10/30/2009 UPDATE:

More details about lost $4 million grant

During one of his last City Council meetings back in June, State Assemblyman Ruben Ramos put the council on notice that he was working with Congressman Albio Sires, State and Hudson County officials to get millions of dollars of federal stimulus funds to alleviate Hoboken’s flooding problem. Ramos said the North Hudson Sewerage Authority’s flood pump plan was a “shovel ready project” ripe to gain stimulus money. He wanted the council – and whomever was going to be elected Mayor – aware that the City would be contacted soon to apply for the grant funds. Apparently Dawn Zimmer was not paying close enough attention, because as Acting Mayor she missed the opportunity to secure $4 million in stimulus funds. In this video from the October 21st council meeting Zimmer is asked about how Hoboken lost the money:

The four million dollars would have gone a long way to paying for the second flood pump that NHSA and it’s engineers at CH2M Hill say is needed to fix the flooding caused by high-tide storms. Zimmer’s public relations team claims the city wouldn’t have been able to find the additional $2 million needed to secure the grant, but that excuse falls apart when you see at the very same meeting the State Fiscal Monitor allowed the city to borrow over $4 million to secure grants to help pay for the cleanup of the long-delayed park at 1600 Park Ave.

People outraged by the loss of the $4 million grant say “Zimmer dropped the ball.”

Ironically, this Kim Glatt flier was on my car today:

glatt-zimmer-flooding-grant-hoboken-nj

See original comments from Mayoral candidate Kim Glatt after the jump.

Original Article Titled: Glatt condemns Zimmer: Flooding Failure
10/22/2009:

Press release from Mayoral Candidate Kimberly Glatt:

Zimmer failed to alleviate Hoboken’s Flooding Issue

Incompetence, lack of leadership and lack of transparency is costing Hoboken’s taxpayers

kim-glatt-condemns-zimmer

Below is a statement from Mayoral candidate Kimberly Glatt regarding Acting-Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s failure to take action to alleviate flooding in Hoboken. Months ago, Zimmer requested a flooding update from the North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA) and was given a packet that laid out ways for Hoboken to secure funding. Included in this packet was information on how Hoboken could secure a $6 million pump that would help solve Hoboken’s historic flooding problem by pursuing FEMA mitigation grants and NJ DEP grants. All Dawn Zimmer had to do was submit a letter of submittal supporting the project and agreeing to have Hoboken fund $2 million by September 30th. Unfortunately, Dawn Zimmer missed the deadline and failed to file this letter. Her inaction – whether due to incompetence or a lack of leadership – squandered $4 millions in available grants. Now, Hoboken taxpayers are left footing the full $6 million bill for her failure.

“For years, Dawn Zimmer has never missed an opportunity to exploit Hoboken’s flooding problem as a political issue. However, when given the opportunity to actually do something to fix the issues facing our families, Dawn Zimmer failed to act. Her inaction not only postponed a solution to flooding, it will also cost Hoboken’s taxpayers millions of dollars. Moreover, this is a prime example of the lack of transparency and accountability we’ve seen for far too long in City Hall.”

“It’s time to turn the page on the problems of the past that continue to hobble Hoboken’s taxpayers. We need leadership in City Hall, not mere rhetoric and certainly not more of the same old political grandstanding. When Zimmer had a chance start a project that would alleviate flooding for scores of Hoboken residents – while saving the taxpayers their hard-earned money – she failed to even respond to the Sewerage Authority. This is unacceptable. Perhaps even worse than her incompetence and lack of leadership is the fact that Dawn Zimmer is trying to hide this issue from the public.”

Hoboken NJ

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , ,