Hudson County Sheriff’s Officers Round Up Deadbeat Parents in Statewide Crackdown: Of those arrested in Hudson County, one Jersey City man led the list of deadbeat dads, owing a total of $110,299 in missed child support payments for one child, officials said.

Administration Reveals Which Charters Have Made the First Cut: Two Jersey City charters are still in the running, while another two were eliminated. Look for more from JCI later today.

The Future of Jersey City Leadership: The Jersey Journal‘s Political Insider looks at the current City Council and at the future mayoral elections.

Two Developers Seeking Subsidies for High-Rise Development in Jersey City: As North Jersey’s apartment market heats up and vacancy rates continue a two-year drop in the region, some developers planning for-rent residential buildings are lining up for lucrative state tax breaks.

Crime Blotter: Jersey City police said yesterday that a 23-year-old waste management employee shot seven times on his way to work Saturday morning was likely the target of a robbery; for the second year in a row, holiday wreaths that were placed around the entrance door of the Sacred Heart School in Jersey City were stolen.

Today’s Best Bets:

Enjoy some cookies, cider, caroling and an appearance by Santa at the third annual Angel Ramos Park Tree Lighting (6 pm, free).

Then warm up with a Whiskey Tasting at the Iron Monkey (appetizers included, 7 pm, $20).

At 9 pm, check out the monthly Shut Up & Laugh comedy night at the Lamp Post, with Sue Funke, Kate Hendricks, Matthew Kelly, Pat Stango and Raquel D’Apice (free, donations accepted).

In Statewide News:

Unusual Move by Christie in Feud Over Judgeships: Caught in a power struggle with the State Senate, Gov. Chris Christie took an unusual tack on Monday, moving the state’s attorney general, Paula Dow, into a top job at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, but only until she can be confirmed as a judge in Essex County.

Congressional Redistricting Causing Panic in the House: With the deadline for a new Congressional map just over a week away, sources connected with the redistricting commission report that members of the state’s House delegation are on heightened alert, each wary that the seat that disappears could be theirs.

As Federal Healthcare Subsidy Winds Down, What Will Happen to NJ’s Early Retirees?: Health coverage subsidies to cover prescription drugs for state and local government workers who retired early topped $300 million — including $98.6 million to the state of New Jersey and $4.6 million to the city of and Jersey City.

Bill Would End Wait to Wed: A bill would eliminate the state’s 72-hour waiting period for a marriage license in order to give New Jersey a “competitive edge” over neighboring states when it comes to tourism dollars generated from weddings.

Critics Contend New Bill Imperils Water Quality, Encourages Sprawl: Despite strong protests from virtually all of the state’s environmental organizations, a Senate committee yesterday easily approved a bill that would delay much contested water quality management rules, a step opponents said would weaken protections that safeguard drinking water and avert sprawl.

NJ Nets Owner Takes on Putin in Russian Election: Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia’s richest tycoons and the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, said Monday he will run against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election.

Mayor Healy Announces Nomination for Vacant Ward F Seat: Michele Massey, the executive director of the Monticello Community Development Corporation, will be Mayor Healy’s nominee for the vacated Ward F council seat.

Breakthrough in Shannan Gilbert Case: Police investigating a suspected serial murder on Long Island say they have found a purse, cellphone and jeans belonging to Shannan Gilbert, a Jersey City woman missing since May 2010. Suffolk County Police believe she drowned.

Developers Plan to Build 1,000 Apartments in Exchange Place: Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, along with the Hoboken-based Ironstate Development Company, announced Wednesday that the two companies have formed a joint venture to develop luxury multi-family rental towers on the Jersey City waterfront in the Exchange Place financial area.

Couple arrested at Holland Tunnel Entrance for Unpaid Tolls: A Linden couple that owes the Port Authority more than $1,400 in unpaid tolls was busted yesterday afternoon at the entrance to the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, officials said.

Crime Blotter: A man stole five bottles of liquor from a Downtown liquor store and the store owner was injured during a fall while he tried to chase the suspect down on Tuesday, officials said; a 48-year-old Jersey City man suffered a vicious beating at the hands of four men in front of his Virginia Avenue home Monday night, police said; Jersey City police responding to a car theft in progress in Country Village yesterday morning arrested the felon found inside the parked car after a chase through backyards, reports said.

Today’s Best Bets:

In two art openings tonight, check out the work of French photographer Genevieve Gleize in 50 Dey Street, inspired by CANCOlofts (6 pm, free); and a group exhibition by artists living with paralysis at Rise Up Gallery at City Hall (6 pm, free).

Single art lovers can find a date at the Art of Dating: Singles Night at WOOLPUNKstudios (7pm, $10), then head to
JC Live, an open performance showcase of music, dance, spoken word and film at Downtown Live at 8:30 pm ($5). At the Lamp Post, Omega Please, Shen and CPHARRIK play a free show at 10 pm.

