Hoboken, Council members Phil Cohen, Emily Jabbour, and Joe Quintero are asking colleague Tiffanie Fisher to halt “irresponsible conduct and abusive behavior” related to city business, to which the councilwoman responded.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“In the past week alone you: (1) publicly harangued, insulted, and berated members of the Planning Board; and (2) leveled wild and unsubstantiated allegations against other elected officials with whom you disagree,” the trio wrote in a letter to Fisher.
“This comes on the heels of just this year: (1) filing frivolous litigation against the City of Hoboken as a citizen that was dismissed with prejudice; (2) initiating meritless investigations of city employees you dislike at taxpayer expense; and (3) routinely accusing Mayor Bhalla of illegal activity and referring him to the Attorney General for investigations.”
Their accusations come after the Hoboken Planning Board approved the Blue Violets dispensary application on Thursday and held another six-plus hour hearing on Story Dispensary on Monday.
Prior to Monday’s session, Fisher sent out an email blast that was titled “Tonight – Help Fight the Bad Guys,” which spoke about the “political influence” behind the Story application mentioning Bhalla, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D-33), and Hoboken Assistant Corporation Counsel John Allen.
“The only thing a high-volume dispensary will do at this location is enrich elected officials and their friends,” she wrote in part in the lengthy email.
Her three colleagues, all close allies of Bhalla, in particular took umbrage with her messaging on legal cannabis.
“Perhaps most concerning, is your repeated use of fear and paranoia to manipulate residents in service of your political agenda. You have characterized hard-working union members as ‘outsiders’ in Hoboken who are to be feared,” they also wrote.
“You stoke fears that cannabis, a legal product in our community, is attracting ‘the wrong element’ to Hoboken which will be less safe because of cannabis customers who are ‘outsiders’ and will destroy our neighborhoods. As you know, cannabis users are our neighbors, our friends, and our family members. Whether in the brownstones or in the Housing Authority, Hoboken residents regularly enjoy this legal product.”
Additionally, they cited a resident who wrote to the city council, who allegedly said “fear mongering and over-exaggeration are the tools of the desperate.”
In response, Fisher wrote off their remarks as political posturing with many inaccuracies.
“My colleagues should fight harder for good government principles instead of against and heed their own words instead of intentionally trying to mislead the public to score political points,” she said in a statement.
“I’m not going to fix all of the defamatory statements they made except for one – I never called cannabis applicants “bad guys” just the elected officials trying to enrich themselves and their friends at the expense of the public. I fully support our new, legal cannabis industry and the laws put in place for its responsible governance.”
The Hoboken City Council will convene this evening at City Hall, 94 Washington St., at 7 p.m. and the meeting will also stream live on the city’s Facebook page.
Lots of people turned out to voice their strong opposition at tonight’s City Council to the proposed Blue Violets cannabis store across form the street from a school on on Washington Street. Zero residents spoke to allow it.
As we have come to expect those who are part of Team Bhalla refused to listen to the residents and instead attacked their political opposition.
We did speak to allow it. On 11/4/2020 68% of NJ residents voted to legalize it.
Across the street from a school? They sell liquor across the street from this school too. If you don’t have a problem with that, you’re probably an alcoholic. And that stuff will kill you. Please consider getting help. It works if you work it. God bless.
All Jabbour, Cohen and Joe “Que?” Quintero ever do is meet with 6 people a month in coffee shops. Most of the attendees are paid employees of the city or political wannabees…
Another wannabe Statewide politician
The last two Council people to wear those doors “State of NJ elected officials” pins were Chris Campos and Peter Cammarano…
We know where they ended up…
This is such an obvious attempt to silence the opposition (Tiffanie) and distract the public from the corrupt process by which the council majority is approving dispensaries. Blue Violets, which clearly violates the “common sense” legislation that the council passed (it is within 600 ft of a school…220 ft from a couple of schools and daycares) was easily approved by Ravi’s council members. Sorry for all who missed the spectacle that was the council meeting last night…it ended with Phil, Emily and Micheal berating the public who attended and/or spoke against Blue Violets. They each began their statement with, “I respect your opinion…” and then went on to scold and yell at the crowd for a litany of statements and thoughts that no one who spoke had said. It was a bizarre…and sad.
They just want to let Ravi cash in on weed and Hoboken. They got away with the Jackie & Ravi weed store on upper Hudson St. They are annoyed Councilwoman Fisher calls them out on it.
Nothing new under the Soprano State sun. These grifty pols are entitled and greedy.
