City police, fire departments assured of no layoffs

PASSAIC — Despite tough talk of doing more with less during a recession, the city will forgo layoffs in the police and fire departments even though it could face a $1.4 million deficit next year, union leaders say they’ve been assured by Council President Gary Schaer.

At the Police Benevolent Association’s beefsteak dinner last Thursday and the Passaic Fire Department’s Centennial Ball on Sunday, Schaer delivered the same message: There will be no layoffs, said Mauro Farallo, president of the Passaic Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 14, and Passaic Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost. Each man was present at his respective event when Schaer spoke.

The city has yet to approve this year’s budget, but officials are preparing for a potential $1.4 million deficit next year. At a City Council meeting last month, Business Administrator Anthony Iacono said if that deficit comes to pass, the city would have to cut 14 police officers, 11 firefighters and six Department of Public Works employees.

Schaer made his comments before the city’s two most powerful unions, whose members are paid some of the highest salaries in the city. On Monday and Tuesday, the council president failed to return several phone calls seeking clarification of his comments or an explanation of how he would avoid layoffs.

The city could avoid layoffs next July, the start of the 2010 fiscal year, according to Iacono, if the state allows municipalities to push off pension payments or provides increased state aid. The latter could be a long shot if Governor-elect Chris Christie acts on his assertion that municipalities should not expect an increase in discretionary state aid.

Mayor Alex D. Blanco declined comment through spokesman Keith Furlong. “He’s not going to comment on what Gary’s saying. We’re making sure we do everything that is fair to the residents, taxpayers and the employees.”

Farallo said the issue of laying off any of his members is dead.

“That’s great news,” Farallo said.

Lawrence Dostanko, president of Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association Local 13, said he will wait and see.

“What political figure will get up in front of an audience of firefighters, their friends and family and say: ‘Enjoy the party now because as of next year, you’re all gone,’ ” Dostanko said. “He wouldn’t have made it out of the building.”
(News Source – NorthJersey)

Nurses at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic agree to concessions

Unionized employees at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic have tentatively agreed to a new contract that extends pay cuts and other concessions until the hospital begins to recover financially.

More than 500 nurses, technicians and other workers ratified a three-year contract, which goes into effect when the current contract expires on Feb. 28. The new pact continues court-assigned concessions until St. Mary’s reorganization plan is approved, at which time the nurses expect the hospital to begin restoring their pay in increments.

The employees have worked with a 5 percent pay cut — later reduced to a 4 percent cut by the hospital — and other concessions since March, when St. Mary’s declared bankruptcy, citing debts of $100 million.

Attorneys for the non-profit, 292-bed acute-care hospital filed a reorganization plan this month with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark and have until Jan. 6 for creditors to accept the plan.

The unions and St. Mary’s, who have been negotiating for months with an independent mediator, were pleased with the settlement.

“We had a mutually agreed upon mediator, who made compromise recommendations that turned out to be fairly reasonable,” said Virginia Tracy, executive director of JNESO, the union that represents 357 nurses and 131 technicians at St. Mary’s.

“It’s not ideal, but it gives them a chance to get back on their feet and us to get back what we lost,” Tracy said.

Another union, Operating Engineers Local 68, represents 20 licensed boiler room workers and other employees.

“Having the support of [the] unions, whose contracts were fully ratified this month, is an important step forward for the hospital,” Vanessa Warner, a spokeswoman for St. Mary’s, said in a statement Friday.

As part of the agreement, St. Mary’s will restore 2 percent of the workers’ wages when the court approves the reorganization plan; then 1 percent more in March, and another 1 percent in June, Tracy said. The hospital would also resume the employees’ annual “step” raise, an average 40 cents per hour increase, she said.

The hospital will not reinstate a paid half-hour lunch for employees, she said. But it will pay time-and-a-half to a 12-hour shift worker who is not relieved by another worker in order to eat, she said.

“The difference between now and when the hospital filed for bankruptcy is that we’re hopeful for the first time in a long time that progress can be made,” Tracy said.

The union was concerned that the hospital would reject its contract altogether if it didn’t agree to temporarily continue the concessions, Tracy said. “If they’re going to make it, they need cash and a few months to get a leg up to be successful,” she said.

“The employees are definitely going to cast their lot with management. The new administration has made some positive changes that we can see,” Tracy said. A new president and new chief financial officer took over St. Mary’s last summer.

A recent report by the court-appointed patient care ombudsman agreed.

“There are no issues at this time with regard to maintaining quality of care provided by St. Mary’s Hospital,” the ombudsman, Daniel T. McMurray, said in court documents.

A hearing on the sale of St. Mary’s former hospital site at 211 Pennington Ave. will be held on Dec. 8.

On Dec. 9, St. Mary’s will hold a public meeting to discuss hospital finances, future plans, services and community benefit programs. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the hospital, located at 350 Boulevard.

A hearing on the hospital’s Chapter 11 disclosure statement will be held Dec. 18.

The 114-year old St. Mary’s is the sole survivor of Passaic’s three hospitals.

