I attended last night's Public Safety Committee of the City Council meeting on November 30, 2009 at 6:30 p.m., at the basement conference room at City Hall. Councilmen Ravi Bhalla and Mike Lenz were in attendance. Councilwoman Beth Mason could not make the meeting due to a family committment.
From left to right: Director John Pope, Director Angel Alicea,
Councilman Ravi Bhalla, and Councilman Michael Lenz
First on the agenda was an issue that resident Hank Forrest brought to the committee's attention on PSE&G's light replacement program that has been going on in recent weeks. PSE&G has been replacing both mercury and high pressure sodium lights with the newer induction lights. The induction lights are said to be very efficient and have a long life. However, this replacement program is creating a problem since the newer lights light up a more focused area than the high pressure sodium lights mainly due to the type of fixture that comes with the new lights. This is creating dark spots in certain areas of town where there are fewer light poles per block. There will be follow up by the committee on this issue in days/weeks to come. A possible solution to some dark areas is to put more of the new lights in those areas. Another suggestion was to put a moratorium on replacing the high pressure sodium lights for now was also mentioned. The replacement program has been confined to City streets for now. County streets in Hoboken have yet to get approval for the go-ahead.
Additionally, a pilot progam is being considered at 4th and Washington to possibly improve all of Washington Street in terms of lighting. Police officers I have spoke to in the past have said that the poor lighting on Washington Street makes it hard for security cameras to properly identify suspects when incidents occur on the main drag.
On top is an example of the newer induction lights installed by PSE&G.
On the bottom is a high pressure sodium light.
Next on the agenda HFD Battalion Chief Greene spoke on behalf of Fire Chief Richard Blohm on replacing engine number 3 which is a 23 year old pumping fire engine. Battalion Chief Green noted that the average life span for a fire engine is 10-20 years depending on usage. Councilman Lenz asked for additional information on the maintenance breakdown for each fire engine. Both Councilmen, while noting the current budget difficulties, seemed to agree with the Battalion Chief that the request was reasonable given the age of the engine. This will be up for vote at the next City Council meeting.
HFD Battalion Chief Greene (on behalf of Fire Chief Richard Blohm)
The last item on the agenda was the contract with the Hoboken Housing Authority and Hoboken Police Department. At a previous City Council meeting objections (unspecified at this meeting) were raised by Councilman Mike Russo and former HHA Commisioner Perry Belfiore and the issue was tabled and brought back to this subcommittee.
Hoboken Police Chief Anthony Falco was emphatic that this new contract was a very good arrangement for both the City of Hoboken's Police Department as well as the HHA. Both Carmelo Garcia and Dominick Lisa from the HHA also agreed. There were two provisions in the new contract that would make enforcement even stronger for the projects. One was improved access for police officers to do vertical searches of HHA buldings. The other was the creation of a list of a people who are not allowed on the housing project grounds. Procedural and legal issues need to resolved on this yet to be implemented policy. There would need to be a standard for putting offenders on such a banned list as well as procedures for notifcation, redress and appeal for anyone put on it. It is believed that these two tools will make the enforcement of the HHA units much more proactive.
Police Chief Anthony Falco went further to say he would make sure that the schedule for coverage would be published in advance and that he would encourage his department to sign up for the time patrol time slots to ensure proper coverage. Kudos once again to Police Chief Falco for taking responsibility and accountability for making sure the HPD holds up their end of the bargain with the HHA. Ultimately it is the HHA's decision as to how to best provide security and they made a pretty persuasive case to continue the arragement with the new contractual improvements.
My Comment on the HHA Security Contract:
If one of the alternatives to the the HHA contract with is using a private security firm I don't feel that is a very good option. A private firm does not have the arresting authority that using real police officers has. In addition the HPD has connections with neighboring areas such as Jersey City and Union City which provide the HHA areas with a good percentage of offenders in Hoboken. It is these relationships I feel make a very strong case for using Hoboken Police Officers in lieu of private secuirty guards. With the proper leadership and accountability, the renewed contract will give the residents the best possible protection. If somone can come up with a better solution, the Hoboken Journal is all ears.
Original Post 11/29/2009: Here is a note from Ravi Bhalla to members of local media outlets and informational websites for a public meeting on November 30th on Public Safety:
As some of the issues to be discussed impact residents in Hoboken, I would like the general public to be aware of the meeting and encourage them to express any views they may have on matters to be discussed. Please consider posting information about this meeting through your respective media outlets. The Agenda for the meeting is as follows:
1. Street lighting safety – discussion of concerns relating to PSE&G’s replacement of certain mercury vapor and high pressure sodium street lights
· Invited participants: Director John Pope, Hank Forrest
2. Hoboken Fire Department – discussion of bond Ordinance on second reading relating to purchase of fire truck for Hoboken Fire Department
· Invited participant: Battalion Chief Greene (on behalf of Fire Chief Richard Blohm)
3. Contract between the Hoboken Housing Authority (HHA) and the City of Hoboken for the provision of security services by the Hoboken Police Department
· Invited participants: Police Chief Anthony Falco, Public Safety Director Angel Alicea, Carmelo Garcia
Thank you,
Ravi S. Bhalla
Chairman, Public Safety Committee
cc: Committee Member Beth Mason and Committee Member Michael Lenz ◦
