Work in Progress at Madison Park

My wanderings downtown Tuesday took me to the small park at Madison Avenue and West Second Street, where I saw a big ditch and preparations for construction.

 
It might be for the skate park for which the City Council approved a design contract last month with Hood Skateparks of Gladstone. The site is on the east side of the park, where annual basketball tournaments have been held. The design contract cost was $15,000. Construction, at an estimated cost of $250,000, will come from Open Space funds.

It was nice to see quite a few parents in the park with young children enjoying the swings and slide. The construction area is fenced off from the play areas.

The skate park will be 5,000 square feet. Currently, skateboarders frequent the plaza next to Dunkin' Donuts on West Front Street.

--Bernice

PSE&G Upgrade Complete

A handsome brick wall and ranks of Arbor Vitae are now in place on the east side of the PSE&G station on West Second Street, marking completion of an upgrade mandated by the power grid operator PJM. The station abuts the PNC Bank parking lot where developer Frank Cretella has proposed a five-story building with retail space at ground level and 148 apartments above.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment insisted on this good-looking type of fence over what PSE&G proposed, a style that Chairman D. Scott Belin described as cage-like.

The blue pipes add an aesthetic touch to the installation, which is expected to handle an anticipated 12 percent increase in demand for electricity over the next decade.

Us older folks know this logo well.

This city-owned lot was crammed with temporary electrical equipment to handle the load through the changeover. (See post here.) While the work was being done, the entire block including Municipal Lot 9 was targeted for an "in need of redevelopment" study. Now that the PSE&G upgrade is complete, the city can take further steps toward redevelopment.

--Bernice

Commentary on Police Accreditation

The City Council approved a contract in March 2014 for the Police Division to become accredited, meaning it has demonstrated adherence to the highest standards of law enforcement. The process is now 90 percent complete.The contract cost was $86,342, to be paid entirely out of the city's forfeiture account with the approval of the Union County Prosecutor's Office.

On Monday, Councilwoman Gloria Taylor tried to get the council to endorse a resolution to hire an attorney to conduct an investigation of the Police Division for $20,000 and to produce a full investigatory report in 28 days. Given the scope of the investigation as listed in the resolution, it would be a small miracle to complete it in four weeks.

Click to enlarge

Police Director Carl Riley's reason for pursuing accreditation was "so we don't end up in the paper." At the time, Riley said the division's policies and procedures were out of date and the division "was going through some things now" that wouldn't have happened if policies were in place.

Taylor's reason for investigating the Police Division, as stated in the proposed resolution, is that "recent personnel decisions have called into question the fairness of disciplinary procedures at the Plainfield Police Division." This appears to hark back to the controversy over Police Lt. Ken Reid, much of which consisted of emotional testimonies on his behalf even though the facts of the internal investigation could not legally be revealed to the public. Supporters said Reid was facing a choice between demotion or retirement, but it was basically hearsay, because officials could not speak about the matter. In a March meeting, Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said five officers were involved, three white and two black, which countered Taylor's allegation that Reid, who is black, was racially targeted. Still, a council majority declined to pass a resolution in support of the Police Division.

On Monday, Taylor complained that there are "no black captains, no black lieutenants." Over the 30 years that I have covered Plainfield, there have been many outstanding black captains and lieutenants. But they have not attained their titles by fiat, they had to study, wait for tests (according to the NJ Civil Service Commission, tests for police lieutenant and police captain are tentatively scheduled for October 2016) and pass them  before rising through the ranks. If there are none right now, be assured that there will be black lieutenants and captains in the future.

Taylor's drama Monday was not spontaneous. Her video chronicler, Rev. Zechariah Jackson, set up a camera trained on her, no doubt for later use on YouTube. Jackson came to the microphone to talk about his extensive video archives, which happen to include Taylor's Third Ward political campaigns, among others. Her term ends on Dec. 31. Dan surmises that she may be promoting former Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs as her successor for the Third Ward seat in November. Could be. Reid was the former mayor's bodyguard and dear friend, whom she named lieutenant on her way out of office in 2013. If elected to succeed Taylor, she could take up the cudgels against Riley and Mapp that Taylor will have to relinquish.

--Bernice

Taylor Pushes for Investigation of Police

In March, it was about perceived mistreatment of a police lieutenant. It August, it is about seven homicides. The bottom line is, Councilwoman Gloria Taylor wants the City Council to investigate the Plainfield Police Division.

Gloria Taylor tells Police Director Carl Riley she wants an investigation

An otherwise routine agenda-fixing session Monday turned into a rehash of Taylor's campaign to probe police policies and culture, though other council members demurred. Taylor complained that Council President Cory Storch has refused to put a resolution  for an investigation on the agenda even though the entire council supported it in March, As president, Storch has the right to omit a resolution. He said Monday "No, I do not want to do an investigation,"

Storch said he heads a nonprofit organization that is working in partnership with Union County officials to provide counseling for people returning to the community from prison, which he called "one piece of the puzzle."

Councilwoman Tracey Brown said she did not like the word "investigation."

"A better word would be 'review,' " she said, though Corporation Counsel David Minchello said wording in the city's charter only allows the governing body to hire an attorney for an investigation.  .

Councilman Barry Goode said he had a problem with the word "investigation."

"When you use that word, it's poison," he said.

Councilwoman Rebecca Williams had earlier reported that an accreditation process for the Police Division was 90 percent complete, needing only an onsite review that was expected to take place early in 2017. As the discussion went on, she read aloud the  March resolution, which calls for hiring an attorney at $150 per hour, not to exceed $20,000

Williams said she didn't think an investigation was feasible, nor did it warrant spending the taxpayers' money.

