LG deal in Englewood Cliffs exposes big flaw of home rule

On a busy street near Palisade Avenue in wealthy Englewood Cliffs, domestic workers have to walk on the pavement, close to speeding cars, because the borough never installed sidewalks.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Is Englewood Cliffs anything like Hackensack, once known derisively as "Zisaville" for the decades-long political dominance of a single family?

On the front page of The Record today, a photo shows Englewood Cliffs Mayor Joseph Parisi applauding a deal between LG Electronics and environmentalists (A-1).

But the upbeat coverage sounds more like public relations than objective reporting (A-1 and A-8).

And it doesn't explore the decades-long rule of the Parisi family in the Cliffs, just as The Record hasn't done any probing in Cliffside Park, dominated for more than 50 years by the Calabreses.

Home-rule communities like Englewood Cliffs resist consolidating services with neighboring towns, and are desperate for ratables to cover the resulting inefficiences.

Englewood Cliffs fought a "racially tinged legal battle" to remove its students from Englewood's Dwight Morrow High School that began in 1985 and dragged on for years, The Record has reported.

Then, in October 2014, the state decided to cut nearly $600,000 in aid for 33 students from the Cliffs who were attending Dwight Morrow's Academies, a magnet program.

Hungry for ratables

More tax revenue was likely the motive for the borough to throw out its 35-foot height restriction, and approve the Korean company's plan for a 143-foot-high building on 27 acres between Sylvan Avenue and the Hudson River.

Now, the height will be reduced to 69 feet or five stories, but that still will be the biggest building ever approved for the Palisades north of the George Washington Bridge.

And in return for despoiling the majestic cliffs, Parisi and other borough officials will be celebrating an additional $2.5 million in property tax revenue every year.

Cliffs resident Donald Rizzo, who favored the higher LG headquarters, put it succinctly in a sidebar with a sub-headline reading, "Residents will benefit from revenue."

"A bigger building means more tax revenue. I'm all for it. I was never worried about the height of the building. I was worried about letting LG go" (A-8).

Maybe, the town can now afford to put in sidewalks on Summit Street to protect pedestrians and dog walkers.

In the county seat

In Hackensack, dozens of lawsuits filed against Ken Zisa, the former police chief and state assemblyman, cost the city so many millions to settle that one block of Euclid Avenue hasn't been paved for 30 years.

Prospect Avenue, lined with high-rises, and many other streets are in such poor condition one resident at Tuesday night's City Council meeting compared them to T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land."

Hackensack's school board spends more money per pupil than Ridgewood's, yet feeds high school students food of such low quality that many race out to Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill and other lunch spots.

Hackensack's property tax payers are so shell shocked they even objected to the city spending public funds on a downtown park and arts space as part of the redevelopment of Main Street.

Hackensack news?

On the front of Local today, Teaneck residents find two stories on Monday night's Township Council meeting (L-1).

But there is nothing about Tuesday night's council meeting in Hackensack.

As Police Director Mike Mordaga and Capt. Timothy Lloyd listened, clergy from Mount Olive Baptist Church and other churches commented on the killing of two suspects by city police officers in recent weeks.

They urged Hackensack to find money to buy Tasers or non-fatal stun guns.

As a result of the shootings, five police officers are "on leave," city officials acknowledged, but they insisted the department is not "understaffed."

HUMC pact

A lawyer hired by the city reported a federal anti-kickback law prohibits Hackensack from continuing to ask Hackensack University Medical Center to provide ambulance services to residents for free up to $140,000 a year. 

Still, Board of Education attorney Richard Salkin rose and rambled on about the lawsuit he has filed to enforce the original 2008 pact with HUMC that he negotiated for the city.

More evidence Hackensack residents come in last

Mount Olive Baptist Church on Central Avenue in Hackensack on Friday night was the scene of another forum for City Council candidates that was ignored by The Record.

Unlike many towns, Hackensack doesn't have an outdoor pool for city children and their families to enjoy or a community center where seniors and youngsters can mingle.

Yes. The sad truth is that Hackensack has been ruled by a Zisa family dynasty that has chosen to spend tens of millions of tax dollars on insider deals with politically connected lawyers and developers, not to improve residents' quality of life.

On Friday night, that corrupt legacy and other issues were discussed and debated at Mount Olive Baptist Church -- in another forum for the 11 candidates in the May 14 election The Record didn't cover.

Half a story

Today, the Woodland Park daily did have a story that illustrated the increasing desperation of the so-called Open Government slate, which is backed by Lynne Hurwitz, the city's Democratic boss and the power behind disgraced former state Assemblymen and Police Chief Ken "I Am The Law" Zisa, a convicted felon.

The story on the Local front reports the slate mailed a campaign letter to teachers and support staff on a "confidential" list (L-1).

"We have a clear policy, no campaigning and no politics on school premises," interim Superintendent Joseph Abate is quoted as saying in the last paragraph on L-2. "If proven, it's a violation of our policy and we'll handle it on a case-by-case basis."

