Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

A friend of mine called me on Monday afternoon from his cell phone.  He was driving on Route 80 and there was a major traffic jams. He saw an AIRPLANE being loaded onto a tow truck.  Says it was near Polifly Road Exit.  What happened

Word is travelling around town about a federal raid on a very prominent highway contractor located on Frederick Street in the First Ward.  This is alleged to have happened on Thursday.  Does anyone know what it is about.  Was there anything in the newspapers.

Governor Chris Christie's headline move to cancel the proposed $8 billion rail tunnel is truly a sad day for Hackensack. 

Wasn't that the plan that called for one-stop trains from Hackensack to Manhattan, by making a loop-d-loop at the Secaucus transfer.  That would have brought in a tremendous influx of money and investment around our train stations.  Both of our train stations are in the city's oldest areas. 

I wonder if this will impact the County's plans to build a transit village at the old County Police station on Kinderkamack Road and Zabriskie Street.

Hey guys,

A small section of Teterboro borders Hackensack, but our state legislator thinks it's important to divide Teterboro up among every other adjacent community except Hackensack.  We're the only urban center bordering Teterboro, we have the highest taxes of all the communities bordering Teterboro, and we are the primary community which is directly under the flight plan.  But alas, we are undeserving of these ratables. Not one square block.  We don't get a slice of the pie.

And there's more.  They want to take the isolated western end of South Hackensack, what's called the "Garfield section" of South Hackensack and give it not to the City of Garfield which really needs those ratables, but to suburban Wood-Ridge.  And the southern triangle of South Hackensack with Empire Boulevard and all those juicy ratables will go to Moonachie.  Moonachie already has dirt low taxes compared to almost any community in Bergen County.

How about giving the northwest side of South Hackensack (theGreen Street corridor) to Hackensack, so we'll be more contiguous with our slice of Teterboro. 

Why stop there, how about the entire main portion of South Hackensack.  Let's get rid of South Hackensack and Teterboro in one mighty act of the legislature.  Could there be 2 or 3 thousand people in South Hackensack?  We can swallow South Hackensack AND Teterboro without so much as a burb.  They already attend our high school anyway. Our police and DPW can cover it, and they already have a fire station.  It can work.

How much lower would Hackensack taxes go if we could consolidate Teterboro and South Hackensack ?

This has to be documented online, with the actual text cut and pasted.  Because eventually the link to the Record article will disappear.  This matter is today's breaking news, but also an important historical event.  I offer no comments or opinions on the subject matter. The only goal here is to post this important news on this website.

Hackensack police chief Ken Zisa put on paid leave, acting officer in charge named

Friday, April 30, 2010

LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY APRIL 30, 2010, 7:12 PM
BY MONSY ALVARADO, MARLENE NAANES AND SHAWN BOBURG
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITERS
 
41 Comments
   
 Page 1 2 >>
 
HACKENSACK — Police Chief Charles “Ken” Zisa was placed on paid leave Friday, a day after he surrendered to Bergen County authorities to face an insurance fraud charge stemming from a 2008 accident involving his then-girlfriend.
 
TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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Captain Tomas Padilla was named the acting officer in charge of the Hackensack Police Department.
Capt. Tomas Padilla was named acting officer in charge of the department.
The Bergen County prosecutor, John L. Molinelli, said at a press conference that he also has assigned Timothy Condon, who is in charge of special investigations for the prosecutor’s office, to serve as a monitor for the department. Condon’s duties will include “general oversight” of the department, Molinelli said. Condon will sign off on “all major policy decisions,” including promotions, over a six-month period.
At the end of six months, Molinelli said he would decide whether to extend the monitoring agreement. Condon would not maintain an office at police headquarters, he said. Padilla will report to Condon, according to a memorandum of understanding between the city and the prosecutor’s office.
Padilla said he will be leaving the Bergen County freeholder board, possibly in June.
SPOTLIGHT: TOMAS PADILLA
Name: Capt. Tomas Padilla

Padilla was named the acting officer in charge of the Hackensack Police Department
Age: 46

Hometown: Upper Saddle River

Education: Padilla is a certified public manager with a bachelor’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is working on a master’s degree in administrative science.

Background: Padilla is a 22-year year veteran of the department. Prior to joining the administrative office, his longest tenure was in the juvenile division where he was in charge for three years and a detective and sergeant for more than six years.

Padilla also oversaw the records and licensing bureau, and was a supervisor of the traffic and patrol divisions. He also spent time as a patrolman, a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer and a detective in the juvenile and general investigation divisions.

Political offices: Padilla was appointed to the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders in October 2002 to fulfill an unexpired term. He was elected in 2005, becoming the second Hispanic elected a freeholder.
 
