Gannett replaces editor who spent years fighting way to top

In this Jan. 29 photo from NorthJersey.com, newsroom staffers applauded the promotion of Deirdre Sykes, left foreground, to editor of The Record of Woodland Park, succeeding Martin Gottlieb, center.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Deirdre Sykes of Harrington Park worked in nearly every desk job in The Record's newsroom before she was promoted in January to top editor of the daily paper she joined in 1987.

Now -- exactly seven months later and less than two months after Gannett Co. bought The Record -- the announcement came that Sykes will be replaced on Sept. 6.

Sykes, who is in her 60s, will be given "a new leadership position in the newsroom," according to NorthJersey.com.

Richard A. Green, who was president and publisher of The Cincinnati Inquirer and The Des Moines Register, will become vice president/news and editor of The Record, replacing the second woman to serve as editor.

In a second appointment announced by Gannett, Nancy A. Meyer, 52, formerly publisher and CEO of the Orlando Sentinel Media Group, has been named president of North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record.

Worked overnight

Sykes joined The Record in 1987, when it was an afternoon paper headquartered in Hackensack, editing stories, and writing headlines and photo captions on the copy desk overnight shift -- the most thankless job in the newsroom.

She held numerous jobs over the years -- not all of them promotions -- including Passaic County bureau chief in Wayne, state editor, and day and night news editor, but she always managed to return to a position of control.

Her last job before she was named editor on Jan. 29, 2016, was as assignment director in charge of local news, the Trenton staff and the paper's mediocre news columnists.

Her salary at the time was believed to be $100,000 annually.

Her grandfather was John J. Walters, mayor of Harrington Park in the 194os.

Decline in local news

In her years as head assignment editor, Sykes named Staff Writer John Cichowski to the Road Warrior column, signaling an end to its usefulness to commuters, especially those who use mass transit.

Trenton staffer Charles Stile began writing a political column that appeared often on Page 1, and interpreted every burp, cough and fart from Governor Christie.

Despite Bridgegate, Christie's failed presidential campaign, his endorsement of wacko racist Donald J. Trump for president and more than 500 vetoes, Stile remains the GOP bully's chief apologist.

With Sykes as editor, The Record was the only major daily in the state that didn't call for Christie's resignation after his endorsement of Trump in February.

Mother Hen

Sykes also guided the reporting careers of Staff Writers Jean Rimbach, Lindy Washburn and others who formed a sisterhood under a woman who was widely viewed as a Mother Hen in the newsroom.

Meanwhile, local-news coverage declined, and in desperation, Sykes and her then deputy, Dan Sforza, began to fill holes with numerous accident and fire photos, Dean's Lists, long obituaries of obscure people, and crime and court news -- a practice that continues.

We're stuck with cronies, corruption, patronage, home rule

This 2012 photo from NJ.com focuses on the natural beauty of the Meadowlands.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's front page today -- dominated by two articles on the 40th anniversary of the Meadowlands Sports Complex -- is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

A story on the pivotal role of young voters in the Nov. 8 presidential election completely ignores the real problem -- apathetic voters of all ages (A-1).

And Staff Writer Pat Alex repeats a common theme in media coverage of the presidential race -- that wacko racist Donald J. Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton "are among the most unpopular candidates in the history of modern polling."

The media adore polls -- unreliable indicators that allow Alex and other reporters to portray the contest between Trump and Clinton as a horse race.

And such coverage surely contributes to apathy among readers and voters, because The Record and other media refuse to focus on such issues as gender equality, a higher minimum wage and taxing the wealthy.

Local news?

Law & Order coverage is dominating local news again, as readers can see from today's lead story on Paterson's 11th homicide in 2016 (L-1).

And in recent days, the local editors have needed a long Dean's List to fill holes in news coverage (L-3).

L-3 also carries the Monthly News Quiz, which asks readers, "How well do you know what happened in N.J. and beyond?"

That's a question readers want to ask the editors and reporters who put out the pathetically thin Sunday edition and its Local section.

Margulies

Let's hope Margulies' cartoon on O-2 today doesn't become reality, though you never know with Governor Christie.

"Have you heard about Christie's Motor Vehicle Commission efficiency plan," a wife asks her husband.

"To automatically get a gun license when you renew a driver's license?"

Saturday's paper

Staff Writer Jeff Pillets could have gone deeper in his review of more than a decade of "missed deadlines and broken budgets" on publicly financed projects (A-1 on Saturday).