E-mail: groves@northjersey.com

Honorable Cory A. Booker, Mayor, City of Newark, New Jersey Addressing: “The Future of Black-Jewish Relations”

Don’t miss it! A huge crowd is expected so please come early!! On Sunday, November 22, 2009, at 7:30 PM, Rinat Yisrael presents:
Honorable Cory A. Booker, Mayor, City of Newark, New Jersey
Addressing: “The Future of Black-Jewish Relations”

Moderated by Gary Rosenblatt, Editor and Publisher of the New York Jewish Week.

Mayor Cory A. Booker is an electrifying speaker with a deep and longstanding connection to the Jewish people.
While at Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, Mayor Booker served as the
President of the L’Chaim Society, the local chapter of Chabad, and brought together a diverse community there. He became Mayor of New Jersey’s largest city in 2006. Elected with a clear mandate for change, his administration has been working to realize a positive vision for the city – that of setting a national standard for urban transformation by marshaling resources to achieve security, economic abundance and an environment that is nurturing and empowering for individuals and families. Mayor Booker has been cited by
publications like Time, Esquire and the NY Times as a national leader with innovative ideas and bold actions.
Mayor Booker received his B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University, as well as a B.A. in Modern History at Oxford and a law degree from Yale.

The public is invited.

For more info contact djacobow@gmail.com

Examiner Bio Street gangsters trafficked in drugs, weapons, in Teaneck, Hackensack and Englewood

They came from Teaneck, Hackensack, and Englewood — all reputed gang members arrested on drug and weapons charges. Ranging from 17 to 30, they have ties to either the Crips or Bloods street gangs, said Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli.

Molinelli’s gang unit got the ball rolling in July, gathering information about drug and weapons sales in the county’s three major cities.

An undercover squad of detectives from the County Sheriff Leo McGuire’s department and Teaneck police began making street buys of pot, Ecstasy, cocaine and unspecified weapons.

Then came a flurry of arrests:

Kashawn West (Bloods: Sex Money Murder), DOB: March 23, 1991; 46 Newman Street, Apt A6, Hackensack; drug possession within 1,000 feet of a school and 500 feet of public property;

Anthony Drakeford (Bloods: Sex Money Murder) DOB: March 12, 1981; 195 Central Avenue, Hackensack; drug dealing within 1,000 feet of a school zone;

Michael Feola (Bloods Associate) DOB: March 20, 1988; 56 Genesee Avenue, Teaneck; drug and weapons possession, drug dealing within 500 feet of public property;

Reggie Sowell (Bloods Associate); DOB: June 14, 1989; 13 Newman Street, Apt 1B, Hackensack; drug dealing within 500 feet of public property;

Peter Martinez (Bloods, Sex Money Murder Associate) DOB: October 4, 1986; 22 76th Street, North Bergen; drug dealing within 500 feet of public property;

Brandon Randolph (Crips, Rollin 60s) DOB: December 4, 1979; 515 North Grand Avenue, Englewood; weapons possession, weapons sale without a license;

Ashlin Hayer (Crips Associate) DOB: March 22, 1987; 1277 Beaumont Avenue, Teaneck; employing a juvenile to conduct narcotic offenses;

Also taken into custody and charged with selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school zone was a juvenile suspected of belonging to the Bloods Fruit Town Piru, Molinelli said.

Detectives in the operation arrested another man with no known gang affiliations, reaching out to downtown North Bergen to find him: Edgar Cabrera, DOB: February 19, 1980;  2508 Cottage Avenue, Apt A, North Bergen; drug dealing within 1,000 feet of a school zone.

Molinelli thanked Teaneck, Hackensack, Englewood, and Ridgefield police, as well as the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service.

(News Source CliffViewPilot.com)

Chai Lifeline Dinner Help Save A Life

 

 

Last Shalom Bayis Lecture

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Man stole furniture truck, cops say

[embed]http://media.northjersey.com/images/1119L_1lTRAILER1.jpg[/embed]

PASSAIC — Passaic Police say a Union City man brazenly stole a tractor-trailer loaded with $35,000 worth of furniture from an Ethan Allen warehouse last month.

On Tuesday, officers from the Clifton Police, the State Police Cargo Unit and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department assisted Passaic cops in raiding the trucking company where the stolen tractor-trailer was found. There was “a couple thousand” dollars’ worth of furniture still inside when police recovered it, said Passaic police spokesman Detective Andrew White.

By Wednesday evening, police were searching for Angel Dominguez, 38, of Union City, in connection with the theft, according to White.

“He’s still out there,” White said. “We’re hoping for an apprehension shortly.”

The raid occurred at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at Corbisiero Container Services Corp. at 499 River Road. The company had recently relocated from Kearny, so it is unclear how long the stolen trailer had been on the Clifton premises. Dominguez worked for Corbisiero, but police do not suspect the owner of the company was involved in the theft.

About 10 a.m. on Oct. 31, Dominguez allegedly drove a truck cab to the Ethan Allen Furniture warehouse at 1 Market St in Passaic, where he hooked up the trailer full of sofas, beds and mirrors to the cab and drove away, White said.

Using “crystal clear” images from the warehouse surveillance cameras, Detective Milton Figueroa identified and tracked the trailer to the Clifton trucking company. White declined to provide details on how Figueroa tracked the trailer to Clifton, because of the ongoing investigation.

“It was a good job for Milton Figueroa,” White said.

