Issue 75: Those strange ads maybe you've seen.
Also, Mezcal restaurant, Halloween events and ICYMI news!
Good morning! This morning I try and answer a question I got a lot this week — what’s up with these weird ads? — and also share with you some other local news and events. Enjoy your Sunday and as always, thanks for reading! — Amy
Sure, make it better or whatever.
I was off minding my own business at work on Wednesday when I suddenly started getting text messages from different JC activists, all of which revolved around one central question: What the hell is Jersey City Make It Better? It seems that a mysterious video starring our city council president had appeared online as a paid ad on various social media sites, and a lot of people had questions:
The YouTube account — Jersey City Make it Better1 — has a whopping nine subscribers and only two videos posted, both of which start Rev. Joyce Watterman of our city council. The low production value and fudging of the facts2 had me just rolling my eyes and assuming that this was the first volley in Watterman’s eventual run for mayor, and I just didn’t really care, not this early (I refuse to care about the mayor’s race for at least another year). Until later in the day, I had a little time to myself, and I thought, oh let’s start googling.
First off, a quick check of the NJ Elec Reports shows that JCMIB endorsed a slate of Board of Ed candidates back in 2019:
…and InsiderNJ, meanwhile, reports JCMIB’s 2019 Board of Ed election total spending at $6,131.
Ok so definitely not a group that just appeared out of nowhere in the last few months, and clearly one with some money behind it. So that then raises the question to me: how much money does this group I’ve never heard of have on hand? More googling revealed this:
Seems odd. Who is this group that no one seems to have ever heard of before Wednesday afternoon? How do they have over a hundred grand at their disposal?
Ah yes, just scrolling down lightly on that same site returns the following:
If you have no idea who these people are, I envy you. But because my brain has been rotted by Hudson County for far too long, I am here to tell you that Jeremy Farrell is the former Corporate Council for the city of Jersey City, then he became Executive Director of the Municipal Utilities Authority, and is now3 “Special Counsel & Senior Managing Director Government and Community Affairs” to LeFrak, one of the biggest real estate developers in Jersey City. Rodriguez is listed on an official NJ.gov site as an “advisor to LeFrak,” and George Fontas is described as a “lobbyist for LeFrak” in this publication. These are not just random people out there, trying to live their lives and make JC better along the way. This organization is being run by some of the biggest insiders in JC politics, hiding behind an organization’s name.
And so, if you’re wondering where this ad came from, it came from LeFrak. One of the biggest, most aggressive and contentious real estate developers in the city has cut not one but two ads with the city council president, where she basically says in one of them that she has no control over the budget and it’s not her fault taxes are going up. This is great; very, very normal city we have here.
Regardless of how you feel about the Board of Ed or taxes or Watterman or anything, this is a pretty ridiculous situation to be in. It doesn’t seem to be illegal, but it doesn’t feel good that the president of a board that has to meet and negotiate with real estate developers literally all the time — and who should be negotiating with the people of Jersey City in mind not the developers — would be filming an ad paid for by one of the biggest developers in the city.
Hudson County View had a good article on this, and in it they highlighted this quote from JC Make it Better’s website:
Government accountability and transparency is another topic highlighted on their website.
“Over the last decade, Jersey City residents have more questions than answers regarding the city’s fiscal responsibility Government officials have received double-digit pay increases, contracts are given to unqualified vendors, and taxes and user fees continue to rise with no end in sight,” the excerpt says.
The irony of this quote is just almost too much to stand. “Government officials have received double-digit pay increases” — right, government officials like Joyce Watterman who appears in their videos. She, along with the rest of the city council, received steep raises not too long ago that they themselves voted in, but I guess that’s ok? Likewise, “contracts are given to unqualified vendors” — sure, I’d say that’s true, but what’s the administration that’s doing that? That would be the Fulop administration, whose slate member Joyce Watterman is in charge of the city council, which is handing out these contracts. Kind of seems disingenuous to criticize the administration while also having a mouthpiece of that same administration be your spokesperson. It seems very strange on the surface, until you quickly realize it isn’t.
All this arrives at a very strange moment when Fulop is prepping to run for governor and we’re going to have several council members jockeying for a chance at becoming mayor. All of these people — every single one — are going to claim to be outsiders (because politicians never want to appear on the inside), and to be fighting to cut spending and taxes while also looking out for and protecting the vulnerable (when their immediate resumes show them doing exactly the opposite). That’s just what politicians do now. Reality doesn’t matter; just hit the words people love to hear: fighting for you; lower taxes; helping the needy; caring for kids; against government waste; more affordability; etc etc etc. Who cares what we do the rest of the time. Just say those words close to November and you’ll be fine.
