Jersey City Rallies Against School Vouchers: Some 50 people rallied yesterday at a Jersey City school against proposed state legislation that would use public money to pay for the private school education of some low-income students. Look for more education coverage from JCI today.

Old Dye Factory to be Demolished: Demolition of the “Purple People” building on Ege Avenue across from the Hudson Mall on Route 440 started yesterday. For nearly 40 years, residents living near the Dye Specialties Inc. plant at 407 Ege Avenue had to contend with strange odors, colored dust and other factory issues that they said affected their quality of life.

Library’s Civil War Document Returning to Virginia: A 220-year-old court ledger found in the Jersey City Public Library is being returned to the Stafford Courthouse in Stafford, Virgina.

Downtown Councilman Collecting Toy Donations: An organization founded by Downtown Jersey City Councilman Steven Fulop will be collecting toys and coats that will be given away during the holiday season.

Today’s Best Bets:

Meet two breweries tonight at local beer bars: Victory Brewing Company will be at Barcade with more than a dozen varieties beginning at 5 pm. At 6 pm, Uinta Brewing Company comes to the Iron Monkey with six of their craft beers.

Hiroshi Kumagai‘s new solo exhibition kicks off tonight at 58 Gallery with a free opening reception (6 pm). Read our Q&A with Kumagai to learn more about his work.

In Statewide News:

New Jersey Labor Deptartment Launches ‘On Ramp’ Job Search Engine: The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development Wednesday launched a job-search engine on the website — Jobs4Jersey.com — to help New Jersey’s unemployed find work.

New Jersey Aid Holdup May Force Towns to Borrow to Pay Workers: New Jersey lawmakers’ inaction on $139 million in state funding for cities in financial distress is forcing some local officials to delay payments to school districts and vendors and consider borrowing to make payroll.

World AIDS Day Report: Many New Jerseyans are living with AIDS rather than dying from it.

The clinic, located in the medical building at 115 Christopher Columbus Drive, provides free testing and free treatment for the sexually transmitted diseases HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia. After an initial layoff notice’s termination date was extended multiple times, the city has now informed the employees that the layoffs have been rescinded, at least for the moment, because they could no longer extend the notifications under state civil service laws.

Though the fate of the health workers’ positions remains unclear, the move became a necessity because of further complications bogging down the city’s intention to transfer the services to Horizon, a private entity that the state has not determined as being fully capable of addressing the state-mandated services. The administration removed the money to fund the clinic from its not-yet-adopted 2011 budget proposal, thinking it would be able to save the approximately $600,000 it says it spends running the clinic. But as summer drags into fall, it is unclear when the administration will get to reap the savings it seeks. Now that the clinic worker layoffs have been rescinded, for instance, the entire layoff process would have to be restarted and a new 45-day notice would have to be given before they could come off the payroll.

The most recent issue to confront the city is a letter from Natalie Pawlenko, the state’s acting director of local public health in the Department of Health and Senior Services, who suggests that if the city were to close the clinic, as planned, on August 18, “mandated medical services will not be available to the residents of Jersey City.”

“Two options are available which will be acceptable to this department and serve to those individuals seeking care,” Pawlenko’s August 5 letter says. “The clinic can be kept open until such time as its replacement is vetted and approved by this department. Another option would be to enter into an agreement with another local health agency to provide services to Jersey City residents.”

The city has chosen to go with option one, and it will continue to try to push the Horizon privatization plan through the proper state agencies.

“The city will continue to run the clinic, until if and when the state approves a transfer to Horizon,” city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill says. However, she adds that Pawlenko’s letter was a bit of a surprise, since another division within the state Department of Health and Senior Services had never spoken up against the city’s plan.

“[The city] was initially in contact with the Division of HIV, STD & TB Services about our initiative to delegate another agency to provide STD services to Jersey City residents. This division of the Department of Health and Senior Services oversees STD programs statewide and is the source for funding. The city has never received any negative feedback from this division about the plan to transfer services,” Morrill says. “In fact, they understood the rationale behind the plan as other government units have or are doing the same. The initial response from the division indicated they would prefer to fund Horizon directly. The city supports that decision and is waiting for the award to be made. Horizon has applied and is awaiting word on the award.”

