The Jersey City Construction Code official’s office posted a Stop Construction Notice at 612 Pavonia Ave. for “exceeding the terms and conditions of permits,” the second Namdar Group project stalled in the past week, on Tuesday, a union official said today.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Right next door at 29 Van Reipen, work had paused earlier in the week after being cited on October 8 for an “exceeding the limit of the permit” and both are overseen by general contractor AJD Construction.
The developments will top out at 27 stories and include a total of more than 1,100 units when completed, according to Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Director Dave Johnson, who didn’t mince words when expressing his dissatisfaction.
“This is not a simple oversight, it is a troubling pattern of noncompliance conducted by seasoned professionals. Namdar Group and AJD have extensive Jersey City portfolios and subcontractor Concrete Rising is co-owned by disgraced former permit expediter Tom Bertoli, who in 2022 pled guilty to corrupt interference with federal tax laws,” he said in a statement.
“These folks are either very bad at their jobs, or have been caught red handed flouting the most basic construction regulations in New Jersey.”
Representatives from the Laborers Eastern Region and Laborers Local 3 are attending the Jersey City Council meeting this evening to call on the city to investigate these violations to the fullest extent of the law before work is allowed to continue.
Additionally, a representative from Jersey City’s Construction Code Official’s office publicly urged contacting the State Department of Community Affairs and/or the Attorney General’s Office, as documented in a comment on the city’s SeeClickFix platform.
“Jersey City must investigate the structural integrity of all of AJD’s unpermitted construction to ensure the safe completion of the buildings,” added NJ Laborers Health and Safety Fund Assistant Director Michael Caterina.
“The busy thoroughfares and high density development in Journal Square heightens the risk of any serious construction accident or future structural issue, putting lives at risk.”
Since August, Laborers Local 3 has maintained a daily protest at 612 Pavonia and 29 Van Reipen Avenues, while the union has also cited violations that took place on AJD’s watch at Kushner Companies’ project The Journal.
In the spring of this year, the New Jersey Department of Labor (NJDOL) issued four stop-work orders against multiple subcontractors for issues including unpaid or late wages, nonpayment of overtime, worker misclassification, earned sick leave violations, and hindering the department’s investigation.
Concrete Rising, concrete contractor at 29 Van Reipen, is also under investigation along with one of their subcontractors for wage theft that occurred at The Journal and Namdar Group’s 35 Cottage Street project in the summer of 2024, LIUNA contends.
The Laborers Eastern Region helped over 70 workers file wage claims with NJDOL, and their front line investigation found that wages were due to employees.
As of September 23rd, Concrete Rising and GP Concrete are disputing the findings while hundreds of workers still await payment.
“Breaking the law should not be standard practice in Jersey City real estate. We need real consequences for repeat offenders. Paying a fine does not undo injustice,” declared Laborers Local 3 Business Manager Paul Roldan.
“Back wages today will not make up for workers’ families who went without food or the ability to pay rent last year. It’s only by the grace of God no workers or pedestrians were hurt at Namdar’s projects, and if they had been, no $2,000 fine or late permit would have made it right.”