When police discovered the trailer, White said that someone had scratched out the vehicle identification number and tried painting over the Ethan Allen logo on the side panels.
(News Source NorthJersey.com)

Blanco becomes Rivera! How many month’s untill the F.B.I gives him a visit too?

A YEAR AGO, Dr. Alex Blanco held promise. Many believed he’d be a good mayor of the city of Passaic. They thought he represented a chance for the city to emerge from the shadow of former Mayor Samuel Rivera and the stain of corruption he left behind.

Alas, maybe they were mistaken. In one short year, it appears that, at least politically speaking, Blanco has begun to morph into another Rivera. The former mayor, who craved power absolutely, would sometimes “encourage” political loyalty by hosting parties and requesting campaign donations from those who attended, including officers of the city’s police force. Police officers who donated to Rivera’s campaign were often promoted ahead of those who did not.

As reported this week by Staff Writer Alex MacInnes, Blanco is also in the partying mood. He is sending out invitations to city employees, asking them to attend a holiday party, and suggesting a “contribution” of $125. According to those who received the invitations, donors are asked to write checks to the mayor’s political campaign, “Friends of Dr. Alex Blanco.”

According to one city worker, who declined to speak for attribution, citing fear of retribution, nobody is “cordially invited,” but rather employees are politically required to attend.

The practice of seeking, or pressuring, donations from city workers may not be illegal, but it is unseemly. What’s more, Blanco is not up for re-election until 2013.

Consolidating your base is one thing. We all know that the nature of the political beast these days is to keep the machine well-fed, and that requires near-constant fund raising. Yet even the appearance of intimidation is not the way to do it.

Blanco — or his handlers — should rethink this strategy. It may not be unethical, but it is certainly unprofessional. It is bad PR. It is bad politics. It is bad for Passaic.

(News Source NorthJersey.com/PBJN)

N.J. Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, wife to be arraigned on corruption charges

Newly re-elected state Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, of Bayonne, and his wife, Diane, are scheduled to be arraigned on corruption charges tomorrow afternoon.

The couple is accused in a seven-count indictment, handed up in August, that charges they deposited more than $7,000 of Chiappone’s legislative aides’ paychecks into their personal bank account and Chiappone’s 2005 campaign fund.

Despite the charges, the Hudson County Democrat was re-elected as 31st District assemblyman earlier this month, representing Bayonne and the southern portion of Jersey City.

Chiappone, 51, began his current state assembly term in 2008 and previously held an assembly seat from 2004 to 2006. He is also a former Bayonne councilman.

Diane Chiappone, 54, manages a hair salon in Bayonne.

The arraignment is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Mercer County Court House in Trenton.

The Chiappones have maintained their innocence.

The seven-count indictment alleges conspiracy, two counts of official misconduct, theft by deception, tampering with public records or information, falsifying or tampering of records, and concealment of contributions or expenditures.
(News Source-Nj.com)

Home : News Corzine urges N.J.’s local leaders to share more services

Governor Corzine made his parting plea to a ballroom full of mayors and other local elected officials: Confront the redundancies inherent in the 566 different municipal governments.
The steep cost of that government now strangling New Jersey with record-high property taxes will only be lowered when leaders fully take on that challenge, Corzine said Thursday at the League of Municipalities Conference.
The steep cost of that government now strangling New Jersey with record-high property taxes will only be lowered when leaders fully take on that challenge, Corzine said Thursday at the League of Municipalities Conference.

The steep cost of that government now strangling New Jersey with record-high property taxes will only be lowered when leaders fully take on that challenge, Corzine said Thursday at the League of Municipalities Conference.

“If we are to ultimately control the cost of government . . . we are going to have to deal with the issue of consolidation and shared services,” said Corzine, who is serving out the final weeks of his tenure after losing to Republican Chris Christie earlier this month.

It wasn’t the first time Corzine, a former Wall Street executive, has urged municipal leaders to become more efficient and work more closely with their neighbors to cut costs.

Shared services and consolidation was a frequent response during the campaign on the property tax issue. And in 2008, Corzine’s administration used the annual municipal aid program in the state budget to punish smaller towns, while offering grants to those pursuing consolidation.

Many towns are now working together – joining police departments, court operations and other services to cut costs – and several workshops at this week’s conference, which ends Friday, were dedicated to finding more ways to join with others to find savings.

Corzine stressed that, from his view as the outgoing governor, it is the only strategy that will work.

“We need to address the proliferation and the fragmentation,” he said.

New Jersey’s best feature isn’t its many sewerage authorities and fire commissions, Corzine said in a speech that became emotional as it concluded.

“Our single greatest asset is our people,” he said.

Christie also addressed the conference, receiving loud applause when he was introduced several minutes before Corzine spoke.

The governor-elect – who last year said New Jersey’s many municipalities and school boards spend too much money and breed corruption – also preached a message of shared services on the campaign trail.

But he asked leaders at the luncheon on Thursday to join with him in trying to bring change for residents who he said are in fear of the state’s huge problems, which include an estimated $8 billion structural budget deficit and property tax bills that average $7,045 statewide and grow much higher in North Jersey.

“The people of the state of New Jersey will no longer stand for us asking what’s in it for me,” Christie said. “We have to start asking what’s in it for us.”