Councilwoman Diane Toliver said she has seen an increase in community policing in her ward, with officers interacting with residents.

"I believe that's is where it has to start," she said.

Overall, Taylor appeared to come up short with support for an investigation.

Police Director Carl Riley responded to Taylor's insistence on an investigation by citing an overall decrease in crime, seizure of 111 illegal guns. the success of a police mentoring program for young people, commitment to "Fair and Impartial Policing" in conjunction with other police departments and the Union County Prosecutor's Office and the use of new body cameras which resulted in more than a 50 percent drop in citizen complaints against the police.

Regarding the homicides, Riley said, "Our hearts go out to all of the victims' family members and friends."

He noted two arrests and said he could not comment on other ongoing investigations.

"We are still in need of the community's assistance in obtaining information," Riley said, offering a crime hotline at (908)  654-TIPS.

Councilwoman Bridget Rivers told Riley he is doing a great job, but she deplored the recent "spike of murders."

"We have to something a little more,'' she said. "'It's seven. It's seven, It's seven."

Riley said he had spent 16 years in Homicide.

"Nobody knows how it feels more than me," he said. "Homicides - sometimes you just can't prevent them."

--Bernice

Council, BOE Meetings Tonight

City Council

Agenda-fixing Session

7:30 p.m. Monday(tonight)

Municipal Court

325 Watchung Ave.

Board of Education

Special Meeting

7 p.m. Monday (tonight)

Plainfield High School Cafeteria

Among the council items are three redevelopment resolutions, related in part to an ambitious 2007 proposal to redevelop more than 90 properties near the Netherwood train station. It was reduced to 16 properties, but then stalled out, perhaps due to the financial woes of 2008 and beyond.

More recently, the Planning Board approved "in need of redevelopment" studies in June for two of the tracts. One contains the E. Paul and Royal Apex buildings on South Avenue.The other is a huge swath of land on North Avenue between Berckman and Leland for which the council approved an "in need" study in February. The resolutions for "in need of redevelopment" plans both stress "non-condemnation" intentions, meaning eminent domain will not be sought.

The third resolution is for the council to direct the Planning Board to conduct an "in need of redevelopment" investigation of 28 properties from 701 to 1021 South Avenue and 417-431 Berckman Street. This study also harks back to 2007 interest in the sites, though not as extensively on South Avenue.

By now, readers are probably aware of the process that requires the council to authorize the Planning Board to investigate whether a location is in need of redevelopment. If the Planning Board makes such a finding, the council may then direct the board to create a redevelopment plan. Early on, the Union County Improvement Authority was involved in the process, but that does not seem to be the case in the new thrust for redevelopment.

The areas now fall under the Transit-Oriented Development-Netherwood zoning ordinance that was adopted in 2013, allowing greater density around the Netherwood train station and designating sections for various types of development. See the TOD-N ordinance and map here.

Plainfield is finally taking off. Plaintalker encourages residents to learn more about the current redevelopment surge by checking resources on the city website and, if visiting City Hall, by examining the maps on display outside the Economic Development office on the second floor.

The Board of Education is holding two special meetings this week, on Monday and Tuesday. The board is expected to take action Monday on a resolution to hire a Head Football Coach at a stipend of $10,444. The candidate is not named. Tuesday's meeting is a closed session, if I am reading the agenda correctly. The regular work-and-study meeting took place on Aug. 2 and the business meeting is scheduled to take place on Aug. 16. 

--Bernice

Illegal Dumpers Strike on Block 832

At 10:45 p.m. Friday, a big pickup truck pulled up to our oversized garbage bin.  Two men got out and rapidly emptied the truck bed's contents into the bin.

 It was too dark to get a good photo from my window and I did not feel safe going out to get the license plate number. I suspected it was debris from construction, judging by the way the guys were hefting the bags.

The next morning, I went out with a bag of household trash and found the 6-cubic-yard bin filled to overflowing with heavy duty contractor's bags.

This bin and a 1-cubic-yard bin had just been emptied Friday morning. The bins serve three buildings, our 6-family, a 28-unit next door and a 12-unit alongside that one. The next pickup is Tuesday, so tenants will either have to hold their trash until then or, more likely, it will end up in the two recycling bins.

The specialized bags can hold up to 110 pounds of debris, including bricks and metal. I tried to move one and it was weighty indeed.

Of course, late on a Friday evening there was no PMUA inspector around, nor did I think the police would respond, even though the Plainfield Police Division and PMUA are joining forces to catch dumpers. The three properties were just sold to a Brooklyn-based company and one evening an employee actually did catch a dumper who dropped off a mattress just after the company had paid to have a large accumulation of trash removed.

So these incidents are a nuisance to tenants and an unwanted expense to property owners. I'm told there may be cameras installed, and I believe the city's surveillance cameras can help track down those who dump in municipal parking lots and streets.

The PMUA has a special advisory on illegal dumping. As it states, illegal dumping adversely affects the entire community.

--Bernice

Good Riddance to July

 I for one am glad July 2016 is over with. According to the Office of the State Climatologist, it was the ninth warmest on record. It was also the 14th wettest since 1895. Toward the end of the month, eight days in a row registered temperatures over 90 degrees, which I found very debilitating.

Over the years, weather cycles become apparent and I have come to regard July in New Jersey as my least favorite month. 

Gardeners know that the parching heat takes a toll on flowers, but now we are entering a phase where cooler nights and Autumn rain give gardens a new lease on life. In recent years the first hard frost has not come until Thanksgiving or later.

May we all enjoy the beauty of nature, even if the behavior of humans in this election season is increasingly bizarre and inexplicable.The Wheel of the Year rolls on, no matter what else is happening.

--Bernice