Pawlenko’s letter echos criticisms lodged by residents, several council members, and clinic workers as the details of the Horizon deal have come to light. Despite assurances by both business administrator Jack Kelly and Health and Human Services director Harry Melendez that the city was in close contact with the state and was on the right side of its obligations, this latest letter suggests that there may be a communication gap between city and state officials regarding the Horizon matter.

Chuck Carol, who represents the clinic workers as Jersey City Public Employees Inc. Local 246 president, says he was unsurprised by the letter, since from the beginning he suspected the city was overreaching in its decision. Carol also fears the privatization plan would diminish the quality of the service, noting the “ancillary services provided by the clinic,” where health workers meet with patients on a more personal, and helpful, level than what he believes Horizon would provide. However, Carol also cautions that the city has “not given up yet” on trying to lay off the employees and close the clinic.

Pawlenko closes her letter by warning the city that her office is prepared to act if the city’s plan is not deemed suitable.

“This office takes very seriously any violation which would jeopardize the health and welfare of the citizens of the state,” she writes. “If a suitable solution is not found, we are ready to pursue regulatory options available to us which may include, but not be limited to the withholding of grant monies and action against any license holders.”

- Union Challenges City-Worker Layoffs: Unions representing Jersey City municipal employees have filed an appeal with the state Civil Service Commission, challenging some 100 layoffs the administration has carried out so far this year.

- Aid for Cities: Gov. Christie has sent lawmakers a pair of bills that would restore $139 million in aid to distressed cities while ensuring more strict oversight of the program. MORE from the Asbury Park Press.

- E-Ticket System: Jersey City may join countless municipalities across the nation that allow residents who receive summonses to pay them online.

- Dehere & the JCPD: When a large fight and gunfire erupted outside ex-NBA player and former Jersey City Board of Education member Terry Dehere’s bar Saturday the former St. Anthony High School star was reportedly uncooperative and police were about to break down the door when he finally came out.

- Noise Complaints at Creative Grove: Dislocations has the latest report of complaints shutting down live music at the Grove Street PATH Plaza.

- Shooting: A 28-year-old Jersey City man was shot in his right hand while standing at Forrest Street and Martin Luther King Drive at about 10 pm Sunday night.

- Crabbing: The state Department of Environmental Protection is renewing efforts to remind residents that blue claw crabbing in the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay is against the law.

- Prescription Drugs: Five New Jerseyans were sentenced to state prison on Monday as members of a Jersey City-based drug ring that trafficked prescription pain pills.

Today’s Best Bets:

- Soul Finger plays a free outdoor show at Liberty State Park as part of the Summerfest concert series (7 pm), while Cinema, Cinema and Knob Creek play a free gig at Lucky 7′s (8 pm).

In Statewide News:

- Charter Schools: When the Christie administration announced in January that it had approved 23 new charter schools, that number was celebrated as being the largest class of charters yet. Six months later, it turns out only seven of those 23 will be ready to open their doors come September.

- Social Service Orgs Fear More Cuts: As the state continues to grapple with Gov. Christie’s fiscal year 2012 budget, agencies threatened with funding cuts are as confused and uncertain as everyone else about how they will be affected.

- Rutgers Cashes in On Credit Cards: A deal to market credit cards bearing Rutgers University’s name earned $562,637 for New Jersey’s flagship public university last year, according to a recent Federal Reserve survey.

- One New Jersey: A group of Democrats have unveiled an organization called “One New Jersey” in which donors can also give unlimited sums without being subject to state laws governing contributions from public contractors. MORE from Politicker.

- News Corp Scandal & NJ: As a cell phone hacking scandal rages across the Atlantic, allegations that another News Corp subsidiary hacked computers in New Jersey are getting fresh attention.

- Pension Fund: The state will pay $22 million less into the state pension fund this year thanks to the overhaul of employee benefits passed into law last month.

- Pine Beetles: Environmental regulators are stepping up efforts to protect 1 million acres of evergreens from southern pine beetle infestations. They were rare in New Jersey until 10 years ago.

The city has previously said it intended to apply for the $75,000 state grant alongside Horizon, “just in case” the state deems Horizon ineligible for the grant. This decision was made in the midst of plenty of confusion about whether or not Horizon and its workers are trained to provide all of the same services related to STD prevention, testing and education that the city-run clinic, located at 115 Columbus Drive, does. But Dorothy Wojcik, the director of the Preventive Medicine Clinic, told the City Council last week that only one of the organizations is allowed to apply.