In Statewide News:

Christie Tells Man in Town Hall Audience to Give the Mic Back: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie unleashed his wrath on a man at a town hall meeting and ordered him to give up the microphone after he ventured to ask the governor whether members of his staff ever “plant questions” at such events.

Letter Spurs Hearing in NJ Abortion Lawsuit: A lawsuit filed by a group of nurses over abortions performed at a Newark hospital is headed back to court a week earlier than expected, after the hospital said it will hire additional staff to provide support for patients undergoing the procedure.

The High Cost of Public Healthcare in New Jersey: New Jersey public healthcare spending was among the highest in the nation in 2009.

Teachers in Trouble for Posting Personal Comments on Facebook: The New Jersey teachers union is providing legal help in two cases in which New Jersey teachers made controversial personal comments on Facebook.

Photos: Steve Gold

City Hall’s council chambers were packed last night with supporters of the McGinley Square East Redevelopment Plan, including throngs of construction workers lining the back wall and a handful of representatives from St. Peter’s College, who all greeted the unanimously passed plan with loud applause.

The months-long plan went through numerous revisions, including a change in development classification after an uproar about potential eminent domain use, before ultimately being passed last night.

“This gives the true sense of how Jersey City residents get together and communicate with each other,” Ward D councilman Bill Gaughan said. “It seemed doomed to failure at the beginning.”

The plan got off to an inauspicious start when letters were sent to residents and businesses located within the designated plan area alerting them to the possible use of eminent domain to acquire their property, resulting in a very vocal public backlash. The city has since said these letters were sent out erroneously, but the damage had already been done. Residents in the area and across the city coalesced over what they considered an abuse of government power. Despite the city’s verbal assurances that eminent domain was off the table, most notably by planning director Bob Cotter, it wasn’t until the plan was designated as in need of “rehabilitation” rather than “redevelopment” — a designation that eliminated the possibility of eminent domain — that the issue was settled.

Ward C Councilwoman Nidia Lopez called the process “a learning experience,” adding that it was “rewarding” that “the people of Jersey City were heard.”

Supporters who spoke at the meeting included the president of St. Peter’s College, Eugene Cornacchia, who described the area as the “historic seem holding the city together,” and that this plan “provided the revitalization it deserves. This plan is good for Jersey City.”

Patrick Keller, the president of the Hudson County Building Trades Union, said many of the construction workers in attendance “have been out for a year, two years, with loss of benefits. These are men and women who want to go back to work.”

Council President Peter Brennan added that the plan will not only provide jobs, but redevelop an area that many think could use a facelift.

“We’re creating jobs and not just on the waterfront, but also the inner city,” he said. “Now we can develop an area that needs developing.”

The developer’s proposal for the area calls for 370,000 square feet of new retail space, 230,000 square feet of new office space, five residential towers, a 150-room hotel and an entertainment center featuring a new movie theater. It would also expand McGinley Square park and create two new pedestrian-only thoroughfares, which the developer envisions as being lined with retail shops, restaurants and bars. (One would run from Tuers to Jordan Avenues in between Montgomery and Mercer Streets, and the other would run from Nevins Street to Monticello Avenue between Storms Avenue and Orchard Street.)

Assuming things go as the developer plans, this multi-phase project would break ground next August, with the bulk of the development completed by the summer or fall of 2016.

- Rats: A residential Jersey City neighborhood that is also home to industrial warehouses has been inundated with rats for months, an invasion some residents blame on the massive cleanup on the nearby Garfield Avenue chromium site.

- Port Authority Scraps Bus Depot Plans: Commuters will continue to face a long line of empty buses snarling traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel after the Port Authority scrapped plans to build a new bus garage in Manhattan. Port Authority officials say they can’t afford the $800 million project because recent toll increases were lower than proposed.

- 2013 Council Election: While Jersey City’s politicos are focused on November’s special election to fill two vacancies on the City Council, city teen Demetrius Terry is concentrating on the May 2013 city election.

- Car Accident: Five Jersey City females were injured, two of them seriously, when the 21-year-old driver of the SUV they were in lost control of the vehicle yesterday morning and slammed into a utility pole.

- Failed Meat Cleaver Attack: A naked, meat cleaver-wielding man was arrested Friday morning after he streaked by a police officer while chasing another man.

Today’s Best Bet:

Statue of Liberty historian Barry Moreno will give a talk on the legendary landmark at NJCU today, followed by a reception featuring the student illustrations of Ellis Island created by NJCU students last semester (3 pm).

In Statewide News:

- Christie & the White House: Gov. Christie’s political advisers are working to determine whether they could move fast enough to set up effective political operations in Iowa and New Hampshire in the wake of a relentless courtship aimed at persuading him to plunge into the race for the Republican presidential nomination. As he continues to mull a run for the White House, the Ledger looks to his past races for clues into his thinking, while Politicker wonders who the state GOP would run in the 2013 election.