He shows how Trenton has left "the public on the hook for helping to fund failed or stalled projects," but doesn't explore a system of local and state government that thrives on cronyism, political patronage and corruption.

So, the story played next to it was no surprise:

To help his campaign, Trump tapped Bill Stepien, a former Christie crony "whose ascent in Republican politics was shot down by the politically motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge."

Rudy Van Gelder

Editor Deirdre Sykes probably has run more animal stories on Page 1 then the obituaries of prominent local residents.

But below the fold on Friday, she ran a story about a starving pit bull from Paterson next to the obituary for Hackensack native Rudy Van Gelder, who died on Thursday at 91.

Staff Writer Jay Levin and Carla Baranauckas, an assignment editor, called him "perhaps the most influential recording engineer in the jazz genre, who brought to life the sounds of such legendary artists as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Freddie Hubbard."

The dog got better play, though.

And the Van Gelder obit erred on where he recorded Monk's "Hackensack" and other jazz classics.

The Van Gelder family home in Hackensack was on Prospect Avenue, not "Prospect Street." 

Schnitzel+

Kosher restaurants usually are more expensive, but do customers get food of higher quality than at non-kosher places?

In Friday's Informal Dining Review, Staff Writer Elisa Ung doesn't bother answering the question.

As is usually the case in her reviews, she doesn't say whether the kosher chicken and turkey served at Schnitzel+ in Teaneck are naturally raised.

And a photo of what she describes as a "huge platter" shows five falafel, a single pocket bread cut into four piece and some hummus. 

The price is an inflated $11.95.

Reporter again ignores bitter partisan battle for Hackensack

Hackensack Board of Education President Jason Nunnermacker ran unsuccessfully for City Council twice with the backing of the Zisa family political dynasty, which controlled the city for decades before reformers were elected in 2013. Now, he attends council meeting regularly to attack Mayor John Labrosse and other officials.

At a council meeting in May, Nunnermacker, in a hoodie, tried to hide from the camera after Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino rebuked him publicly for falsely claiming he and other school board members were responsible for cutting taxes $214 for the average homeowner. A citywide revaluation cut city and school taxes an average of $400 for about one-third of homeowners, she noted.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

John Seasly, The Record's Hackensack reporter, continues to ignore the Zisa family's battle to regain control of the city they ruled for decades.

A slate of Zisa allies -- including school board member Jason Nunnermacker -- was defeated in the 2013 municipal election, but the family continued to control the Board of Education, where Nunnermacker is now president.

And Richard Salkin, the board attorney and a former city attorney, lost his second job as municipal prosecutor after Mayor John Labrosse and other council members took office.

In April, two members of Team Hackensack, backed by former four-term Mayor Jack Zisa and other Zisas, were elected to the Board of Education and the third member of the slate was appointed later to fill a vacancy -- solidifying their control.

Seasly completed ignored the Zisa family's role in the school election, as well as the issues brought up by the other candidates, including three backed by the current council.

He also ignored the proposed $104 million school budget, which accounts for 44% of a homeowner's property tax bill and which exceeded the city's own spending plan.

'A frequent critic'

Today, in a story on the Local front, Seasly identifies Salkin as "a frequent critic of the municipal government," but doesn't mention all of the jobs the attorney held during Zisa administrations or when the council was controlled by the family's allies (L-1).

To further insulate Salkin from charges of partisan politics, the reporter deftly quotes Labrosse, the mayor, as citing "the lawyer's loyalty to the Zisa political family" (L-7).

"It's a political stunt that stinks of the old-style politics that have plagued this town forever," Labrosse says, referring to another lawsuit Salkin filed against him.

That let's the reporter, his assignment editor and Editor Deirdre Sykes off the hook for their slanted reporting and shocking disregard for Hackensack residents and readers.

2017 election

A Zisa-backed Team Hackensack slate is expected to oppose the reelection of Labrosse and other council members in the non-partisan May 2017 election.

Let's see if Seasly manages to ignore that contest as he did the school board election:

Zisa-backed school trustees sworn, 
editors could care less 

With reporters like Seasly telling only half the story in Hackensack, the county seat may once again be cursed as "Zisaville."

Christie-Trump tax deal

Today's paper carries extensive coverage of Governor Christie becoming "a Trump man," as if readers missed the GOP bully's endorsement of the wacko racist presidential candidate in February (A-1, A-3 and A-6).

