Open NHSA Seat Now a Possible 4 Way Race in Hoboken

Not just Tony Soares vs. Brian Assadourian any more

Previously, this blog had broke the story last week that Tony Soares, a key Mike Defusco supporter had put in his application for the the North Hudson Sewerage Authority NHSA seat currently up for renewal and currently occupied by Ravi Bhalla ally Brian Assadourian and close personal friend of Mayor Dawn Zimmer and her husband Stan Grossbard. NHSA board positions are 5 year appointments and pay a small stipend of $5,000 per year and are the only appointed local board positions that are not strictly volunteer. That seat is set to expire by February 1, 2018 and would be up for vote at the first or second City Council meeting of January 2018.

Tony Soares left and Brian Assadourian right

Hoboken Old Guard Candidates Frank "Pupie" Raia and Patty Spaccavento said to be interested as well


Now it appears based on my sources that the position may have up to four candidates vying for the coveted board seat being one of three people to represent Hoboken. The next candidate should be familiar to those who know Hoboken politics in that it is Frank Raia, former NHSA Commissioner, former Hoboken School Board member, former Hoboken City Council and Mayoral Candidate and perennial self anointed "king maker" in Hoboken old school politics. Frank is a former chairman of the board and had served for over 25 years until 2016 when Kurt Gardiner (yep that's me) secured 8 of 9 votes on the City Council to be appointed replacing him on the board.

Frank Raia of Hoboken- Still trying to find parking and a way back on the NHSA

The other and 4th candidate that is said to be interested is Patty Spaccavento who is currently the proprietor of the iconic establishment Piccolos which had been in business in Hoboken for over 60 years and formerly run by his father Joseph "Sparky" Spaccavento who passed away in 2016. Patty is also a former NHSA Board member and born and raised in Hoboken according to his bio. Patty Boy is also no fan of folks who just eat salad for dinner...

Patty Boy Spaccavento of Hoboken Piccolos - Photo by H-Mag

Back in the day Patty Spaccavento was no fan of the Hoboken Yuppie invasion:

This Chicago Tribune article in highlights the cultural divide in Hoboken back in the late 1980's

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1988-04-17/news/8803090380_1_pat-spaccavento-hoboken-rouse

Excerpt:

Marty Rouse and Pat Spaccavento are typical representatives of the warring factions.

Rouse, 26, is a Yorkie. Yorkie, a subset of Yuppie, is the natives` term for a New Yorker, and is pronounced with a sneer. Rouse left Manhattan in search of cheap Hoboken rents, only to grow frustrated by the city`s refusal to accommodate the tastes of the new inhabitants.

One of many Yorkies who have conceded defeat, he is about to double his $486-a-month rent by moving back to Manhattan.

``Let`s say I want to buy a pair of shoes,`` he says. ``I would never buy a pair of shoes in Hoboken. They don`t sell leather shoes in Hoboken. All you can find is $9.99 plastic specials. There`s one movie theater, and it always seems to be playing `Haunted House III.`

``The schools are terrible. The streets are dirty. There are no parks. There`s no parking. If you do park, the cops come around and put their speakers on and say, `Get out of the bahs and move your cahs.` ``

Rouse continues, good-natured if slightly hyperbolic: ``And you can`t do food shopping. There is no fresh food in Hoboken. There`s one good bakery. The others sell those disgusting green St. Patty`s Day cakes. And croissants haven`t even made it here.``

Spaccavento, a 27-year-old B-and-B, applauds the city`s reluctance to cater to the likes of Rouse.

``The old-timers aren`t willing to change because the newcomers aren`t willing to change,`` he says while cooking cheese steaks at the grill behind the counter at Piccolo`s-where, at noon, old-timers gather under dozens of photos of native son Frank Sinatra and shout conversation to each other across the room.