Kathleen Tiernan and Charles 'Ken' Zisa
Deputy Chief Frank Zisa Jr., the chief’s brother, retired Friday morning, Molinelli said, adding that he was not implicated in the controversy surrounding the chief.
The insurance fraud charge stems from a February 2008 accident involving the chief’s then-girlfriend, Kathleen Tiernan. Zisa is accused of ordering officers to write in their report that Tiernan struck a utility pole after swerving to avoid an animal, even though sources said the first officers on the scene reported smelling alcohol on her breath.
Hackensack City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said the city’s labor attorney recommended placing Zisa on paid leave until city officials are able to review documents from the prosecutor’s office detailing the charges against the chief.
Zisa, a 34-year department veteran who has served for 15 years as chief, had not emerged Friday and could not be reached for comment. It is believed he cleared out his office on Thursday, officials said. Molinelli said he did not know whether Zisa would resign or be removed.
Zisa and former girlfriend Kathleen Tiernan, were charged with insurance fraud in a car accident in which the chief allegedly drove the woman from the scene, prosecutors said Friday.
Tiernan, 49, of Hackensack, was driving a Chevrolet Trailblazer owned and insured by Zisa on at 12:45 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2008, when she allegedly struck a utility pole on Moore Street in Hackensack, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. Moments later, Zisa arrived and allegedly removed
Tiernan from the car and drove her away before sobriety tests could be administered, according to the statement.
The police report on the incident states that Tiernan “swerved to the right to avoid an animal that entered the roadway” and hit a utility pole.
The report says no alcohol or drug tests were administered. It does not indicate that any charges were filed or summonses issued. Tiernan, an employee of the Bergen County Technical Schools, was alone in the vehicle, the report says.
Zisa filed an insurance claim, and both he and Tiernan are accused of signing a document with a false statement. Both are charged with insurance fraud, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $15,000.
They are set to appear in court at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Investigators received information about the crash in January, the statement said.
Emotions were mixed in the police department Friday morning after news of Zisa surrendering to authorities Thursday night made its way through the city. However, officers are still doing their job, “as all professionals do,” a police source said.
Lo Iacono said he did not know if the chief planned to resign.
“Everybody has to know that the department continues to operate professionally as it always did even through these last six to eight months,” he said. “No one should be concerned that it’s affecting city operations. Should there be any involvement of an outside agency like the prosecutor’s office, we are going to cooperate and we are going to do whatever needs to be done to clear the issues.”
Zisa arrived at the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office building on Eisenhower Drive in Paramus shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday, a law enforcement source said.
Rumors swirled all day Thursday that Zisa was poised to resign. But during a meeting with some of his highest-ranking officers Thursday afternoon, Zisa reportedly said he “was weighing all of his options,” two sources said.
Outside City Hall, Padilla confirmed that Zisa held the meeting, but he declined to say what was discussed. He said the chief often meets with his staff.
Zisa left police headquarters through the back entrance at 6:30 p.m. Thursday carrying a black bag and got into his black sedan. When approached by a reporter, he rolled down the window.
“I’m not going to speak to you,” he said when asked about his plans and what might happen in the department if he did choose to leave it.
This past year has been a tumultuous one for the Hackensack Police Department, with Zisa named in five separate civil lawsuits filed by 15 current and former police officers. The officers alleged that Zisa — who also served as a Democratic state assemblyman for the 37th District from 1994 until 2002 — abused his authority by retaliating against officers who did not contribute to his state election campaigns or those of candidates he supports in county, city and local police union elections.
Zisa has denied those allegations — which did not involve any criminal complaints — saying the lawsuits were filed by disgruntled employees who are looking for a financial windfall from the city.
“I would have never expected people making well over $100,000 a year to further tax the residents by filing bogus lawsuits that need to be defended,” he said in an earlier interview.
The allegations in the civil lawsuits prompted at least one of the officers’ attorneys to write to the state Attorney General’s Office and another to contact the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the lawyers said. City Councilman John Labrosse, whose wife was sued by Zisa for posts she made on an Internet forum last year, also asked the attorney general for help, he said.
In February, Patrick Toscano, an attorney representing suspended Police Officer Anthony Ferraioli, said that he had been in contact with the county Prosecutor’s Office and that investigators were looking into Zisa and allegations of insurance fraud and official misconduct. He made the statements at Ferraioli’s disciplinary hearing.
Thomas Aiellos, a retired Hackensack policeman who is a plaintiff in one of the civil suits, said in an interview last week that city police officers have been interviewed by county investigators in the last few weeks about Zisa and how the department handles its cases. Aiellos said he also talked to investigators from the FBI last year about the chief, the way he leads the department and his influence |on city government. And he said other officers have been interviewed by federal authorities as well.
Molinelli acknowledged “turmoil” and “divisiveness” in the Hackensack department in his remarks to reporters on Friday.
“The amount of divisiveness that has taken place in Hackensack Police Department for some time now is not necessarily the result of one person,” he said. “It’s a result of personalities, egos. But when it reaches a point where the citizens of Hackensack need to have a better sense of law enforcement direction, our office needs to get involved. And we have gotten involved.”
Zisa is a member of a Hackensack political dynasty. His family members have served, at various times, as mayor and deputy mayor, deputy police chief and city counsel.
Labrosse said he opposed Padilla’s appointment as the department’s acting chief.
“I am totally against it,” he said. “I’m not against the monitoring, but the man they are choosing … he’s too close to the chief. He is one of the chief’s guys. It’s unfortunate for him, but that’s just the way it is.”
Staff Writers Jean Rimbach and William Lamb contributed to this article. E-mail: alvarado@northjersey.com

