*INSIDER NOTE UPDATE BELOW
Bayonne will be the new Hoboken by the time next year's municipal election rolls around. This is no longer the city of Dennis Collins or even Joe Doria. The ongoing metamorphosis of the Peninsula City from a blue collar to a bedroom community will have an effect on who controls City Hall.
Yeah, Bayonne isn't exactly chock full of brownstones but it isn't the backdrop for an "On the Waterfront" shot either. The New York Post came out with a story in June announcing that this southernmost Hudson County municipality "... is gearing up for thousands of new apartments and game-changing developments." It's the new hot spot for an accelerated building boom.
We all knew this miracle of miracles was progressing for awhile - or at least since the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System became a magnet for new construction. Just last year Ingerman Director of Development Geoffrey Long, whose firm was then planning to build the $35 million, six-story, 138-unit apartment building named "19 East" didn't have to be convinced that the city was catnip for developers.
"It's a great, great city and we think that it's going to be a fantastic opportunity," he said. "We think that there's going to be some serious long-term growth in Bayonne that we want to be a part of."
There already has been an influx of new residents taking advantage of the proximity to the Big Apple and the availability to commuters of the light-rail train and its connection to the PATH and Manhattan-bound ferries. In the future, look for increasing ridership to go with several thousands of new housing units over the next few years.
Now let's take off the rose-colored glasses and put on those 3D specs to get a face full of reality.
Bayonne has not had a property revaluation in more than a quarter of century and last year the county tax board ordered, OMG, a city reval. You know the argument - it will rebalance everyone's tax burden, at least on paper. Add to this "headache" the city's eternal double-digit, multi-million-dollar structural deficit in its annual municipal budget. You know, this is where City Hall spends more than it collects in tax and other revenues. This a local version of what happened to the fiscal disasters called Greece and Puerto Rico. The city is dog paddling in the middle of a red ink ocean.
When former Mayor Mark Smith first took office in 2008, his administration faced about a $30 million-plus budget hole every year. When he was defeated for the mayoralty in 2014 by opponent Jimmy Davis, the built-in deficit supposedly had been whittled down to about $20 million-plus. I'm not sure what that deficit figure is today but I'm willing to bet that it's roaring back up. Hopefully, someone in City Hall will tell us how much, after they claim I'm wrong.
This brings us to who will run for mayor next year? In February, Insidernj.com wrote a small piece citing Bayonne sources who say former Assemblyman Jason O'Donnell, a past Smith Public Safety director, is mulling a run for Davis' job. Well, I guess it's easy to say, in hindsight of course, that we figured as much. I'm here to say that O'Donnell is not sweating it. My own sources say he's busy marshaling his campaign forces and will be on the ballot. Naturally O'Donnell is acting like the shy bride. We're just waiting for him to publicly announce he wants to be mayor.
Like Hoboken, Bayonne is developing a born-here versus newcomers divide. The pickup truck driving Davis will count on old hometowners with some nativist sentiment for support. O'Donnell, while also considered a Peninsula guy, is young enough looking - described by one politico as "looking like a Harry Potter 12 year old " - capable of moving among a diverse circle of residents. He's run some successful campaigns in the past. It should be a fun bloodletting.
At one time, before he became an assistant superintendent, for mucho dinero, I anticipated Hudson County Freeholder Kenneth Kopacz as a prime candidate for mayor. Now you have to ask why would he run for a post that pays a full-time mayor a measly $72,000 or so. Kopacz is destined to become the school district's superintendent earning somewhere around $175,000 or more annually - without having to listen to whining constituents. He could probably keep his freeholder title, a quaint hobby. No, this is as far as Kopacz is going on the political ladder.
All you have to do to learn more about the future king of this peninsular 11-Mile Square City is follow the money. Look for donations that will obviously come from -- in one form or another -- big name developers and labor unions who want to reap the benefits of the state's perceived next hot spot. No need for brownstones in this city.
INSIDER NOTES
* -- UPDATE: As we previously hinted in this column, 33rd District Sen. Sandra Cunningham of Jersey City gave Mayor Steve Fulop her seal of approval this morning at Berry Lane Park, no doubt surprising a number of people in the city's African-American community. Cunningham said Fulop is providing development progress for parts of the city other than the waterfront and that she looks forward to working with him for the benefit of the city and the legislative district.
The fact that former Assemblyman Charles Mainor bowed out of the race and instead is running for a council seat -- after his heart attack -- is not the reason why Cunningham went ahead with the endorsement adding to the Fulop collection. The senator's OK was in the works for weeks now and she has not been on the same page with Mainor for awhile. Psychologically it is a devastating blow to the mayor's opponents who believe his weakness is the African-American community.
