ADVISORY UPDATE: Holy water main break! (PICS)

The City of Hoboken has just released the following Advisory Update on Nixle:

"Observer /Jefferson Water Main Break 

According to SUEZ Water, this is a more difficult repair than normal due to additional piping and infrastructure underground on Observer. 

The water is now scheduled to be back on at 70 Adams Street later this evening. SUEZ Water has provided a tanker truck for residents to use to fill containers with clean drinking water. 

However, for the convenience of residents, Mayor Bhalla has also urged SUEZ Water to also provide more bottled water, which will arrive to 70 Adams Street shortly. 

While the repair is ongoing, drivers are reminded of street closures: Newark Street is closed from Adams Street to Madison Street Jefferson is closed south of 1st Street Please plan commutes accordingly. 

We apologize for the inconvenience, and we thank you for your patience and cooperation."

__________

Yesterday afternoon, the City of Hoboken issued this Nixle Alert:

"Water Main Break at Observer/Jefferson

A water main broke at the intersection of Observer Highway and Jefferson Street. Observer is closed from Adams Street to Madison Street, and Jefferson is closed south of 1st Street. SUEZ Water is on the scene, and repairs are in progress. We will provide updates as they develop". 

In case you were wondering what that looked like and what it looks like today, a reader sent me these incredible photos:

MONDAY 8/20 

TUESDAY 8/21

Yikes, that's quite a boo-boo. GA hopes normal service has been completely restored. Which reminds me...

What is the status of Hoboken's negotiations with SUEZ for a new and improved contract?  

Recall, Mayor Zimmer had spent 2 years renegotiating Hoboken's horrible SUEZ contract. The result: mayor was able to get SUEZ to agree on $40M in benefits for Hoboken, including raising the annual budget for Maintenance & Repair from $350K to $1.8M per year, erasing current debt, and the installation of leak detection technology. (If that technology had already been implemented, the owners of those submerged cars above would have received a notification prior to the breach of the main, allowing them time to save their property.) The renegotiated contract included a 10-year extension.

What happened to Zimmer's renegotiated SUEZ contract?  If I recall, Council President Jen Giattino pulled it from the agenda, not allowing a vote. The same night she pulled the "leak detection technology" presentation off the agenda, denying the public from understanding this benefit to Hoboken residents.

In short, there was no honest debate on the merits of the contract. Not during an election season. Council members could not put their own selfish political ambitions aside for the best interest of Hoboken residents. Nope. The council was split into 3 factions (mayoral campaigns) and the Giattino/DeFusco allies did not want to give Zimmer a 'win'; Bhalla had recused himself. 

So, this really excellent deal, including debt relief for Hoboken taxpayers, was DOA.

Which means water main breaks like yesterday's put the City ever deeper in debt. Because $350K/year for repairs to our aged water infrastructure is simply not adequate.   Oh yeah, guess who signed the horrible amendment to the SUEZ contract-- lowering the $500K annual repair budget to $350K?

Councilmen Ruben Ramos and (prolific online personality) Tony Soares.

THE SUEZ CONTRACT THAT FISHER, GIATTINO, RAMOS, MELLO, CUNNINGHAM & DEFUSCO SHOT DOWN