Are you tired of the
overdevelopment of our community? Had enough of the constant traffic headaches
on Tonnelle Avenue; the noise from trucks and cars all day and all night. Tired
of the pollution from car and truck exhaust and the late night operations of Big
Box stores?
Then its time to join the
North Bergen Concerned Citizens Group (NBCCG) and let your voice be heard.
Our community leaders are
caving in to developers who get to build whatever they want, wherever they want.
The developers get rich, and we get the headaches. And the politicians? (See
chart below)
Overdevelopment is
destroying our quality of life and our neighborhoods. Its time the politicians
listened to us, not the developers. Remember, this is our community. Not theirs.
Join us today, register by clicking
here
CONCERNED CITIZENS GROUP BLOCKED FROM ACCESSING TOWN PUBLIC RECORDS
North Bergen, March 7, 2011- The Town administration is blocking
attempts by the North Bergen Concerned Citizens Group (NBCCG) to get access to
public documents in apparent violation of the state’s Open Public Records Act,
says Mario Blanch, the attorney for NBCCG. (www.NBCCG.org)
Blanch said the he filed
five OPRA requests on behalf of the NBCCG for routine documents that should be
relatively easy to locate and reproduce. The requests were made on February 18
and, according to OPRA law, the town has seven days to respond to the request.
So far, said Blanch, there has been no response from the town
“Their time is up and they
have failed to comply with the law,” said Blanch who sent another letter today
notifying the town that it has failed to comply with the OPRA requests. “I
don’t know what the town has to hide and why it is just ignoring us,” said
Blanch.
NBCCG co-chairman Michael
Kreutzer said the administration of Mayor Nicholas Sacco is afraid to
provide the information because it does not want the public to know where the
taxpayers’ money is going.
“The Sacco administration
has created an employment agency with scores of political cronies on the town
payroll. We believe that residents are entitled to know how their money is being
spent and who is getting rich on the taxpayers’ dollar,” said Kreutzer
The five OPRA requests
sought are:
·A copy of the town’s current
salary ordinance, including the names of all current full time and part time
employees.
· A list of all current
employees of the North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority, their salaries and
any and all compensation they
· A list of all current
employees of the North Bergen Housing Authority, their salaries and any and all
compensation they received in 2010 and their slated salaries for 2011
· A copy of the
ordinance and the financial agreement to be executed between the Township of
North Bergen and North Bergen Residential Urban Renewal LLC
· A copy of the
ordinance and the financial agreement to be executed between the Township of
North Bergen and North Bergen Retail Urban Renewal LLC
Adrian Cepero,
the other NBCCG co-chair, said the organization is looking into, not just
details on town spending, but also the relationship between the town and various
development entities.
“We believe the citizens of
this town have a right to know about any deals between the town and developers -
many of whom are making millions building here,” said Cepero.
SACCO’s
CLOSED GOVERNMENT
The NBCCG said they are not
surprised by the town’s refusal to give them public documents. “Mayor Sacco runs
a closed town government
There is almost no
governmental transparency. Just look at the town website; no public meeting
dates are posted there,” said Cepero.
Kreutzer said Sacco, who is also a state senator, is being hypocritical when it
comes to government transparency. “On the one hand Sen. Sacco says he wants more
open government. On the other hand Mayor Sacco is preventing people from
accessing information about town government” he said.
In Case Your Missed It: NBCCG
Interviewed on Cablevision
Concerned Citizens of North Bergen packed the room at the
January 31 Meeting at Borough Hall
Members of the North Bergen Concerned Citizens Groups packed the January 26
Board of Commissioners meeting to level their concerns about overdevelopment and
traffic along Tonnelle Ave.
CITIZENS GROUP READY TO TURN OUT TO WEDNSDAY NIGHT’S COMMISSION MEETING TO AIR
THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT DEVELOPMENT & TRAFFIC
North Bergen NJ – January
25, 2011, The
North Bergen Concerned Citizens Group (www.NBCCG.org)
will be sending more than two dozen people to tomorrow’s town commissioner
meeting at 7 p.m. at Town Hall at 8p.m.
