Who Is Carlos Sanchez?

Please note, this is an informal view based on my own observations. 

Carlos Sanchez has an ungainly title - Deputy City Administrator for Economic Development - but he's as graceful as a Nureyev when it comes to the moves with developers, investors and elected officials to make things happen.

Carlos Sanchez, left, with developer Frank Cretella

The title has a history. The deputy city administrator was originally an ombudsman for the citizenry, but during the administration of the late Mayor Albert T. McWilliams, it was revised to reflect the need for a leader in attracting and coordinating development. Once a center of industry as well as a bedroom city for Wall Street millionaires, Plainfield found itself rich in historic housing in the late 20th century, but lacking other sources of tax revenue after Mack Truck and other firms moved or shut down.

By the time McWilliams left office, Deputy City Administrator Pat Ballard Fox was in charge of more than a dozen redevelopment projects, which she detailed for the next administration. But over her eight years in office, Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs left the title unfilled and chose other projects.

Carlos Sanchez

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp revived the cabinet-level title and hired Sanchez with the governing body's approval. But there was no place on the city website for the title. To find Sanchez online, a new developer would have to know to delve down to a middle-manager link from the previous administration. Luckily for the city, Sanchez had his own network in the field. With a website upgrade, his office is now on the front page.

Two and a half years in, Sanchez has also managed to navigate Plainfield's quirky culture. He knows who expects deference, but holds his own when explaining the nuances of a deal. Though some City Council members tend to browbeat the cabinet in public, Sanchez practices patience to make sure a project or a process is well-understood before the vote.

As someone who is often cranky, I stand in awe of the geniality that Sanchez displays. I don't recall ever seeing him angry or upset, no matter who is giving him a hard time

Being bilingual is another huge asset for Sanchez. Not only did Plainfield's Latino population jump 67 percent between 2000 and 2010, new Spanish-speaking businesses dominate the downtown and older ones must make their goods and services known in Spanish.
 
It could be argued that the advent of Sanchez alone did not get development off the dime. The groundwork was laid for many projects and the financial climate improved. But if he ever feels like taking credit for sparking progress in the East End, the West End and downtown, it's fine with me.

--Bernice

A Perspective on Combat-Related Mental Illness

Please read this information from the Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma/Military and Veterans Affairs for some perspective on combat-related mental illness.

Hopes, Fears Expressed for Muhlenberg Site

A developer selected to transform the long-shuttered Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center heard some residents denounce housing as an element of the renewal, just as they have since 2012 when 600 apartments were proposed for the site.

A diverse crowd including "Save Muhlenberg" activists, residents of the hospital's neighborhood and those whose families experienced birth and death there filled the Senior Center Monday to hear William Colgan of Community Healthcare Associates explain his winning concept.

William Colgan of Community Healthcare Associates LLC

  Real Estate Solutions and a committee painstakingly reviewed six conceptual proposals for the 10-acre site before selecting Colgan's firm. The company was found to have the necessary experience, financial capacity to get a bank loan, ability to incur debt and to offer a purchase price to JFK for the site, which the city does not own.

Colgan, Mayor Adrian O. Mapp and Economic Development Director Carlos Sanchez all stressed there are many more steps in the process, starting with acquisition of the site from JFK Health Systems and including numerous city approvals.

A slide detailing "next steps" (click to enlarge)

Colgan, whose firm has redeveloped closed hospitals in Jersey City and Paterson, said Muhlenberg's 500,000-square-foot facility would be partially demolished to make way for parking, while more than half would become a medical facility. The company will seek a "payment in lieu of taxes" agreement.

Although the $49 million proposal could create 600 jobs and bring tax relief, speakers reacted sharply to the proposed inclusion of veterans' housing and assisted living units.

Edward Danner is first up to speak

As soon as Mapp opened the meeting to questions, a line formed at the microphone. Although some wanted to share family memories of Muhlenberg, others sought assurance that their quiet residential neighborhood would not be marred.

With so many more steps to be accomplished, not all questions could be answered, but Colgan said, "Our goal is to work with Plainfield, to make what Plainfield would like to see."

Resident Donald Van Blake asked for something in writing about the proposal and said he was disappointed that there had not been "a clear, open declaration of the purpose of the meeting." Sanchez and Mapp reminded the audience several times that vetting the developers was just one step in the process. 

