Rising local property taxes a scandal editors refuse to tackle

The Rainbow Castle Preschool building at 142-48 Main St. in Hackensack has been boarded up, months after the structure was evacuated and declared unsafe. The two-story building was damaged by a pile driver at the construction site of a 14-story residential-retail project at Main and Mercer streets, a major part of the city's downtown rehabilitation plan.

The preschool building was declared unsafe last July 27, and work on the apartment projet was suspended. The owner is negotiating with the builder for compensation. The Record has completely ignored the story.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR 

Who was responsible for the unflattering photo of Freeholder Mary Amoroso in The Record today?

Amoroso spent many years as a reporter and editor in the paper's feature department before she ran for office.

She's pictured on the Local front today with her mouth agape and right hand raised, and two men and a baby aren't even identified.

Of course, there is a lot more wrong in the story about the Bergen County Board of Freeholders, and reports on the makeup of town councils and school boards that have been running since the first day of the year.

Today, Steve Janoski, Philip DeVencentis and other reporters focus solely on politics -- which party gained the upper hand in the Nov. 8 elections.

Issues, such as the scandals of rising taxes and the burden of tax-exempt property, are totally ignored, as they have been for years.

Hackensack

In Hackensack, for example, the City Council says a property revaluation in 2016 managed to cut or stabilize taxes for two out of three homeowners.

Yet, the city still hasn't found money to pave streets that have been torn up for utility and sewage work, including two major thoroughfares, Main and State streets.

Despite delivering financial stability, the council and county seat remain behind the eight ball -- saddled with tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars in tax-exempt property owned by Bergen County, Hackensack University Medical Center, Fairleigh Dickinson University and others.

Those non-profit or tax-exempt entities shift the tax burden to homeowners and businesses.

And the budget of the Hackensack Board of Education, which accounts for 44% of a resident's tax bill, was higher than the entire city budget for at least the second year in a row.

The Record didn't even bother covering last April's election for three board members and the binding referendum on the budget.

Port Authority

Today's so-called Page 1 expose of a "$30 billion tug of war between New Jersey and New York" is another sensational report on an agency and resources the two states have fought over for nearly 100 years.

The Record's endless stories on this colossal patronage war allow editors and reporters to ignore the sad state of bus and rail transit under Governor Christie, whose first major act was to cancel a pair of Hudson River rail tunnels.

PA dates to 1921

When New York and New Jersey signed a compact in 1921 to create The Port of New York Authority -- giving it a mandate to develop and modernize the entire port district -- New Jersey was left out of the name.

In fact, the battle of the states over jurisdiction rights on the mighty Hudson River dates to the early 1900s.

The agency took over Port Newark in 1948, but the name wasn't changed to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey until 1972.

Day after day, Gannett editors keep readers' eyes rolling

"Barbarians" is the title of this cartoon by Arend van Dam, who has Russian strongman Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad bombing residents of Aleppo, Syria, as the civil war drags on.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Recovering addicts helping overdose patients into treatment programs surely is an important story, but does it really belong on Page 1 of The Record today?

There isn't much else on the front page for readers of the redesigned Woodland Park daily, which is struggling after another major downsizing.

Staff Writer Hannan Adely is reprising the eight-year-old case against Imam Mohammad Qatanani, spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Passaic County (1A).

And so-called Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson is following the difficult last days of Scott Garrett, the Tea Party radical who lost his seat in Congress on Nov. 8 (1A).

Trump and Syria

Where are the stories and commentary about President-elect Donald J. Trump's praise and support for Russian thug Vladimir Putin, whose bombers are pulverizing Aleppo, Syria?

Paterson and other towns in Passaic County are called home by thousands of Syrian Christians and Muslims, including refugees from the civil war who are worried about their future with Trump in office.

On A-2, the editors run two corrections about a Sunday advertising section called Tribute to Nurses, but there is no explanation why staffers at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center were omitted. 

Local news?

Just as drug addiction is the big news on Page 1 today, homelessness is the major element on the Local front (1L).

The focus is on "Grandma's House" in Clifton, one of several Passaic County stories delivered to Bergen County readers today (1L, 2L and 6L).