Cunningham's act only happens if she is convinced the incumbent will get re-elected. Then again Barack Obama's endorsement didn't help former Mayor Jerramiah Healy -- who lost to Fulop.
-- Hoboken Councilman Ravi Bhalla is holding his first big fundraiser Thursday at City Bistro at 6:30 p.m. Mayor Dawn Zimmer will be on hand to praise her choice to replace her. Good luck parking.
-- Bhalla gave his public opinion on the heated events of the past couple of weeks. On Aug. 16 he issued this announcement:
Hi Hoboken,
Like many of you, I was highly disturbed by the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend and President Trump's comments regarding the matter.
President Trump's remarks yesterday were a failure of moral leadership. Let's be clear: there can be no moral equivalence between white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and those who stand up to bigotry. There can be no "fine people" who march with those chanting racist words. More than ever, for our neighborhoods, communities, and schools we need a message of calm, healing and affirmation of our nation's highest ideals.
Here in Hoboken, I am proud to say that we as a community have come together in standing up against hate and violence. In the aftermath of the Presidential election in 2016, the Hoboken City Council stood up and spoke out against hundreds of hate incidents against Jews, women, the LGBTQ community, Muslims and immigrants.
We as a community, along with our elected officials at every level of government, have a sworn duty to protect and defend the rights guaranteed to all Americans by our state and federal constitution. As your Mayor, I pledge to you that I will not remain silent when our rights as Americans are under assault.
I leave you with the words of Nelson Mandela, aptly provided in a recent message from President Obama:
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." - Nelson Mandela, "Long Walk to Freedom", 1994
Sincerely,
Ravi Bhalla
Now make way for the new sidewalks and cut down those trees. No, that was not part of his message but rather my snarky attitude.
-- A few days before Bhalla's reaction to national news, mayoral rival and city Councilman Michael DeFusco announced he plans capital projects once in office. Ignore any of the third-person sections of the following message (It's like they're trying to write an article for you):
Councilman and mayoral candidate Michael DeFusco is announcing his plan to bring a new, state-of-the-art public High School complex to Hoboken in a campaign video released today. The first of DeFusco's #NewEnergyNewIdeas policy proposals, the new High School plan proposes to bring city students an unparalleled educational experience by exploring partnerships with Stevens Institute of Technology and utilizing other unique city amenities, showing families that the investment they are making in Hoboken will pay off.
The video and a detailed description of this plan are available on the campaign's website here: www.mikedefusco.com/education
"Every child in Hoboken deserves a top-notch public education, and as Mayor I will make it one of my first priorities to immediately begin planning for a new, state-of-the-art High School complex in the North," said Councilman DeFusco. "We need to think big and make sure families see that we are investing in the future with a school that parents seek out and students can't wait to attend."
Then the candidate says he'll do the following:
Councilman and mayoral candidate Michael DeFusco is continuing his #NewEnergyNewIdeas campaign by releasing conceptual plans for a state-of-the-art Floating Pool and Urban Beach concept that could be built on the Union Dry Dock property on Sinatra Drive. The Floating Pool concept would not only finally provide Hoboken residents with a public community pool after decades of false starts and broken promises, but would also include two Urban Beach spaces, a children's splash pool, a riverfront marina and a continuation of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway.
"Politicians have promised us a community pool for as long as I can remember, but they have never delivered," said DeFusco. "Hoboken should be leading the way and providing innovative community amenities -- which is why as Mayor, I will acquire the land currently owned by Union Dry Dock on the Hudson River to finally connect the entire waterfront and construct a municipal urban beach and floating pool complex. My concept also proposes a public marina, open to all residents, which will generate revenue to cover yearly maintenance and improvements."
Located at 901 Sinatra Drive, the Union Dry Dock property is the last vestige of the waterfront's industrial past and one of the only remaining undeveloped parcels on the Gold Coast. Under DeFusco's plan, the property would be acquired through transparent negotiations, and public-private partnerships would be sought to minimize upfront costs to Hoboken taxpayers while providing a much-needed community amenity.
They keyword here is "partnership." Otherwise it could be quite costly.
-- Sorry, there will be no column on Labor Day Weekend. I'm thinking I'll be in Martha's Vineyard and possibly swimming with the Great Whites. You'll be grilling. Looking forward to some fun stuff for the next few columns. Meanwhile, kids, welcome back to school -- heh, heh.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Agustin C. Torres' columns appear on the nj.com opinion website on Saturdays and occasionally in the print edition of The Jersey Journal.