Jersey City Council approves $1M contract for COVID-19 vaccination site
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
The resolution before the governing body faced scrutiny since Bespoke was only formed in October, according to New York state filings, and only has two employees – despite claiming to have tested over 400,000 individuals during the pandemic.
“I have full faith in [Health and Human Services] Director [Stacey] Flanagan and everything she has done so far in the course of this pandemic,” Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh said before voting yes.
“My kind of view on the matter is we can’t delay any longer, we have to get vaccines out to folks and there were some questions that were raised, we’ll see what the director says, that struck me as really legitimate about the company’s expertise but this is the group that the city’s going with and they have to deliver,” explained Ward E Councilman James Solomon before casting an aye vote.
Fulop discusses city salaries, bike lanes, medical marijuana at caucus, clashes with Lavarro
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“Over the last year, we have tried to correct a lot of salary issues citywide,” Fulop began.
He explained that the city has reviewed municipal salaries and want to make sure they are competitive, pointing out that prior Business Administrator Brian Platt took a similar post in Kansas City, Missouri that offered far greater compensation.
“Rather than us picking a number we think is fair, we’re going to let the marketplace dictate that and be competitive with our sister cities in the region. Our goal is to make sure we are compensating people fairly,” the mayor added.
Solomon erupts on Fulop, who returns fire, over adding Boggiano to re-election team
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Ward E Councilman James Solomon.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Mayor Fulop governed JC in 2020 as a Chris Christie-esque triangulator. He avoided serious police reforms. He treated Black Lives Matter as a political problem to solve instead of an opportunity for progressive governance. He cynically waited the activists out while pretending to care about their concerns,” Solomon said during a Reddit AMA this afternoon.
“He passed an affordable housing ordinance that’s significantly weaker than all similar ordinances in New Jersey. He embraced ‘reopening’ from COVID instead of following clear public health guidance such as throwing up his hands over the cases during the Thanksgiving holiday. That right-of-center agenda is exactly what Councilman Boggiano supports so their deal is not a surprise to me.”
Hudson Reporter
Councilman Rich Boggiano joins Team Fulop
Jersey City s 2021 municipal election begins to take shape ×
Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano will run with Mayor Steven Fulop in Jersey City s 2021 municipal election.
Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano will run on Mayor Steven Fulop’s ticket in next year’s citywide election.
Boggiano has been a Jersey City resident for more than 40 years, is a retired 37-year veteran of the Jersey City Police Department, and former commissioner of Jersey City’s Historic Preservation Commission.
He is the seventh incumbent councilperson to join the mayor’s slate currently composed of Council President Joyce Watterman, Council Vice President Daniel Rivera, Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley, Ward B Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey, Ward F Councilman Jermain Robinson, and Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh.