Jersey City Parks Department employees who are part of a local union complained that personnel cuts were leading to unchecked vandalism, as well as fear of privatization, at yesterday’s city council meeting.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Jersey City Public Employees Local 245 Union leader Santo DellaMonica complained that nine park workers were being transferred and the department was crumbling because of it.
“You have a private contractor doing maintenance of the parks, and you’re spending about $3 million dollars … This private contractor doesn’t do any inspections … repairs,” DellaMonica declared.
He also said that the bathroom in Pershing Field has been vandalized and went on to blame the ice rink being broken on privatization as well.
“You go to Berry Lane [Park], same thing. Bathrooms vandalized. Park maintenance is not there to keep track of the bathrooms. We’re the ones that repair the swings, the slides,” DellaMonica said.
He argued the poor conditions could lead to a lawsuit against the city and/or their employees.
“We have 70 parks we maintain right now with 30 men. They’re going to take away nine of these men. We clean up after these subcontractors,” DellaMonica continued, criticizing their maintenance of trees and bushes.
“When you look at this transformative city, we have a city that has unique demographics,” Craig Howard, also of Local 245, began.
“Parks are a very integral part of melding people and building situations for people to get to know each other. Unfortunately, that’s being threatened by potential privatization by dismantling these parks. Making them incredibly unsafe. We can’t imagine a park being unsafe at this time.”
Howard said he and his colleagues “work their behinds off to make sure these parks are the best in the state.”
“You have the privatized companies disproportionately being paid out as well as the reduction of staff in the parks department, it gives a false impression that we’re not doing our jobs. I find it offensive! We’re asking for help: Really think of what this is going to do.”
The Jersey City Council did not take any formal action on the matter.
The parks department is very vital to the city of Jersey City. Keep those excellent workers together. My children, when we go to the different parks of Jersey City, are very happy and satisfied when they see the park workers keeping it clean and maintenance for us. Thanks you the parks maintenance, I support that they keep y’all together and keep up the great work.
I have grandchildren who don’t have yards to play in so their parents take them to the park. These private companies don’t care because they don’t live in Jersey City. The workers you have now live here and care about the parks.
Most of the high rise luxury in Jersey City/Newport have their own private open spaces and amenities
Debbie and that’s why who ever is in charge of these changes don’t care because the outside people who live in luxury in OUR CITY have their OWN AMMENITIES. SO VANDALISM IN OUR PARKS ITS OVER LOOKED AND OUR CITY EMPLOYEES ARE BEING BLAMED… NOT FAIR MAYOR FULOP.
The city is a mess foulp ad the Jersey journal covered all the town problem s up they printed bullshit and the corruption scandal they went around the city pushing people every department is a mess culture affair dpw recreational is mess the city council is in on it they were puppies.
💯
I am a longtime volunteer in Pershing Field. The bathrooms are no longer clean enough to use. They open dirty and close dirty. We get one roll per stall of toilet paper per day. The contractor squirts stuff on the floor and squigees it around with a stick. People leave angry signs on the walls. The landscapers do not speak English. They cannot follow instructions in English. They butcher trees . They shouldn’t touch trees. We have an arborist for trees. They brought unpermitted rat poison to the park that any child could find.
They do not work on weekends at all, resulting in trash everywhere. They have destroyed valuable garden equipment and plants. They have not learned, and just do it again. There is no one to unlock buildings, or turn on air conditioning. In the last primary election, the private company turned on the heater instead of the AC and it remained on for 3 full days. One security guard got locked into a building and a City park worker had to come open the building to get her out. Bathrooms go unlocked all night.
On Friday last week, the gated PSEG electric solar box was left unlocked. The lock was on the ground. It was still there when I saw it on this Thursday. People complain constantly about the trash on the ground. Somedays there are 200 people in the park because nearby parks are closed. No adjustments have been made for the crowds.
When I said this to a management aid, he told me that the fault lay with the people littering, not the City. Therefore, he seemed to say, trash was not the cities problem.
The budget given Parks and Rec is lower than ever. The ice rink compressor was never maintained by former administrations over 30 years. The idea was to save money by merging the departments. It does not work when the officials are neither park experts, nor physical education and recreation specialists.
This is a park with muti million dollar capital investments being neglected.
There are some very positive developments. Tennis coaching and a summer camp have helped the children stay off the streets. Unfortunately there is not enough staff at the pool to keep it open when it should be. It’s a difficult time.
I recently went to Liberty State Park and was very disappointed. Place looked abandoned. That stench of corruption still lingers.
Throughout my travels I see these guys working diligently. Cleaning our parks.So that our kids have some place fun safe and clean to meet and play with their friends and classmates. I also see many of our schools taking our children to these parks on field trips. These guys work behind the scenes. They may never get the recognition they honestly deserve. Why would you privatize these guys live in this city born and raised right here in this city. Played in these parks themselves. I see their work I see more families moving into the neighborhood enjoying Arlington Park, the kids running through the sprinklers. Berry lane Park, Bayside Park I can go on and and. Give these I what they need. If you take them away you take what our neighborhood needs City workers who cares about our community. Privatizing is not the answer. These PRIVATE COMPANIES DONT CARE. MY FAMILY AND I APPRECIATE THE PARK WORKERS TRUST US WE SEE YOUR WORK…..THANK YOU.
you need the private company so they could give to Fulops Governor fund the park workers are the best hard working men and Women Thank you for all your service