Sunshine
A friend involved in NJ politics always tells me, when it comes to political corruption, if you want to stop a strategy – expose the strategy. Her father made a living turning over rocks in NJ and fighting whatever corrupt mobsters were under them – often at great risk to himself. Another NJ Councilwoman I know had a grandfather who became famous for cleaning up the Hudson County waterfront from something out of a gritty Marlon Brando movie into the respectable and expensive “Gold Coast” it is now.
These things were hard, even dangerous, but the results speak for themselves. Sunshine on the problems we faced then was the best disinfectant and led to the laws we now have in NJ that have improved quality of life for residents: the Open Public Meetings Act and the Open Public Records Act. These laws were championed by former Senator Byron Baer of Bergen County. Baer preceeded Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, who now co-chairs the Bridgegate Legislative Committee.
Far to go
Despite these laws, we have a ways to go. When elected officials choose to keep residents in the dark, restrict access to their actions and intent from the press, and blatantly ignore the Open Public Records and Meetings laws, we lose that tenuous grip on our democracy. As Benjamin Franklin said when asked if we had a monarchy or a republic, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Democracy demands constant vigilance. I often felt, while we were fighting corruption in Bergen County, that it was like babysitting a strong-willed 2 year old. You need to follow them everywhere, they want what they want, and there is no telling what they will get into next. And when they are quiet - that’s when you really have to hunt them down to see what they are up to. (Ryan Lizza’s Bridgegate article in the New Yorker explains Loretta Weinberg’s description of raising teenagers who would hide their parties, but leave the telltale beer cans behind.)
Gathering Clouds
The news has been full of recent incidences of assaults on our Open Public Records law. The press has repeatedly had to sue to get the records the law says they should have access to. Politicians routinely deny access to reporters simply to get favorable free advertising, when by law it is the duty of any government official to be forthcoming about their actions and their intent so that the Fourth Estate can duly inform the electorate. And when people do show up at public meetings, the portions of those meeting minutes with public comments in them often get strangely left off the record. Other examples:
- The Bridgegate scandal was kept quiet for months, as even the Senate Majority Leader was unable to get information from Port Authority Commissioners she had confirmed. We will have to wait till May 6, after a subpoena, to hear from one of them, Pat Schuber, what really happened.
- In the Port Authority Toll Hike scandal which spawned the Bridgegate investigation, Bill Baroni and David Wildstein, the man who later orchestrated the lane closures, created a “War Room” where they secretly plotted raising the tolls $6 just so Governor Christie could lower it to $4 and look like a hero before the election.
- The late US Senator Frank Lautenberg had to ask for a Congressional hearing to get answers as to the workings inside the Port Authority, because even veteran legislators of his stature were kept in the dark.
- In Hoboken, deals were made behind Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s back regarding NJ Transit and waterfront developers.
- The SEC investigation now underway is about the Christie Administration reportedly illegally diverted Port Authority funds to fix the Pulaski Skyway by lying to investors.
- In Bogota, a Councilman used opposition to a real estate project in town as a political tool to get elected after he had voted in support of the project twice, and then denied the builder access to public documents he was legally entitled to.
- In the Highlands, Tennessee Gas failed to notify the NJ Sand Hill Lenape Tribe about plans for a fracked-gas pipeline, by conveniently sending legal notice to the wrong address. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission then let Tennesee Gas steamroll over the tribe’s legal objections to smashing through the woods in archeologically and environmentally sensitive areas, simply because they had already started.
- In Bergenfield, a councilman pushed a building project in a protected area that would have cost the town 2.4 million dollars. He was president of an organization that would directly benefit from that project. He ordered the trees cut down 6 days before the public could even comment at the Green Acres public hearing.
Forgiveness vs Permission
If you keep folks in the dark till the absolute last minute, they can’t object to what they don’t know about, and they can’t possibly mount any kind of adequate response. And after the concrete is poured, you can’t ask them to tear it down, now can you? That was the modus operandi of Robert Moses, who shaped NYC for better and worse.
Secret Master Plan?