“As of [Wednesday], neither the city of Jersey City nor Horizon has been able to submit a grant application,” she said. “The state’s STD grant is non-competitive and both agencies cannot apply at the same time. A decision must be made by city about who will handle responsibilities.”

A representative from Horizon was due to address the council last week, and a resolution authorizing a contract with the company was prepared, but the address was canceled and the resolution pulled as the city continues to try to sort all the details out. According to city officials, the state Department of Health and Senior Services will be investigating Horizon to ensure it meets their specifications, which is one of the requirements before it can be deemed eligible for the grant.

Wojcik said there is plenty of risk involved if Horizon submits an application the state doesn’t approve of.

“Even if the city contracts with Horizon, the state can still deny the grant to them. If they can’t fulfill all [of the state’s] obligations, they will be denied the grant,” she said. “Will Horizon run a clinic with no money from the city or state? I don’t think so.”

If that were to happen, the city would need to keep the Preventive Medicine Clinic open to fulfill its state-mandated responsibilities. But it would have to do so in an even deeper financial hole, since it wouldn’t have the $75,000 grant to help fund operations. City officials have said the clinic costs approximately $600,000 a year to run.

Much of the City Council has been vocal in their support of the clinic, with At-Large councilman Ray Velazquez, At-Large councilwoman Kalimah Ahmad, Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson and Ward E councilman Steven Fulop all publicly supporting it. Other council members have also questioned some of the details of the privatization plan as it has wound its way through the council since being introduced in April.

Meanwhile, at least six of the Preventive Clinic’s employees have filed formal grievances with the state’s Civil Service Commission over the Healy administration’s plan to lay them off. The workers were slated to be laid off at the beginning of June, but they recently received a one-month reprieve since the clinic’s services haven’t yet been transferred.

“I would like to appeal this layoff because I feel the Appointing Authority, in Jersey City, did not act in good faith and was not forthright with the City Council. The Appointing Authority eliminated our entire STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) program without a plan/contract in place to privatize services. As of the date of this letter, there is still no contract in place,” the form letter sent by several employees on June 3 reads. “We did receive an extension until June 30, 2011. However, the scope of this elimination has not been properly investigated & no impact study was performed on how this would affect the health of Jersey City residents or what laws it may violate.”

City officials last week told JCI that they were opting not to apply for a state grant that previously paid part of the clinic’s expense; Ward E councilman Steven Fulop criticized the move as “unilateral” and accused the administration of subverting the City Council’s role in the city’s budget-making process.

But now, in an about-face, the city says it has decided to apply for the $75,000 grant, even though the official deadline has passed. Health and Human Services director Harry Melendez told the City Council last night that both the city and Horizon have applied for the grant, and that the state is “aware of the situation” and will accept the late applications.

City spokesperson Jennifer Morrill, who previously told us the city wouldn’t apply for the grant because it didn’t fit in with the administration’s “long-term goal” of “making government smaller,” says officials came to realize they need to have a safety net in case the final budget approved by the council does not cut the clinic, or in case the transfer of services to private providers takes longer than expected.

“As the council still has questions about this plan that the administration is addressing, we felt it prudent to have both the city and horizon apply for the grant so as to ensure that the funding for this service is made available,” she says.

The city’s decision to pursue the grant comes as questions remain about whether the city’s private providers will offer the same level of services as the now-shuttered free clinic, which provided free testing and free treatment for the sexually transmitted diseases HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia out of the medical building at 115 Christopher Columbus Drive.

Horizon does not currently provide certain services including filing reports with the state on the statistics regarding infection, nor do they perform community follow-up, according to Melendez, who added that one of the stipulations of the $75,000 grant is to ensure those services are undertaken by the health center.

“Providing an investigation to track [diseases] and interview [patients] is part of the requirement,” he said at last night’s caucus meeting. “We’ve been in contact with state, trying to put this in place. [The state] understand[s our situation] and will accommodate us.”

Business administrator Jack Kelly said that the decision to apply for the grant was to make sure the city is covered if Horizon were not awarded the contract. If that were to occur, the city would be responsible for providing the services. Kelly also defended the administration’s broader decision-making process regarding the clinic, describing the ongoing back-and-forth as a case of “the chicken and the egg.”

