Is it me or has Hudson County gotten sucked into Hoboken's Political Theater of the Absurd?
According to Al Sullivan it has with Hoboken being divvied up like a pie and "county political bosses" choosing who gets a slice of Ruben, who gets a slice of Zimmer.
And the pies are starkly different.
The Ruben bakers use a scorched-earth recipe. Some of his supporters campaigned with a Nazi Truck. Now the Ramos campaign has embarked on a slander-strategy, pulling the race card against those who support Vision 20/20 done right- safely with community input.
Yup, the newest ingredient in Ruben's pie appears to be the race card. Those who question the current plan, ask for information, want safe design and real open space are "KKK" members and racists who use pejorative language about HHA residents. That may work with the voters Ramos has, but the race card ain't catching fire with anyone else.
And about that Mason Vision 20/20 'endorsement' letter...
The doubling of "open space" Beth Mason claimed this week in The Hoboken Reporter is actually dangerous ground floor parking corridors between buildings--shown in red below.
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| August 2012 HHA Redevelopment Concept Plan- parking lots (red) instead of green space |
This is the "open space" Beth Mason advocates for HHA kids to play in- PARKING LOTS.
GA's not talking about basketball courts adjacent to the Light Rail. Basketball courts are great for teenagers. Where do the other children play? Toddlers, pre-school, primary school kids. With buildings built up to the lot line at the sidewalk, and the Master Plan's 'donut hole' filled with cars, where are kids supposed to play?
Reform supports REAL OPEN SPACE, not parking lots for kids.
Mayor Zimmer cited this and another dangerous condition in the CURRENT Vision 20/20 Plan, in a letter to HHA Executive Director Carmelo Garcia.
NO BACKUP GENERATORS.
Here is what Mayor Zimmer wrote to Garcia on May 1, 2013:
Has the proposal been revised with back-up generators to protect residents during emergencies?
We don't know. The Mayor warned Garcia that ground floor parking was a "public safety hazard":
Has the proposal been revised to address the mayor's public safety concerns about ground floor parking?
We don't know.
The Executive Director has not shown the City Council or public a plan since the August 2012 "parking lot playground" proposal.
(Pssst... this "parking-lot playground" plan increases HHA dwelling units by 25%. That's 25% more kids playing in parking lots)
Reform supports a redeveloped HHA for better quality of life with safer housing and more open space for residents. Vision 20/20 can be great for HHA residents and Hoboken, in the hands of people who want will provide real open space, senior and handicapped accessibility, and buildings designed with back-up generators.
That's in the Zimmer slice of pie.
Got the difference?
Ruben's slice contains a scheme to shove a massive redevelopment of the HHA so problematic that anyone who even asks for information is either a "racist" or a "KKK" member.
Zimmer's slice contains public input, transparency, real active open space, buildings with back-up generators, thoughtful and safe design for HHA residents.
So, which "Hudson county bosses" are lining up for whose slice? According to Sullivan:
Hoboken may become the latest battleground for county political bosses who must choose which candidate to line up behind. State Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack apparently will be supporting Ramos. Some claim his arch-rival, State Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, was on the fence until Stack and his Assembly running mate Carmelo Garcia endorsed Christie in the governor’s race. This may have pushed Sacco into backing Zimmer, who has not endorsed Christie.
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