Sloppy reporting

But -- in another example of the sloppy journalism practiced under head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes -- the story fails to identify Open Government candidate Jason Nunnermacker as a member of the Board of Education. 

What could more relevant and why didn't the editors ask Nunnermacker if he used his influence as a school trustee to obtain the confidential list? 

And why didn't the editors ask Abate if Nunnermacker's entire campaign for City Council violates the schools' "no campaigning, no politics" policy?

Favoritism?

The Record seems to be bending over backwards for the machine-backed Open Government slate, which is headed by retired police Detective Kenneth Martin, who has been charged with stealing his opponents' campaign signs.

(It's believed campaign strategists pulling Martin's strings urged him to "steal the scene," but he thought he heard "steal the sign.") 

Desperate lies 

The paper hasn't told readers about the Open Government slate's Friday mailing, which is filled with lies and distortions concerning the city's $75,000 settlement in favor of Debra Labrosse, wife of opposition Councilman John Labrosse, the only incumbent seeking a second term. 

Debra Labrosse was a defendant in what apparently turned out to be a baseless defamation lawsuit filed against her by Ken Zisa.

The large postcard shows John Labrosse getting into his car, complete with a clear image of his license plate. 

Inependent, honest 

Candidate Victor E. Sasson, a former Record staffer who now writes Eye on The Record, is waging an independent campaign in the municipal election.  

Today, Sasson came across a 2012 story on NorthJersey.com, exploring the relationship among Ken Zisa, Lynne Hurwitz, Richard Salkin and others on the occasion of the former police chief being sentenced to 5 years in prison:


Will the real machine politician please stand up?    


At the Friday night forum, Mount Olive Deacon Robert H. Robinson urged members of the African-American community to go to the polls on May 14, and to tell their relatives and friends to do the same.

"If you don't vote, you lose the right to complain," said the church's flier for Meet the Candidates Night.

To that, Sasson says, "Amen."   

Today's paper

The last time The Record assigned homophobe Mike Kelly to do a shore story he completely ignored the role of gay couples from New York City in the renewal of Asbury Park.

But to his and the editors' eternal embarrassment,  Kelly's stale report on half-way houses and mental patients roaming the streets of Asbury Park was published on the same exact day as a New York Times story about homosexuals buying up homes and businesses in the faded resort.

On Page 1 today, Kelly assumes the role of pop psychologist, reflecting on "the deep and complicated emotional thread that links many who are trying to rebuild homes and businesses along the Jersey shore" (A-1).

Excuse me, I have to throw up.

Living dangerously

A story on the Better Living cover today (BL-1) ignores the dark side of cured meat, whether made here or imported from Italy:

Nitrates and other preservatives used to cure salumi and other pork and beef products have been linked to cancer.

The good news isn't in today's story:

You can buy uncured, unpreserved cold cuts, hot dogs and similar meat products at Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's and other stores, and most of them also are free of harmful animal antibiotics and growth hormones.

The sad state of democracy in Hackensack

This noble sentiment hangs next to the front door of a registered voter on Clinton Place in Hackensack. Unfortunately, he wasn't at home on Sunday when I came calling with a petition I wanted him to sign to help me get on the ballot for the City Council election.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

This afternoon, I filed 280 official nominating petitions that I hope will get me on the ballot for the May 14 election, when Hackensack voters will choose five at-large City Council members.

In the past 5 weeks, I have been ringing bells, knocking on doors and approaching people on the street and in coffee shops, markets and even in a bar.

I wore a large red name tag and carried petitions and a 1-page green platform with the goal of improving residents' quality of life while holding the line on property taxes.

The apathy level is high and in many cases, the intelligence level is low. And now that it's over, I'm exhausted.

Go away

People were "not interested" or said, "I don't get involved in that." 

A man who lives in the house on the corner opened his door around noon on Sunday, said he was busy and slammed the door in my face before I could get a word out.

Others said they didn't have time to look at my petition or platform. 

Even though it is a non-partisan election, many people wanted to know if I was a Democrat or a Republican. 

"I don't sign anything," "I never sign anything" and "I'm not signing anything" were frequent responses when I asked for a voter's street address, signature and printed name.

Others took my platform and said they wanted to study it before signing a petition, and that I should come back later.   

Shallow reporting

Even though I spent 29 years at The Record as a reporter, copy editor and food writer, I knew nothing about the process when I picked up the petitions from City Clerk Debra Heck.

She said I need a minimum of 210 individual petitions or 1% of the 21,000 registered voters in Hackensack at the last general election, but that I should gather at least 250, because people who sign may not be registered or be registered in another town. 

An official petition of nomination.

I'm not 'organized'

Under head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes, The Record covers municipal and school elections reluctantly, boiling them down into so-called boxes of several paragraphs unless they are contested.