“The City Council gets wind of what we’re working on and looks for information that we don’t have yet,” he said. “There’s nothing to vote on yet, there are lots of pieces to the puzzle.”

Still, few of the council members were convinced by the incomplete answers, and what Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano has called a lack of “contingency plan.”

Kelly, however, offered one such plan, in which the city could extend its lease at 115 Columbus if the transfer of services to Horizon takes longer than they’d hoped. If this were to happen, Kelly acknowledged that the city would have to pay a higher rent, as well as extend the contracts of at least some of the 14 clinic employees slated to be laid off along with 94 other city employees next month.

“The lease doesn’t throw us out,” Kelly said. “[But] it’ll be more expensive to stay in the space.”

Horizon is slated to make a public presentation at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting.

City officials announced last month that it intended to close the free clinic, which provided free testing and free treatment for the sexually transmitted diseases HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia out of the medical building at 115 Christopher Columbus Drive. The move is part of the administration’s effort to deal with the city’s budget crisis; officials have said closing the clinic and allowing private providers to take over the services will save approximately $600,000.

The proposal has been questioned at recent meetings by council members, with several expressing hope that the decision would not stand when the city finalizes its budget. That hope is even slimmer now that the administration decided not to pursue the $75,000 grant.

Not applying for the grant when the budget document isn’t finalized is an “aggressive” and “unilateral” decision, Ward E councilman Steven Fulop says. As the grant application deadline of May 18 approached, he sent several high-ranking administration officials a request asking them to pursue the grant to make sure the money was there if the City Council decided to keep the clinic open.

“Please accept this as a formal request/notification that the administration submit the proper paperwork so that the city will not be left without the $75k funding,” Fulop wrote in a May 16 email. “It should be overly apparent to the administration at this point that the City Council is very uneasy with the administration’s proposal here.”

He received no response.

Even though the Healy administration put forth the starting proposal for the budget, business administrator Jack Kelly has often referred to it as “the council’s budget,” as the council members have the final say on what is funded. By not applying for the grant, the city adds an additional $75,000 burden on the council, should they attempt to find the funds to keep the clinic open, as some members indicated they would like to do.

According to city spokesperson Jennifer Morrill, the administration didn’t apply for the grant in part because it was “not sure” if its application “would preclude others from applying,” but more so because it didn’t fit with the city’s “long-term goal” of “making government smaller.”

She says that the city shouldn’t be providing these services to begin with, considering the budget crisis.

“There are three federally funded health care agencies in the city, all providing similar STD services,” Morrill says. “This alone, in the climate of employee reductions and cuts to revenue, should beg the question ‘why is the City providing STD services,’ and further, ‘why is the city accepting a $75,000 grant that only reimburses the City 11 percent of the overall cost of the program.’”

One of those providers, Horizon Health Center, notified the state on May 17 that it would like to apply for the grant, and that it needed an extension since its discussions with the city are “ongoing.”

This action should come as a rude awakening to some on the council who “always vote with the mayor, and had brought up concerns on the clinic, only to be brushed aside,” Fulop says, referring to At-Large council members Kalimah Ahmad and Ray Velazquez, who have joined Fulop and Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson in expressing concerns over the clinic’s closure.

“I do think that this shows a ton about how they are viewed by the administration,” he says. “This was an issue that was important to them,” and their concerns were “just disregarded.”

Velazquez, who had previously said the administration’s decision to cut the clinic was “sending the wrong message,” says that’s still his position.

“I do not believe that Jersey City should close their Preventive Medicine Clinic and will continue to advocate that the health of our citizens should always remain our highest priority,” he says in an email. “It should be clear that I don’t question that the mayor and his administration care deeply about the citizens that they serve, I simply disagree that these vital services should be placed under the authority of private institutions.”

When asked if he felt slighted by the administration’s choice to not pursue the grant, Velazquez did not address the question directly, instead taking a wait-and-see approach.

“I understand the city will be addressing these issues on Monday,” he says. “I await their presentation.”

Business administrator Jack Kelly, speaking at last week’s City Council meeting, spoke of the necessity of closing the clinic, which provided free testing and free treatment for the sexually transmitted diseases HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia out of the medical building at 115 Christopher Columbus Drive.