The group was recently
formed protest over-development and the horrendous traffic on Tonnelle Avenue.
Theattorney for the
group, Mario Blanch says many members in neighborhoods adjacent to Tonnelle
Avenue have grown weary of the intensive development and the traffic and air
pollution it brings.
There are many people who
are legitimately concerned about the intensive development along Tonnelle Avenue
and the traffic it causes that is now spilling over to residential
neighborhoods.
Adrian Cepero, a
resident and member of the citizen’s group, says people want to have a say in
development of the community and not just be told about new developmentafter the fact.
“This
is our community and we deserve to have a say in the development decisions that
are made here,” said Cepero. “The developers make money and move on. We have to
live with the aftermath of overdevelopment.”
More than 75 people packed
the town in December to protest the opening of stores at another Tonnelle Avenue
strip mall that residents says will only worsen traffic, safety and quality of
life issues in nearby neighborhoods.
The
residents are opposed to the opening of a 35,000 square foot strip mall at 88th
Street and Tonnelle Avenue which part of an area inundated with traffic and many
automobile collisions. Last year a 64 year-old pedestrian was struck an injured
by a motorist in the vicinity.
STORE STALLED, HEARING POSTPONED
January 5, 2011 - The Hudson Reporter recently published an interesting article
about the proposed redevelopment on Tonnelle Ave.
North Bergen, December 29, 2010 -
The latest
atrocity to hit our community is the Ipex development – another seven store
Strip mall project by NHB Enterprises LLC, of 8825 Tonnelle Avenue. The
developer JimIpekci was before the planning
board in April 2010, but has still failed to meet all conditions established.
Yet, the town allowed one store to open. Why? A
recent search of political donations for the online database available through
the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement shows a large number of donations from IPEX to various politicians and political groups in North Bergen. A
summary is provided below:
Contributor
Recipient
Date
Amount
IPEX
Guy
Catrillo
4/7/2009
$1,500.00
IPEX Home
Supply
North
Bergen Democratic Committee
10/7/2009
$1,000.00
IPEX Home
Supply
North
Bergen Democratic Committee
10/6/2009
$1,500.00
IPEX Home
Supply
North
Bergen Democratic Committee
4/24/2009
$1,100.00
IPEX Home
Supply
North
Bergen Democratic Committee
4/24/2009
$550.00
NORTH BERGEN
RESIDENTS REGISTER
TONNELLE
OVERDEVELOPMENT CONCERNS
AT TOWN HALL
MEETING LAST NIGHT
North Bergen, December 15,
2010 -- More than 75 people packed
the town hall last night to protest the opening of stores at another Tonnelle
Avenue strip mall that residents says will only worsen traffic, safety and
quality of life issues in nearby neighborhoods.
The residents are part of a
growing group known as the Concerned Citizens of North Bergen, which is opposed
to the opening of a 35,000 square foot strip mall at 88th Street and Tonnelle
Avenue where a 64 year-old pedestrian was struck an injured by a motorist
earlier this year.
Residents say the new strip
of stores, which has failed to meet the requirements of the town planning board
for parking, pedestrian traffic and road widening, is one more commercial
project that the town does not need.
The strip mall is a project
of NHB Enterprises LLC, of 8825 Tonnelle Avenue and includes room for seven
stores. The company was before the planning board in April, but has failed to
meet all conditions established by the board to open stores at the site.
Eighty-Third Street
resident Adrian Cepero
saysTonnelle Avenue cannot
handle the existing traffic, let alone added traffic created by more commercial
development.
“The traffic is insane and
getting worse,” says Cepero who notes the town’s rampant overdevelopment is
affecting everyone in the area.
