Vote against Hackensack's politics of greed

Some of the best lawns in Hackensack are sprouting a new sign from independent City Council candidate Victor E. Sasson, above and below. The non-partisan election is Tuesday, and Sasson is urging all city residents to get out and vote for reform.

Euclid Avenue in Hackensack.

Spring Valley Avenue in Hackensack.

Today's edition of the weekly Hackensack Chronicle is filled with stories, essays, photos and a letter aimed at voters in Tuesday's City Council election -- a day after The Record ran a Page 1 story about one of the most important contests in the city's history.

Whether you are affiliated with a party or not, you can vote in the non-partisan election. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Here is the 300-word essay from independent candidate Victor E. Sasson, editor of Eye on The Record (Page 3 in the Chronicle): 

"If elected to the Hackensack City Council, I will work tirelessly to return the focus to the property tax payer, and reverse the trend of rising taxes and falling services.

"I am independent and honest, and owe no favors to the special interests that have controlled Hackensack for so long. I want to restore pride in a city that is widely mocked as 'Zisaville.'

"I am financing my own campaign, and will return $2,500 of my salary as a councilman to the city or a charity.

"I will do so to encourage Hackensack University Medical Center, Fairleigh Dickinson University and other tax-exempt entities to follow suit and give back to Hackensack -- a city that has squandered so many of its tax dollars on insider deals with the politically connected.

"Mine is the original 'quality of life' platform, emphasizing changes city residents can feel -- from smooth streets to less aircraft noise to saving money by running the city more efficiently with hybrid cars and solar panels.

"As the parent of a Hackensack High School student, I am disturbed by the divisiveness on the Board of Education, and believe term limits should be imposed on school trustees.

"I am also troubled by the low quality of food served to students.

"I love Hackensack, but deplore the politics of greed that have been practiced by the Zisa family and their powerful allies for decades, and how they are trying to perpetuate their rule by backing a slate in this election.

"I urge voters to go to the polls on May 14 in one of the most important elections in city history. If you haven’t voted in past municipal elections, you have only yourselves to blame for the crummy government we have."

Sasson, who is financing his own campaign, miscalculated the impact of lawn signs, and didn't order them right away.

This morning, Sasson went to Hackensack Market to add his signs to those of the other candidates, but managers of the market refused.

Sasson is trying to contact the owner.

Open Government City Council candidate Kenneth Martin, a former police detective, will stand trial on charges he removed opponents' lawn signs at Hackensack Market on Passaic Street.

Employees of Hackensack Market complained of all the trouble Open Government candidate Kenneth Martin caused when he allegedly removed opponents' signs, and was caught red-handed on the store's surveillance camera.

Martin heads "the Zisa slate," which is  trying to hold onto power in Hackensack.

Say it isn't so, Joe

Three public forums for the 11 candidates were held in high-rises on Prospect Avenue, where residents have joined a coalition to stop the construction of a 19-story hospital, with 5 floors of underground parking, near Golf Place.

The Hackensack zoning board rejected the plan, 5-0, but Prospect Avenue residents fear a Superior Court judge will rule in favor of the developer, who has appealed.

So they want whomever gets elected on Tuesday to retain City Attorney Joseph C. Zisa Jr. and former zoning board attorney Richard Malagiere, who are defending the city.

Malagiere resigned from the zoning board after he was cited for owning homes with alleged building violations.

Now, there are rumors Joe Zisa may be leaving Hackensack.

Zisa is the cousin of Ken Zisa, the disgraced former state Assemblyman and police chief, and father of Lauren Zisa, editor-in-chief of The County Toilet Seat, a weekly paper. 

Joe Zisa has made major improvements to his shore house; and his building at 77 Hudson St., where his private law office was located, is listed for lease, not sale.

He also has spoken to a Realtor about listing his home in the city's Fairmount section.   

The Record

There is big news on Page A-2 of The Record today: no corrections, clarifications or retractions.

A good laugh

Hackensack residents don't have much to laugh about, but Sasson can recommend a photo essay on Hackensack Scoop that features the Zisas, city officials and others:

Separated at birth 

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.

When paving streets, residents' income level is crucial

In March, a light rain highlighted broken pavement on Louis Street in Hackensack's Fairmount section, one of the city's nicest residential areas.

At this week's City Council meeting, Hackensack City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono delivered some bad news to well-off residents who hope to see their streets paved before 2050.

This year's proposed municipal budget contains only $300,000 for repairing streets, but the city also will receive an unspecified amount in grants for that purpose.

However, the grants come with a catch. There is less grant money to pave streets where residents have higher incomes, Lo Iacono said.


Go figure. If residents of a street have higher incomes, it's likely they also have more expensive homes or apartments and pay higher property taxes. 

Why doesn't that help determine the amount of paving grants for their streets?

Euclid Avenue

Victor E. Sasson, editor of Eye on The Record and  the only independent candidate in the May 14 Hackensack City Council election, has joked he is running to get his street paved.

Euclid Avenue hasn't been paved since 1979, according to long-time residents of Hackensack, and each year for the past few years, Sasson has called the Department of Public Works, only to be told his street is "on the list." 

Lo Iacono told Sasson at Tuesday night's meeting Euclid Avenue will be paved this fall, which is the "paving season."

Sasson replied his street is far from the worst street. What about Louis Street or Prospect Avenue?

Lo Iacono also said he couldn't even give a ballpark estimate of how much it costs to pave one block, noting it depends on how much of the street has to be torn up and so forth.

'19-story monster'

Residents of Baridge House questioned City Council candidates on Wednesday night, in the second such forum sponsored by the Prospect Avenue Coaltion, which has been fighting a 19-story Long-Term Acute Care Hospital proposed nearby for more than 3 years.

Moderator Ted Moskowitz, an attorney, referred to the plan, known as LTACH, as the "19-story monster down the block."

All of the candidates pledged the city's total resources to stop the hospital. The developer is appealing the city zoning board's 5-0 vote, denying him the variances he needed to build. 

Sasson suggested that all or part of the 20-acre River Street parcel owned by North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record, would be an ideal site for the proposed hospital and more than 400 parking spaces. 

The Record, which abandoned Hackensack in 2009, didn't cover Wednesday night's forum or the first one on March 20.

Tick-Tock plot

On the front page of today's paper, regular users of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway found out why state police haven't been enforcing laws against speeding, tailgating and reckless driving.

In the best New York tabloid tradition, Editor Marty Gottlieb splashes a sensational tale all over Page 1 about a diner manager who allegedly cooked up a plot to kill his boss and the boss' wife.

No patrols

Unfortunately, the "hit man" and a second undercover operative were state troopers pulled off speeding patrols, and who knows how many other state police officers were working behind the scenes.

Is this story really worth an overlong news story, a  sidebar on the Tick-Tock Diner, a map and all of those photos?

And, of course, all that overblown coverage guarantees plenty of errors by head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and Production Editor Liz Houlton, supervisor of the luckless copy desk.

The drop headline says awkwardly the manager of the diner "hired hit on boss." 

"Hired hit"? What's missing? The full drop headline is:

Police say

manager of 

diner hired

hit on boss, 

wife's uncle

 


But the "boss" and "wife's uncle" are one in the same, according to the story, and the photo caption also identifies him as such.

The story also refers to the boss two ways, as "the owner" of the Clifton diner and as the "co-owner." Which is accurate?

yBad lesson

Sykes' Local news section today is dominated by school news, but the only mention of Hackensack is in a chart on per-pupil spending.

With four days before Hackensack's school board election, Sykes still hasn't published a story on the six candidates and what they want to accomplish.