And while the governor-elect didn’t put forward the same direct plea that Corzine did on shared services and consolidation, he said he is willing to do whatever it takes to fix New Jersey’s problems, including the fiscal issues and high property taxes.

“Failure in this regard is not in my vocabulary,” he said.

“I am not here to wait one, two, four or eight years for change to come,” Christie said. “Change is going to come now and we welcome you to participate.”

“But one way or another, change is coming,” he said.

E-mail: reitmeyer@northjersey.com

For $125 City Employees Can Honor Mayor Blanco and Keep Their Jobs

For $125 you can honor Passaic mayor

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

BY ALEXANDER MACINNES

The Record

STAFF WRITER

 

PASSAIC — Mayor Alex D. Blanco has taken a page from former mayor Samuel “Sammy” Rivera’s playbook: invite city employees to a party, with a suggested ticket price of $125.

 

City employees this weekend found an invitation in their home mailboxes from Blanco’s election campaign committee, which the mayor controls, to a holiday dinner dance party in his honor.

Rivera often relied on a similar tactic, hosting parties to which employees donated to help fill his campaign coffers and cultivate loyalty, especially among the ranks of police officers. Rivera is serving a 21-month prison term on bribery charges stemming from a 2007 federal corruption sting.

The invite caused many city hall workers to wonder if Blanco is applying unspoken pressure for a $125 “suggested contribution” — three weeks before Christmas. It is unclear how Blanco will spend the proceeds, but donors are asked to write their checks to his political campaign, “Friends of Dr. Alex Blanco.” The next mayoral election is in 2013.

Most city employees declined to speak for attribution, citing their fear of retribution, but one worker said nobody is “cordially invited,” but rather politically required to attend.

“I don’t think it’s proper, because it’s unethical,” said the employee. “If a secretary is making $30,000 a year, is she going to feel undue pressure to go? When you’re sending them to a lower person, who has a family, you’re putting pressure on them to go.”

Several city workers received the invitations at their home addresses, even though they never donated to his election campaign. It’s unclear how the campaign obtained the employee addresses.

Blanco’s spokesman Keith Furlong had not responded to questions about whether the mayor’s campaign used city payroll records for the mailing, or to questions about the event as of Tuesday evening.

It is not illegal to solicit city employees for political contributions, but a local ordinance – adopted during Council President Gary Schaer’s stint as interim mayor last year – prohibits candidates from asking for donations in city-owned buildings. The ordinance provides a loophole that allows solicitation if the candidate who does so communicates in “casual or inadvertent” manner.

Some city workers Tuesday recalled how Rivera hosted frequent cocktail parties, dinners and breakfasts as a way to pull in campaign contributions from city workers.

An investigation by the Herald News in 2006 showed that city police officers who donated to Rivera’s campaign often were promoted over those who did not. Former cops said it was common knowledge in the department that those who donated, or sold tickets to fundraisers, had quicker ascent up the ranks.

On Tuesday, one union official said he was not concerned that Blanco would play the same game.

Lawrence Dostanko, president of Firemen’s Mutual Benevolent Association, Local 13, said he does not believe the mayor would base his decisions on promotions and firings on who gave to his campaign.

“If anything is going to happen, it’s going to happen regardless of our guys supporting an elected official or not,” Dostanko said.

As for any connection between Blanco and Rivera, Dostanko said it is too early.

“I’m giving (Blanco) the benefit of the doubt that he’s not going to follow in the footsteps of Sammy Rivera,” Dostanko said, “unless he proves me otherwise.”

Manhole Covers Stolen In Paterson

Paterson, NJ – There’s a new mystery in one New Jersey city: Who took 60 manhole covers from a public works yard?

Paterson authorities say the 200-pound cast iron pieces disappeared.
No arrests have been made. Police say it might be hard because the covers could already have been melted down.

A city councilman confirmed that public works employees are under investigation.

A scrap yard owner tells The Record of Bergen County that two uniformed employees of the city’s public works department sold him some covers.

The covers can sell for between $10 and $20 each.

Source: VIN

Yeshiva Ketana of Passaic Tried To Buy Jersey City Shul in 1999

The Saga of American Jewry – Based on Jersey City Realities

November 16, 2009

Only about 100 meters separates the Oasis de Salvacion Angelical Church, downtown New Jersey City and the area’s busies Sunni mosque. While they represent different communities entirely, they have something in common, each represents that which used to be part and parcel of the area’s Jewish community, which included 14 shuls, community centers, tzedaka institutions and of course, kosher food stores.

Less than a five minute walk separates the mosque and the church, a modest street which tell the story, the story that is mimicked in hundreds of cities around the United States. “In the 1930s, Placid Blvd. was called Palestine Blvd. because of the large Jewish population” explains Rabbi Shlomo Marks, the rabbi of Congregation Mt. Sinai, one of two remaining frum shuls in the area.

During recent years, Marks has been working to revitalize the community. During the Yomim Nora’im several dozen mispalalim attended shul. On a regular shabbos, they barely scrape together a minyan. This was not always the case as photos taken years ago bear witness. A 1927 photo depicts dozens of men dressed in suits, wearing the then-stylish cylindrical top hats. About 200 meters (yards) away, Congregation Talmud Torah once stood but the shul’s decline already began in the 1960s.