Cepero says motorists
looking to avoid sitting in traffic on Tonnelle Avenue are taking shortcuts
through residential neighborhoods to get to J.F. Kennedy Boulevard – and not
just at peak traffic periods, but well into the evening.
Cepero notes that cars are
speeding up 83rd street, past the Horace MannSchool
where his son is enrolled. “The traffic is a concern for many parents,” said
Ceparo.
The citizens’ group says as
many as 5,000 residents are impacted by the development on Tonnelle Avenue,
which has gotten progressively worse in recent years with opening of new retail
establishment, such as the Wall Mart Store.
“The
traffic was bad before Wall Mart opened; now it has gotten worse. There are
always car accidents and it’s actually dangerous to walk along Tonnelle Avenue,”
says Cepero.
Last night’s meeting
was hosted by the Alcohol Beverage Control Board, which is considering allowing
a liquor establishment to open in the NHB Enterprises strip mall.
Mario Blanch, the
attorney for the concerned citizens group, said the ABC board took no action
last night in light of the concerns expressed by residents.
“The
board is aware that people are concerned about the project so I think our
efforts were successful in bringing our issues to town hall.” says Blanch. “The
board was receptive to what we had to say.”
Blanch says the group will
bring their concerns to the planning board, which has yet to grant final
approval to the project.
Cepero added that the
citizens’ group is considering taking its concerns to the town’s governing body.
“The politicians need to know we will hold them accountable,” he says. “There
seems to be a lack of planning in this town and a lack of communication to the
public.”
NORTH BERGEN
RESIDENTS TO CONVERGE
ON BOROUGH HALL
TO HALT MORE DEVELOPMENT ON TONNELLE AVENUE
North Bergen,
December 14, 2010 -- More than 100
residents are expected to converge on North Bergen Town Hall tonight at 5 p.m.
4233 Kennedy Blvd, lower level oppose the opening of a new liquor store and the
increased commercial development on problem plagued Tonnelle Avenue.
A group of concerned citizens of North Bergen
say residents and shoppers are worried about the traffic
that clogs the main thoroughfare each day and safety of the road; particularly
at 88th Street and Tonnelle Avenue, where a 64 year-old
pedestrian was struck an injured by a motorist earlier this year.
Residents say the heavily travelled road
cannot accommodate more commercial development.
Citizens have been circulating a petition
opposing the opening of a high traffic liquor store at the Apex site, a
mini-mall composed of seven stores totaling about 28,000 square feet.
Residents say the Apex development, approved
in April by the borough planning board, lacks parking to accommodate customers,
employees and delivery trucks. The site has only 54 parking spaces, about half
of what is required. The applicant said additional parking would be available
through an agreement with an adjacent shopping center and that a footbridge over
a drainage ditch on the property would safely accommodate pedestrian traffic. No
such agreement or bridge has been produced.
The planning board’s April approval was
contingent on the developer securing a redeveloper’s agreement with the
township to convey 15 feet of town property to the developer for road widening.
The board also said the applicant would need to request a license for a loading
dock for the site.
According to the planning resolution of April
6, the applicant NHB Enterprises LLC, of 8825 Tonnelle Avenue was supposed to
return to the planning board in 90 days to confirm it had reached an agreement
to address parking and mobility issues.
The attorney for one of the objectors to the
project noted in a December letter to the planning board that: “Our
investigation thus far has indicated that the Developer has not satisfied
numerous conditions of the Resolution. Therefore, not only should a building
permit not have been issued, but certainly a certificate of occupancy should not
have been issued for any stores.
Recently, a dollar store opened in the strip
mall without obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
“The
traffic congestion on Tonnelle Avenue has risen to nightmarish proportions.
People can’t get through town. Enough is enough,” said
Mario Blanch, the attorney representing the Concerned Citizens of North Bergen.
“We need borough officials to show respect for the concerns of residents, not
just the profit motives of developers and store owners.”
