Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) is taking aim at Jersey City Ward E Councilman James Solomon, a mayoral opponent, over his latest bird-considerate building proposal, to which the councilman’s team responded in kind.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Effective government is about identifying the biggest problems and then staying focused on solving them, not getting distracted by every other priority. We can all agree that we would like to protect migratory birds, but in our city’s current housing crisis we need to keep our focus on creating and preserving affordable housing,” O’Dea said in a statement.
“Ordinances that do not address the issue should not be prioritized. As Mayor, I’ll approach every issue through an Affordable Housing first lens that will guide our administration’s decision making, and this proposal by Councilman Solomon does not fit with that agenda.”
Last week, Solomon touted advancing bird-safe building standards to the planning board after collaborating with local advocacy group Jersey City Birds, as HCV first reported.
According to O’Dea, this plan would require large-scale housing developments to implement specialized design standards and materials to reduce the chance of birds colliding with glass windows.
In the process, this would potentially increase construction costs for items like specially treated glass by up to 50 percent, he added, citing a report from Inman.
O’Dea also pointed to his affordable housing proposal, which would require any new developments receiving tax incentives to make at least 20 percent of the units affordable, as well as calling out the city council for allowing the rent receivership program to be eliminated.
Solomon campaign manager Stuart Thomas accused O’Dea of opposing Solomon’s bird-friendly building “to protect his developer friends.”
“I am not surprised that yet another status quo career politician is trying to protect his developer friends; they’ve contributed hundreds of thousands to his campaigns over his last 40 years, while the cost of rent has skyrocketed in Jersey City,” he exclaimed.
“I am surprised that he is claiming to be unaware of the affordability agenda James has been running on since Day 1. They’ve been at tons of forums together, but that developer money can be…disorientating.”