The building was sold to a private investor who developed it, turning the shul into an apartment building. If one gaze’s upward near the roof, the engraving of the Ten Commandments is still visible on the structures facade, a monument to the Jewish community that has vanished. Rabbi Marks explains the Jews moved to the suburbs in search of a better life. They wanted larger homes, better schools and a backyard.

In essence, this is a good story, the kind we like to hear, a move towards an improved life, but sadly, as the suburbs blossomed, there were fewer and fewer Jews. “The move to the suburbs led to the advancement of the Conservative Movement,” explains the rabbi. The homes were spread out, separated from one another and the shul was far away, too far to walk. “The rabbis had no alternative but to permit using one’s car to get to shul” he adds.

Rabbi Marks goes on to explain that a number of studies today show that in the Conservative community, intermarriage is as high as 40%.

“I tried saving the Bnei Yisrael Shul, today a mosque” explains a veteran area resident, Arthur Goldberg. He lives in Jersey City his entire life, seeing it at its best. He refused to leave when the decline became reality. Even when his brother moved to the suburbs he remained in the area. When he learned the shul’s rabbi was about to sell, he got a number of people together to make an offer, seeking to save the building.

“He refused to even enter into negotiations. He viewed us as goyim” he adds. “For him, we simply were not frum enough. When Chabad offered to take the building, he refused as well. They were not his type. Eventually he had to sell but even then, he was certain not to sell it to people who were different, not subscribers to his type of frum.

Goldberg even organized a protest at the height of the opposition, but to no avail and today, the former shul serves as one of the area’s busiest mosques.

According to the city registrar, the building transferred ownership to the mosque in January 2000, it sold for $900,000. About a half year earlier, an organization calling itself the Yeshiva Ketana of Passaic tried to buy the building for $487,000.

Israel Gets Free Weapons, Courtesy Iran and Hezbollah!

PHOTO & VIDEO LINK BELOW: After the weapons and ammunition on board the Francop were removed and taken to a warehouse in 32 trucks, Israel has given the green light for the freighter vessel to leave port, significantly lighter than when it arrived under naval escort on Wednesday.

It was determined the crew on board the vessel was not connected to the weapons smuggling, leading to the decision to release the freighter.

In the meantime, Hizbullah has released statements on Thursday denying any connection to armaments confiscated, rejecting Israeli statements that the boat was heading to supply weapons from Iran to Hizbullah.

The video link below shows the commandos boarding the ship & searching for weapons, and has the IDF unloading the goods in the Port of Ashdod.

YWN VIDEO & PHOTO LINK: Click HERE for video & HERE for photos.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)

Rt 21- Officer Shooting Radar from Van Houten Bridge

As of now (10 am Thursday) a Passaic Police officer is standing on the Van Houten Ave Bridge over Route 21 shooting radar down at the cars below, and radioing to officers hiding on Rt 21.

Avoid a ticket, slow down!

Nervous Voters Send A Message To Obama

Tri-State,- Voters nervous about the economy and fed up with the political establishment dominated the off-year elections, sending a strong message to President Barack Obama, who won the White House as a change agent but has himself become the face of political power and incumbency.

Independents who supported Obama broke heavily for Republicans Tuesday, helping the GOP win marquee governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey. And the coalition of younger, minority voters who powered Obama’s victory last year was replaced by an electorate that was noticeably whiter, especially in Virginia, where Democrat Creigh Deeds lost in a landslide.

Yet Democrats weren’t the only ones in danger, as voters also vented their frustration at incumbents and party insiders.

In upstate New York, Democrat Bill Owens won a House seat held for decades by Republicans in a special election dominated by a fierce intraparty GOP split.

There, conservatives and national Republican figures led by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin helped force out assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate chosen by GOP county chairmen, in favor of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. The conservatives were incensed by Scozzafava’s support for abortion rights and gay marriage.

In New York City, independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg barely won a third term against a little known, poorly funded Democratic challenger. Polls going into the election showed voters generally approved of Bloomberg’s job performance but resented his aggressive effort to get the city’s term limits law lifted and his expenditure of as much as $100 million of his own money to stay in power.

To be sure, each race was as much about local issues as about firing warning shots at the politically powerful. But taken together, the results of the 2009 off-year elections could imperil Obama’s ambitious legislative agenda and point to a challenging environment in midterm elections next year.

“In bad economic times, people don’t like the politicians who are holding the reins of power,” said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in California. “For Obama, it means the 2008 election was not a key to everlasting success. It was the first step in an ongoing journey, and he’s going to have to work very hard to continue earning voters’ trust.”

For now, Obama must worry about the impact of the 2009 contests on health care reform, his signature legislative priority.

Earlier Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said a vote on health care may not happen before the end of the year — a sign that some Democrats don’t feel confident tying themselves to Obama and casting a controversial vote for his reform effort.

In the longer term, Democrats must figure out how to defend Senate seats and hang onto dozens of House districts they won in 2006 and 2008 that could be imperiled now.

Party strategists worry the Obama voters who helped elect Democrats up and down the ballot last year may sit out the midterms because the president isn’t on the ballot, or because they’re frustrated he’s failed to bring the fundamental change to Washington that he promised.

