Are Christie, legislators caving into real estate interests?

With Manhattan's Riverside Church in the distance, this is what remained of one of AvalonBay's apartment buildings in Edgewater two days after a five-alarm fire on Jan. 21 that destroyed more than half of the 408 units, above and below. Seven months later, no changes in state building codes have been made to require "sturdier material, firewalls and enhanced sprinkler systems," The Record is reporting today.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's hard to believe The Record could publish a long Page 1 story today on calls for a tougher state building code to prevent another devastating AvalonBay apartment fire, and not get reaction from Governor Christie.

Christie's name does appear on the front page today in a column from Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson (A-1), who reports the GOP bully leads all other presidential candidates in how much special-interest money he has raised in the Garden State.

Staff Writer Melissa Hayes and political Columnist Charles Stile have traveled with Christie on his campaign appearances in New Hampshire and Iowa, but I guess they had Sunday off.

Linh Tat and Minjae Park, the local reporters who wrote the story on long-delayed changes in the state building code, give the impression nothing is getting done in Trenton, despite a Democratic majority in the Legislature (A-1).

Big profits

AvalonBay is a real estate investment trust that returns big dividends to investors. 

Any changes in state building codes -- such as banning the use of cheap-wood construction -- to improve the fire resistance of AvanlonBay's proposed residential projects in Wayne, Teaneck and other communities would cut heavily into those profits. 

And today's story doesn't mention any improvements to existing AvalonBay buildings, such as those in Hackensack, where tenants have been losing sleep since seeing media images of the fast-moving fire that destroyed the Edgewater complex. 

Local news?

What a soft Local front today -- deer, dogs and parkland dominate the section.

For the second day in a row, The Record covered a demonstration for Kevin Allen, a black Passaic city resident who was shot by police outside the Lyndhurst Public Library on May 29 (L-1).

The education stories from Paterson (L-2) and Butler (L-3) contrast with the embargo on school and Board of Education news from Hackensack.

'O Canada'

Travel Editor Jill Schensul publishes a belated column on eastern Canada, including Montreal, where a strong U.S. dollar means big discounts for Americans (BL-1).

And in contrast to detailed reports from restaurant critic Elisa Ung on all of the artery clogging desserts she has sampled, today's Better Living cover story explores restaurant owner Lisa Mayisoglu's fitness and healthy food regimen (BL-1).

Best editors can do is an all-Trump, all-infrastructure A-1

In a front-page story on Monday, The Record hailed the 25-year-old Americans with Disabilities Act, but didn't discuss the widespread misuse of parking spaces reserved for the handicapped. Spaces at 24 Hour Fitness on Route 4 in Paramus, above, often seem to be filled by drivers who bound out of their vehicles and seem able bodied. Of course, their handicap could be mental.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Even if you ignore today's all-Trump, all-infrastructure front page, you'll find a story about La Guardia Airport on A-3 and another on the federal highway bill on A-4.

All of this infrastructure news helps Editor Martin Gottlieb of The Record reinforce his reputation for long, dull stories.

And even if you read between the lines, it won't be clear that conservative Republicans like Governor Christie and the party's elite in Congress are the ones standing in the way of expanded mass transit, as well as rebuilding roads and bridges (A-1).

The Record's story on Donald Trump's business interests in New Jersey is being upstaged today by a report from Bloomberg that the presidential candidate is worth $2.9 billion -- not the $10 billion he claims.

Scott Garrett

One of those opposing the federal highway bill is Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, the Tea Party idol whose fundraising received more scrutiny on Monday's front page than it has in many years.

In a column, Staff Writer Herb Jackson reported Garrett raised nearly $1 million in both 2012 and 2014 election cycles from "employees and PACs tied to banking, insurance, securities and real estate interests."

Garrett is chairman of the subcommittee that reviews legislation affecting those industries.

Today, a story on the Local front reports protesters at Garrett's Glen Rock district office on Monday called for his resignation (L-1).

They cited Garrett as a co-sponsor of the First Amendment Defense Act, "which would offer protections to people and groups who cite their religious beliefs when declining services to same-sex couples seeking to marry."

Believable?

How believable is this headline on L-1 today?

ATM workers
lose $150,000
left on lawn

The word "lose" should have been written in quotation marks.

And doesn't it sound like police should be exploring whether the ATM workers and a man in a white van who took the bag of cash are working together?

Yet that possibility isn't raised in the story.

Political plum?

Another story in Local has so little information it's pathetic.