As he highlighted the financial difficulties facing the city — and the savings of “nearly $600,000” to the budget that would come from the cut – Kelly maintained the city is within its right to do this, since “the city just needs to confirm some facility is providing STD services to the general public.”

“To continue to pay for the clinic, we would need to come up with a half-million dollars in the budget,” he said.

If this hands-off approach to STD prevention sounds like it would not sit well with some council members and the public-at-large, it should come as little surprise that critics of the plan have pushed back.

Former doctors at the now-closed clinic note that while testing is provided at other health centers, many other services undertaken at the clinic will not be provided. These include providing free prescription care, as well as tracking how these diseases spread throughout the city and researching the prevention and control of diseases. Not to mention, some argue, the plan may be in violation of New Jersey regulations that govern public health and local health boards.

Jersey City has responded to these concerns in a letter sent to the City Council last Friday by Harry Melendez, the director of the city’s Department of Health and Human Services, who outlined specifically what the state requires and how the city’s plan is on the right side of the law.

“As a federally identified area with an ‘Underserved Patient Population,’ Jersey City qualifies for national and state healthcare aid,” he writes. “In fact, there are several Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) within Jersey City that offer comprehensive healthcare and educational services, including various STD/HIV testing, treatment, and counseling.”

Melendez also addressed concerns that have been raised over whether other clinics would force low-income residents to pay for services previously offered for free by the clinic.

“Local providers will test residents at little or no cost, according to federal poverty income guidelines,” he writes. “But in all cases, patients will never be turned away because they cannot afford to pay for healthcare.”

Melendez adds that the proposal to close the clinic and outsource the services does not violate the state law.

“According to [the law], the local board of health is charged to provide ‘medical services for all persons seeking medical care for sexually transmitted diseases,’” he writes. “The law does not stipulate, in any way, how this ‘medical care’ is to be provided.” He adds that the other FQHC locations in Jersey City “certainly meet and/or exceed this requirement.”

The debate has caught the attention of council members at recent city council meetings, with some increasingly unsatisfied with the answers previously provided by the administration.

At-Large Councilman Ray Velazquez, who is HIV-positive, has been among the most vocal critics of the administration’s plan.

“That the second-biggest city in New Jersey isn’t providing services is sending the wrong message — that these diseases aren’t as serious as they are, that we don’t care as much as we do care,” he said at a recent meeting.

“Just as we maintain a police department and a fire department, our department of health should be first and foremost concerned with those health issues that most affect its population. Statistics, sadly enough, show that Jersey City has some real serious numbers in terms of the diseases we’re talking about,” he added. “Trying to find ways to save money [is necessary], but this is not the message we should be sending to our young people today.”

At-Large councilwoman Kalimah Ahmad spoke last week of a problem she witnessed firsthand when she visited the clinic prior to its closure. She ran into a patient who had gone to Horizon Health Center, one of the recommended FQHC locations, to receive treatment, only to be sent back to the city’s clinic after Horizon prescribed a medicine he couldn’t afford.

Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson echoed these concerns, repeating the claim that “Horizon works on a sliding scale” and arguing that the patients in need of this service “should not be forced” to pay.

“If you’re coming to this clinic, you don’t have the resources to go to a private doctor,” she said.

Another sticking point between the administration and the council has been the lack of a contract with Horizon to provide the same services the city clinic did. At last week’s meeting, Kelly acknowledged there was “no current contract” with the nonprofit, but maintained that it does indeed provide the correct services.

Ward E councilman Steven Fulop was not convinced by what he described as “a good faith agreement” between the city and Horizon.

“It makes sense to have a formal contract they’ve agreed to, so they’re obligated to fulfill these responsibilities,” he said.

Meanwhile, the clinic’s former director of 15 years, Dorothy Wojcik, took issue with Kelly’s claim that Horizon provided the same services.

“There is no other licensed facility that provides the responsibility and services that we do. No one else does the research we do,” she said. “That’s the part that needs to be in the alleged contract.”

Saying he would “feel like a coward” if he did not speak up, At-Large Councilman Ray Velazquez assured the public Wednesday night that he would look for answers as to why there is not enough money in the budget to support what he considers essential services for the city.