Democrats must defend as many as 60 marginal House seats next year, many in districts the president lost or carried only narrowly in 2008, as opposed to about 40 for Republicans.

Tuesday’s results also pointed to a somewhat reinvigorated Republican Party after it had been left for dead a year ago. That’s largely thanks to independents, the fastest growing voter bloc, and the most notoriously fickle.

In Virginia, Republican Bob McDonnell won a whopping 66 percent of the independent vote, helping him bury Deeds, who got just 33 percent. Obama narrowly carried independents in the state last year, helping him become the first Democrat to win the state in a presidential contest since 1964.

In New Jersey, Republican Chris Christie won a much tighter race against incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine, largely on the strength of independents. Christie won 60 percent of the independent vote after Obama won a majority of independents last year.

The GOP brand is still weak — several recent polls show the percentage of voters calling themselves Republicans has dipped into the low 20s — and the breakaway conservative movement seen in the upstate New York congressional race could further erode the party’s efforts to broaden and rebuild.

But the two gubernatorial victories Tuesday proved Republicans can win if they choose candidates responsive to the mood of their state’s electorate.

“Republicans are a conservative party, all Republicans generally are,” GOP strategist Alex Castellanos said. “The question is, can Republican candidates stand on conservative principles and win the middle? That’s what McDonnell and Christie were able to do.”

(News Source AP. com)

New Jersey – A New Gov. For NJ Christie Wins!

Chris Christie

New Jersey – Republican Chris Christie has won the New Jersey governor’s race against Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine.

Saddled by tanking poll numbers and the poor economy, Corzine brought in the party’s heavyweight champions – President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden – to rustle up some excitement among voters and re-energize the base.

The multi-millionaire Corzine has outspent Christie nearly three to one, but New Jerseyans’ malcontent with the handling of the state’s $29 billion budget, the highest property taxes in the nation and a corruption sweep that nailed dozens of public officials this year, gave their nod to Chris Christie

ost

Click here for the 2009 election results, updated every few minutes, from The Star Ledger. Just hit refresh every few minutes.

With most of the vote in, it appears the results will be: Christie for Governor, Scalera and Schaer for the 36th district Assembly.

Video-Rabbi Levin talks about Gary Schaer & His Pro-Homosexuality

(Received via email. PBJN is not responsible for the content)

What Gary Schaer and his buddies don’t want you to see.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin talks about Assemblyman Gary Schaer & his pro-homosexuality on his weekly radio show, recorded also on video.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin is the Rabbi of Cong. Mevakshei Hashem in Brooklyn, and is the spokesman for The Rabbinical Alliance of America, and The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of The US and Canada.

STOP OUR HUMILIATION!

Obama Connection To Corzine May Weaken Governer With Orthodox Jews

Editors Note: While certain elected officials and political groups across the state, are endorsing the various candidates, several questions have arisen.

For one, the president of the United States has endorsed a candidate for an elected position. Should the President of the United States have the right to use tax-payer money for trips to New Jersey, to campaign for his personal candidate.

In the New Jersey prominently Orthodox communities of Passaic and Lakewood, several Jewish officials have advised the people of those communities who to vote for. Notice the language I have used, “advised” not endorsed. It has become a trend for Jewish leaders to advise people who to vote for.

This trend is contrary the what the United States stands for. What millions have died for, has become a second nature to us. We are given the option of choosing candidates that will represent “us” the people, not “them” the politicians.

Today is election day, say “no” to those that try to vote for us, say “yes” to freedom. Freedom the American way

Passaic-Fighting for re-election in the 36th District, Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) said an email blast today by a constiuent urging Orthodoz Jews to vote against Gov. Jon Corzine is not representative of the community’s view of the incumbent Democratic Party governor.

“(Republican) Allen Shwartz’s endorsement of Chris Christie is kind of like Richard Nixon endorsing the Republican candidate,” said Schaer. “Our community is not in lockstep on the governor’s race. Some rabbis are backing Christie, others are supporting Corzine. As a member of the Orthodoz Jewish community I’ve certainly made my overtures on behalf of the governor.”

Shwartz in his email panned Corzine, in part using the governor’s linkage to President Barack Obama as an argument against supporting the incumbent.

“Jon Corzine’s most visible proponent for the past month has been none other than President Barack Obama,” Schwartz wrote on Passaic Today. ”One doesn’t have to travel for long through Passaic, Lakewood, or Teaneck to see the signs of President Obama and Governor Corzinecampaigning together, arm-in-arm. …Make no mistake about it: the administration of President Obama has been the most hostile to the State of Israel since its founding in 1948.”

The Orthodox Jewish community last year overwhelmingly supported John McCain over Obama, and sources in Passaic say many Jews in the community are advocating a split ticket of Christie for governor and Schaer for the Assembly.

Corzine’s slippage among local Orthodox Jews has created an opening for Schaer’s ally, Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco, the country’s first Dominican mayor, to work on behalf of Corzine in the city’s Latino community.

“Corzine is looking good here,” the mayor told PolitickerNJ.com a day after headlining a local rally on behalf of the governor, hours after the Obama-Corzine extravaganza at the Rock in Newark. “The key is getting people tot he polls tomorrow. This election will be won in the streets.”