- ARC Tunnel Bill Settled: New Jersey and the federal government have agreed to settle their tab for money spent on the canceled ARC commuter rail tunnel between Secaucus and New York for $95 million — about a third of the $271 million bill Gov. Christie was originally sent.

- Charter Schools: When the Christie administration last week announced it approved just four new charter schools out of nearly 60 applicants (one of which is in Jersey City), it came with a message of quality over quantity from Gov. Chris Christie’s top education officials. But there were clearly a few factors in play, from the politics of the upcoming legislative election to the changing rules in the department itself.

- Solar Power: New Jersey has passed California as the No.1 producer of solar energy in commercial markets, according to a recent solar trade report. But unless New Jersey changes the way the industry is financed, the system will crash and the state will never be able to maintain its lead, said Lyle Rawlings, founder and president of the Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industries Association.

As we reported earlier today, the land sale was apparently contingent on the developer being granted a long-term tax abatement for the market-rate housing units on the site. But the JCRA says that wasn’t what derailed the deal. Instead, Tessler’s concerns for “market conditions” and the “uncertainty for construction financing” were the primary cause for tabling the project, according to a release sent out by the JCRA.

“The agency worked diligently to bring this matter to a swift conclusion so as not to delay the city from making decisions regarding its budget,” JCRA executive director Robert Antonicello says in a statement. “The agency has been directed by the mayor’s office to revisit the site for alternative solutions.”

City officials have put the $15 million projected land sale into the proposed 2011 budget; no word as of yet how this will change that document. We’ll keep you posted.

Rendering of the once-proposed development courtesy of the JCRA

A developer’s rendering of the proposed new-look McGinley Square. The shot above is Montgomery Street looking east from Bergen Avenue; the shot below at right is a proposed pedestrian mall that would run east-west from Jordan Avenue to Tuers Avenue, in between Montgomery and Mercer Streets.

The West Bergen/Lincoln Park Neighborhood Coalition and Bergen Communities United are hosting two public meetings next week to discuss the McGinley Square East Redevelopment Plan, which is now set to go before the City Council on September 27.

“Please make it a point to attend at least one of the meetings to raise any questions/concerns/recommendations you may have regarding the plan,” West Bergen/Lincoln Park Neighborhood Coalition president Charlene Burke writes in an email to neighborhood residents. “This will be our last chance to have important input into a plan that will impact the entire neighborhood surrounding McGinley Square.”

The proposal calls for 370,000 square feet of new retail space, 230,000 square feet of new office space, five residential towers, a 150-room hotel and an entertainment center featuring a new movie theater. It would also expand McGinley Square park and create two new pedestrian-only thoroughfares, which the developer envisions as being lined with retail shops, restaurants and bars. (One would run from Tuers to Jordan Avenues in between Montgomery and Mercer Streets, and the other would run from Nevins Street to Monticello Avenue between Storms Avenue and Orchard Street.)

Assuming things go as the developer plans, this multi-phase project would break ground next August, with the bulk of the development completed by the summer or fall of 2016.

The plan has been contentious this summer for its possible use of eminent domain; at this point, city officials say they have taken that option completely off the table.

THE DETAILS

Public Meetings on McGinley Square East Redevelopment Plan; Monday, September 19 and Tuesday, September 20 at 7 pm; at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 38 Duncan Avenue.

A developer’s rendering of the proposed new-look McGinley Square. The shot above is Montgomery Street looking east from Bergen Avenue; the shot below at right is a proposed pedestrian mall that would run east-west from Jordan Avenue to Tuers Avenue, in between Montgomery and Mercer Streets

By changing the designation of the area covered by the McGinley Square East Redevelopment Plan, Jersey City officials have, for once and for all, taken the issue of eminent domain off the table.

The use of eminent domain in the plan has been a vocal sticking point between residents and the city ever since letters warning about its potential use first arrived at homeowners’ mailboxes without any warning from city officials, despite the fact that no one said they wanted to use it. Even after Planning director Bob Cotter assured upset residents and activists that eminent domain would not be used, and it was written out of the plan, its specter still loomed, since the area was designated “in need of redevelopment.”

But by changing that to “in need of rehabilitation,” city officials have completely eliminated eminent domain as a legal option.

“If an area is in need of rehabilitation, eminent domain cannot be used; if it is in need of redevelopment, eminent domain can be used,” city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill says. “This re-designation takes away the city’s ability to use eminent domain.”

An ambitious development proposal is waiting in the wings for the City Council to approve the redevelopment plan; the council is expected to take it up at its next meeting, on September 14.