The latest egregious case of keeping the public in the dark began in February of 2012 in the town of Englewood Cliffs. The window to get information and speak out is closing rapidly. The proposed changes to the Master Plan for the Borough of Englewood Cliffs, which would allow hi-rise buildings like the proposed LG tower east of 9W that would destroy the Palisades views, appear to be treated like a closely guarded secret by officials there. The hearing to change the Master Plan is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30 at 7:30 pm at the Upper School at 143 Charlotte Place. But you would never know it. The town of 5,281 people recently updated their website but there is no mention of the hearing, at least when I called the Zoning officer on Wednesday and asked why the meeting was still not listed on the town website less than a week before such an important hearing. He said he would call me back when he knew more. Crickets.
The whole approval process was done completely backwards and mostly in the dark.
Anatomy of a Fait Accompli
In February 2012, when LG came to the Borough for a zoning variance to exceed the 35 ft height limit, instead of laughing the 143 ft request out of the Chambers, in a stunning event that never happened at any zoning board hearing I ever attended in Bergen County, the Zoning Board granted the egregious request without taking into account the impact on the Palisades?
Just 2 months later, in April of 2012 the zoning board that granted the variance was conveniently dissolved, leaving only one Board – the Land Use Board. In NJ the Zoning Board is a quasi-legal board, and the elected Council can actually reverse a decision. But Land Use Boards are a new and different animal. In October 2012, after outcry that the LG project was approved and there were charges of spot zoning, the new Land Use Board changed the zoning in what looked like an effort to take the heat off the decision to allow the LG variance. It strained credulity that a Borough that has the word “Cliffs” in its name and boasts a photo of the Palisades on its website, would fail to take into account the visual impact of a land use decision in the part of town closest to the edge of the world famous Palisades. In what appears to be an act of haste, the rezoned area includes property which belongs to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. This forested land belongs to the States of NY and NJ, since the Commission is an Interstate agency. The Borough rezoned wooded parkland that is not even under the jurisdiction of Englewood Cliffs, to a Business zone allowing tall buildings! Is it incompetence, or do they plan on seizing parkland from an interstate agency?
After opponents pointed out that zoning changes can only be done if they comply with the Master Plan and the October 2012 zoning changes did not comply with the 2009 Master Plan, Borough officials appear to have realized they needed to further cover their tracks by now retroactively changing the Master Plan.
Borough officials appear to be sneaking through the Master Plan while minimizing transparency, before the residents, especially ones that have sued the Borough over the LG variance, even hear about it. The only reason we know about this is because the press has been covering this story. The Borough has been downright covert. The lack of information on the Borough website until less than a week before the hearing date is unusual, to say the least. There appears to be a shadow hanging over Englewood Cliffs, preventing sunlight from reaching the Borough Government. That shadow appears darker and more ominous than the physical threat of the 143 ft LG tower blocking the sunrise for folks living west of the proposed tower.
Irony
The irony of this situation is that while Englewood Cliffs is ready to open the door to further destruction of the Palisades views by changing their master plan for businesses in a quest for ratables, marring the Palisades will financially harm any businesses with the arrogance to build above the tree line on the Palisades. Remember, CNBC is located right up the street across from the Park, in a tasteful, beautiful HQ that does not ruin the view. Today a major group of investors – representing $294 billion dollars in assets, wrote a formal letter to LG requesting that the building be lowered. This group feels that the loss of public goodwill will cost the company much more than the cost to redesign the building. If there were no Samsung, Apple, or Motorola phone manufacturers, no Whirlpool, Kenmore, or GE to make washing machines, LG’s arrogance might have no consequences. But investors fear a backlash against the company and, in turn, its investors, should LG go forward with its plans. “As currently designed, these headquarters could pose a permanent reputational risk for LG, as millions of Americans would question why the company chose to mar the beauty of this iconic landscape. “ Those aren’t tree huggers talking, those are financial investors. In many parts of the world, including in South Korea, where LG is based, height restrictions on buildings are strictly enforced to protect views of national and world landmarks like the Palisades. The disrespect by LG of a rare landmark, the Palisades, cherished by millions of people (also known as consumers) will not go unnoticed.