Fisher leads the fight against Ravi cashing in on Hoboken. They hate her guts for it.
Please explain to be like I’m a drunk performing in a marketing porno being filmed at the Hub bar owned by Mario Fini, Patrick Cappiello and other Hoboken cops, firemen, and the Hoboken politically connected that no one ever got fined or suffered any kind of legal action tho what they did was illegal, how exactly Ravi will be making money off Blue Violet or the place on Hudson?
Go ahead. I’m listening.
Wasn’t Jabbour the one who fearmongered about her 241mil HS referendum, bussing kids out of town, scary republicans – when it was overwhelmingly Dems voting down her graft aka high school/ice rink. Jabbour straight up hid the biggest election item from the voters and then had the gall to complain about giving voters longer runways. The only political party advocating for voter suppression and fear tactics met their end after the fall of Berlin. Lets ask Emily to focus on actually doing her job instead of failing at becoming Mayor. Phil Remember, more people in your ward voted against the HS plan you supported than voted to elect you.
Typical whataboutism.
Respectfully, the spectacle of disingenuous governing and reasoning last night committed by reps Jabbour, Quintero, Cohen, and Russo was disgraceful. Jabbour brought up bullying of pro-cannabis parties, but failed to bring up the extraordinary imbalance of name-calling and bullying *towards* those in favor of responsible governance on this matter on social media forums such as reddit’s Hoboken subreddit community. She went on to list examples of people who she alleges felt too bullied to show up in person – every one of us who *did* show up have had plenty of bullying as well. This is not one-sided.
The fear-mongering argument is equally disingenuous and nothing more than political expediency. So why the expediency to allow a small dispensary in violation of the Common Sense ordinance? Make no mistake, *all* of these problems surrounding cannabis in Hoboken stem expressly from mayor Steven Fulop. His wife Jaclyn Fulop and his Super PAC director Drew Nussbaum *knowingly lied* to the seller of Hudson Tavern (and the residents who live above that space, according to signed affidavits) that they intended to open a physical therapy business at that location. They were still in the closing process with a written condition of the usage in the sales agreement even while setting up the shell company LLCs to get around said agreement. Anybody who wishes to go to the court to view these records are welcome to do so. It’s what I did, and it’s there in black and white. (Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson Vicinage, Docket C-49-22)
It’s simple. If Fulop and his political connections/potential favors weren’t mixed up in this, we’d be having a much more sensible approach to implementing these laws. Such a shame that these council members are choosing their political alliances rather than taking a minute to really think about the impacts of rushed policies and bad governance.
And to Council President Russo, go take a look at that docket number I cited above and tell public this is just misinformation and fearmongering with a straight face. Tiffanie Fisher is calling out wrongdoing by our public officials, and I as a witness to a lot of this with a high sense of integrity (and ZERO desire to serve the public) applaud her for doing the RIGHT thing, regardless of the political/PR consequences.
This whole thing really is gonna make a great story at some point, I imagine.
Oh she is definitely doing the RIGHT thing. Tiffanie is big into the right. One day she will stop lying to everyone and actually admit she is a MAGA Republican, just like her good friends Giattino and Klansman Peter Cunningham.
Shut up Freeman, you overpaid hack.
Ronnie gets it right. About the right.
We need to rout out Bhalla, Quintero, Doyle and Jabbour sleazy ways
Time to elect a reform candidate again
Shame on Doyle
He knows better
Unless there’s something Ravi has on him
After all wifey had a lot of city redevelopment legal contracts in the past
Stack tries to block Hoboken Development, Bhalla lets him.
Fulop opens a weed shop in Hoboken, Bhalla green lights it.
Is there anything Bhalla will defend us on anymore?
Dawn would have never allowed outside Mayors to do this.
We need to root out Ravi and all his evil doers. They are hurting Hoboken.
Only Tiffanie, Reuben, Jen and Mike DeFusco can be trusted.
Sounds like a bully Trumper threat. Go ahead, wimp. Using Phil’s wife’s name for your gibberish only proves what a major doosh nozzle you are. Prob never had a date.
She so deserves this slapdown and more. OVER 68% of NJ residents voted to legalize it. She wants to override that. But only THIS dispensary because she is only concerned with the elites who live in the (ironically named) TEA bldg. So abusing alcohol and pharmaceuticals are fine and socially acceptable. Guarantee this woman doesn’t get through the day without popping a xanax.
She’s a freaking lunatic and I’m sick and tired of her lunacy. Please tell me there’s someone to run against her!! I will work for you!!!