Hoboken Housing Authority votes to seek Sanford’s removal at fiery meeting

The Hoboken Housing Authority approved a resolution indicating they’d like to see Commissioner James Sanford removed at a fiery meeting on Thursday.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“Commissioner Sanford, I just want to say I appreciate you asking these questions, right? As a resident because everything that you have named, or you have on your list, I’ve lived, right? I live here and I lived it and I really would’ve wished that you would’ve done that instead of I guess not working with your colleagues, been part of the committees that we have, right?” began HHA Chair Barbara Reyes.

“Because the security committee is very well involved with the Hoboken Police Department. When Sgt. [William] Collins sits here and says that we have meetings with them and the chief is there, the sergeants are there, there are some officers that we just know because of our security committee.”

She continued that when residents raise their hands to be commissioners on the volunteer board, they agree to collaborate with their colleagues and that is something he has not done.

“I’ve been on this board for 12 years, I’ve been here longer than you. All I’m gonna say is we all serve in our own ways. And in 12 years … there’s always politics. There’s always people trying to snap a headline or a photo-op,” Sanford replied.

“It’s sickening to me when people use a person’s tragedy, I really wish I could show emotion the way you show, the passion that you have, okay? And I want to, just to clear the air a little bit. We have our differences. But the one thing that I’ve always admired, that I’ve always respected, is you have the resident’s interests at heart.”

Up to that point, which was a little over a half hour into the 90-minute meeting, everything appeared to be pretty standard, mundane government business.

However, it was clear that was going to take a turn when Sanford intimated that the board would be voting on a resolution asking the appointing authority, the city council, to remove him.

“And I admired you at one point: When you were really here for the residents. And I think some of these residents remember that … How do you expect me to believe that you’re here for the right reasons because I have not gotten along with many commissioners on the board,” Reyes noted.

“Andrew Impastato, he and I were not best friends, but you know something that I did admire about him was that he did vote. He did care. When it came to the resident’s resolutions, when it came to the betterment of our livelihoods, he cared.”

She continued that as a resident of the HHA for 21 years, she could not have a productive working relationship with Sanford since he insists on voting against nearly every resolution that comes before the seven-member board.

HHA Vice Chair Erica Seitzman suggested that the board would consider removing the resolution requesting for Sanford’s removal if he would pull a measure asking to terminate HHA Executive Director Marc Recko’s contract.

However, Reyes quickly interjected that she planned on standing by her resolution to ask for Sanford to be taken off the board regardless what he chooses to do.

“There was a phone call made earlier by administrators, our city administrator, asking the director to ask me if I would consider removing this resolution from the agenda. If you want to be transparent, let’s be transparent,” she stated.

“You know what bothers me: The administration, our mayor, his assistant does not have the decency to call me, to speak to me, I am the chair. Why is that? Because I’m a housing authority resident? Am I not professional enough to have a conversation with them? It’s not the first time that this administration has done that.”

She also took umbrage with Mayor Ravi Bhalla not calling her after the April 28th fatal shooting of Damon “Nunu” Murray to ask what he could do for the residents of the HHA.

At a ballon rising memorial for Murray on April 30th, Bhalla apologized for the incident and took responsibility as the city’s chief elected official.

“It’s all gone to gun violence, it’s all gone to violence. I’m responsible for that, we’re responsible for that. We’re all responsible for that. As your mayor, I take ownership of what happened because the buck stops with me. So I’ve gotta figure out how to do better,” he said at the time.

Back at the HHA meeting, Sanford said losing his seat on the board the first time, noting that he has done a lot for residents, such as spending tens of thousands of dollars of his own money to pay for face masks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was replaced purely out of greed,” he added before getting cut off by 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo, the council’s designee on the HHA board.

“That’s the right word, replaced, you weren’t removed. I’m sorry madame chair and I didn’t mean to interrupt … I think it’s so ridiculous that at this moment, you have the audacity to sit there and tell everybody that you don’t like to talk about yourself, but you go on a rant about getting masks and distributing them during a horrific time,” Russo declared.

“Just like right now we’re dealing with a horrific experience for a family and our authority, a community member, somebody that we know, somebody that I’ve known the parent of that child for almost my entire life and I think it’s absolutely shameful, it’s shameful that at this moment, this is what we’re doing right now.”

He further stated that no one is entitled to these seats, they are earned, and Russo asserted that Sanford has zero respect for the HHA community, expressing that he’s voted no on measures as simple as replacing a guard rail.

“I show up every meeting precisely to vote no because it’s the right thing to do,” Sanford said over the voices of some dismayed residents in attendance.

“We disagree, you don’t think what I’m doing is right, that’s your prerogative. I am here to do what I think is best. I don’t vote the way you would like me to vote because I do not trust anything that this board does … I lost faith in this director.”

I continued that while he returned the board solely to protect the director, that is no longer the case.

Eventually, when it was time to vote on the resolution concerning Sanford, he asked if the offer to pull his resolution in exchange not to vote on that one and Seitzman said it was not.

Reyes said it was her resolution which she had been contemplated for months, while Seitzman said she had stuck up for Sanford repeatedly, only to be disappointed time and time again.

After some loud objections from Sanford, a vote was called and the measure was approved 4-1(2), with Sanford voting no and Commissioners David Edwards and Jeannie Rodriguez abstaining.

“What a bunch of cowards, what weakness! You’re so afraid!” Sanford shouted after the resolution passed.

Leadership welcomed Sanford back to the board in April 2021 before he was censured by the board in December 2023 for violating their communication policy, long after he’d had a public falling out with his colleagues.