In fact, there are more stories from towns like Clifton, Paterson and Haledon than from Bergen communities, including Hackensack.

Searching another Sunday edition in vain for local voices

One of the charms of Hackensack's Fairmount section is this shady alley off of Prospect Avenue, but the neighborhood also is plagued by noisy business jets heading for Teterboro Airport.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Another Sunday edition of The Record almost completely ignores the concerns of the vast majority of North Jersey residents.

A front-page story on the alarming number of assaults on vulnerable patients at Bergen Regional Medical Center, which treats the neediest, certainly is important (A-1).

But why -- in more than two full newspaper pages -- doesn't the story ask and answer the question on most readers' and taxpayers' minds:

Why does Bergen County still own a hospital -- the state's biggest, no less?

Rail commuters continue to scramble for seats aboard crowded NJ Transit trains, so why is Staff Writer Christopher Maag going on and on today about a safety system called "positive train control" (A-1)?

And why does political columnist Charles Stile think anyone is interested in his boring assessment of Senate President Stephen Sweeney's chances in the 2017 gubernatorial election (A-1)?

Local news?

Don't look for local news today.

Another Road Warrior column on the MVC, and a huge graphic on the redevelopment of Fort Lee dominate the Local front.

Long-time Fort Lee residents have been very vocal in their opposition to the Hudson Lights project, but you won't hear any of their voices today (L-1).

Inside the section, there are stories from Waldwick, Oakland, Ramsey, Bloomingdale, Haledon and Pequannock, but nothing from Hackensack.

What do Hackensack residents get for their high taxes?

Hackensack gives property tax payers a 10-day grace period, so 1st-quarter payments are due on Wednesday. When is the last time you saw a story -- any story -- about local property taxes in The Record of Woodland Park?

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If you live in Hackensack, Teaneck, Englewood, Ridgewood or another community with a tax-exempt hospital, you are paying more for such services as police protection and garbage collection.

In fact, residents are subsidizing the non-profit medical complexes, and in Hackensack, that means the city is powerless to collect more than $10 million on $257 million in tax-exempt property.

And Hackensack residents also are saddled with tax-exempt property owned by Bergen County, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Eastwick College and others.

All of them add to the disproportionate financial burden carried by residential and commercial property owners -- higher taxes that have been totally ignored by the local editors at The Record of Woodland Park.

At the same time, it's unclear what, if anything, those non-profits have returned to the city in lieu of taxes.

$4.5M payment

On Jan. 26, the Hackensack City Council voted to approve a settlement of claims, "some going back decades," that requires Hackensack University Medical Center to pay $4.5 million over three years.

The agreement also includes "which properties owned by HUMC and/or affiliated entities shall remain taxable."

HUMC also will pay $200,000 annually for pedestrian-bridge air rights on Atlantic and Second streets dating to December 2009, officials said.

City services

I've lived in Hackensack since 2007, and I'm pretty happy with police and fire protection, and other city services, with the exception of sloppy snow plowing, which endangers drivers and pedestrians.

Street paving also seems to be hit and miss, with some blocks showing rough patches after being neglected for more than 30 years.

And the city's free-spending Board of Education has been a thorn in taxpayers' sides, operating this year on a $106 million budget that exceeds the city's own.

My school taxes are 44.13% of my total property tax bill.

Police report

In a year-end report, Hackensack police said they issued 6,981 moving violations, but I still see stop-sign runners almost every day, especially at Euclid Avenue and the railroad tracks, where there are four stop signs.

The report listed 2,048 accidents, two fatal, and 465 "hit & run."

"Both burglaries and robberies in 2014 and 2015 were reported to be the lowest in past 30 years," the report stated.

"The Police Department worked closely" with the [tax-exempt] county homeless shelter on South River Street "in addressing the concerns of the homeless."

The report was silent on whether HUMC has agreed to provide medical staff who could help police cut down on the large number of trips transporting homeless people from the shelter to the hospital's emergency room -- another story The Record has ignored.

Hackensack news?

