Hoboken City Council named 6th Ward Councilwoman Jen Giattino president and Councilman-at-Large Jim Doyle vice president at their annual reorganization meeting yesterday.
Giattino was nominated by 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen and seconded by Doyle. The vote went through unanimously (9-0).
She then nominated Doyle for vice president, which was seconded by Cohen, and again all nine council members voted in favor. HCV reported on Tuesday that Giattino and Doyle were poised to assume the leadership posts.
“I offer my sincere congratulations to Council President Jen Giattino and Council Vice President Jim Doyle on their appointments to lead the Hoboken City Council this year,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in a statement this morning.
“Working collaboratively with the City Council over the past six years, we’ve accomplished a great deal together, with even more to come in 2024. I look forward to working together with the Council leadership and our newly sworn-in council members to address the needs of our residents and enhance the quality of life of our community.”
As is also standard procedure, the governing body did several board appointments, the vast majority of which didn’t yield a discussion.
Doyle was again named the council designee to the planning board, Steven Firestone received a four-year term to the zoning board, Leonardo Acevedo was named as a 4th alternate for a two-year term to the zoning board, and 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos was appointed to the Hoboken Business Alliance Board of Trustees.
Furthermore, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher will also serve on the Hoboken University Medical Center Board of Directors, while Diane Imus, Ralph Capasso, and Migdalia Pagan-Milano were all added to the Hoboken Art Committee.
The only appointment that had any point of contention was reappointing John Branciforte to the zoning board, a volunteer post he has served in since 2001.
Former Councilman Tony Soares, also a former zoning board member, came out strongly against putting Branciforte back on the board without using his name.
“I had a pretty good reputation of killing bad things and approving good things, but one thing I never did as a public official was, even though I may do it privately with people, or on Twitter, is be awful to people who come before boards,” he began.
“And if any of you are appointing one of these people tonight, I hope you looked at past videos because the way the public is spoken to … they’re talked to like they’re dirt. And one of those up for appointment to night, I’ve just, I’ve never seen it, something so bad in the way they’re spoken to.”
Now working in real estate, Soares said this behavior wouldn’t be tolerated from council members and that no one should be appointed to the same board for over two decades since about 60,000 people live in the city.
He also accused Branciforte of being “against everything,” adding that when applicants have to be heard before the boards that meet in the basement of City Hall, “it might as well be called a grave because they go to that board and they get destroyed.”
After public comment concluded, Giattino said the resolution should have been amended to have Branciforte reappointed as a first alternate to a two-year term.
“I just want to say that I did speak with John Branciforte today and I was happy to see that he’s willing to take a step back to give other people the opportunity, but his voice, which we all, not all but many of us, appreciate over the last 20 years on the zoning board will still be there. So hopefully this will be a unanimous vote.”
The resolution passed 6-3, with Ramos, 1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano, and 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo voting no.
The governing body also approved the Hoboken Public Art Plan after hearing a roughly hour-long presentation at the beginning of the meeting.
The plan did not come with a budget, though did mention that it would be made possible via the 1 percent bond dedication for funding or art installations, as well as that it would include designating a public art program administrator and an Annual Work Plan Task Force.
That measure was approved 8-1, with Russo voting no.