Blanco defeated Vincent Capuana last year with the backing of Schaer and the support of the Orthodox Jewish community – 2,000 bankable votes in the city every Election Day.

(News Source: Politickernj .com)

Car skids into Clifton home; homeowner, dog escape uninjured

CLIFTON — A car drove off the road and into an Athenia Avenue home early this morning, seriously injuring the driver and startling the home owner awake, authorities said.

The Buick sedan was driving from Clifton Avenue along a curved section of Van Houten Avenue when it skidded off the road just after 5:30 a.m. The car struck a street sign and drove into a porch and dining room of the house, which is several feet from the street.

The male driver, who was not identified, had serious but not life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson, said Clifton Fire Department Deputy Chief George Spies. The woman and a dog in the home at the time escaped uninjured.

“It was loud,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified. “The house shook. (The driver) just said, ‘Help me.’”

The home could be unlivable for more than a week because the car took out an entire wall of the dining room.

(News Source: NorthJersey.com)

Women Passing Out Anti-Obama Papers Spattered With Paint In Clifton

CLIFTON —  Two women distributing pamphlets opposing President Obama’s health care plan were squirted with purple paint by a woman who didn’t agree with their message.

The suspect, who fled before police arrived, approached the table on Oct. 20 at about 4:42 p.m. and picked up one of the handouts, said detective Capt. Robert Rowan. After reading the information, Rowan said the woman became angry and told the two women she was not happy that they were comparing the President to fascists.

After reading the information she left, but returned a short while later, Rowan said, armed with purple acrylic brilliant paint, which she squirted on the table, the handouts and the women. The paint was purchased at the nearby AC Moore craft store in the shopping center at the corner of Allwood Road and Bloomfield Avenue.

Police responded but were unable to locate the suspect, described as a white woman in her 20s with dark hair tied up in a ponytail, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and about 140 pounds. The handouts, the table and a number of clip boards were ruined by the paint, Rowan said.

Initially police said the women were distributing the anti-health care information on behalf of a local pharmaceutical company, but on further investigation they said they learned the victims were distributing the pamphlets on behalf of a Lyndon LaRouche political action committee.

LaRouche is a political activist who has run for president of the United States under the Labor Party and the Democratic Party.

(News Source: NorthJersey. com)

Feds: Leader of Radical Islam Group Killed FBI Shootout

DETROIT — Federal authorities in Detroit say they fatally shot the leader of a radical fundamentalist Sunni Islam group after he failed to surrender on several criminal charges.

The U.S. attorney’s office says Luqman Ameen Abdullah was killed while exchanging gunfire with federal agents Wednesday at a warehouse in Dearborn.

A court document says Abdullah is an imam, or prayer leader, of a radical group whose primary mission is to establish an Islamic state within the United States. Authorities say he’s also known as Christopher Thomas.

The FBI was trying to round up Abdullah and 10 followers on many charges, including conspiracy to sell stolen goods and illegal possession and sale of firearms.

The FBI says Abdullah regularly preached anti-government rhetoric, and some of his followers converted to Islam while in prison.

(News Source: MyCentral Jersey.com)

Police ID Passaic Man Shot Dead

PASSAIC — Police have identified a city man who was found shot near Broadway and Grove Street last night.

Khalil Bunting, 27, was shot on Grove Street about 7:30 p.m. last night, and ran onto Broadway before collapsing in the street in front of a printing shop, police and witnesses said. The man was kissing a woman in front of an apartment complex on Grove Street just before a shot rang out about 7:30 p.m., said Maria Cerna, who saw the pair from the sign company she works at across the street.

A man closing up a supermarket on Broadway and Grove Street saw Bunting and the woman running around the corner before he collapsed.

“I heard a really loud bang   —   I thought it was a truck,” said Jeremy Lim, who works at R J Superette. “I heard a guy running down Grove Street, and he turns left onto Broadway. He said ‘I got shot.’”

Lim, who is a lifeguard, called 911 and tried to help Bunting, but his friends who showed up kept him away. An ambulance took Bunting to a local hospital where he apparently died.

Police did not release any information on suspects, saying the investigation was ongoing. Lt. Christopher Storzillo said an autopsy is underway.

Business owners in the area were told by police on the scene last night that a man in a hooded sweatshirt shot the victim in the back. Many today were stunned that a shooting happened on their block.

“We’ve never had anything like this before,” said Merlita Lim, who’s owned R J Superette for about 20 years.

Police are investigating the shooting death but have not released details.

(News Source: NorthJersey.com)

Breaking News:::: Major Gas Main Was Just Busted

Passaic N.J. Major gas main was just busted by a construction company at the corner of Main Avenue and Highland Avenue. The gas leak is reported in the new school. Multiple agencies are responding at this time. Passaic Fire is requesting P.S.E & G on a rush. Main Avenue is being blocked off by the Passaic Police at this time expect major delays in the area. Homes are being evacuated in the area.

Update– 2:45 Passaic Fire evacuating all Highland Avenue residents in the area. Clifton Police requested to block off Main Avenue in Clifton.

Update–2:49 Passaic Fire loads the fire hoses as a precautionary measure. Additional Fire trucks arrive on scene to help with evacuations. Construction company is shutting down all of their generators in the area.

Update–2:50 P.S.E & G representative on location at this time, P.S.E & G rep awaiting the gas shut off team.