The report on retired North Arlington Police Chief Louis Ghione doesn't explain how he got a plum Port Authority job, "security manager at ... One World Trade Center" (L-3).

Ghione, who was chief since 1982, will receive roughly $200,000 in accumulated vacation and sick time from the borough, an annual pension of $131,000 and the Port Authority salary, which is missing from the story.

His age also isn't given, and readers aren't told whether he will be able to get a second pension from the Port Authority when he retires from that job.

'Pending' suit

Editing lapses like that have become commonplace -- fallout from continuing economies in the newsroom that began in 2008, and ineffective, six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton and her minions, including the supervisor of the copy desk.

Is there a difference between a "lawsuit" and "pending lawsuit"?

I'm not a lawyer, but I doubt it.

Yet, in a story leading Monday's Local section, no editor seemed to notice that Staff Writer Minjae Park said a lawsuit is "pending" three times in the first five paragraphs (Monday's L-1).

North Jerseyans lining up for crappy hot dogs is A-1 news

More photos of the aftermath of a three-alarm fire that gutted a building at 76 Main St. in Hackensack on Saturday, prompting officials to order its demolition, above and below. Today, The Record corrects the number of apartments on the upper floors, reporting that 34 people in 12 families lived in the same number of apartments (L-3).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Hundreds of people flocked to tiny Norwood and waited on a long line for a dose of nostalgia and indigestion on Sunday at the re-opening of a Callahan's hot dog restaurant.

Why is this on the front page of The Record today?

Staff Writer Minjae Park describes the deep-fried hot dogs as a "greasy bite," but otherwise doesn't discuss whether they are all beef or contain harmful antibiotics, growth hormones or preservatives (A-1).

Owner Dan DiMiglio, whose grandfather, Leonard Castrianni, launched Callahan's at a Fort Lee gas pump in 1950, says "the restaurant is offering an experience, not just food."

He doesn't describe the "experience," but it likely includes heartburn from all those fried hot dogs with chili and cheese or spicy onions and fried potatoes.

From all the publicity DiMiglio has received in The Record since he launched a Callahan's food truck, you'd think Food Editor Esther Davidowitz has a crush on him.

Or maybe he just signed a contract with the Woodland Park daily's advertising department.

Typo, error

On the continuation page, a historical photo of the Fort Lee Callahan's as it looked in the 1950s has a caption with an embarrassing typo, calling the place a "North Jersey hot dot institution (A-6).

The second photo on that page notes some diners in Norwood waited outside nearly two hours "to join the crowded dining room inside Callahan's on Sunday [italics added]."

Dining rooms are almost always "inside" restaurants, but the clueless editor probably meant to write diners "joined the crowd" inside Callahan's.

The Callahan's ad disguised as a news story appears on the same day that Chipotle Mexican Grill became the first national fast-food chain to stop serving food with genetically modified ingredients.

See: Chipotle is now GMO-free

Christie P.R.

Also on Page 1 today, Columnist Herb Jackson joins colleagues at The Record in trying to boost Governor Christie's sagging chances at the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 (A-1).

New Jersey's unemployment rate is the seventh highest in the nation, reports Jackson and a news story on the Business page today (A-8).

Ignoring speeders

In a letter to the editor today, Gerald G. Van Ess of West Milford describes the "crazies" you find driving on Route 23 north during the afternoon rush hour, "speeding, tailgating, cutting off other drivers -- just plain wild and reckless driving" (A-9).

But you find the same type of drivers on the turnpike, parkway and many other New Jersey highways -- a problem Road Warrior John Cichowski has ignored for more than a decade.

It's apparent to everyone except the confused, house-bound columnist that enforcement has declined dramatically.

Gun-control foes have dead cops' blood on their hands

In Englewood, a condominium development called The M is sandwiched between Route 4, above, and an industrial section, photos below, more than a half-mile as the crow flies from Palisade Avenue, the main shopping street.

Residents of The M have a view of gas stations, traffic, industrial buildings and parking lots. A real estate advertising section in The Record tried to convince potential condo owners their homes border Englewood's downtown.

Some of the condo owners have this million-dollar view.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Guns designed to maim and kill are so commonplace in freedom-loving America even a supposedly great paper like the Los Angeles Times doesn't bother questioning where a hardened criminal got the revolver he used to kill two New York City cops. 

The L.A. Times story on Page 1 of The Record today mentions the Taurus 9mm in passing, noting Ismaaiyl Brinsley -- whose criminal record dates to 2004 -- used the gun to kill Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as they sat in their patrol car on Saturday (A-8).

