Terry Castellano No Longer Chair of Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission Board!

Terry Castellano caught napping - no longer Hoboken
Historic Preservation Chair

Almost two weeks ago during the re-organization of the Historic Preservation Commission on Tuesday January 11, 2011, Terry Castellano was voted off as chair in a surprise 4-3 vote. The vote reportedly caught her off guard and left her in a state where she had to be consoled by none other than her pal and 5th Ward candidate Leonard Luizzi. He was also voted off as Vice Chair. For those who have been following Terry Castellano's antics at City Council meetings and witnessed her obstruct the positive steps that the Zimmer Administration is trying to make I doubt any tears will be shed on her behalf.

It should be noted that Terry Castellano is still on the board and in a typical petty fashion did not allow the vote to be formally called but instead wallowed that her successor Paul Somerville "had the votes". It would appear Terry needs some anger management as well as perhaps some growing up to do. Normally I would like to thank Terry for her service on the board but her petty display prohibits me from doing so. With her at the helm as chair it might as well be the Hoboken Hysterical Commission :) Besides, one of the projects she had oversight on in the past, the re-modeling of Hoboken City Hall's basement had such poor choices it almost got that building de-listed as an historical landmark. I look forward to the new leadership.

Congratulations to Paul Sommerville for his ascendancy to the Chair and to David Downs for his position as Vice Chair. I look forward to some positive change on this board given the potential to change things for the better.

For those who may not know this board will generally review plans for property owners who have projects in anyone of the Historic Districts within Hoboken. It will also provide review for any plans of properties on the registry for being historical buildings. Examples of such buildings would be Hoboken City Hall as well a the fire houses and churches in Hoboken.

The Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission meetings are generally held on the second Tuesday of each month, at 6:30 PM in the Conference Room of City Hall. This commission governs over any external improvements in the historical districts and is more comprehensive in its review with buildings on historical registries.

Hoboken Historic Preservation Link: http://www.hobokennj.org/boards/historic-preservation-commission/

How does this affect the upcoming election?:

Eric Kurta at HUMC meeting

Eric Kurta has declared his intentions running for First Ward City Council, presumably against Terry Castellano. Eric has long been a watchdog of he Russo/Castellano clan who has profited from the City of Hoboken for years and this vote shows her power is perhaps waning a bit. Still, she has her votes essentially locked up in Marine View but any sign of momentum is encouraging with respect to Eric Kurta's chances. Eric would be a fine choice for City Council given his work on POG, the Hospital Board, and uncovering malfeasance over the years. For the sake of the good governance movement let us hope this is a sign of things to come. ◦

Terry Castellano No Longer Chair of Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission Board!