This is really the height of cynical politics in Hudson County and it’s just really upsetting to see. But, buckle up — we’re gonna see a whole lot more of it in the years to come. This is for sure going to be a bumpy ride.
Mezcal Mexican restaurant
We got dinner at the super cute Mezcal Kitchen in the Five Corners neighborhood on Friday. The menu had separate listings for “American Mexican” and “Authentic Mexican” plates, which was pretty cool to see (hey look! maybe you want to have your quesadilla with cheddar and mozzarella — that’s ok! They’re great like that! I actually love to see a restaurant acknowledge that a lot of “authentic” cooking we take for granted has been adapted for an American audience). Lots of veggie (no vegan, though) options in nearly every category of food you’d expect — burritos, enchiladas, nachos, and so forth can be made with cauliflower or zucchini in the place of meat. I devoured my Cauliflower Huaraches disturbingly quickly (no regrets), and can report that the margaritas and chips/guac are all highly recommended. And the decor was fun and unique, with images of Day of the Dead characters cavorting burned into the wood paneling of the restaurant. Definitely recommend! (Mezcal restaurant, 665 Newark Ave, JC)
Three local Halloween-y events to let you know about:
A cute and fun concert of the creepy, scary, and campy at NJCU! (October 28-9th, 7:30pm, NJCU West Side Theater is located at 285 West Side Avenue)
And:
The McGinley Square Halloween costume contest is really cute and all the neighborhood little kids go! (October 29th, 1-3pm. McGinley Square Plaza)
And not to be outdone, Riverview Farmers Market! From their press release:
On Sunday, October 30, 2022, at noon the Riverview Farmers Market in Jersey City Heights kicks off their 8th annual Days of the Dead celebration in partnership with local Mexican-American artist Santiago Cohen and this year will be expanding the event to include activities throughout the week, culminating on Friday, November 4.
Cohen serves as the visionary behind the Giant Puppet Parade, where he crafts the puppets by hand in his local studio and also provides DIY kits to the community to build their own puppets and participate in the parade. The event also includes a communal memorial altar or “Ofrenda,” a cornerstone tradition of the holiday, where attendees can place photos of loved ones that have passed and food offerings.
“This event is a way we can help Jersey City respect and appreciate the Mexican community we have all around us,” said Cohen.
Along with the parade and ofrenda, the free event will include live music from Mariachi Oro de Mexico, traditional Mexican dance group Sueño Americano, and entertainment for the whole family. The Riverview Neighborhood Association will host their annual Dog Costume Contest beginning around 1 p.m., as well.
As a new addition to this year’s festivities, the Riverview Farmers Market is partnering with several local businesses and organizations to bring the Mexican tradition to life throughout the week through window and ofrenda displays, as well as Days-of-the-Dead-themed activities, and promotions. The Mexican Consulate of New York City is also involved, pledging their support for the first time in 2022.
WHATTTTT?!?!?!?!! They all sound amazing but props to Riverview Farmers Market for taking things to a whole other level. Here’s a pic from last year’s event:
ICYMI
New Jersey needs poll workers!! And the pay is really good! Earn $300/day on Election Day and $21.43/hour on early voting days. Go here to apply.
Speaking of jobs (and unrelated to Halloween) our local West Side cemetery, Holy Name, is looking to hire people. You could work where Frank Hague is buried!:
The Affordable Housing Overlay passed. The vote was 7-2 but maybe not what you’d expect— instead of Solomon and Gilmore working as a block (sort of?) this time it was Gilmore and Boggiano.
Three months after Amy DeGise’s hit and run, still no court date.
The city is applying for some weird “hooray for bikes and traffic safety” award and tweeted about it for some reason and this was the result.
OKAYY!!!!! Listen!!! Can we please have a decade-long moratorium on “Jersey City: Make it _____” parodies/tributes/vicious takedowns/etc???? People: we have ground this joke into the earth; it is time to put it on the shelf. Nobody liked it to begin with, plus it’s been around for something like six years already. Stop it.
Yes, it’s true the city council has no control over the BOE budget, but the fact remains that the city has been warned too many times to count that the day that the BOE budget was going to swell to a point where taxes were going to be raised was right on the horizon. This means the council could have taken steps to bring in more income over the last few years to offset what they knew was going to happen, but they didn’t. Is it their “fault” the BOE costs so much? Not really. Did they know this day was coming? Absolutely. Did they do anything to prepare for it? No.
I cut his resume for length but as noted by Hudson County View, “Farrell is also the chair of the Fairer NJ super PAC, which is chiefly financed by developers, which has provided support to the “Change for Children” BOE slates since 2019.”