Gun-control foes are stained with the blood of Liu, Ramos and all the other cops killed by criminals whose right to bear lethal weapons is supposedly protected by our constitution.

Irresponsible reporting

Instead of pursuing the gun-control angle, The Record's clueless assignment editors had a reporter call small-town departments in Ramsey, Leonia, Tenafly and Saddle Brook to see if they had plans "to double up on patrols" (A-8).

Also on Page 1 is Staff Writer Minjae Park's story on 25 new police officers in Paterson.

How out of touch can the editors be?

Do Editor Marty Gottlieb, Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza really expect a town like Leonia to double its patrols?

That department and others are stretched so thin, they can't even protect pedestrians using crosswalks from getting run down or homeowners from burglaries.

Paterson lies

Park, the reporter on the Paterson story, wastes a lot of space on Mayor Joey Torres and Police Director Jerry Speziale, two political hacks who preside over one of the most violent cities in New Jersey.

"Fighting crime has been a centerpiece of ... Torres' agenda," the reporter claims, failing to mention the mayor and the Police Department were powerless to prevent the murders of two innocent young girls in July and September.

It's bad enough when Paterson officials basically lie through their teeth about what they are doing to fight crime.

But when The Record merely regurgitates those lies in a Page 1 story, there simply is no hope for this once-great newspaper.

Pathetic editing

You have to wonder how this kind of irresponsible reporting gets into the paper, despite all the checks and balances the editing process is designed to provide.

The Record's copy editors -- who are supposed to enforce high standards of accuracy, fairness and balance -- now appear to do little more than spell-check stories and slap headlines on them.

The copy editors' supervisors, who approve editing and headlines, are simply out to lunch most of the time.

Liz Houlton, the paper's six-figure production editor and supervisor of the news, layout and copy desks, also has failed miserably to enforce those standards.

For example, how did this clunky headline get into The Record today?

Pope raises anger
for role in Cuba deal

Christie on Cuba

Governor Christie is demanding the return of convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard from Cuba, but not taking responsibility for cutting aid to Paterson, forcing the layoff of 125 cops (A-3).

And New Jersey is so broke because of the GOP bully's own incompetence, no state troopers were sent to Silk City.

You never hear about the murder of police in Havana or Cuban school shootings. And crime is low, making it the safest destination in the Caribbean.

Americans have to ask themselves whether a free society also must mean a dangerous society where criminals have easy access to guns and police officers are murdered in broad daylight.

Editors panic over 'exploding' trains in North Jersey

Amid a lavish display of flowers, photos of a beaming Leyla Kan, 60, the woman killed by a school bus in Leonia last week, appeared in the window of her pizza-and-pita restaurant in Palisades Park on Monday, above and below. Picnic Cafe, which was closed on Monday, is one of the few non-Korean businesses on Broad Avenue.

The bouquets turned the sidewalk fragrant. Some of the Korean-Americans who stopped to look at the memorial didn't know how Kan had died. The Record did one story on the fatal accident, which resulted in traffic summonses being issued to the school-bus driver, but no follow-ups to resolve unanswered questions.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Should I worry or is today's Page 1 account of exploding oil trains passing through neighboring Teaneck just a sensational attempt to sell The Record during a sleepy August?

As a resident of Hackensack, I'm trying to figure out whether I'm far enough away to be safe after derailment of  "aging" rail tanker cars that carry "millions" of gallons of "highly explosive crude oil" through North Jersey (A-1).

This appears to be a major piece of investigative journalism guided by Editor Martin Gottlieb.

Full story -- finally

The front of Local today fills in many of the details missing in Monday's hastily prepared story about a woman struck and dragged to her death at the Hawthorne farmers' market by a speeding pickup truck (L-1).

The victim, beautician Donna Marie Wine, 58, of Hawthorne lived near the suspect, James T. Woetzel, 48, the driver who was charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident on Sunday, but they didn't know each other, The Record says.

"Neither police not the county Prosecutor's Office would reveal details of the horrific incident," forcing Staff Writers Minjae Park, Andrew Wyrich and Jim Norman to wait for the next press release.

However, the reporters are sticking with the victim being dragged four blocks, even though other media accounts put the distance at a half-mile.

Robin Williams

Burned-out columnist Bill Ervolino again uses the death of a prominent entertainer to promote his own sorry ass (BL-1).

