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.