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Yesterday, hundreds of Jersey City’s elected officials, police and citizens participated in the 26th annual National Night Out against crime (NNO), which consists of crime and drug prevention events in communities all over the country. But last night’s festivities in Jersey City had a slightly different tone than in years past. In addition to the usual community gatherings in each of the city’s four police districts, memorial services for fallen police officer Marc DiNardo and murder victim Darius Burgess were held, as well as a a lively protest against corruption on the steps of City Hall.

At the Villa Borinquen housing complex on Manila Avenue, Mayor Healy, Freeholder Eliu Rivera, Police Director Sam Jefferson and others remembered Police Officer Marc DiNardo, who was fatally wounded in a shootout on Reed Street last month. DiNardo’s widow Mary accepted an award on his behalf, and three other officers who were wounded in that incident also received awards.

photo by Steve Gold

Meanwhile, just down the street at City Hall, about 300 had gathered at a rally organized by Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop to protest the alleged crimes of more than a dozen city elected officials, employees and their advisors that came to light as part of a massive federal corruption bust less than two weeks ago. Fulop and other speakers at the rally demanded the immediate resignation of Council President Mariano Vega*, and some members of the crowd also called for the resignations of Mayor Healy and Ward C Councilwoman Nidia Rivera Lopez.

Community activist and recent mayoral candidate Dan Levin, whose One Jersey City group staged a similar rally on the steps of City Hall before last Wednesday’s city council meeting, had mixed feelings about Fulop’s rally. Speaking to JCI at the city-sponsored North District event in Pershing Field, Levin said that “while it’s good that people came out, … on this particular night … my personal sentiments are here.” He remarked that particularly on the heels of Officer DiNardo’s death, the “appropriate” way to celebrate NNO is at an event where police and the community can meet and “humanize” their relationship.

Speaking with the press after the ceremony at Villa Borinquen, Mayor Healy had rather harsher words about Fulop’s event. He characterized the rally as an attempt by Fulop to “make political hay” out of NNO: “I don’t have a lot of respect for it,” he said. Ward D Councilman Bill Gaughan, who spoke to JCI at Pershing Field, responded similarly; he called Fulop’s decision to hold the anti-corruption rally on the same night as NNO “unbelievable,” saying Fulop was merely “patting [himself] on the back.”

From Fulop’s perspective, the rally was a success. To loud cheers, he told the crowd that he intends to reintroduce a developer pay-to-play initiative at the next council meeting, saying “we will pass it or we will shame [the administration].”

Former mayor Bret Schundler was among the protesters. “Outraged” by the arrests, he called on Mayor Healy “to say what he did know” about the money that was changing hands and allegedly finding its way into his campaign war chest. Resident Fay Wright called her presence at the rally “an obligation … as a taxpayer.” Allyson Murphy and Tim Catts, recent transplants from Brooklyn to Ward E, had come to support their councilman; Murphy called him “one of the only good guys.” Catts said the matter was “clear-cut … if you’re indicted on federal corruption charges, you ought to resign.”

Fulop also criticized Governor Corzine for not including Jersey City in an executive order issued Monday that halted development approvals in Ridgefield, whose mayor was indicted as part of last month’s federal bust. He accused the governor of applying a “double standard … because Jersey City is politically important” in this year’s gubernatorial race. Healy bristled at the suggestion that Jersey City’s development approvals should come under additional scrutiny, calling the city’s process “open, honest and … very productive.” At last week’s council meeting, the council unanimously approved a resolution to open to the public the committee that oversees tax abatements, which was formerly chaired by Vega*.

A more solemn tone prevailed at Cosmo “Gussy” DiSanto Playground on West Side Avenue, where Miriam Melendez’s son Darius Burgess was shot and killed in June. Melendez and Councilwoman Lopez organized a vigil at the playground to commemorate Burgess’s death, as well as that of Charles Desron Mincey, who was murdered in 1997.

Melendez, who appeared at the city council meeting on July 15 to present petitions for safety improvements to the park, pointed to overgrown trees and a lack of lighting as factors that contribute to crime in the area. She credited Councilwoman Lopez with getting one tree removed, but said that more needed to be done. Charles Mincey’s mother Brenda cited the lack of recreational programs as a reason that some youngsters become involved in gangs. “We don’t get our fair share in this area,” said Rampaul Guyadeen, a neighborhood resident who was at the vigil.

Councilwoman Lopez said yesterday that while walking past the park around noon, she had been accosted and threatened by a group of men who mistakenly thought she was taking their picture with her cellphone. “There’s a real problem in that park,” she said, adding that she is “hoping” she will be able to make the improvements Melendez and the community are asking for. “I’m not scared of these punks,” she said.