Jim Doyle: "please VOTE for NORA "

Hoboken resident Jim Doyle is an Environmental Protection Agency lawyer by day, a Hoboken Councilman and Planning Board member by night  and a long-time Hoboken open-space activist.  

Anyone who knows Jim, knows that he finds Hoboken politics distasteful, has no ego tied to his public service, has no ambition for higher political office. Actually, Jim has no political ambition. Zero. He was a reluctant campaigner. At the council he does not bloviate. 

Doyle governs with seriousness, gravitas and like, Emily Jabbour, has endured incivility, petty personal insults, but worst of all, bad legislation.  Like the ordinance B-40, which would have benefited developers by increasing permitted lot coverage from 60% to 62%, eating into the "donut hole".  

Now, Councilwomen Giatitno and Fisher seem to be howling about true statements on mailers, that they did "side with developers to shrink our precious backyard space ("donut hole)", calling their opponents liars.  In fact, the video clip below shows the vote on Ordinance B-40, the "donut hole munch" ordinance.  

FACT: Giattino and Fisher voted to allow developers to bite into the precious backyard open space (donut hole.) Watch the video. Listen to Jim Doyle speak to protect this green space.  

Then, please read Jim's endorsement for Second Ward Councilwoman Nora Martinez DeBenedetto. [reformatting and emphasis mine, word 100% Jim's]

WATCH FISHER AND GIATTINO VOTE FOR SMALLER BACKYARDS ("DONUT HOLE") & BIGGER LOT COVERAGE 

ORDINANCE B-40

Dear Residents,

 My name is Jim Doyle, and I serve on the Hoboken City Council. I write to ask for your support for my friend, Nora Martinez DeBenedetto, who is the best person to represent the Second Ward on the City Council.

As you may know, a potential solution may be coming together for the controversial Monarch residential development project that developers had proposed for a Pier in the Second Ward. Nora has announced a clear plan to see that this proposed solution become a reality, which includes advocating aggressively for funding sources to build-out open space on the currently dilapidated area where the developer has sought to put two large residential buildings.

As someone who has closely followed redevelopment issues in our City and has served on the Council, on the Council’s zoning and master plan subcommittee, and on the Planning Board, I can say that Nora’s proposal to advocate for public benefits in the form of public, open space at the Monarch property is not only feasible, it is a precisely what a Ward councilperson is supposed to do – advocate aggressively for their Ward. If Ms. Fisher is unwilling to advocate for open space at the Monarch property, she is falling down on the job. 

In fact, Nora's proposal for open space at Monarch property, which Ms. Fisher has criticized as unrealistic, is called for in the City's Master Plan, and it is a long-held vision of the non-profit organization, Fund for a Better Waterfront, and its Executive Director, Ron Hine.

Additionally, in a recent correspondence, Ms. Fisher has suddenly announced, less than two weeks before the election, that she will now vote - if re-elected - on a future Monarch agreement. In the past, she has chosen to recuse herself and not vote on matters pertaining to Monarch because she owns properties directly overlooking the Monarch property, and her property values would be directly impacted by any development there. 

Why did she recuse herself, one might ask?

According to the standard for the ethical obligations of local government officials, “[n]o local government officer or employee shall act in his official capacity in any matter where he … has a direct or indirect financial or personal involvement that might reasonably be expected to impair his objectivity or independence of judgment.” She not only has a direct financial interest, but her condo association (of which she is a member) remains in litigation with the developer over the project.

The reason I raise this is two-fold. 

• First, given that she herself acknowledged in her literature that she is “personally impacted if Monarch is built” and yet still chooses to participate in a future vote, it could very well create a basis for a challenge in a future legal proceeding and put any agreement in jeopardy. This project has already had five separate law suits filed, litigated, and appealed over close to a decade, so litigation is not merely hypothetical – it could be a reality.

• The second point is more general, and it pertains to the judgment and hubris of concluding that a future vote is OK. I would imagine that Ms. Fisher, who admits that she initially became involved in local issues because of this threat, is frustrated by her inability up to this point to participate in this matter. While she has done nothing “wrong” by owning properties in close proximity to a proposed development project, she should exercise sound judgment and not jeopardize the resolution of this matter based on a short-term political desire to be re-elected. It is not my place, or anyone else's for that matter, to tell Ms. Fisher that she cannot vote because she has an ethical conflict here. That is her own call. But what the Second Ward residents can do is consider these circumstances and the hubris when they vote on November 5th.

Meanwhile, Nora has no conflicts and is free to advocate for a future agreement with public givebacks in the Second Ward. Nora’s been in the fight for our waterfront ever since her teenage years, before Ms. Fisher arrived in town. While Ms. Fisher belittles Nora’s previous activism, in fact as a teenager Nora served in Hoboken’s “Go West campaign”, successfully fighting to move the proposed alignment of the Light Rail train to the western side of the City, instead of it being built along our waterfront and cutting us off from it. Nora knows activism and what it takes to fight for us, and she has the perseverance to finish the job of connecting our waterfront once and for all.

Lastly, it is in Nora’s nature to listen to and collaborate with others, and as the 2nd Ward Councilwoman, she will play a leading role in soliciting input, including for the Monarch and Union Dry Dock hoped for future parks. She is an independent voice, and I ask that you please consider casting your ballot for Nora Martinez DeBenedetto on Tuesday, November 5.

Sincerely,

Jim Doyle
Hoboken Councilman at Large