Historians should be advised that the city is acquiring the Masonic Temple at State and Atlantic Streets.  There's a seperate blog for this on "Hackensack Discussions", but now that I know there may be an opportunity to secure some space for the City of Hackensack's first museum, let's have a string for that here on the Historic pages.

The city is considering various uses, namely relocating the Cultural Arts Center from Broadway to this facility.  Space for senior facilities is also under discussion.

I would think that the "bare bones" of what is needed is storage space for archived materials, a small lockable room (say 150 square feet) to function as an office with a desk and file cabinets, and some exhibits. Perhaps the exhibits would be secure glass cases with artifacts and documents and displayed in public areas of the facility.  If we can get something more, that's even better.  Nobody expects the city to STAFF a museum, that's not going to happen.  But they might be staffing a Cultural Arts Center, so if it doubles as a museum in some capacity, that works. That is what I see as realistic.

The other option would be using the old Cultural Arts Center on Broadway as the Museum, but then again staffing issues would come into play there.  It would have to be generally locked down, and opened on a very occasional basis by volunteers. This is the time for interested historians in Hackensack to band together and form an advocacy committee. I can't do it because I'm no longer living in Hackensack, I'm "just watching". Get it ?

Those persons interested in seeing something happen should advocate here on this blog and/or send a letter to the Mayor & Council, 65 Central Ave, Hackensack, NJ 07601.

I had a chance meeting yesterday with the pastor of the Dominican Assembly of God church.  They rent space from Trinity Baptist on Passaic Street, and they own a house at 380 Summit Ave, east side 1/2 block south of Passaic Street.

He complained that the City has been subjecting him to 2 years of delays and red tape, and still hasn't scheduled his application to the Zoning Board.  His congregation of 60 families purchased the house about 3 years ago for he claims the staggering sum of $730,000.  They intent to leave it structurally the way it is, just to take down some wallls on the inside and make it into a church.  They intend to provide ZERO onsite parking spots.

He says they can't sell the house and move elsewhere because they'll never get $730,000 for it, probably won't get $500,000 for it. He can't stomach the loss. And they've spent mucho dollars already in repairs, and something like $20,000 a year in taxes.

I'd love to see one of our readers research and find out how much he paid for it, and what he pays a year in taxes.  I assume he's honest about the numbers, because he's a pastor, but you never know.

He mentioned all the gang and drug problems in Hackensack and said that he wants his church to be a refuge, and to motivate the people to "something better". He said that the people of the older neighborhoods so much look up to Summit Ave that he chose it for his church.  He mentioned Fair Street and Lodi Street as both having gang problems.

I thanked him for doing the good work of God, and suggested that he would much better serve his mission by locating the church where the people live who most need to be helped.

About 5 years ago, people who watch over zoning and planning in Hackensack were outraged that two 2-family houses were approved on 37.5 foot wide lots.  It replaced a long-vacant 75-foot wide lot on the south side of Berry Street, about 100 or 150 feet west of Railroad Ave.  The standard is 50 feet, and those applying for variances to build on 45 or 48 feet were regularly denied for years. Over the years, applications for single-family houses on narrow lots were so heavily discouraged by city officials that most did not even make it onto the Zoning Board docket. Certainly there was never a formal application to build on anything under 40 feet, even for a single-family house. But this application to build on 37.5 foot wide lots made it on the agenda, and it was approved over very heavy objections from the neighborhood.

These were the narrowest lots approved for contruction in the city in over 50 years.  Observers felt at the time that people who were really connected in town must be making money on it, and that is why the Zoning Board approved the variances.  But the details are only now emerging.

The attorney representing the builder (Mr. Mento) at the Zoning Board hearing was Joseph Zisa, who is now city attorney. Zisa himself regularly discouraged any of his clients from building on substandard lots, but not this time. 