Update–2:55 Passaic Police reaching out to the Passaic County Sheriff Department for more officers to block off streets in the area.

Update–2:57 P.S.E & G Gas shut off team on location and attempting to shut off the gas main on Main Avenue and Highland.

Update–3:09 As per Passaic Police and Passaic Fire all units will be leaving the scene within 15 minutes. P.S.E & G shut off the gas at this time.

P.B.J.N Staff on behalf of the residents of the City Of Passaic would like to thank the Passaic Police department and the Passaic Fire department for keeping us safe and protected.

P.B.J.N Exclusive Report

Reform temple’s on Simchat Torah

Members of Temple Beth Shalom reform temple of Clifton enter the sanctuary during a recent Simcah Torah service at Temple Ner Tamid of Bloomfield. The two congregations merged over the summer, and Beth Shalom’s Torah scrolls were subsequently added alongside Ner Tamid’s.

(News Source NorthJersey.com/PBJN)

GOVERNOR CORZINE AND DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP FAILED NEW JERSEY HOSPITALS

The Corzine administration and Democrat leadership that claim to care for New Jersey health care system has failed New Jersey hospitals.

A total of 15 acute-care hospitals have closed around the state since 1997, including 11 in the northeastern counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association.  Among the most recent are Barnert Hospital in Paterson, Pascack Valley in Westwood and Union Hospital. We have witnessed dramatic fall of Passaic hospitals with the last of the three in bankruptcy proceedings this year.

All of this happened under years of Democrat rule in New Jersey.

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a national foundation committed to sound health policy, ranks New Jersey 50th — second lowest in the nation — in terms of healthcare expenditures to hospitals. And Public Citizen, a national consumer watchdog group, ranked New Jersey’s Medicaid program 39th out of the 50 states, largely due to its poor reimbursement to providers. New Jersey, in fact, ranked dead last in reimbursement, according to the Public Citizen analysis. Other groups have witnessed New Jersey’s difficulties and responded. Standard & Poor’s, a major Wall Street ratings group, has downgraded the credit rating of many New Jersey hospitals and predicts that the state will experience additional hospital closures due to its harsh marketplace.

Major problem causing hospital closing is not enough funding for charity care. Presently, all hospitals receive at least 50 cents back for every $1 of charity care they provide. Those “safety net” hospitals that serve most of New Jersey’s uninsured population must receive at least 96 cents to ensure their ability to continue serving patients. We estimate that at least 50 percent of the charity care is used by illegal aliens using the emergency rooms in our hospitals.

As a result the unfunded mandates on hospitals effectively ask them to provide uninsured individuals with the catastrophic health insurance they are free not to procure, at the expense of insured patients and, in the case of investor-owned hospitals, of shareholders as well.

In 1995, New Jersey had 112 acute care hospitals. As of 2008, there were 75 hospitals remaining with half of them losing money.

Democrats Want Orthodox Vote, Robert Yudin Says it’s Not Going to Happen!

New Jersey – The Democrats’ outreach to Jews in the New Jersey gubernatorial race came into focus this week as the National Jewish Democratic Council began a special focus on Bergen County and its large Orthodox population.

“We are really focusing hard on northern New Jersey, especially Bergen County,” said Linda Berg, NJDC’s political director. “I really can’t give you a sense of how much we are spending. Our members are busy raising money. We have an ad campaign, and we will be doing direct mail, but we don’t like to disclose numbers,” she said.

With an estimated 100,000 Jews — 15,000 of them in the Orthodox community — Bergen has a higher concentration of Jewish voters than any other county in the state.

“We feel there are a lot of Jews there, and we want to make sure we don’t have a fallout of the Democratic vote in a place where there is a big concentration of voters,” Berg said.

She is dispatching organizers “who are going to events where Jewish voters gather” and “doing phone-banking on issues to get out the Jewish vote.

“We are targeting Orthodox voters,” Berg said. “We have a few Orthodox rabbis who work with us very closely. We have people in New Jersey who know how to talk to the Orthodox vote.”

Robert Yudin, who chairs the Bergen County Republican Organization, said the Democrats “should be worried about the Jewish vote. There is a very big uneasiness about the direction the Democratic Party is going, relative to the Middle East,” he told NJ Jewish News. “When you couple it with the absolute corruption going on in Bergen County, there is an uneasiness, and you are going to see a larger percentage of Jews voting Republican than in past years.”

Yudin said he believes the Orthodox community “is overwhelmingly going to vote Republican” because “they are furious with Obama over Israel. As far as the rest of the Jewish community, most of them will probably vote Democratic, but I suspect we’re going to see more of the Jewish community voting Republican than have in past years.”

Unlike Corzine or independent candidate Christopher Daggett, Republican candidate Chris Christie supports vouchers and tax credits for families who send their children to parochial schools, an issue that resonates with many Orthodox voters.

Passaic City Council Meeting October 27 2009

On Tuesday October, 27, 2009 their will be a Passaic City Council meeting at 7pm at city hall. Come out and express your opinions, tell your politicians what you would like them to do for the people. Everyone gets a chance to speak for a couple of minutes. Our politicians will be more then happy to listen to what you have to say. 7 people on the council cant decide it all they need your help.