The proposal calls for 370,000 square feet of new retail space, 230,000 square feet of new office space, five residential towers, a 150-room hotel and an entertainment center featuring a new movie theater. It would also expand McGinley Square park and create two new pedestrian-only thoroughfares, which the developer envisions as being lined with retail shops, restaurants and bars. (One would run from Tuers to Jordan Avenues in between Montgomery and Mercer Streets, and the other would run from Nevins Street to Monticello Avenue between Storms Avenue and Orchard Street.)

Assuming things go as the developer plans, this multi-phase project would break ground next August, with the bulk of the development completed by the summer or fall of 2016.

As Morrill notes, recent state-approved changes to Jersey City’s Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) map mean that the developer will be able to apply for tax abatements if it so chooses.

“When we overlaid the McGinley Square area with the UEZ map, we determined that the vast majority of the area is in a UEZ zone,” she says. “In order to be able to get a long-term tax abatement, an area must be in need of redevelopment or in a UEZ zone.”

“We believe this change is fair and appropriate to accommodate the issues of the residents while further enhancing the community and businesses in the area,” Morrill adds.

Ward E councilman Steven Fulop says the changes to the plan show that citizens who want government to work for them can succeed.

“It is a win for the community, and speaks to what an organized community can do,” he says. “This is the way it should have been from the start: a plan that will improve the area without the risk of eminent domain.”

Whenever you see the threat of eminent domain used to pressure homeowners to sell their property to another private individual, or face the threat of a government taking your land at a price of their choosing to turn over to wealthy developers, one has to question the moral integrity of elected officials.

Just because the Supreme Court distorted the law beyond what would be recognized by any previous generation of Americans, does not mean that we should stand by idly and allow this cudgel to be used as a weapon to drive people from their homes.

It becomes especially important to speak out when we witness the fear and stress of the situation literally making people who feel so helpless and ill.

On Wednesday evening, I attended the City Council meeting and heard a woman, a victim of government overreach, speak out passionately against the eminent domain threat to her and her neighbors. Minutes later, I met this same woman outside the meeting room; she was under such emotional strain that an ambulance had to be called for her. I later found out that this woman, in fact, had a heart attack.

It is my understanding that there are others that have become physically ill due to the stress of the situation. There was also someone who spoke at the meeting that mentioned the feeling of intimidation because large, burly men were part of the process.

Our city has made it clear that they will not remove the threat of eminent domain permanently from this proposed project, leaving people with the knowledge that even if they don’t want to sell, they would still be forced from their homes. This gives incredible negotiating leverage to the developer.

This is being done by our local government and thus being done in our names. We should not allow this to happen and I for one will do everything in my power to attempt to prevent this governmental overreach.

I am all for development by private individuals, I’m all for individuals coming to an agreement to buy and sell property in the open market — but I am against the coercive use of governmental power to transfer property from one private individual to another.

Eminent domain has its uses in the correct context; the building of public roads, schools, hospitals, court houses and libraries. This is not it.

Let’s stand up for what is morally correct and for our fellow residents. Remove the thought of eminent domain permanently.

With all that people must contend with in this day, high stress due to job loss, high property taxes, potential home loss, reval, we will remember you as the Brutus of Jersey City if you allow this to continue.

Yours in liberty,
Esther Wintner

The development, located at 317-319 Pacific Avenue, features eight units of affordable housing and commercial space that will house the offices of the nonprofit Morris Canal Community Development Corporation, which helped spearhead the project. The commercial space will also serve as a meeting place for community events. The development team is being led by The Metro Company and built by Black Dog Construction, both of Jersey City, while the building was designed by the Perth Amboy firm ASA + Zambrano Architects.

The project, which will contain five two-bedroom apartments and three three-bedroom apartments, is being funded by several sources, including the state Department of Community Affairs, BCB Bank, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York and Jersey City.

The official groundbreaking ceremony is slated for Wednesday, July 27 at 11 am.

The City Council today gave final approval to amendments in the Liberty Harbor North Redevelopment Plan that will allow the deal to take another step forward.

The new building “will consist of 422 residential units, 15,000 square feet of retail space and the Boys & Girls Club,” according to city spokesperson Jennifer Morrill. Construction is expected to begin on the new facility this fall, and be completed by 2013.

Gary Greenberg, the executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County, called the change of homes “an exciting opportunity for the Club to, in relatively short time, move into a 21st century state of art facility” — a vast improvement over the Club’s current digs, which he said were “antiquated and constantly under repair.”

The Club is selling its current location to the developer KRE Group, which hopes to tear it down (but not until after the Club successfully moves) and build two residential towers.

“The details for the project are currently being discussed with the Planning Division,” Morrill tells JCI. “The developer hopes to present its plans to the Planning Board by September.”

The Boys & Girls Club will use proceeds from the sale to own its portion of the new building, much like a condo owner would in a residential building.