Staff Writer Todd South didn't cover the Jan. 26 City Council meeting in Hackensack or the two meetings before that.

South, who has been promoted to the Bergen County government beat from his Hackensack duties, today reports on a regional high school poetry contest (L-1).

In today's thin Local section, you'll find municipal news from East Rutherford, Rutherford, Leonia, Waldwick and Rockleigh, but nothing from Hackensack.

A brief on L-3 today must make the 535 residents of Rockleigh feel really safe, and speaks volumes about how North Jersey is poorly served by the home-rule system of local government.

The borough's Fire Department has only two fire engines, so the council "is exploring" an agreement to "borrow" a vehicle in an emergency.

Staff Writer Marc Lightdale doesn't shed any light on whether the vehicle would be another firetruck.

Page 1

Editor Deirdre Sykes and Managing Editor Dan Sforza have been in their new positions for only 10 days, but their front-pages have been uniformly disappointing.

Today's is dominated by politics and sports -- again.

Sykes and Sforza still can't shake their old roles as local assignment editors who did their best to screw readers searching for news of their town.

Does anybody still read Columnist Charles Stile's almost daily assessment of Governor Christie's doomed campaign for the GOP presidential nomination (A-1)?

The CNN Poll of Polls is reporting Christie will be the choice of only 5% of New Hampshire Republican primary voters or seventh in the field of eight -- just above Dr. Ben Carson's 3%.

After the big game, news editors deliver boring coverage

Members of the Palisades Park Senior Citizens Center staged a Lunar New Year show today for seniors at the Jewish Community Center on the Palisades in Tenafly. 

In addition to dancers, a choir of men and women performed several songs, including the national anthems of the United States, Korea and Israel.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I'm no fan of football or how the editors of The Record are always running sports columns on the front page, displacing far more important stories.

In fact, the first thing I do after I pick up the paper in my driveway every day is put the Sports section into the recycling bin.

I did watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, and the big story for me was how a young, black, overconfident quarterback was humbled by a veteran.

But today, Page 1 is dominated by Tara Sullivan, one of The Record's long-winded columnists, whose first two paragraphs are guaranteed to put you to sleep.

Unedited crap

How Editor Deirdre Sykes allowed this apparently unedited crap onto the premier page of today's paper is a mystery.

Sullivan's first two paragraphs describe Denver Broncos Quarterback Peyton Manning walking to his seat on the sideline after victory was assured (A-1).

"Across the field and down the sideline he strode" is how the first paragraph begins. Yawn.

"Down he sat" begins the second. Give me a break.

And the headlines are just awful, because the main and sub-headline basically repeat speculation the Super Bowl might have been Peyton Manning's last game:

"Manning's magical exit?"

"Super Bowl
win would
be a great
final act"

A far better main headline would get rid of the question mark, which is discouraged on many news copy desks:

"Manning's magical game"

"Super Bowl 
win would
be a great
final act"

Local news?

If Sullivan's pathetic column wasn't enough, the front of the local-news section is dominated by a stale story on the cooking of mystery chicken wings on Sunday at a bar in Passaic County no one has ever heard of (L-1).

That's one of five stories with Passaic County or Morris County datelines in a section delivered to Bergen County readers.

Lady Gaga

On the Better Living front, Staff Writer Jim Beckerman wrote an entire story on Lady Gaga singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" (BL-1).

Everyone I talked to today thought she did a terrific job, praising her voice, her delivery and how she made the national anthem her own.

In short, she rocked that old song.

Editors deliver superficial coverage of another big storm

In Hackensack, dog walkers and other pedestrians were stymied today, if they planned to leave their own block. As in years past, city plows and crews don't do corners or crosswalks. Meanwhile, The Record's lazy editors shrugged and went back to sleep rather than cover the blizzard of 2016 in any detail.

Hackensack homeowners who cleared their driveways to the curb or paid someone else to do it found that city plows then threw up an impenetrable blockade -- this only two weeks before several thousand dollars in property taxes are due.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

By noon today, the print edition of The Record still hadn't hit my cleared driveway in Hackensack.