Why does this "appreciation" of Williams begin like others he's written, recapping an Ervolino interview from the dark ages, in this case 25 years ago?

You can read thousands of words about the comic genius on Page 1, the Better Living front and BL-2, and still not know how Williams died.

More questions

The cause of death was "suicide due to asphyxia" or suffocation, but does that mean Williams hung himself, put his head into the oven, was trying a weird sexual thing or killed himself in another way?

Unfortunately, you can't count on The Record for the answer, whether a death occurs as near as Leonia and Hawthorne or as far away as northern California.

Leyla Kan

In front of Picnic Cafe in Palisades Park on Monday, a woman recalled her 20-year friendship with the owner, Leyla Kan, who was killed last Thursday morning by a school bus in Leonia. 

Years ago, Kan had been severely injured in an automobile accident, and was so grateful to have survived, the friend said.

Now, the woman said, she can't believe her friend is gone. All she was doing was crossing the street.

More corrections

A correction today notes The Record can't even spell a former freeholder's name properly (A-2).

In his Sunday column, Road Warrior John Cichowski mistakenly said there are only six residential streets with direct access to Route 17 south, even though he reported previously there are seven.

Cichowski's sense of direction also is flawed in that he said a Bergen Avenue house is five blocks south of another resident, when it is, in fact, five blocks north.

Read about other flaws in the column:

Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers

Skeleton newsroom fumbles another fatal accident story

Marks left by investigators after Leyla Kan, 60, of Fort Lee was struck, dragged and killed by a school bus Thursday morning on Broad Avenue in Leonia.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

Three days after a Page 1 story left many questions unanswered about the death of a pedestrian hit by a school bus in Leonia, The Record today publishes another woefully incomplete front-page report on a pickup truck that "plowed through a farmers' market" in Hawthorne, killing a woman.

So much is missing from this story, assembled by a skeleton Sunday newsroom staff and the local assignment editor who got stuck working that day.

No names, ages

Readers don't even find the name and age of the dead woman, said to be a Hawthorne resident, or the name and age of the driver, who was being evaluated at a hospital "because he was visibly upset," the police chief said.

There also is no attempt to explain why the driver of the pickup dragged the woman at least four blocks before stopping.

The accident happened at 2:15 p.m. Sunday -- about 15 minutes after the market's official closing time.

No Web update

At 11:12 this morning, the report on the paper's Web site, NorthJersey.com, also was missing the names of the victim and driver. The story was last updated at 11:13 Sunday night.

When do Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza, the laziest assignment editors in journalism, get into work in Woodland Park today -- at noon or later?

NorthJersey.com does carry a video of a TV report at 5:04 this morning, but Channel 7 Eyewitness News says the woman was pinned underneath the pickup truck for a half-mile -- not the four blocks described in The Record story -- and the driver made two left turns.

Also in the video, a woman at the market describes the truck as "speeding." 

Young reporters

Today's Page 1 story was based on reporting by two males in their early 20s, Staff Writers Andrew Wyrich and Minjae Park, both of whom appear not to have any police sources.

Hawthorne Police Chief Richard McAuliffe is quoted as saying of the driver who killed the woman, "As of right now, he has not been charged."

But most of the quotes in the story come from Hawthorne Mayor Richard S. Goldberg, not the chief, who apparently refused to release information to the inexperienced reporters.

In an understatement, Goldberg said the accident is "something this town will not forget for a long time," but why is this quote on Page 1?

Highlands Act

I'm not sure why the 10th anniversary of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act doesn't appear on the front page today, especially in view of all the holes in the fatal accident story, which would have worked better on the Local front.

The act was signed into law by Gov. James E. McGreevey, though he is better known for declaring that he is gay and resigning, also 10 years ago.

In fact, McGreevey signed the act into law on Aug. 10, 2004, a few days before he resigned.

If you read far enough, you'll learn that Governor Christie continues to be an enemy of New Jersey's environment (L-6).

Christie eliminated payments in lieu of taxes to compensate towns that lose ratables because they have protected land, said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club director.

Jersey water

"Even with his attacks ... and his weakening of environmental protections, the law is still on the books," Tittel said. "The law is getting enforced as best it can even with this governor."

Referring to the reservoirs and watersheds the act is meant to protect, Tittel said:

"Water in New Jersey feeds our three largest industries -- food processing, pharmaceutical and tourism."

Highlands water goes into making Budweiser beer, Manischewitz matzo, Goya Foods and Tylenol, among other products.