Still, I can't find a word about a New York Times report that in December 2011, the Christie administration settled a lawsuit seeking payment of $30 million in overdue taxes and interest owed by his friend Trump's Atlantic City casinos.

After six years in court, the state agreed to accept just $5 million, The Times reported on Tuesday.

Favoring polluters, bi-state transit war, 'unique' restaurant

This New York Times image from 2007 shows Paul Eugene VanDunk with granddaughter Alexis Dennison holding a photo of her mother, a cancer victim. VanDunk and other residents of Upper Ringwood blame many cases of sickness and death on toxic paint sludge and other waste dumped in their neighborhood by Ford Motor Co., which operated an assembly plant in nearby Mahwah until the late 1970s.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's front page today is promoting a controversial plan to pave over toxic soil in several North Jersey towns that would save Ford, DuPont and other wealthy corporate polluters tens of millions of dollars.

Assurances that capping 166,000 tons of paint sludge is safe are falling on the deaf ears of Upper Ringwood residents a few months before a referendum that would force Ford Motor Co. and borough officials to remove the pollutants (A-1).

The Environmental Protection Agency would allow the waste to stay in the ground even though North Jersey's drinking-water reservoirs are nearby.

What remains unclear is what motivates Editor Deirdre Sykes and Staff Writer Scott Fallon to turn their backs on long-suffering residents, and to forcefully promote an unpopular solution to decades of corporate pollution.

With capping, Ford and the borough of Ringwood's insurers would see their cleanup costs drop to $5.4 million from $32.6 million (A-8).

At a Superfund site in Edgewater, Honeywell and other wealthy companies held responsible for the pollution would pay only $72 million, compared to $205 million for excavation.

Drop in enforcement

One story you've never seen in The Record is a dramatic decline in the enforcement of speeding laws on state highways -- even as the Road Warrior columnist obsesses over lines at the Motor Vehicle Commission and traffic jams at MetLife Stadium (L-1).

Today's front-page story should have reported Christopher Boes, 20, of West Milford might be alive, if Butler police did a better job of patrolling Route 23 and stopped such racers as the friend driving the car in which he was a passenger (A-1).

Bi-state transit war

Check out the hysteria over the war between New Jersey and New York on replacing the antiquated Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan (L-1).

The two states have been arguing for decades over which one gets the most from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Originally, the agency was called the Port of New York Authority.

We're probably going to see many more stories on where a new Manhattan bus terminal should be located.

But The Record won't be asking the bi-state agency why it doesn't expand bus service by adding one or two more exclusive bus lanes into the Lincoln Tunnel.

'Unique' BYO

Staff Writer Elisa Ung is so excited about Turtle + The Wolf in Montclair, she calls the New American BYO "unique," and rates it as Excellent to Outstanding (a half-star shy of the top rating of 4 stars).

And although she praises the "quality" of the food, only the brisket she sampled was naturally raised at Painted Hills Farm in Oregon (BL-14).

So, are readers to assume the $72-a-person roasted pig and the $45-a-person fried chicken dinners are conventionally raised with harmful antibiotics?

The money you save on wine will be blown on tolls and gasoline to get there and back. And does the place serve any seafood except octopus?

Misspells name

She might have been able to provide more details on the food, if she didn't feel compelled to report details of the chef-owner's resume and identify his business partner, whose last name she misspells.

Ung calls him "Matt Greneven," but today's correction says he is "Matt Trevenen."

That's not even close. 

Maybe she drank too much of the wine she brought or was overly giddy about eating hundreds of dollars of food -- plus dessert -- paid for by Gannett, The Record's owner.

Corrections usually run on A-2 the day after the error is made, but today's notes the review "was produced in advance."

Turns out the rave review appeared online on Thursday, almost a full day before the print edition.

Trump compared to Hitler, Joe McCarthy, segregationists

Monday morning rush-hour traffic in Englewood was tied up in knots when police closed Woodland Street for repaving. Detoured drivers encountered delays of 30 minutes or more.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Democrats are pointing to a report by veteran TV newsman Tom Brokaw on Donald J. Trump's promise to ban all Muslims from the United States, if he is elected president.

In the report, Brokaw compares such a step to the internment of Japanese citizens in the United States during World War II, Hitler's attempted extermination of the Jews, anti-communist Sen. Joe MaCarthy, and the brutal segregation of African-Americans in the South. 

See: Why every American should be terrified

And in an interview with People magazine in 1998, Trump called Republicans "the dumbest group of voters in the country.... I could lie and they would still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific."