``These Yuppies go out on a date, and what do they wear?`` says Spaccavento, wiping a hand on his stained white apron. ``Dungarees, sneakers, a polo shirt. I go on a date, it`s sports jacket and tie. And food. When I go out to eat, I don`t want to eat just salad.``

He turns back to the grill and flips a burger. ``The thing that really ticks me off,`` he shouts over his shoulder, waving the spatula, ``is they think they`re better than you.``

That should give you a bit more color on the background of the latest candidate. I for one don't think I am any better or less than Patty, I just generally support better political candidates for office that's all. It is a matter of opinion of course. I also do pay taxes.

Earth to Nancy Pincus - Quit your bellyaching and accept that this is a City Council appointment

The proprietor of Grafix Avenger blog has been bemoaning the fact Ravi Bhalla no longer has a locked down City Council majority and has been fuming on her website about how certain City Council members need to kiss the ring and vote back in her political ally Brian Assadourian onto the NHSA Board for another 5 year term. Nancy was exposed by this website as being not just an advocate but actually being paid out by Ravi Bhalla campaign for graphical services rendered during the campaign making her a paid political operative for Ravi Bhalla.

The bottom line is this: it is up to the City Council to pick the next appointment and not Ravi Bhalla. Right now Brian Assadourian only has two solid votes in theory and it is a race to get 5 of 9 votes for up to 4 candidates and possibly even more. It will remain to be seen who actually files and keeps their application active up until the vote on the City Council.

Should Brian Assadourian wish to continue to serve Hoboken should he not get reappointed to the NHSA, he could always serve on the Hoboken Planning Board whose appointments would be made by the Mayor Elect Ravi Bhalla. For all the backslapping about how Ravi Bhalla has assembled a team of rivals, it makes no sense for Ravi having his paid for spokesperson Nancy "Angry Pants" Pincus going nuclear on City Council members he needs to repair relationships with. He will need 5 votes to pass and 6 votes to bond.

The core commentators of the Grafix Avengers site seem to be the angriest bunch of winners ever. Granted, my candidate (Jen Giattion) lost but I am over it. The reason why is I accept our system of check and balances and the City Council will play a vital role in curbing the ultra development aggressiveness of outside influences like Stronger Foundations PAC and even Governor Phil Murphy. I put my faith in that more than any low information Hoboken voter could ever do.

Prior Story: http://hobokenresistance.blogspot.com/2017/12/breaking-tony-soares-to-seek-nhsa.html

Breaking: Tony Soares to Seek NHSA appointment coming up February 2018

Former North Hudson Sewerage Authority Commissioner Tony Soares has filed an application for consideration on the NHSA for a 5 year term starting February 1, 2018 today at the Hoboken City Clerk's Office. The seat is currently held by Commissioner Brian Assadourian whose term is up early next year. Brian Assadourian is a political ally of Mayor Zimmer and Mayor Elect Ravi Bhalla as well as a close personal friend of the Mayor and her husband Stan Grossbard.

Tony Soares has previously served Hoboken as Hoboken City Council at Large, The Hoboken Zoning Board of Adjustment and two terms as NHSA Commissioner before stepping down last year. Hoboken resident and community infrastructure advocate Ed Friedrich was appointed last year to fill Tony's vacant seat. Tony was also a key backer of the Michael Defusco for Mayor campaign. Last year Tony had stepped down from his position due to a vehicular accident where he was struck as a pedestrian and needed time to focus on his recovery. When asked by the Hoboken Resistance the reason is applying again, Tony Soares responded "I think I offer the City of Hoboken a lot based on my past experience as City Councilman, Chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and NHSA commissioner. I am applying because I want to participate in the process of governing and believe the best candidate should get to serve on this important board."

Tony Soares left and Brian Assadourian right
Let the battle of the two term NHSA commissioners begin!

In Hoboken there are 3 commissioners that represent Hoboken on the NHSA. The board totals 9 members and comprise of two from Weehawken, 2 from Union City and 2 from West New York in addition to the 3 Hoboken Commissioners. Seven votes out of 9 are required to pass any resolution so the fact remains that Hoboken has veto power but it that power has not been utilized recently.

