Zimmer takes aim at Hoboken BA over his OPRA for her RBD comms with council

Former Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer is taking aim at Business Administrator Jason Freeman over his recent Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request for her communications with the city council related to Rebuild by Design over the past few months.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

On March 6th, Freeman, who has indicated he was acting as private citizen, submitted an OPRA request for all emails and text message between the nine council members, Zimmer, and, Stan Grossbard, her husband, between November 3rd and March 5th.

As far as Zimmer, the mayor from 2009 through 2017 before endorsing Mayor Ravi Bhalla as her successor, is concerned, this is not the intended use for OPRA.

“Jason Freeman, Hoboken’s business administrator, disingenuously claiming to be acting in his ‘personal capacity’ rather than on behalf of his boss, Mayor Bhalla, misused the OPRA process to gain access to my (and my husband Stan’s) private communications with Hoboken City Council members about Rebuild by Design (RBD),” she said in a statement.

“OPRA is meant to be a tool for use by the public to ensure government transparency and accountability. Mr. Freeman is twisting it into a tool to reduce transparency and avoid accountability.”

She continued that October was when she first learned that Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop was withholding easements that were needed to complete Rebuild by Design, a flood prevention project done in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP).

Zimmer further stated that Bhalla had been “hiding this fact” from public view for two years and the issue remains unresolved, which is why she first decided to go public shortly before the ward council races on November 7th.

“It is obvious that the purpose of Mr. Freeman’s OPRA request is to bully city council members into not working with me to advocate on this issue. This misuse of OPRA is a flagrant abuse of power by Mayor Bhalla and his business administrator,” she added.

Proactively, Zimmer released the emails and texts in question to HCV in hopes of showing that she was simply advocating for the project, which was a hallmark for her administration in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Shortly after the November 7th elections, Zimmer sent an email to the council showing which easements had been held up.

Furthermore, some of these communications have already been made public, like her December 6th letter to the council indicating that a private developer led to the easements being stalled and a 2023 letter from the DEP to the City of Jersey City.

On February 19th, Zimmer sent a lengthy email to Council members Paul Presinzano, Tiffanie Fisher, Ruben Ramos, and Jen Giattino stating that she was concerned with Hoboken having to pay for another study to ensure that the easements would not interfere with a proposed light rail station in Jersey City.

She referenced Fulop’s remarks on the topic during his February 7th appearance on HCV Live & Uncut, where he said Jersey City would not pay for the study, as a primary reason why the council should withdraw the resolution for a $75,000 engineering contract until specific questions were answered.

The measure ended up being carried and eventually approved after the administration put in writing that the study would resolve the conflict between Lincoln Equities and Jersey City and the DEP indicating they were on board with Hoboken performing the study.

This came after requests from Presinzano and Ramos via a letter to Bhalla that Zimmer helped write, that same February 19th email shows.

The related text message don’t paint a much different picture, with Zimmer, and occasionally Grossbard, communicating with council members about the recent resolutions pertaining to Rebuild by Design and other flood-related matters.

In two separate instances, Presinzano and 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo made mention of a confidential memo about the easements, but Zimmer did not ask for any additional information and the councilmen did not volunteer any, either.

“Hi Mayor. Just got a moment to respond. Can’t get into much detail on my end because of confidential memos but always happy to listen …,” Russo wrote on February 21st after Zimmer tried to reach him prior to the council meeting on that date.

The earliest texts disclosed are between Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour and Zimmer, who try to find a time to schedule a call between November 4th and November 5th.

Both appear tied up with work before Jabbour brings up the potential political implications of what’s going on in a November 5th text.

“It is about RBD, which I’ve always known is your top priority. I continue to uphold that project as a priority and I’m worried what’s happening right now is counterproductive to that goal,” she began.

“It’s also incredibly dangerous timing for the election with candidates that we need to get elected – like Marla. It makes things very difficult. I want to connect so you know I’m supportive of what needs to get done.”

She also forwarded Zimmer a mass text that went out on Election Day featuring a quote from the former mayor in the November 3rd HCV story attacking Bhalla and Fulop, with the author of the text urging voters not to elect anyone on Bhalla’s ticket.

Jabbour briefly expressed her own thought in the forwarded message:”This is the problem.”

Zimmer and Grossbard both said today that none of their advocacy has been done with the intention to influence politics.

In an email, Freeman said that he did not mean to bully or intimidate anyone and apologized if that is how he came across, also complimenting Zimmer for her service to the city.

“I have always respected Mayor Zimmer for her tenure as the Mayor of Hoboken and specifically for her fierce advocacy of Rebuild by Design. There was never an intent to intimidate in actions I took in my personal capacity as a resident of Hoboken, and if that was the feeling that came across, I apologize,” he wrote late this morning.

“Ultimately, while we may disagree about how to get there, our goals are aligned: to secure any outstanding easements and ensure that we are successfully completing RBD for the residents of Hoboken.”

In addition to Freeman, all nine council members were sent Zimmer’s statement this morning, with this reporter also indicating she had released the related emails and texts. Only Presinzano responded.

“As an elected official, I must learn what I am asked to vote on. Mayor Zimmer is the expert on RBD and has helped me understand the urgency of this project,” Presinzano, who was sworn in for the first time in January, stated.

“It’s baffling why the business administrator would OPRA city council members when he has all the information. One side of the government should not need to OPRA the other side of Government. OPRA should not be weaponized and I will continue to seek Mayor Zimmer’s expertise.”

In his own statement, Grossbard said that is is “too cute by half” to think Freeman is acting in his personal capacity and both he and the Law Department she recuse themselves from the matter.

City spokeswoman Marci Rubin replied that the BA’s Office and the Law Department are not involved with handling OPRA request, therefore recusals aren’t needed.

“It is the legal responsibility of the Clerk’s Office to handle all OPRA requests that come to the city. If and when necessary, the city utilizes outside legal counsel specializing in OPRA to review requests. The business administrator is not involved in responding to OPRA requests.”