Today's paper

Editor Deirdre Sykes of The Record publishes thousands upon thousands of words on Page 1 and inside the paper today on the opening of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland -- and the vast majority of the coverage will never be read.

WNYC-FM, on the other hand, needed only a few sentences: 

"The evening started off with a stirring rendition of the national anthem by a blind girl. What followed were three hours of rage, racially polarizing language, calls to put Hillary Clinton in jail, and Rudy Giuliani talking about Syrian refugees coming to kill us. Then Melania Trump took the stage and talked about saving the poor and taking care of women."

See: WNYC@RNC


Local news?

In another case of Sykes' poor news judgment, the death of Peter G. Banta, one of the most prominent First Amendment lawyers in North Jersey, is being upstaged today by a 24-year-old murder case and a high jumper on A-1, and three stories about animals in the so-called local news section (L-1 and L-3).

The paper's editor continues to mishandle local news, as she did for years when she was head assignment editor, and duck her responsibility to readers who want to know how well or how poorly their towns are being governed.

The obituary for Banta, who represented The Record for many years, is conveniently buried on an obit-local news page (L-5) -- just above a long Dean's List.

Let's hope Wacko picks Fatso for the GOP presidential ticket

A statue of Alexander Hamilton, a founding father who developed Paterson as one of the first industrial centers in the United States. The statue faces the Great Falls.

On Main Street in Hackensack, a neglected historical plaque notes the street once was called King's Highway and later Front Street.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Wacko racist billionaire Donald J. Trump has little chance of beating Hillary Clinton in the November presidential election, and he'd definitely seal his fate if he selected Governor Christie as a running mate.

Today, Christie tracker Matt Katz of WNYC-FM News sent an unsolicited memo to Trump on why he should and definitely should not pick his fellow Muslim hater as his vice presidential candidate on the GOP ticket.

In the negative, Katz cites the continuing problem of Bridgegate, including David Samson and missing emails and texts; and Christie's weight, which raises legitimate questions about his health.

Then, Katz notes "New Jersey doesn't like Christie" and the state "is in political paralysis."

Katz's reporting on Christie, including a book he wrote on Bridgegate, has been so far ahead of The Record's fawning Charles Stile, former Staff Writer Melissa Hayes and too-long-fan Alfred P. Doblin, editor of the editorial page.

Thumbs down on Kean

What a terrible civics lesson The Record splashed across Page 1 today in the form of a column from the clueless Mike Kelly.

Kelly reports that former Gov. Thomas Kean is so "disillusioned with Trump and ... Hillary Clinton that he might not vote for president" (A-1).

"As politicians," Kelly quotes Kean as saying, "he finds both lacking."

But that is why Kelly's and Editor Deirdre Sykes' relentless focus on politics is so wrong.

When they go to the polls, readers should judge Trump and Clinton on their plans for Social Security, health care, immigration and a host of other crucial issues, not on their politics.

And everyone should vote. 

Look at the unusually low turnout for municipal and school elections in Hackensack, and how apathetic residents have allowed one self-interested family to dominate the city for decades and to continue to run the schools.

In recent week, the Hackensack Board of Education picked Johanna Calle to fill a vacancy.

She was the only member of the Team Hackensack slate -- backed by former Mayor Jack Zisa and disgraced former Police Chief Ken Zisa -- to lose in April's school board election.

More politics

Besides Kelly's column on Kean, two other major elements on A-1 are devoted to partisan politics.

The only local human-interest story on Page 1 today is a gripping account of the July 13, 1895, hurricane that hit Cherry Hill, a section of what is now River Edge, killing three.

"In mere minutes, every house was splintered, tipped over or swept away," says Staff Writer Jay Levin, who is the local obituary writer.

Older drivers

A story from USA Today notes New Jersey ranks as the eighth-most dangerous state for older drivers (A-4).

Let's hope that rouses Staff Writer John Cichowski out of his deep sleep, and that the problem gets a lot more attention in his Road Warrior column, which has been devoted far too many times to the trials and tribulations of teen drivers.

Lincoln School

On the Local front today, a story notes the demolished Lincoln School in Englewood was "at the center of the school district's struggles with desegregation in the early 1960s" (L-1).

But Staff Writer Matthew McGrath neglects to report that many former and current residents who sent their kids to the Lincoln School are glad to see it go, because by the time it closed in 2008, it was segregated once again, and had only a few white students.

