Public Meeting Minutes, February 1, 2024 

Historic Paulus Hook Association 2/1/24 Public Meeting

Common Room, Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Cathedral

Meeting called to order at 7:40 pm by Jonathan Kanterman, president and Diane Kaese, ex-officio 

Meet and Greet

All attendees introduced themselves, identifying their connection to Paulus Hook and whether they were HPHA board members.

Police Report and Public Safety Updates

Roseanna Petruzzelli reported on the January 18 East District Jersey City Police Department public meeting she attended along with Philip Petruzzelli and Ward F Councilman Frank Gilmore. No other members of the public were in attendance at the police meeting.

• The report detailed incidents since the beginning of 2024, including:

• 35 Parking violations
• 63 Moving violations
• 7 City Ordinance violations
• 8 assaults
• 2 aggravated assaults
• 4 robberies (2 were shoplifters)
• 10 break and thefts. vehicles
• 2 break-ins and thefts, residences
• 2 bikes stolen from garages
• 2 stolen vehicles

• There has been a trend of juveniles throwing bricks at the windows of homes and vehicles.
• In the meeting, there was discussion of the continued public safety issue presented by the proliferation of delivery bikes and the lack of enforcement. The NYPD has a strong bike unit and better control of bicycles there. Although JCPD has bicycles, the training was canceled last year and the trainer retired, so they have no one to train the officers and the program has been put on hold. GrubHub and other delivery apps have little oversight since the riders are all contractors and would be unable to mandate enforcement mechanisms such as ID tags on delivery bikes.
• Police haven’t seen anyone on the streets, so they believe they have found shelter.  According to Assemblyman Gilmore all the shelters are currently at capacity.

• There was discussion of enforcement at Peninsula (Morris Canal) Park to address issues such as partying on weekend, fireworks, etc. The park is not a city park, it is a part of Liberty State Park and under state jurisdiction.

• • As a side point, we discussed that there is nothing in the Liberty State Park revitalization plan that addresses Morris Canal park. 

• The East District Captain, Iris Cruz is against P.S.16 closing the park to the neighborhood. It was suggested that she  speak against public closure of the park when it comes up again. 
• There are no updates on illegal bus parking at P.S.16, despite our continued requests and offering of follow-up information. HPHA will need to speak with the Jersey City School District safety office.
• We will need to monitor bus idling at St. Peter’s Prep in the future.
• JCPD East District is now on Instagram and is hosting a senior’s Valentine’s day meet and greet (details on Instagram). @jcpdeastdistrict
• There has been an increase in phone snatching incidents and people being forced to make large electronic transfers to their assailants through apps such as Venmo.
• The company that employs people to solicit charity donations outside of Exchange Place and Whole Foods keeps 80% of the proceeds and only distributes 20% to the charity. This practice is legal. 

Construction Reports

• There will be 2-3 more months of pile driving at 55 Hudson. The company agreed that pile driving will only take place between 8:30am to 5pm Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Despite the contractors insistence they had a permit to pile drive on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, they were in violation of their permit. 
• The Bistro la Source parking lots are going to be developed. The initial plans are extremely preliminary. 
• There are no updates on construction at the Bell Fuse site on Van Vorst Street. 
• Development at the Golden Cicada on Grand and Marin site is slowly moving forward.
• The parking lot at the corner of Van Vorst and Sussex streets has been sold, but there are currently no plans for development. 
• Discussion of the platform being constructed between the future Golden Cicada site to Van Vorst St. that will span behind homes. Despite the objections of the HPHA this is technically allowed due to the revision of the Tidewater Redevelopment Plan. 
• Iron Monkey is now closed but there are no updates about future plans for the site.

Miscellaneous 

• Stephanie Daniels gave a plug for people to share stories for potential inclusion on the HPHA website and in future newsletters, as well for the Community History Project.
• There was a question about the lawsuit against Saint Peter’s Prep to halt development of the two historic school buildings on York Street. . It was clarified that the HPHA is not a party to the suit, but rather it is the Zoning Board of the City of Jersey CityThe HPHA vehemently opposes demolition of the two important historic buildings. St. Peter’s continues to stall.
• Discussion of the overly bright and colorful lights at 99 Hudson. HPHA will address this with building management. 
• Report on rat infestation on the waterfront and in the neighborhood by resident, [NAME??]. The CCPOA is developing a strategic plan.

The meeting was adjourned to taste dumplings at 8:37 pm. 

1st Riza Hunger

2nd Stephanie Daniels

Submitted by James Kirkland, HPHA Secretary