Now we see in today's Record that allegations have surfaced about these houses involving Ken Zisa, our Chief of Police.  It is alleged that Ken Zisa was personally involved in this deal.  Rather than state anything online that could get me sued, why don't I just post the article ?  Here it is:

3 HACKENSACK COPS PLAN TO SUE CHIEF
Friday, May 29, 2009
BY MONSY ALVARADO
NorthJersey.com
STAFF WRITER

HACKENSACK — Three police officers have notified the city of their intent to file lawsuits alleging Chief Ken Zisa abused his power by retaliating against them for their political affiliations and not contributing enough to his election campaign.

One officer, who has been in business with the chief, also alleges in a letter attached to his notice of tort claim that he did construction and repair work, including building decks, a hot tub and framing a basement for Zisa and his brother, Deputy Chief Frank Zisa, without getting paid.

The notices, received by the city on May 12, were sent by Officers Anthony Ferraioli, Aldrin Lamboy and Scott Sybel.

Zisa said Thursday that because of potential litigation he could not comment on the specifics listed in the notices. "The allegations contained in these letters are false, and that eventually will be borne out by whatever litigation ensues with this," he said.

Sybel, who has owned property in Hackensack and Paterson with Zisa, alleges that the chief subjected him to harassment and inappropriate comments and requests. Sybel, who said he did construction work for Zisa, is seeking damages of more than $300,000.  "Chief Zisa abused his official position and powers to cause Officer Sybell [sic] to perform extensive labor and services for Chief Zisa's personal enrichment," reads the claim.

Furthermore, Sybel claims, he was reassigned from the Narcotics Division last year to a walking post for only donating $75 to Zisa's state Assembly race.

Ferraioli and Lamboy claim that because they did not vote for the candidate Zisa supported in last year's Police Benevolent Association election, Zisa retaliated by demoting and reassigning them to walking posts.

Sybel and Ferraioli could not be reached for comment Thursday. Lamboy referred all questions to his attorney, John J. Didziunasa of Jersey City, who did not return calls. Didziunasa is also representing Ferraioli and Sybel.

City Manager Stephen LoIacono declined comment. He said the City Council will likely discuss the letters at its next regular meeting. City Attorney Joseph Zisa, the chief's cousin, also declined comment on Ferraioli and Lamboy's letters. He said Sybel's allegations shouldn't involve the city.  "His claims against the chief are all his business dealings privately with the chief … and why they are even noticing the city on this makes no sense to me," Joseph Zisa said.

"If he feels like he didn't get treated properly by his other partners, which is frequently allegations between partnerships, then he should access the courts like everybody else does instead of trying to make it a public forum," he added.

In his letter, Sybel, who has been a city police officer since 1992, lists eight times he did construction work for Zisa or his brother dating back to 1996. The work included building a deck and a hot tub at the chief's house in the summer of 2000, installing molding in his dining room in November 2004, and fixing a leaky roof for the deputy chief in 2007, according to the letter.

Sybel says he also did work at the former Dog House Grill Restaurant building on River Street, which is partly owned by Zisa.

Sybel also claims that in early 2003, he, along with his brother and another business partner were approached by Arthur Mento, a retired city police officer, about building a house on Berry Street. Mento would supply the construction materials, while Sybel and the others would do the construction, according to the letter.

Sybel claims when construction was complete they had agreed to sell the house, with Mento receiving the money he invested, and the others splitting the rest, the letter states.

Later that year, Sybel claims, Mento told him that the chief wanted in on the deal.

"Artie further said that if I said no or opposed your demands, my career would be finished and that I would be out of narcotics and back to patrol," Sybel writes in the letter. "We had no choice. We had to let you in."  Mento declined to comment.

Property records show that Mento bought the Berry Street property for $64,000 in July 2002, and that Zisa, Sybel, his brother and another business partner, John Schianchi, bought into the property in March 2004. They sold the property later that year for $435,000, property records show. Sybel said he received $18,000 after the sale.

"I objected to this and told you that I felt robbed," the letter addressed to Zisa says.

Joseph Zisa, the city attorney, represented Zisa, Mento, Schianchi and the Sybels when they sold the Berry Street property. He said that after the sale, $317,000 went to pay the mortgage still left on the property. He said that after closing costs and other fees were paid, the men received $91,800. A portion of that money went toward legal fees, he said.

That same year, the five men registered with the state a company, Cranberry Associates LLC, which bought several lots in Paterson, according to property records. The company built three houses on a portion of the property and sold them last year. But Sybel claims, in the letter, that he did not receive any money from the sales.

Zisa, the attorney, said he represented Cranberry Associates in some of the closings but could not remember how many. He said he didn't know how the profits were split.

"What the partners do with their money, they do with their money," he said.

E-mail: alvarado@northjersey.com