The paper's dysfunctional home delivery unit struggles to deliver a dry paper when it's raining, so I guess I should cut it some slack after more than 2 feet of snow falls.

But that's no excuse for the lazy local Assignment Editors, Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza, who once again deliver spotty coverage of winter's first blizzard, judging by the digital edition I am looking at online.

The biggest fear of residents who lived through Irene, Sandy and other big storms was the loss of power, light and heat, but Page 1 and the Local front carry little or nothing about outages.

Town coverage?

On L-1 -- the main responsibility of Sykes and Sforza -- readers are bewildered by a story on how the storm altered plans for Saturday funerals.

What about Jewish families who must bury their dead within 24 hours? The story is silent on that score. 

There are about 90 towns in The Record's circulation area, but the staff appears to have done reporting from only a couple of dozen of them (L-1, L-3 and L-6).

Hackensack?

Staff Writer Kibret Markos, who usually is assigned to the state courthouse in Paterson, reported on Prospect Avenue high-rises in Hackensack, a city that covers an area of nearly 4.4 square miles and is the most populous in Bergen County (L-3).

Markos interviewed two building employees, a resident of the Blair House, and two pedestrians who said they were Russian and shrugged off the "thigh-high" snow.

Here is one of the sentences in his superficial report:

"The neighborhood of high-rises along Propsect Avenue remained mostly barren, with a few cars driving by every few minutes."

We'd all be better off if Christie moved to New Hampshire

Governor Christie in a moment that cements his reputation as the GOP bully.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's lead story today -- how New Jersey lost out on tens of millions in federal disaster aid -- only rubs salt in the wounds of residents who have been seduced and abandoned by their governor.

Yet, Editor Martin Gottlieb again gives Columnist Charles Stile front-page play to argue that campaigning in New Hampshire is more important to Christie's future than coming home to help the state weather a big snowstorm. (A-1 and A-6).

If Stile, the paper's chief Christie apologist, doesn't make you hurl, take a look at the idiotic headline:

Christie shelters in place

Readers still are waiting for The Record to call for the impeachment of a governor who time and again has put his selfish ambitions above the welfare of residents.

Or, at least demand that Christie resign, give up his million-dollar state police protection and move to New Hampshire as he pursues his doomed bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

Local news?

Bergen County readers continue to get a good spanking from local Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza, who are in charge of the paper's thin local-news section.

Four of the five stories on their Local front today are from Passaic County (L-1).

Three Paterson stories appear on L-2 and L-3, and Pompton Lakes police news can be found on L-5.

The inside pages also carry plenty of crime and court news, including a long, flattering story on the Bergen County Police Academy (L-3).

Hackensack?

There is no municipal news from Hackensack, as has been the case for weeks. 

And school board stories from Clifton (L-1), Elmwood Park and Saddle River (L-6) only remind Hackensack residents they haven't seen a story on their profligate school trustees for more than, what, a year or is it two?

You're mistaken if you think care is taken in the writing and editing of stories, as shown by a mangled sentence in the police academy story referring to Bergen County Corrections Officer Alex Herrera:

"Corrections officers, as he's been since 2005, are limited to posts at the jail and the academy" (L-3).

Ignoring readers

It isn't news that Elisa Ung, the paper's chief restaurant critic, ignores the dietary restrictions of most of her readers, whether they are on a low-carb, low-fat or low-cholesterol diet or are watching their intake of sugar and other sweets.

Today, she recklessly awards 3 out of 4 stars to Porto by Antonio, a North Bergen restaurant that not only charges up to $23 for a 12-inch pizza, but actually fries the dough of another pie (BL-12).

Ung raves the fried pie is "less heavy" and "more subtly rich" than other versions she has tried.

Another front page overflowing with news we can't use

The exterior of the 222-unit Meridia Metro rental building on State Street in Hackensack appears to be complete, but tenants won't be moving in until the fall. Completion of the project, the first in the city's ambitious downtown redevelopment plan, was delayed.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's Sports section does such a pathetically poor job of covering Formula 1 and other auto racing readers are bewildered by a Page 1 story today on a Wayne college student's quixotic quest to drive in the world's most exclusive club.

