JC Live Wire Currents

05/22 Greenville - Last Friday at A Better Life Ministry’s church on Linden Avenue, the Jack and Ronnie McGreevey Civic Association hosted a public round table to discuss the “silent crisis” of mental health in the community. Entitled ‘Let’s Talk About It’, the forum presented to attendees a multitude of regional and state mental health experts, clinicians, and community advocates.

Former New Jersey Governor and current Jersey City mayoral candidate Jim McGreevey, who founded and named the association in honor of his parents, organized and moderated the panel talk. He was assisted by the Reverend Bolivar Flores, Vice President of the NJ Coalition of Latino Pastors and Chief of Staff at the Governor’s New Jersey Reentry Corporation on Summit Avenue in Journal Square, a program assisting formerly incarcerated offenders in their reintegration to the community.

    Though naturally part and parcel of Mr. McGreevey’s mayoral campaign, even including his ticket’s pick for Ward F Pastor Gloria Watson on the panel (herself a founder of numerous related non-profits), the gathering was nonetheless significant for its noteworthy assemblage of mental health front liners and survivors, The wide array of speakers provided not only a glimpse of the Governor’s network of key figures in the stated crisis, but also a hard look at the reality of mental illness and treatment in New Jersey.

    For instance, referencing the recent spotlight on the dramatic spike in police officer suicides, Daniel Regan, a well-known clinician who founded the Healing Us network of behavioral healthcare providers and recently testified before the New Jersey Assembly about the ‘Save New Jersey Mental Health’ Bill No. 3981, offered the shocking testimony that some of his law enforcement employee clients reported that they’d been told by insurers (unofficially, it can be assumed) that their families would receive more benefits from their policies if they committed suicide than if they stayed alive.

    Christine Bell, a social worker who founded the 100KidsInc. mental health non-profit organization servicing youth and families in Jersey City’s south ward, said she often encounters parents who are afraid to seek treatment for fear that the state will take away their children. 

An executive representative from Essex County’s C.U.R.A. (Comunidad Unida Para la Rehabilitación de Adictos) which focuses on drug addiction in the Latino community, revealed that his organization has found that Hispanics in general are largely hesitant to seek even occasional counseling because of the stigma attached to mental illness and mental health crises.

    Mr. Regan and Ms. Bell added that medical misdiagnoses are also one of the main barriers to proper treatment, with Mr. Regan relating an anecdote about a client who, unrealized by anyone, had gone into diabetic shock due to a 5.02 blood/sugar level and vitamin deficiency but was diagnosed as schizophrenic during the episode by treating medical professionals.

    A general consensus was reached by the participants as they agreed that every case and patient is unique and thus requires unique assessment, that there is no cookie-cutter pattern for treatment, and that there is no exact timeline or framework for treatment as every individual moves and heals at their own pace.

    The full list of participants and a video of the discussion is to be posted at the civic association’s website: Home | McGreevey Civic Assn 

04/19/25

    Just over a year ago, on April 10th, the Jersey City Municipal Council nearly unanimously voted 7-0-1 to approve a Ranked Choice Voting “trigger” ordinance that would enact the ranked choice method of ballots in municipal and school board elections, contingent upon passage of authorizing state legislation in Trenton.

    There was a fair amount of public support for the initiative and advocates nationwide chalked it up as a small victory for a concept still remarkably unfamiliar to the average voter. Hoboken had recently in December 2021 become the first city in New Jersey to approve RCV.

    Proponents of ranked choice voting defend it as the most logical form of electoral representation, a “win-win” scenario for everyone, and democracy in its purest form. Theoretically, Republicans stand to benefit with second and third choice votes from Libertarians, disaffected Democrats, other third parties, and undecided voters. In turn, Democrats would receive votes from pragmatic Greens, less obedient Republicans, third parties, and those same undecideds. Critics have called the ranked choice system confusing and anathema to the “one citizen, one vote” doctrine.

    So how will RCV work in Jersey City? The immediate answer is that it won’t. Not without you, it won’t. Without increased public support and demand, the ranked choice voting bills currently before the state legislature, A4042 in the Assembly and S1622 in the Senate, face an uncertain future, most especially in the in the current stormy political climate.