In recent years, The Record has never followed a candidate who was trying to get nominating petitions signed.

A few weeks ago, I e-mailed my platform to Staff Writer Hannan Adely.

Her byline had appeared over  9- and 10-paragraph stories about two groups of 5 candidates in the Hackensack election that were published on Jan. 25 and Feb. 3 -- before either slate had filed petitions.

But she said she wouldn't be writing a story about my candidacy before today's filing deadline, because I am not part of an "organized slate." 

She gave me the phone number of her assignment editor, Steve McCarthy, but he never returned my calls.  

I love Hackensack

I met a lot of nice people, and some of them took extra petitions and got them signed by other registered voters. 

Many voters signed my petition without hesitation, because, as one women said, "Everyone deserves a chance to run."

And I saw more of Hackensack and its quiet neighborhoods than in all the years I worked and lived here, including many beautiful, well-kept homes.

A 491-page list of voters by ward and district under a 30-page key that shows which streets are in which wards and districts. The registered-voters list is a confusing jumble of names, addresses and apartment numbers, with voters' names alphabetized by ward and district. But each side of a street can be in a different ward and district, and Prospect Avenue and many other streets also are divided. In Hackensack, there is a Poor Street and a Pink Street, and one voter's address is on Route 17. I know two people named Ross, but they don't live on Ross Avenue. 



I started gathering signatures in early February by going to the ShopRite in Hackensack, where I found only 7 city residents among 40 shoppers I approached.

At the Giant Farmers Market between Main and River streets, only one woman said she lived in Hackensack, and this was after approaching a couple of dozen other people.

At Lazy Lanigan's, a bar on Main Street, I couldn't find anyone from Hackensack a few hours before the Super Bowl began, and Bel Posto on Prospect Avenue wouldn't allow me to solicit signatures from its brunch customers that Sunday.

One morning, I got several signatures at the Dunkin' Donuts on University Place, but an employee asked me to leave, claiming customers said I was bothering them.

On Saturday, at the Dunkin' Donuts on Passaic Street, my petitions were signed by four people I later couldn't find on the registered-voters list, and one man who asked to read my platform before signing left while I was in the bathroom.

I saw him driving away in a large, black SUV With Texas plates.

 

   

The candidate in a reflective moment last Tuesday across the street from the Johnson Public Library on Main Street, where he couldn't find anyone to sign his petition.

 

I stopped at the Starbucks almost every day for coffee, and it beat the Dunkin' Donuts on two scores: better brews and more signatures from registered voters.

One day I called Starbucks headquarters from the Essex Street shop, and spoke to Joshua in customer service about getting a second Starbucks on Main Street, near the Bergen County Courthouse.

He mentioned his parents live on Hamilton Place in Hackensack, and are members of the Green Party, but wouldn't give me their last names or address, even when I told him I am running for office and needed their signatures.

Then, I found out there are only 6 Green Party members in Hackensack, and gave up the idea of tracking them down. 

Jews v. Jews   

I received a warmer welcome at a Baptist church and at two mosques than I did from my fellow Jews at Temple Beth El on Summit Avenue, an aging congregation that struggles to get enough people for Saturday morning services.

A painting at Temple Beth El in Hackensack.

Rabbi Robert Schumeister and President Mark Zettler wouldn't allow me to ask for signatures at a Purim celebration I attended one Saturday night.

Zettler said, "I don't know you."

At Mount Olive Baptist Church on Central Avenue, Pastor Gregory Jackson introduced me to the congregation at two Sunday services, but asked me to stand outside to get signatures.

The powerful choir at Mount Olive Baptist Church.

  

At Minhaj-ul-Quran on Vreeland Avenue and the Bergen County Islamic Education Center on Trinity Place, managers and members welcomed me and helped me gather signatures two Fridays in a row.

During a book fair at the Nellie K. Parker Elementary School, I drove over around noon, but two employees and a man who might have been the vice principal wouldn't sign petitions.

The man told me I couldn't stand on the sidewalk, but had to cross the street, even as he conceded that restriction probably wouldn't stand up in court.  

None of the condominium or co-op high-rises that line Prospect Avenue would allow me to solicit signatures, but my wife and teenage son found a rental building that did allow them to knock on tenants' doors.

Often, a husband or wife would sign, but most of the time, the spouse was in the shower, taking a nap, away on business or didn't want to sign.

And then there were people who just wouldn't open their door. 
 

I reach my goal 
 
But I finally got the process down to a science when I paid the county superintendent of elections 5 cents a page for a second list of registered voters, this one by street.

My request for the list was delayed by about a week when the office's computers broke down.

Then, when good weather finally arrived, I was able to stroll down a street and knock on the doors of only registered voters, and my count of good petitions increased steadily.

I was even able to concentrate on homes with 3, 4, 5 and even 7 registered voters, but at most I found only two at home at the same time.

A man who lives a few blocks away left me three signed petitions in this envelope.