“It’s troubling to me as a person who understands very deeply what it’s like for someone who walks into one of those clinics, and has to deal with what can take place in those clinics,” said Velazquez, who is HIV-positive. “Maybe I’m conflicted on this topic, but after sitting here all day I started to feel like a coward that I hadn’t said something. So I’m saying something.”

The administration’s budget proposal, looking to cut costs where it can, calls for the elimination of the clinic in favor of moving the services to the privately operated Horizon Health Center. The clinic, located in the medical building at 115 Christopher Columbus Drive, provides free testing and free treatment for the sexually transmitted diseases HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia.

In addition to Velazquez, Ward E councilman Steven Fulop and Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson have previously argued that the current clinic should be kept intact.

“There are so many important things about the clinic itself, [such as] the importance of having people who have been doing this for a while [in charge], people can deal with folks walking in through that door for the tests done in that clinic,” Velazquez said. “For people dealing with these issues every single day, it’s a matter of life and death.”

Velazquez’s speech followed public comment by Rachel Jones, a registered nurse at the clinic who spoke about the increasing rates of STDs in Jersey City and the overwhelming number of patients Horizon already faces.

“I’m going to ask very specific questions [about why it's closing],” Velazquez concluded, adding that “the council will do the right things once all those things are answered.”

Photo: Steve Gold

The clinic, located in the medical building at 115 Christopher Columbus Drive, provides free testing and free treatment for the sexually transmitted diseases HIV, gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia.

Closing the clinic, which is open six hours a week, would save the city $425,000 annually, according to city officials. But clinic employees — who face termination this summer as part of the administration’s plan to lay off 108 workers — say Horizon is not fit to run the program.

“No other clinic in Jersey City provides [free STD testing] or is capable of it,” employee Valerie Piccarillo said at last week’s city budget hearing. “It is the city’s obligation to control sexually transmitted disease.”

At-Large councilwoman Kalimah Ahmad said last week that a memo she’d seen argued that the Horizon wouldn’t be eligible for some of the state funding if the program were transferred.

“The State Department of Health would not approve some of the funding,” she said of the memo, which she received from an attorney representing the unionized workers at the city clinic. “Do we have anything saying that his program would be able to go on if we made these cuts? It seems the council has not been given a fundamental understanding of what can occur if we cut these services.”


But business administrator Jack Kelly said Department of Health and Human Services director Harry Melendez has been in close contact with the state, which has signed off on the proposed transfer.

“Horizon would be awarded the grant directly from the state instead,” Kelly said. “Melendez has been working closely with state and horizon. The STD program is important, I just don’t think the city can afford it.”

Advocates say the proposal, sponsored in the Senate by Joe Vitale and Loretta Weinberg, is “reasonable and common-sense legislation” that would prevent the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS while saving the state money. They point to the fact that 41 percent of New Jersey’s 73,800 HIV/AIDS cases reported to date have been caused by the sharing of contaminated syringes.

“We have to look at this issue with an open mind, absent moral judgment, and recognize that what drug addicts need most in New Jersey is access to clean, safe needles and treatment to help beat their addiction,” Weinberg says in a statement. “Obviously, drug crime would continue to be an illegal activity, but last I checked, substance abuse didn’t carry a mandatory death sentence, and as long as our laws continue to encourage addicts to swap needles, they’ll continue putting themselves at risk of catching a fatal disease in order to get high.”

The proposal would allow adults without a prescription to purchase up to 10 syringes at registered pharmacies. Purchases of 10 or more syringes would still require a prescription. All syringes would be required to be kept behind the counter, and the sale of any syringe would have to be accompanied by information about the safe disposal of syringes and drug addiction treatment.

The bill’s progress was cheered by public-health advocacy groups as well.

“This is a victory for good public health policy,” Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey director Roseanne Scotti says in a statement. “This legislation will cost the state nothing and will save lives and taxpayer dollars.”

Sen. Weinberg says the bill is good companion legislation to the state’s needle exchange program, which currently only operates in Jersey City and four other cities. (For more on needle exchange in Jersey City, check out our in-depth coverage of the program by reporters Colin Asher and Darren Tobia.)

“Needle exchange programs have only made an impact in five cities around the state,” she says. “We need to recognize that substance abuse is a statewide problem, not just confined to the five largest urban centers in the Garden State.”

The bill must now make its way through the state Assembly, which has passed similar legislation twice in the last eight years.