In recent years, Sykes has focused her reporting on desegregation efforts at Dwight Morrow High School, ignoring the city's segregated elementary and middle schools. 

I'm racking my brain on what Christie has done for us lately

The Anderson Street Bridge has finally reopened between Teanack and Hackensack after crews worked to strengthen the span, but traffic still is restricted to one lane in each direction. Meanwhile, two major eyesores on Cedar Lane at River Road in Teaneck -- a shuttered diner and a long-abandoned gas station -- have been demolished.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today's Page 1 story in The Record on how Governor Christie has frozen $2.7 billion in NJ Transit projects sounds horrendous.

That's until you realize it's a bargaining chip in the road-and-rail funding fight between the GOP bully and the Democrats in the state Legislature, and will probably be lifted in a week or two.

Then, commuters will go back to fighting each other for rush-hour seats on buses and trains, and Staff Writer Christopher Maag will continue to completely ignore them.

Veto crazy

Meanwhile, Christie has executed more than 500 vetoes and cut transit subsidies, causing far more damage to New Jersey residents than a temporary halt in road and rail projects.

Yet, Editor Deirdre Sykes continues to cover his every word, burp and fart on the front page, especially when he stumps for wacko racist Donald J. Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee (A-1).

The Record is the only major daily in the state that declined to call for Christie's resignation when he first endorsed Trump.

The A-1 story on housing -- next to the Christie-Trump campaign appearance -- reports the governor also has refused to enforce the state's existing affordable housing laws.

An advocate is quoted as saying the laws don't just benefit low- and moderate-income families -- which opponents take to mean minorities -- but also help disabled and elderly residents.

Local news?

Sykes continues to rely on court and other Law & Order news to fill her Local section (L-1 and L-3).

On L-2, a story on downtown Englewood seems to be saying officials aren't alarmed by a recent survey that found 27 store vacancies, because that is less than "a similar survey three years ago ... that there were 30 vacant storefronts."

So, I guess readers can conclude city economic development officials have done little or nothing about vacant storefronts for three years.

Staff Writer Matthew McGrath is mistaken when he reports Palisade Avenue has "four traffic lanes."

There are only two lanes each way between the monument and Grand Avenue/Engle Street, part of the reason traffic in the small city is horrendous.

Not just typos

Friday's edition of the weekly Hackensack Chronicle -- one of the papers the Gannett Co. bought from North Jersey Media Group -- contained typos in two headlines:

On Page 2, a headline said:

"Dinosaur exhibit set
for more to Teaneck"

The story was from Todd South of The Record, and he made clear the word in the headline should have been "move," not "more."

On Page 8 of the weekly, another headline said:

"Work is delayed on
Hackensack ats center"

The story from Staff Writer John Seasly of The Record was about the city's Performing Arts Center, not "ats center."

Editors boring us again with high school football, politics

The former Sears appliance store at 480 Main St. in Hackensack, above and below, is being demolished to make way for an ALDI supermarket, from a German company that also owns Trader Joe's. The store will be close to apartments on Main Street and on Euclid Avenue.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Editor Deirdre Sykes of The Record is a fool if she thinks tens of millions of Democrats haven't decided whether to vote for Hillary Clinton or wacko racist Donald Trump.

Today's front page is dominated by an idiotic headline over another crappy Associated Press story that tries to inject suspense into the nominating process and Nov. 8 presidential election:

"Time to get onboard?"

In New Jersey and other states, the tens of millions of Democrats who were "Ready for Hillary" long before she declared her candidacy are poised in five months to make her the first woman to hold the presidency.

The AP story leads with a "fractured" Democratic Party instead of focusing on the all-out civil war among conservative Republicans on whether to back Trump and endorse his hate speech against Muslims, Mexicans and others (A-1).

Football 'war'?

Sykes leads today's paper with some nonsense about a high school "football turf war" that is only of interest to a couple of dozen parents and coaches (A-1).

She sure knows how to bore readers.

Mansions such as this one on the East Hill, hundreds of apartments on both sides of Route 4 and a large industrial section generate tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue for Englewood, yet the city's public schools are failing and downtown store vacancies are mounting.

Englewood election

A story on Englewood politics ends with Councilman Michael Cohen, winner of the Democratic primary on Tuesday, vowing to "limit tax increases" (L-1).

Sykes and Staff Writer Matthew McGrath want you to think Englewood is a municipal paradise where the only worry is high property taxes.

