Activists took aim at outgoing Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop during public comment of yesterday’s city council meeting over his decision to veto an ordinance mandating bird-safe glass for future construction projects.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“I vetoed the #JerseyCity bird-friendly façade ordinance because adding new mandates that drive up construction costs makes housing less affordable. If we want more homes, more union jobs, and real supply, we can’t keep layering on costs that push projects off the table,” Fulop wrote on X to explain his rationale for the veto.
“I support protecting wildlife, but not at the expense of housing affordability. The proposed bird-friendly window mandate would have added real costs to new buildings. In a housing crisis, every dollar matters[.]”
During the public comment, Gina Davison, an aide to Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore, noted the ordinance passed at the last meeting with no opposition, with the backing of many residents.
She argued that many birds are dying in the city because they can’t recognize the glass in skyscrapers as a solid surface.
“And yet Steve Fulop, who many of you have supported, decided tyrannically that he would not sign into law the bare minimum requirements to protect our wildlife.I feel sorry for Steven Fulop and his family. I feel sorry for Steven Fulop and his family,” Davison declared.
“I cannot imagine having a father who would put profits over reducing harm. Profits over protecting some of the smallest creatures we share space with…. To those of you who continue to support Steven Trump, shame on you. This is who he is!”
Tina Nalls, a recent council at-large candidate and another aide to Gilmore sought to submit a dead bird into the record, with a specific location in mind of where it should go next.
“[City Clerk] Sean [Gallagher], is it okay for me to give you this to give it to the mayor because one of the birds right here broke their eyes out because it hit the developments and stuff,” she claimed.
“So, I want to make sure you put this on Fulop’s desk so he can know about the birds, we do care about the birds. And I just want to say: Goodbye sweetheart! Oh goodbye sweetheart!”
Danielle D’Adamo also wasn’t shy about expressing her displeasure about the situation.
“The excuses aren’t real … Developers are the ones being protected. Not residents. Not wildlife. Definitely not neighborhoods like mine,” she exclaimed.
Lauren Morse said she wanted to read a letter on behalf of the American Bird Conservancy criticizing the veto.
“Architects routinely meet these requirements in dozens of other cities … When bird-friendly design is incorporated early, compliance can be achieved using cost-neutral and low-cost materials and strategies,” she asserted, adding that it wouldn’t slow development.
“There is no evidence from any jurisdiction with a bird-friendly building that such laws impede construction starts, stall the development pipeline, or reduce housing production.”
Kim Correro, a local ecological gardener, also expressed her dismay with the veto.
“Bird-friendly design is not an exotic luxury. It is a basic science-based mitigation of a problem our buildings create. Glass collisions kill up to a billion birds a year in the US, and thousands of them fly through here in Jersey City,” she argued.
“Protecting birds and building housing are not opposing goals. Cities around the country require bird-friendly facades.”
Correro continued her remarks as her husband held a picture of a hawk named Viking that flew into a local a building and suffered from a concussion and broken beak.
“After five-and-a-half weeks of intensive care, he’s finally back and moved into a flight cage … Where he’s rebuilding his strength and learning to fly again. If he can prove he’s strong enough, he can be released back into the sky.”
“Birds like Viking don’t get to vote on their survival, but you do,” she added.
Wild Ones News Jersey Gateway activist Carol McNichol explained she was part of the campaign advocating for the vetoed ordinance, ultimately asking Mayor-elect Solomon, the Ward E Councilman who sponsored the measure, to bring it back after he’s sworn in.
“You have a big fan in us. We look forward to working with you,” she concluded.
“We worked really hard to explain and guide this issue. We are absolutely gutted and heartbroken to learn the mayor overrode our efforts,” Rachel Field Emmet, of the Jersey City Birds group, said.
She noted it is concurrent with the administration of President Donald Trump (R) ending environmental protections on the federal level.
Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher explained that in the Mile Square City, they often coordinate with Jersey City and try to be collaborative when it comes to sound policy. She continued that she was disappointed in Fulop’s veto, but not surprised.
“He did receive a lot of donations from the development community for pretty much all his campaigns, so this is something he gave back on his way out the door,” Fisher exclaimed.
She hoped the new city council would pass the ordinance once they take office and vowed to replicate the effort in Hoboken.
While Solomon did not make any remarks on the matter, nor did the council attempt a veto override, he nodded his head yes in the affirmative when public speakers urged him to reintroduced the measure.
Then this afternoon, he told HCV that he planned on reintroducing the ordinance once he is mayor.