That's only one of the stories and columns Editor Martin Gottlieb chose for a front page that basically wastes North Jersey readers' valuable time (A-1).

A-1 is dominated by the same images of a refugee crisis in Europe readers have seen on the nightly TV news for many days now.

Christie, Iran deal

Gottlieb also robs readers with yet another A-1 story by Staff Writer Melissa Hayes on Governor Christie's floundering campaign, especially in New Hampshire, which he visited 22 times.

Are you looking for an opinion on whether families of victims killed "in Iran-sponsored attacks" should finally collect on court judgments from billions of dollars that will be unfrozen as part of the nuclear deal?

You won't find one from opinion Columnist Mike Kelley, who pushes thousands of words around in another overly long piece to frame the "debate over the deal" (A-1).

The thumbnail photo of Kelly's shit-eating grin -- dating to the early 2000s -- is an insult to readers.

Local news?

Did local Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza give up their best local story to Gottlieb -- the one on Page 1 of a 19-year-old's Formula 1 dreams?

That would seem to be the case from all of the Law & Order news in today's local-news section (L-1, L-2, L-3 and L-6).

On L-3, readers stare dumbly at filler photos of a trash spill on Route 17 and a non-fatal fire in Clifton, where the tenants have so little rent money they have to live over a bar.

The number of Paterson stories in the section delivered to Bergen County readers suggests North Jersey Media Group is trying to save money on newsprint by eliminating a separate section for Passaic County.

When will editors hit poor quality of life in Bergen County?

A business jet, above, and a noisy Italian-made airplane, below, roaring over South Hackensack as they prepared to land at Teterboro Airport last November.

Many of the jets that use Teterboro are flown over residential neighborhoods in Hackensack, Teaneck and other towns on their way to and from the airport.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Business jets and noisy single-engine planes roaring overhead around the clock. A Harley-Davidson motorcycle blasting past your house just before 7 in the morning.

Roads so antiquated that many lack turn lanes or proper drainage, leading to flash floods that threaten to swallow luxury SUVs (see Page 1 of The Record today).

Even though Bergen County residents pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation, their quality of life often sucks, and The Record could care less.

Today, the Local editors celebrate a charity run by hundreds of lawbreakers riding motorcycles modified to make as much noise as possible (L-1). 

If police can set up checkpoints to catch people who don't buckle up, why can't they do the same to cite motorcyclists for violating anti-noise ordinances?

One reason may be that many Harleys are owned by cops and firemen, both active and retired.

Members of Fourth Watch, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle club exclusively for emergency medical personnel, firefighters, members of the military and police officers, at Englewood's Memorial Day Parade. The roar from their bikes was defeaning, and their fumes filled the air. What a poor example to set for spectators, including children.

Is racism behind why the election didn't go Obama's way?

Voters were not exactly lining up on Tuesday at Hackensack's Fairmount Elementary School.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

By almost any measure -- the economy, health care, environment, immigration, and boots on the ground in the Middle East and Afghanistan -- we're doing far better under President Obama than with his Republican predecessor.

Yet, the GOP was able to take control of the U.S. Senate and hold onto the party's majority in the House, ensuring another two years of gridlock until Obama leaves office.

Could the reason be grounded in low voter turnout, and white conservatives who still bristle at any mention of our first black president?

Apathy expected

Political analysts expected a low voter turnout in New Jersey on Election Day, WBGO-FM reported:

"Fairleigh Dickinson political science Prof. Peter Woolley expects fewer than 40 percent of registered voters in the Garden State will go to the polls because he says the state’s 12 congressional races really aren’t competitive.

“'People who are the strongest partisans or people who are the angriest are the ones who will come out. The broad swath of Americans who are not following all the issues closely are simply not going to know why they should turn out.'”

Today, Obama told a reporter turnout was as low as 15% in states where Republicans triumphed.

News judgment?

The Record played the Democratic sweep of Bergen County offices, including the defeat of the Republican executive, on Page 1.

But the report of a seventh term for ultraconservative Rep. Scott Garrett from a congressional district that includes Bergen County, where 70% of the voters live, is buried on L-3.