Perhaps the strongest concern came from Robin Bright, who said bluntly "There was no plan."

Bright said JFK "put a non-compete clause in there." Anticipating a "Wounded Warrior with PTSD" as a future tenant on the site, she said, "That is not what we want here."

Living 200 feet from the site, Bright  said, "I'm scared - there is no buffer."

When the Planning Board in September discussed whether to make an "in need of  redevelopment" decision for the site, board members voted against using eminent domain. Bright said she had wanted them to take the site by condemnation. 

"They should have," she said, "then they could put in the services we need and deserve."

Bright said there were too many children and women walking dogs in the neighborhood.

She said the veteran who killed police in Dallas had PTSD and locally so did a "guy who killed his mother."

She said she wanted JFK to be more flexible in what is put there. The audience applauded her remarks several times..

Colgan and Mapp had their heads together as Bright finished and Colgan said Mapp had asked him to "circle back" to his prior remarks. He said the Muhlenberg project was analogous to what the company did with Barnert Medical Arts Complex, a former municipal hospital. But when he mentioned an adult day center as a possibility, someone yelled that Muhlenberg used to have one and "they took it away!"

In all, nearly two dozen speakers commented on the presentation and their concerns about what might happen. The meeting was taped for airing on local cable channels. Mapp wrapped it up by acknowledging their concerns, calling the return of a hospital "highly unlikely" and emphasizing the possible benefits of Colgan's plan.

"Be patient," he said. "We are at the point where something is going to happen."

--Bernice

Bring Back "Doctors' Row"

Around the turn of the century - 2000, that is - Park Avenue still had a section nicknamed "Doctors' Row" for all the medical offices there. After Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center closed in 2008,  almost all the health care providers moved out of Plainfield. I for one am hoping to hear tonight that plans for the Muhlenberg campus will include some restoration of medical offices.

If development continues at its current pace, there will be a need for more doctors, dentists and other practitioners in the city. As noted in the post linked below, my son and I personally lost health care providers that were formerly within walking distance of our home. Several just moved further down Park Avenue, maybe a $10 round trip by taxi. My dentist is now a $30 round trip taxi ride away, still on Park Avenue but four miles away from his former Plainfield office.

Please read my 2010 post, "A Viewpoint on Health Care" and see whether you agree.

Developers keep stressing the idea that many newcomers to Plainfield will be rail and bus commuters or may even use bicycles to get around. Parking requirements for new development projects have been revised downward in the belief that residents will not need cars as much as before. But what  if a new resident needs a blood test, check-up or specialized care? It would be a lot easier to get to a medical mall in the city than to get to Summit, Warren, Edison or Green Brook.

A new factor has come into play since Muhlenberg closed, and that is the consolidation of medical services into "systems" I had a CT scan in April 2015 and was told to schedule another this past April, but found out the specialist had joined a health system based in Somerville and therefore had closed her former Plainfield office that was in walking distance for me. The travel options are not easy, especially now that I also have some conditions that make long trips inconvenient.

By now, many people have given up hope that  a full-service acute care hospital will reopen on the Muhlenberg site. But I get the impression that many would welcome a "medical mall" kind of set-up.

Whatever comes out of the town meeting will be of interest. I just hope it includes some news on city-based health care.

--Bernice

Muhlenberg Town Hall Monday

Conceptual plan, 2014

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp is holding a Town Hall Meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, July 11 at the Senior Center, 400 E. Front St. to discuss plans for the Muhlenberg Campus.

Click on links below for background information from prior blog posts..

The campus housed Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center until August 2008, when it closed. Since then, hopes of reopening the hospital have not materialized. In 2012, a study by the site's owners recommended development of 600 apartments, a notion roundly rejected by city residents.

The site was the subject of a 2014 city-sponsored study by a planning firm which recommended rezoning for "health care." Again, residents protested any housing on the site, not even for veterans..

A capacity crowd jammed City Hall Library in September 2015 to hear results of an "in need of redevelopment" study for the campus. The former hospital building was described as too far deteriorated to be used for anything, but the owners and city officials agreed not to use eminent domain to take the site.

