Issue 47: The $430,000 "Rook"
Also, school kids need drinkable water, JC restaurant week, and more on the Sean Caddle story!
Hello everyone! Sorry for the lateness of this week’s newsletter, but let’s get right into it. Have a wonderful Sunday! — Amy
OUR CITY COUNCIL IS BUYING A FREAKING “ROOK” AND I CAN’T STOP SCREAMING
This week1, the city council is going to vote on a resolution that involves spending nearly $430,000 on a special armored vehicle for the Office of Emergency Management. Let me quote from the resolution for you and we can work through this together:
RESOLUTION RATIFYING AN EMERGENCY CONTRACT AWARD TO RING POWER CORPORATION FOR THE PURCHASE AND DELIVERY OF ROOK TACTICAL SOLUTION VEHICLE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, DIVISION OF OEM.
COUNCIL offered and moved adoption of the following resolution:
WHEREAS, the Division of OEM wishes to purchase and delivery of the ROOK tactical solution vehicle; and
WHEREAS, it was necessary to make the purchase of the ROOK tactical solution vehicle to protect the health, welfare and safety of the residents; and
WHEREAS, because of the emergency, time did not permit to obtain formal quotes[…]
Wait, emergency? “Rook”? What is happening?
Let’s start with what the Rook is. Unveiled at a 2017 conference of US police chiefs, “the Rook is (a vehicle) built off [of] a Caterpillar chassis that has been modified with armor, night vision, thermal imaging, multiple cameras, a wireless remote control and four attachments.” Here’s a picture of the Rook in action:
From the official pamphlet you get when you buy one of these things:
Want yet more pics and info about the Rook? Here’s their official page. Needless to say, this is an expensive and extremely niche vehicle that is out of the ordinary from what the Office of Emergency Management normally keeps around.
It’s unclear from the resolution as to whether or not we already bought this thing and now the resolution is just to pay for it, or if the sale is still pending. The language of the resolution has it both ways: it says first that “the Division of OEM wishes to purchase” a Rook, which sort of implies it hasn’t yet, but then follows up that statement with “it was necessary to make the purchase of the ROOK tactical solution vehicle to protect the health, welfare and safety of the residents,” which implies it’s already done. There are also purchase orders attached to the resolution, which is not a great sign that this can be stopped.
Also, wait. What emergency? Jersey City has been dealing with the exact same emergency every other city in the world has been, but I don’t really see how the Rook is an effective tool against COVID. What other emergencies are we facing that would allow for a quiet and swift purchase of this thing? Is Bayonne stockpiling nuclear weapons again? (See, I warned everyone about that a few issues ago and you didn’t listen!)
I tried Googling recent news items about crime surges in Jersey City, figuring we must live in a really dangerous place if we need one of these, and I got: a random bodega robbery, a few shootings, and the misappropriation of Recreation Department funds — none of which are helped by the addition of this thing. So then I started thinking about natural disasters, and ok — six months ago we had Hurricane Ida, but I doubt the Rook would have helped me clean up my flooded kitchen and basement. I don’t get it. What is this thing for?
Meanwhile, right across the river, New York City already owns a Rook. If push came to shove and there was some bizarre incident where we really needed to use one of these things, couldn’t we just borrow it from them? Couldn’t outgoing New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and the current Jersey City Director of Public Safety James Shea — who are brothers — have a conversation about sharing the extremely expensive equipment? I mean, how often are these things used?
Anyway, I was going to close with a list of things we could really use that $430k for instead of this thing, but as it winds up, my next story just sort of does that for me.
Invest in Jersey City’s children
Local advocacy group Jersey City Together is planning an action tomorrow evening, and if you have an hour to spare, it would be great if you could attend on Zoom. They are hoping to get together quite a large group on the call to push for some major issues that our public schools need that are very near and dear to my heart, namely clean drinking water and mental health counselors (along with transparency in funding and other related issues). I know, it’s ridiculous that in 2022 we have to advocate for things this basic when the City Council gets to just decide to buy a $430,000 armored vehicle, but here we are.
For more information on the crisis in our schools, check out the info JC Together has put together here. And to register for the Zoom call, go here.
JC Restaurant Week!
From an article on TapInto:
Hosted by the Jersey City Restaurant Association, the 2nd annual Restaurant Week will run from March 7 to 20 and feature offers from over 60 eateries.
As part of an effort to spotlight the many wonderfully diverse food options available in the city, this year’s lineup includes food trucks, as well as restaurants.
“Unlike other restaurant weeks we wanted to highlight all the ways to dine in JC- not just amazing restaurants like Latham House and Skinners Loft but food trucks like The Sicilian Guy and Cupcake Carriage, bakeries like Angel Azul and Choc O Pain, cafes like Belle Ame, and pizzerias like Sage Eats, and specialty eateries like Empanada King and Baonanas,” the association said.
For 2022, the association has rolled out a new website that allows diners to search specials using criteria like cuisine or neighborhood. It is also using QR codes to connect customers to offers and opportunities to dine locally.
Offers vary by location and all participating restaurants and offers can be found at jcrestaurantweek.com.
Melanie Rudin, a spokesperson for the Jersey City Restaurant Association, said, “Last year was the first year of the event and Covid restrictions made connecting with restaurants and patrons extremely challenging. The clearest response was that the JC restaurants wanted an event of their own. With more than 60 participants this year I think we are ready for a great event.”
More on Sean Caddle
The NY Times had a new article out this week about Sean Caddle, the political operative who has been charged with hiring hit men to kill a guy in my neighborhood. In addition to the guest appearance of Gary’s Sweet Shoppe, the article also has the really weird factoid that Caddle once ran a company that promised customers, …well:
In 2015, six years before Sean Caddle, a New Jersey campaign consultant, wound up at the center of the state’s most talked-about murder mystery, he began what seemed to be an unusual business venture. He called it Chainsaw Productions.
The entertainment company held movie screenings that year and was planning to stage interactive “horror environments.” One was named Slaughter Camp — “an immersive and electrifying overnight experience,” a Facebook post read.
It’s worth it to click through to that Facebook link and read the incredibly ridiculous press release for the company, made much more gruesome and bleak by the fact that the guy actually really did murder at least one guy, perhaps more. Ugh.
Many, many thanks to local activist Isaac Jimenez, who brought this whole issue to my attention. He learned about it from Councilman Frank Gilmore’s Community Caucus meeting with his constituents to go through the budget and talk about the different line items up for a vote. Thank goodness he did, as otherwise this would have just passed in the complete darkness.
I heard recently from a friend in the Hilltop neighborhood that she saw Rich Boggiano going around asking for signatures to remove or keep the Waldo Ave popup park from coming back.