    As for how RCV functions in practice, the idea is so simple one can perhaps understand how folks conditioned to only two options might get confused. In the most basic of terms, a voter is able to rank their choice of candidates as first, second, third, and so on to however many candidates are listed on a ballot. At the final tally, the votes from the least vote-getters are distributed upward to the voter’s next choice(s) in mathematical succession, an “instant run-off”, until an undisputable winner of the contest is clearly confirmed. Costly and time-consuming run-off elections are eliminated.

    National organizations such as Rank the Voteand Fair Vote exist to help educate the public about RCV and provide updates on advances throughout the country. Fair Vote includes a New Jersey page. Voter Choice NJ is an organization focused on the garden state and has posted an online petition in support of the Municipal and School Board Voting Options Act, the RCV legislation primarily sponsored by state Senators Linda R. Greenstein and Andrew Zwicker, the latter a perennial champion and sponsor of RCV bills who has received bipartisan support for ranked choice voting from leading New Jersey Republicans such as Vince Polistina.

    At the time Jersey City approved its ordinance, there was national attention on the proposed bill and its subsequent passing. Mayor Steve Fulop expressed support for the initiative, as did Senator Raj Mukherji, Assemblyman John Allen, and County Commissioner Bill O’Dea. Ward E Councilman and now mayoral candidate James Solomon co-sponsored the Jersey City bill and could be seen everywhere on local media espousing the merits of RCV. There were favorable op-eds in the Jersey Journal and other regional publications. At the hearing itself, there was a who’s who line-up of Hudson County notables on the speaker list in support of the legislation.

    And then the waiting began. The following month, Red Bank became the third New Jersey municipality to officially endorse ranked choice voting with a borough resolution. In late August the town of Princeton also passed a reform resolution expressing support for state-level ranked choice voting legislation. On September 11th, US Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08), US Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08), and US Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) reintroduced the bicameral Ranked Choice Voting Act to require RCV for all congressional primary and general elections.

    A full year has passed since the Jersey City resolution. The main bill before the New Jersey Legislature floats aimlessly in legislative limbo, as did similar bills before it, all of which ultimately dissipated into the ether. For the ranked choice voting initiative to succeed in New Jersey, a monumental effort by the electorate has to take place. Only widespread support will make it happen.

    At the very least, and not at all the least of it, RCV in local elections would certainly generate civic interest and activity, level the political playing field, and offer a voice to the voiceless. At the federal level, ranked choice voting disperses with election “spoiler” disputes at the dinner table and, had it been implemented in the 2024 elections, would have undoubtedly afforded the country an opportunity to avert the national catastrophe of the dumpster fire currently raging unabated at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.

Downtown, 01/26/25 - This past Sunday Jersey City showed its support and concern for Gazans in the aftermath of the war with Israel, which was declared a permanent ceasefire two weeks ago.

   The Palestinian Cultural Fair held at Grace Church Van Vorst was hosted by a coalition of relief organizations and student groups including New Jersey Peace Action, Ceasefire Now NJ, HCCC for Palestine, and others, with all proceeds going to Heal Palestine and PCRF.

   There were cultural talks, musical performances, embroidery demonstrations, art pop-ups, and an assortment of vendors. The line for a taste of Palestinian food was so serious a second entrance had to be opened.

Pavonia/Newport 01/17/25 – The world’s highest rated flexible workspace provider has partnered with Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE), the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm.

    In a Tuesday e-blast, Industrious founder Jamie Hodari expressed exuberance at the acquisition deal which will supercharge the coworking company’s reach and resources, as well as give CBRE a tremendous advantage in the workspace outsourcing market just as demand is growing and many more employees are returning to the office.

    Mr. Hodari will also be taking a lead role in CBRE’s building operating businesses (7B SF; $20B annual revenue; 95,000 employees). The acquisition deal consists of a 100% stake investment by CBRE, raising Industrious’s valuation to $800 million.

    The Jersey City Industrious location in Newport Tower (pictured) is just one of more than 160 outposts in over 65 global markets. In the commercial real estate industry, Industrious is recognized by leaders and observers for its ledger-easy model based on revenue partnership agreements with building owners, as opposed to traditional leases.