Where is the local flavor?

Image by romulusnr via Flickr

A former Edgewater resident said in a letter to the editor today: "Without news coverage like yours, the ordinary citizen would not even know about the plans to destroy this public blessing."

Have you seen a letter like that from Hackensack readers thanking The Record of Woodland Park for news coverage of their city?

Not counting police or fire news, the last municipal story about Hackensack ran Dec. 22, when Staff Writer Nick Clunn reported plans for a new arts center. Since then, the only other stories concerned lawsuits -- one against a tavern and numerous allegations against Police Chief Ken Zisa.

But head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes seemingly has failed to direct Hackensack reporter Monsy Alvarado to ask the mayor and City Council whether they have lost faith in Zisa or will be suspending him until the suits are resolved. And there has been nothing more about a possible probe of Zisa by the county prosecutor, reported Feb. 14. What does Sykes do all day, besides laugh?

Residents rarely get to read about what the Hackensack council and Planning Board are doing. They don't know how other residents feel about the Zisa family, which allegedly controls the city. On June 13, Alvarado reported the Upper Main Street special improvement district director was fired, but never followed up. A major story recently on such downtown districts failed to mention the Hackensack official's firing or the reason.

The two Hackensack weeklies are useless. One is owned owned by North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record, and the other is edited by a Zisa.

Like stories about the suits against the police chief, court, police news and news about the police are fast becoming the new local news. Covering meetings is boring. Five stories in Local today are about crime, trials or the police, including the Teaneck and Bogota departments seeking a grant to study a merger.

The rest of the paper today is dominated by fallout over the Toyota recalls and Governor Christie's relentless cost-cutting. I still have not seen a story on whether all these executive orders will lead to lower  property taxes in Hackensack, where I live.