complains about "Big Campaign contributions"
Truth: Mr Lenz had no trouble cashing those checks when he managed our campaign.