That fits with the editors basically dismissing Hackensack attorney Roy Cho and earlier Democratic challengers because they were unable to raise as much money as Garrett.

Ebola is getting bigger play than the upcoming election

On Friday night, the streets around Clinton Place in Hackensack were packed with cars and costumed children making their trick-or-treat rounds as police directed traffic and watched over pedestrians. Bad weather cancelled Halloween festivities in 2012 and 2013.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Despite all of the front-page headlines, New Jersey still hasn't had a single confirmed case of Ebola.

Yet, Governor Christie and other politicians continue to run off at the mouth, and The Record continues to cover the epidemic that isn't.

Here comes Charles Stile to bore readers with another political column on the Ebola response of the GOP bully and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (A-1).

Another columnist, Mike Kelly, pushes hundreds of other words around on the Obama administration's response to Ebola, but loses readers almost immediately by flashing a shit-eating grin in his thumbnail photo (O-1).

Any journalist who allows his editors to use a dated photo that makes him look like a fool can't be taken seriously.

These Halloween scenes on Clinton Place were photographed on Thursday afternoon, above and below.

What about the election?

The editors haven't been paying as much attention to Election Day on Tuesday, when residents of the 5th Congressional District, which includes Bergen County, can get rid of Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, a Tea Party idol who is against just about everything (L-3).

An e-mail from challenger Roy Cho, an attorney in Hackensack, notes:

Daylight Savings Time Begins Today!

Make Sure You Set Your Clock Back One Hour

Election Day is Tuesday!

Make Sure You Don't Let Scott Garrett Set the Country Back

 

Since Elected in 2002, Garrett Voted Against:

 

Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act

Equal Pay for Women

 Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Protecting the Medicare and Social Secuity Guarantee

Reauthorization of the Endangered Species Act of 1973

Raising the Minimum Wage

Ending Don't Ask, Don't Tell

and a whole lot more...

Cho has been endorsed by The Record, The Star-Ledger, the New Jersey Jewish Standard and other newspapers, but Garrett hasn't received any editorial support in his bid for a seventh term.

Losing facts in the dark

Today, Road Warrior John Cichowski reports on dark street lights and highway lights, suggesting they are the reason he has completely lost sight of accuracy (L-1).

In his column last Sunday, Cichowski discussed reports of "teen violence" when he meant to say "violence against teens" tied those red decals on the license plates of young drivers, according to the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers.

The page pits a fact-loving retired engineer against an addled columnist who has failed miserably to focus on issues important to commuters:

"In his Sunday column [Oct. 26], the Road Warrior continues to repeat mistaken and meaningless information and deadly, unsafe, and illegal advice for parents and teenagers about New Jersey's Graduated Driving License (GDL) laws and its impact on young drivers.

"Road Warrior indicated that GDL safety restrictions bar teenage drivers from loading cars with more than one teen passenger only if another experienced driver is present.

"The GDL law only allows for more than one passenger (teenage or otherwise), who are not dependents, only if a parent or guardian is present.

"He stupidly indicated that New Jersey has not documented any reports of 'teen violence' related to the GDL red decals on their cars.

"He should have stated there were no documented reports of violence against teenagers rather than teen violence, which means violent acts committed by teenagers."

See: Confusing teen drivers and parents

Why no one votes

A page and a half of Local is filled with the names of candidates in municipal, county and school board races, but for the vast majority, the paper hasn't reported what issues are at stake or what they stand for (L-6 and L-7).

Christie coverage

Staff Writer Melissa Hayes, who is traveling with Governor Christie's entourage, continues to report on his out-of-state fundraising in the same, breathless tones you'd find in a press release from the Republican Governors Association (Page 1 on Saturday).

Hayes quotes so-called experts as she tries to nail down whether Christie, who heads the group, is going to seek the GOP nomination for president in 2016.

What about the perspective of environmentalists, mass-transit advocates, women and Democrats in the state Legislature who have been stiffed big time since Christie took office in 2010?

What about voters in northern New Jersey? Do The Record's editors ever think to ask them who they want as their next president?