In fact, vacant storefronts, elementary and middle schools with few white students, and a high number of failing high schoolers tell another story -- one The Record ignores, even though North Jersey Media Group Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg has lived in a mansion on the city's East Hill for decades.

Even if cleared in Bridgegate, Christie still is biggest loser

This front page ran in the Daily News in January 2014, and proved prophetic. The News, Star-Ledger and other newspapers have covered Governor Christie and his administration far more honestly than The Record of Woodland Park.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Since Governor Christie took office in early 2010, New Jersey has become a laughing stock.

And a couple of months ago, Christie's endorsement of fellow Muslim-hater Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination prompted the editorial boards of seven major New Jersey dailies to call for his resignation.

"He has answered every crisis with neglect during his disastrous second term," The Star-Ledger noted on March 3, calling on him to leave office for "New Jersey's sake."

The state's biggest newspaper listed the state's fiscal crisis as second worst in the nation, including Atlantic City on the brink of bankruptcy, a mass-transit system in disrepair and an infrastructure fund fast running out of money.

The Woodland Park daily was the only major New Jersey paper that continued to give Christie the benefit of the doubt, filling its column recently with upbeat assessments of his selection as Trump's transition chief -- in the unlikely event the billionaire racist is elected in November.

"Make America Hate Again" is one critic's take on Trump's message.

By his side

Today and Thursday, The Record ran self-serving statements from Christie that all but absolved him in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal less than two months before he was elected to a second term in 2013.

The Record has done exhaustive reporting on the scandal, and now takes credit for leading other media companies in getting federal prosecutors to release a list of "unindicted co-conspirators" that was kept secret after Christie's close aide and crony were charged with conspiracy.

Two of three access lanes to GWB upper-level tool booths were closed in the week of Sept. 9, 2013, as political retribution against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, supposedly for not supporting the governor's reelection campaign.

A second list "is expected to offer the broadest portrait yet of who knew about the conspiracy but did not report it" (A-1).

Worst governor ever

Whether one or both lists are released today and whether Christie is on them is irrelevant in view of his mean-spirited rule of New Jersey, and his war on the middle and working classes.

For a hands-on governor to claim he didn't know what his closest aides and cronies were doing is preposterous, and he long ago was convicted in the court of public opinion.

No matter what happens in Bridgegate, Christie's reign has been disastrous for the state and its residents.

He is the biggest loser, and we are the victims of his personal ambition.

Today's paper

I've seen some terrific headlines in The Record recently, but the one over the GWB scandal today is just ridiculous:

"Seeking
clarity in
political
morass"

Readers have no clue from the main or sub-headline what "political morass" the headline writer is referring to, and it could very well be the deadlock in Congress or the State House.

Of course, a big problem is the huge story on GWB repairs that is displayed next to the scandal story, even though the project doesn't get under way until next year (A-1).

Infrastructure stories such as this are a poor choice for Page 1, but Editor Deirdre Sykes is desperate, because she can't inspire her transportation reporters -- Paul Berger, Christopher Maag and John Cichowski -- to cover the actual commuting crisis in North Jersey.

Rare victory

Another Page 1 story today marks a rare victory over the Christie administration's poor environmental policies (A-1).

The state is dropping plans to "bring large-scale development to Liberty State Park" in Jersey City.

Hackensack police Lt. James Prise, second from right, at the March 8 ceremony in City Council Chambers with his wife and children.

Hackensack news?

Staff Writer John Seasly has done a poor job of covering Hackensack, but he has been all over the embarrassing public ceremony in March to recognize the promotion of the city's first black police lieutenant to captain, another first for an African-American.

Less than a month later, Lt. James Prise was returned to his original rank after he learned he had failed part of his state civil service exam.

Now, Councilwoman Deborah Keeling-Geddis, who also is black, issued a public apology and said Prise "did not deserve to suffer this indignity" (L-1).

Today, Seasly reports her statement "angered the mayor and deputy mayor, who accused her of political maneuvering and of going against the lieutenant's wishes."

Poor coverage

Seasly disappointed Hackensack residents by not covering the issues in the April 19 school election or the Zisa family's attempted political comeback by backing three of the nine candidates.

The election deserved attention, because only about 1,300 of 20,000 registered voters usually cast ballots.

This year, only 895 of them approved a $79 million tax levy to support the $104 million school spending plan, bigger than the city's own budget.

School taxes make up 44% of the total bill in Hackensack.

Voter apathy, apparent in Hackensack's local elections, can be traced to The Record's irresponsibly poor coverage of the city it once called home.