As the Legislature considers a newly revised bill that would revamp our state’s public records law, the choice for Gov. Phil Murphy and the Democrats who rule Trenton is clear: They can emulate Democrats in Michigan, or Republicans in Louisiana. In Michigan, Democrats are moving toward expanding their public records law by finally extending it to the Legislature and governor’s office, a move the state’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is expected to support. Down in Louisiana, Republicans are heading in the opposite direction with a bill that would shield ..read more

At long last, it appears that the Pershing Field ice rink will reopen for public use. At least that was the word at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. The city is aiming to open it by the September start of the hockey season. But it offered no further details. Mike Mariniello, President of the Jersey City Capitals, expressed gratitude for the rink’s improved fortunes. “The City Council and Business Administrator have been tremendous partners during this process and we look forward to a fruitful partnership as we continue to provide services to the entire Jersey City community.”  At t ..read more

Senate lawmakers approved a controversial bill Thursday to retool the Open Public Records Act over a chorus of objectors who warned lawmakers were pushing government secrecy. The Senate’s budget committee approved the bill in a 10-3 vote after more than three hours of testimony that consisted mainly of warnings that the bill would essentially make the public records law inoperable to residents because it would kill the law’s enforcement mechanism. Two Republicans, Sens. Declan O’Scanlon and Michael Testa, and one Democrat, Sen. Andrew Zwicker, voted no. “The bill remains deeply flawed. Many r ..read more

This weekend, Jersey City has Mother’s Day events, Art Crawl The Heights, and a Liberty State Park-South Master Plan Open House. Plus, there’s a Community Garage Sale, a Bike JC Monthly Light-Up Ride, and more. Friday Chilltown Street Club – Weekly Cooldown: 45min Yoga | Fri., May 10 | 8:15-9:15 a.m. | Betty’s Ceramics Club, 224 Ninth St., Jersey City | Free | Join us for a 45min yoga session from Betty’s Ceramics Club! The weekly cooldown is structured to get you ready for the weekend. For more info, go here. Opening Reception: “A Hidden Unveiling” | Fri., May 10 | 6-8 p.m. | Art House ..read more

McNair Academic High School continues to produce national award winners. The latest is Senegalese-born Rayana Ba, who along with her teacher, Sundoes Elbery, are to become part of the 2024 Bezos Scholars Program cohort. “I’m excited to be a Scholar to bring real positive change to my diverse community and look forward to meeting my fellow scholars and learning about them and their ideas” said Ba, who moved from France to the United States when she was six. Ba will be going on an all-expenses paid trip to the Aspen Ideas Festival, where she and other students will engage in leadership training ..read more

A Jersey City woman was arrested today and charged with burglarizing two U.S. Post Offices on six occasions. At the time of her arrest, she was in possession of a large number of apparently stolen credit cards. According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Zyeama Johnson, 29, broke into one Hudson County post office five times; on January 10, 13, 21, 26, and February 3 of 2023. On February 7, 2023, Johnson broke into a second post office location and was arrested by law enforcement conducting surveillance as she left the building. While the exact post offices were not disclosed, it appears ..read more

Mayor Fulop has proposed a $724 million budget for fiscal year 2024, which he says will mark the 8th time in his ten budgets that municipal taxes will rise by 2% or less. The budget will be introduced at tonight’s meeting of the Jersey City Municipal Council. In a press release, the mayor said the budget represents his administrations’ “focus on fiscal responsibility.” “While fixed costs are nearly double the rate of inflation – such as 6% increases for health insurance and pension contributions – this budget is responsible and still expands critical city services that residents rely on,”&nbs ..read more

New Jersey lawmakers plan to consider on Thursday an amended version of a bill that would add restrictions to the state’s Open Public Records Act, with the changes meant to appease critics — who remain very much unappeased. Transparency advocates and community activists testified against the bill for hours at two March hearings held just days after the bill was introduced. Lawmakers yanked it from a scheduled vote amid continuing discontent a few days later to make amendments. A draft of those amendments circulated this week, renewin ..read more

Thank you to Jersey City Times Editorial Board for their editorial of April 29, 2024, in which they advocated for the building of neighborhood recreation centers in Jersey City instead of expensive projects such as the Centre Pompidou. In February 2024, I advocated that the Pompidou satellite location in Jersey City should be abandoned given its extraordinarily high cost and the need to address other pressing issues in our City. The Pompidou museum will incur substantial costs at every stage of development from the purchase of the Pathside Building, the issuing of debt to cover the cost of pu ..read more

A sparring match between Jersey City lawmakers  and city Public Safety Director James Shea headlined Monday’s City Council caucus. In other matters, the council got a preview of the 2024 municipal budget, a plan to fund city tax appeal liabilities, a service shift for the city animal shelter, a preview of upcoming improvements at a Downtown apartment complex and heard a plan for more affordable units in Journal Square.   Also, Ward C Councilmember Richard Boggiano called for legislation that would permit the inclusion of affordable housing units in buildings with 30 or mor ..read more