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.

Voter apathy stifles reform in Hackensack

Voters will find this flier in today's Hackensack Chronicle, which says it has a circulation of more than 20,000 in Hackensack and South Hackensack.

Victor E. Sasson and other reform candidates in the May 14 Hackensack City Council election are fighting an unseen enemy.

Voter apathy in "Zisaville" may prove to be more powerful than allies of the ruling family who are trying so desperately to hold onto power.

That 5-person slate is headed by alleged sign-stealer Kenneth Martin, a retired African-American police detective who boasts of having been the first resource officer at Hackensack High School.

His dumb move -- caught on Hackensack Market's video-surveillance camera -- is a cautionary tale for the few voters who are paying attention to the campaign.

Read it and weep

Another lesson in the sad state of democracy in Hackensack can be seen in the number of registered voters and the turnout in the 2009 and 2005 City Council elections.

On April 24, 2009, the number of Hackensack residents registered to vote totaled 19,868, according to figures released by City Clerk Debra Heck.

Only 3,731 of them voted in the May election, giving victory to all but one of the Zisa-backed candidates. 

That vote total was actually down from the May 2005 election, when only 4,568 residents voted out of about 19,000 who were registered.

On March 6, 2013, 21,090 people were registered to vote in Hackensack, Heck said.

Official apathy

Apathy isn't reserved for Hackensack voters.

Last week, an aide for state Sen. Loretta Weinberg told Sasson, the only independent cadidate, the senator does not get involved in municipal elections.

Sasson wanted Weinberg to pay for robo calls, urging Hackensack voters to back reform candidates in the May 14 election.

Sasson called Weinberg's Teaneck office again this week, hoping the senator would at least issue a neutral, get-out-the-vote message. But his call hasn't been returned.

Apathetic editors

More apathy is evident at The Record, which so far hasn't covered the Hackensack campaign, except to report on the arrest of Martin and related news.

The Woodland Park daily doesn't see voter apathy as the big story of the municipal election, because voters "everywhere" are apathetic.

Two other news outlets, News 4 New York and WNYC-FM (New Jersey Public Radio), also have declined to cover the campaign.

Borgs and Zisas  

Here is a fascinating glimpse into the relationship of the Borgs -- owners of The Record -- and the Zisas, including mention of Jack Zisa, Lynne Hurwitz and other Hackensack movers and shakers:

The Zisas and the Borgs 


End alliance now

The number of empty storefronts on or near Main Street in Hackensack and the limited jurisdiction of the Upper Main Alliance are two powerful arguments for disbanding the public-private partnership formed in 2004.

In The Record today, Jerry Lombardo, president of the real estate firm C.J.L. Lombardo and the alliance board chairman, discusses redevelopment efforts in Hackensack (L-8).

Lombardo doesn't disclose whether he owns property in the 163-acre zone and how much profit he will realize from redevelopment, which has been endorsed by the City Council.

When the alliance is disbanded, city employee Albert H. Dib, its executive director, should be ordered to devote his full time to economic development of the entire city, not just part of Main Street.

Dib also should be ordered to stop being the "Editor" of Hackensack Now.org, a Community Message Board.

Today's paper

Editor Marty Gottlieb devotes a huge part of Page 1 today to a "major heroin bust" that targeted spoiled brats from wealthy North Jersey suburbs who drive to Paterson to buy drugs (A-1).

You won't find a word in all this coverage (two stories, photos and a chart on A-1 and A-6) about the Paterson Police Department's lame efforts to control the drug trade or gun violence in the Silk City.

To be fair, 125 officers were laid off in 2011 after Governor Christie cut state aide to Paterson and other cities, part of the GOP bully's campaign against minorities. 

In June 2012, 37 were rehired.

More manure

Why is Gottlieb wasting precious front-page real estate on Ahmed Zayat of Teaneck, a multimillionaire gambler who gets high on the smell of horse manure (A-1)?  

And why does head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes keep on publishing anti-mass transit rants from Road Warrior John Cichowski, the self-appointed booster of drivers, cars, driving and related subjects (L-1)?

Today, Cichowski raises the "who will pay?" boogeyman in discussing extension of NJ Transit's successful light-rail system to Englewood.

He knows the real problem is not federal money, but lack of commitment to mass transit by Christie and Tenafly officials, and so-called journalists like himself.

Hackensack news

When I wrote this post, I overlooked an L-1 story on repairs to the Fanny M. Hilliers School, and an L-3 filler photo of the collision of a bus and "a vehicle" on Thursday at Summit Avenue and Passaic Street.

As usual, the photo caption is completely devoid of any information about whether either driver ran a red light or received a summons.