Protect Your Brand
As Benjamin Franklin said, “Glass, china and reputations are easily cracked and never well mended.” When I worked at M&M Mars years ago, the one thing that was drilled into our head from day one – you protect your brand. No matter what. Reputation is everything. Respect is an admirable and profitable business philosophy.
The Master Plan Hearing
But LG making a huge business mistake is only part of the story. This would not even be a story but for the actions of the Borough of Englewood Cliffs, which is threatening to open the door for other businesses in town to make the same egregious PR mistake. On Wednesday, April 30 at 143 Charlotte Place, the Borough of Englewood Cliffs will attempt to retroactively change their Master Plan to justify a variance for LG that never should have been granted.
The hearing on Wednesday night is critical to shedding sunlight on the government of Englewood Cliffs. The most glaring contradiction between the 2009 Master Plan and the amendment put forth for the hearing was listed as the #2 objective for Englewood Cliffs in 2009: “The Parks, Recreation, and Open Space objective: To Promote and Protect Parks, Recreation, and other open space and environmentally sensitive areas.” The hi-rise overlay zone is completely counter to that and the Planner’s report only mentions Objective #3, which is about preserving wetlands. Representatives from the biggest park within mere feet of the zone – Commissioners from the Palisades Interstate Park - already stated that allowing the LG tower would detract from the enjoyment of the Park and the views of the Palisades Interstate Parkway which is not simply a road but a National Historic Landmark and now an officially designated Scenic Byway. Englewood Cliffs is also actually rezoning parkland, including lot 11 owned by the Park, not protecting it. The National Parks Service Director has also written a letter expressing concern that the LG project will affect a National landmark and ten major National Environmental organizations have also weighed in against allowing tall buildings in Englewood Cliffs.
The area is a major corridor for bicyclists from the city, who use Hudson Terrace to get from New York City to the Park and upstate New York. Recreation, safety, and enjoyment will be affected for cyclists using 9W and Hudson Terrace. (The area is so prized by cyclists that the first Iron Man competition held in New York included a cycling portion through the Park.)
If nearly everyone who knows parks, takes care of parks, and supports parks thinks your idea will hurt a particular park and landmark of National significance and your Master Plan specifically tells you to protect parks, then your proposed changes are not in line with the intent of the Master Plan. This is why Englewood Cliffs is proposing to change their Master Plan, because their original Master Plan from 2009, specifically values protecting parkland and quality of life over business uses.
Greed
The main reason given for allowing the change to the Master Plan is to “attract a large corporate HQ” to the Borough. Doesn’t Englewood Cliffs already have enough of those? The text of the new Master Plan amendment looks like it was written by LG or a planner that used to work for them. It states “The potential to provide a view corridor to the Hudson River and Manhattan is a legitimate reason to allow a taller building form on the subject properties.” Parks, current residents, and lovers of the Palisades be damned. The justification given for allowing hi-rises simply has to do with financial envy of towns south of the George Washington Bridge, even though Englewood Cliffs already has signs that boast their “Trillion Dollar Mile” filled with (shorter) corporate headquarters.
Questions
Here is why we need sunshine in Englewood Cliffs. Mayor Joseph Parisi, who uses his company email as his official Borough email address, is CEO of Otterstedt Insurance in Englewood Cliffs, a real estate insurance firm that includes South Korean insurance Company LIG on its website. LIG which was found guilty of fraud in South Korea was formerly known as LG Insurance Company. Mayor Parisi is also on the Board of real estate finance bank Connect One, whose office is located on property within the rezoned area (Block 207 Lot 7) and may stand to benefit by the rezoning. Such things beg the question, how many other officials besides the Mayor and former Planner, (who had been hired by LG) might have business relationships that suggest the possibility of personal business gains and conflicts of interest in the LG case? How many other elected, appointed officials or employees are connected in any way to LG or any other business in the new zone? Do any of them serve on Boards of any businesses who think they would financially or politically benefit from the outcome? Could any possible connections influence elected or appointed officials on the Governing body or on the Land Use Board or Borough employees to keep residents uninformed about such dramatic changes to their tiny town? Good questions. I think I will show up on Wednesday night and ask.
