Who wants credit for a crappy, badly-written ordinance?

Hoboken council politics have taken on a surreal quality.  

Outside of the Mile Square bubble, a deadly pandemic rages across America. Refrigerated trucks ordered for overflowing morgues in Texas and Arizona remind us of our worst days in March and April.  Yeah, our state flattened the curve, but every single one of us lives in the shadow of an unstoppable virus run amok under an idiot president. The very same idiot who's promised camouflage-wearing federal militia will come to a city near you, to shoot pepper spray at peaceful civilian protesters or push them into unmarked vehicles headed G-d-knows-where.  It's not hyperbole to say that the America we thought we knew is on fire. 

Amidst this unbelievable chaos, what's the rocking the Hoboken City Council's world?  

(1) Bike Storage. A vague, unfunded ordinance to install friggin' bike storage in a municipal garage was vetoed by Hoboken's mayor.

  

(2) Teeth gnashing over whose idea the bike storage was. The council sponsor of the ordinance accused the mayor of  vetoing in bad faith because "it wasn't his idea/headline."

Ummm, sure. Who thinks like that?  Oh, right.

Earth to Fisher: nobody gives two shits about whose idea a crappy piece of legislation that deserved to be vetoed was.   Nobody.

The legislation stinks. I said so on June 15 in  Junk law: Defusco omits NJ state bicycle safety regulation"  

Why make the City responsible for registration and inspection of bicycles for compliance with some ill-defined "safety standards." 

Moreover, DeFusco's poorly written law omits Title 39 New Jersey statutes for bicycles in  Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulations.  If DeFusco wants to codify "safety standards" for City of Hoboken registration, they must also meet state's "safety standards."  DeFusco's law does not address New Jersey statutes requiring brakes, an audible signal, rear and front night lights that are visible at up to 500 feet. 

Those were my reasons why the ordinance stinks.  Here is why the Mayor said it stinks, only he used polite language.

MAYOR BHALLA'S VETO STATEMENT: Ordinance B-278:

“While I am completely supportive of legislation that would potentially add safe bicycle parking for residents, the Ordinance is severely lacking in the detail and substance that would be necessary to successfully implement such a program. The Ordinance contains no information on how bicycles would be parked/maintained in “designated areas” within the municipal garage, what the application process would consist of, how many spots would be available, what enforcement mechanisms would be implemented to ensure that a permit had been obtained and was maintained on a yearly basis, or who would be responsible for running this program both from an oversight perspective and on a day-to-day basis within the garages. Further, it is not clear from within the Ordinance, nor are there any explanatory “Whereas” clauses, as to how the annual fee was calculated/determined. Therefore, although I am supportive of the idea behind this Ordinance, it is not fully developed in a manner that would allow the proposed program to get off the ground, let alone be successful.  

For the foregoing reasons, I am vetoing Ordinance B-278, but would be happy to reconsider more detailed and substantive legislation which adds safe bicycle parking for residents.  In the absence of a more robust plan, the Administration does not have the resources nor does it intend to implement and administer this proposed fee for bicycle parking.”

That was awfully polite.  If I could read inside the mayor's thought bubble, he was less considerate of fragile council egos and paper-thin skin. The mayor's thought bubble might have read, "What is this amateurish garbage? Did they get this ordinance from a Crackerjack Box?"

Likewise, Chris Adair of Bike Hoboken was enthusiastically polite in her letter to the City Council.

I won't presume to guess the contents of Ms. Adair's thought bubble. I do know that the authors of the legislation did not bother to consult with anyone from Bike Hoboken prior to drafting this turd.  

Dear Council Persons,

Bike Hoboken respectfully asks you to sustain the Mayor's veto of Ordinance B-278. While we appreciate Mr. DeFusco and Ms. Fisher making the topic of bicycling parking a priority, we believe this ordinance lacks needed specificity.

Sustaining the veto will allow the city council to work with the Department of Transportation and Bike Hoboken to create a comprehensive plan to identify locations and build out secure bicycle parking.

In our new world of COVID-19, we've seen the quick reallocation of streets and believe this is an opportunity to make positive changes and real progress as a city. As always, our primary concerns are for creating safe infrastructure for people on bikes.

The city has come a long way since initial implementation of bike lanes in 2009, but there is still much improvement to be had and we look forward to collaborating with the Department of Transportation, the administration and the city council to improve and increase safe bicycling infrastructure for all. Let's fully embrace this together and sink our teeth into in!

Thank you for your consideration.

Chris Adair

Bike Hoboken