 A satellite emergency department was relocated from the hospital to another building, leaving a 10-acre parcel available for redevelopment.

Next, the city hired a real estate company in December 2015 to solicit and evaluate proposals for the site look at possible uses. In January, Councilwoman Diane Toliver suggested at a council meeting that the site should be used for a new municipal complex that would locate all city services under one roof.

In March, the city issued a "Request for Proposals" notice for the site.

As described on the city website, on Monday "The topic of discussion will be the proposed redevelopment of the former Muhlenberg Hospital site Don’t miss this opportunity to get an understanding of the development process and the function of the proposed structure."

--Bernice

Follow the Bouncing Meeting Schedule

According to a phone message Friday, Mayor Adrian O. Mapp is holding a Town Hall Meeting at 7 p.m. Monday in the Senior Center, 400 E. Front St. The topic is the future of the Muhlenberg site.

There is a flier on the city web site about it (click the link).

Unfortunately the city website also lists an agenda-fixing session Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court. This meeting was canceled last week, as was the regular meeting on July 18. Instead, there will now be a Special Meeting at 7 p.m. on July 18 in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave., replacing the two previously scheduled council meetings.

So if you are interested, mark your calendar:

Town Hall on Muhlenberg plans

7 p.m. Monday, July11

Senior Center

400 E. Front St.

Special City Council Meeting

7:30 p.m. Monday, July 18

Municipal Court

325 Watchung Ave.

Mapp Urges Cooperation, Unity at Rally

"We are here this evening because we care ...We are here because we love our children and we love each other. We love this city of Plainfield ... we are here because we want to develop solutions."

--Mayor Adrian O. Mapp

 

Residents crowded the rotunda of City Hall Friday for a rally on public safety. The city suffered six homicides in recent weeks and the nation has been shocked this week by .two police shootings of black men and the sniper killing of five police officers.  

With the clearing of afternoon storms. the rally was moved outside.

Assemblyman Gerald Green (left), city officials and clergy assembled in front of City Hall.

Without detailed references to the local and national shootings, Mapp said,"We feel the pain of lives lost" before talking about solutions and strategies for "a healthier, safer Plainfield." 

With his wife Amelia at his side, Mapp said of the victims of gun violence, "All these deaths are unnecessary."

Over almost half an hour, Mapp reviewed crime reduction strategies, programs to engage young people, advances in goals for employment and education and the need to collaborate on solutions. 

Anti-crime strategies include daily real-time analysis of incidents and crimes, rapid deployment, division-wide community policing, "intelligence-led" and problem-solving policing, all of which represent "a new management and organizational philosophy," Mapp said.

Mapp said police raids over the past two years resulted in the removal of 105 guns from the street. Fifteen new officers been hired and two more will begin academy training this month. All are Plainfield residents. "We want to make sure that the officers you see patrolling your neighborhoods are people you know and trust," Mapp said. 

"Since 2014 when my administration introduced these new policing strategies, we have seen a drop of 22 percent in violent crime. Plainfield is safer today than it was 30 months ago when I took office," Mapp said.

He described new daily walking patrols, programs to strengthen ties between police and youth including mentoring for 50 young people and PBA community cookouts in all four wards.

Mapp called jobs "a large part of the solution" and talked about job fairs as well as summer youth employment for 170 young people and 20 adults, 

The Plainfield Youth Council has been revived and will provide "a direct line of communication between the youth of Plainfield and my administration and will provide leadership opportunities for our teenage citizens," Mapp said.

Other plans include a youth summit, funding for qualified students at Union County College, starter funds and financial literacy education for young children "to help break the cycle of poverty and violence." Public pools are open until 6 p.m. and children receive breakfast and lunch at pools, he said. City parks are open every day with numerous activities sponsored by the Recreation Division.

"We will continue to spend time and resources on Plainfield's youth" to find ways to engage them and keep them off the streets, Mapp said.

Mapp pledged to work tirelessly against crime and for changes to current gun laws. "your safety and happiness are my top priority," he said. He urged any Plainfielders who want to become involved in city commissions, committees and community groups to "please come and see me."

Mapp concluded with a poem by James Patrick Kinney, "The Cold Within," and called on all to "save each other so that in the process we save ourselves."

--Bernice