Appointments to the NHSA are made by the City Council and 5 votes are needed to get the position. Thus it appears to be a race between Brian Assadourian and Ravi Bhalla ally should he seek a third term and Tony Soares a key Michael Defusco ally. Key insiders will see this appointment as a litmus test of Mayor Elect Ravi Bhalla's support level on the City Council very early in his first term. No reports of Frank Raia putting his hat in the ring again but that is certainly a possibility as there is still time before the last January 2018 City Council meeting when these appointments are typically made.

Editor's Comment: I currently serve on The NHSA and Tony Soares served with me for one year in 2016 on the board and I thought Tony was engaged and a very good advocate for Hoboken and the Authority as whole. He has the respect of the leadership at the NHSA and its consultants. He asked great questions and his conduct throughout meetings was energetic and professional. Putting political affiliations aside he would make a very good commissioner should he get the votes necessary to be reappointed. This position is first off political, and secondly up to the City Council to decide for themselves who best to serve Hoboken and the NHSA. I worked well with Brian Assadourian too but it is not my opinion that counts here. I know I can work with either candidate selected. Whoever gets the five votes from the City Council is all that matters in the end.

NHSA Update - 2018 Preliminary Budget Flat and Zero Percent Usage Rate Increase Projected! Yipee!

Your Projected Usage Rates are Flat in 2018 Hoboken!

Flat 2018 Budget with no usage rate increase:

Last night the NHSA Board approved unanimously 9-0 the preliminary 2018 Budget for first submission to the State of NJ for comment. The budget is flat compared to last year with $52,593,032 in Revenues and $50,737,897 in Total Appropriations. The good news is that for rate payers there is no rate increase projected for this year. The annual facilities charge is projected to go up only $4. The long term trend is that usage overall for municipal sewers is averaging about 1.5% less every year due to more efficient appliances, demographic changes in household sizes, and smaller capacity toilets that are driving consumption down in spite of recent development in the area.

Keep in mind this is the preliminary budget but if this should hold up it is good for ratepayers in all 4 cities served by the NHSA.

About the NHSA: 

The North Hudson Sewerage Board serves Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and West NY communities. Each city has two appointed commissioners except Hoboken which has three. The current Hoboken commissioners are Kurt Gardiner (myself), Brian Assadourian and Ed Friedrich. 7 votes out 9 are required to pass any resolution so Hoboken does have veto power but has not used it since I started my five year term in February of 2016.

Executive Director Contract Renewed:

The contract for Executive Director Richard Wolf was also extended for another 5 years and unanimously passed by the board. Richard Wolf has done an excellent job with his execution and stewardship over the years and is a key to continued success of the Authority. As long as Richard desires to continue and is able to work there he will continue to have support from all the major stakeholders. All three Hoboken commissioners including Mayor elect Ravi Bhalla were in agreement in the contract extension and see him as a key to getting the third pump completed at the BASF site which will further help alleviate flooding and remain in CSO compliance for the Authority as a whole.

Mayor Elect Bhalla Outreach:

I did receive a call from Mayor elect Ravi Bhalla before the NHSA meeting last night. He expressed his support for the contract renewal. We also discussed our shared goal of seeing the third wet weather pump in Hoboken which will be funded by the Sewerage Authority but of course require cooperation from the Bhalla Administration in terms of integrating into BASF Park Design. Also discussed in the 9-11th and Madison Sewer Collection Improvement Project which will get out of design phase in February of 2018. I hope to continue to have a professional working relationship with Ravi with respect to these infrastructure initiatives.

NHSA Debt is down:

Through a program of graduated defeasance The Authority has paid down its debt. In 2013 that debt was $443 million and in 2017 it is down to $394 million, a reduction of $49 million in just 4 years.  Additional pay down of some debt in 2018 is expected to continue. The NHSA won't know the exact figure for 2018 defeasance until the budget is completed.