Category: Teaneck

Community Choice Energy Aggregation: Coming soon?

Keith Kaplan / / Health, Ordinances, Teaneck

NJ is part of the PJM interchange for electricity.  PJM has a horrible history of meeting clean energy goals set by the State and consequently, instead of generating clean energy, providers like PSE&G have met quotas by purchasing certificates from power plants in other areas that count towards the clean energy mandate.

The CCA program extends the ability to purchase those certificates (called RECs or Renewable Energy Credits) from third-party electric suppliers.

Some towns seem to have had a rocky start, unable to find bids, some found initial bids, but couldn’t find renewals.  The information (pro and con) is laid out below.

My hope is that people will share and read about the program to have an informed discussion at our subsequent council meetings.

– Keith Kaplan

What is Community Choice Energy Aggregation?

The general concept behind the program is to allow an entire County / Town(s), to use their collective purchasing power to decrease electric rate prices for clean energy supply.  In theory, if you can make clean energy less costly through aggregation, everyone can replace dirty energy sources while spending the same amount they paid through PSE&G (or at a small discount).

The legal basis for the program can be found in the NJ legislature’s  Government Energy Aggregation (“GEA”) Act of 20031.  It permits counties and municipalities to create an ordinance (or resolution) to establish an “Aggregation Program”.

Does Air Become Cleaner?

It does…. somewhere.  But only if the Municipality can find a bid. Continue reading “Community Choice Energy Aggregation: Coming soon?”

East Tryon Avenue Traffic Study and Police Reports

Keith Kaplan / / Roads, Safety, Teaneck

The Teaneck Police Department was asked to conduct a report as to traffic and safety on East Tryon Avenue (between Teaneck Road and Crescent Avenue).

Here are the findings:

On Tuesday, August 25, 2020, the Traffic Bureau was asked to conduct a speed survey on East Tryon Avenue between Teaneck Road and Crescent Avenue. This request was prompted by an East Tryon Avenue resident that was concerned about a speeding problem. The resident stated their concerns in an email to Councilman Keith Kaplan. Continue reading “East Tryon Avenue Traffic Study and Police Reports”

Current Bonding Across Local Municipalities

Keith Kaplan / / Meetings, Teaneck

How does Teaneck compare to surrounding areas in terms of bonding?

In the State of New Jersey, municipalities may bond up to the debt limit1, which is 3.5% of the equalized valuation2 of taxable real estate.

In plain English: each town adds up the value of all their land, buildings, etc… averaged over the last three years.  The limit they can bond is 3.5% of that number.  And since the amount each town can bond is relative to their individual valuations, you get a metric that can be compared.

The annual debt statement, allows you to compare neighboring municipalities’ percentage of authorized debt, against each other.
(The data below are pulled from the authorized debt statements submitted to the State)

Here’s how Teaneck looks, based on the submitted annual debt statements from Bergenfield, Bogota, Englewood, Hackensack and New Milford

Each link below will bring you to the Annual Debt Statement, filed under oath with the State of New Jersey.

YearTeaneckEnglewoodBergenfieldBogotaHackensackNew Milford
20200.877%1.717%1.24%1.648%0.982%
20190.947%1.657%0.910%1.747%1.687%1.099%
20180.826%1.818%0.520%1.279%1.273%1.128%
20170.744%1.820%0.510%1.111%1.330%1.106%
20160.619%1.810%0.410%1.057%1.368%0.986%
20150.605%1.809%0.423%0.841%0.881%1.022%
20140.588%1.517%0.415%0.721%0.719%0.996%
20130.527%1.206%0.508%0.913%0.508%0.708%
20120.487%1.069%0.534%0.913%0.698%0.506%
20110.497%0.940%0.540%0.790%0.730%0.500%
20100.477%0.910%0.550%0.690%0.630%0.480%
  1. 40A:2-6. Debt limitation
    No bond ordinance shall be finally adopted if it appears from the supplemental debt statement required by this chapter that the percentage of net debt as stated therein
    pursuant to 40A:2-42 exceeds 2.00%, in the case of a county, or 3 1/2%, in the case of a municipality.
  2. 40A:2-41. Contents of annual debt statement
    The annual debt statement shall be in the form prescribed by the director and shall set forth as
    to the local unit:
    a. Gross debt;
    b. Deductions;
    c. Net debt;
    d. The equalized valuations of the taxable real estate, together with improvements, for
    the last 3 preceding fiscal years, and the average thereof;
    e. Net debt expressed as a percentage of such average of equalized valuations; and
    f. Any other information or detail required by law or by the director. The amount of any item which is indefinite or unascertainable may be estimated.
    L.1960, c. 169, s. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1962. Amended by L.1964, c. 72, s. 5.

We stand in solidarity with our AAPI Community

Keith Kaplan / / Safety, Teaneck

We Stand United with our Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Communities

Written by Keith Kaplan & Michael Pagan with members of Grace Community Chapel

Dear Friends,

The Teaneck Council will be adopting a Resolution on Thursday night declaring solidarity with Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Communities to stand in support with those affected by the terrible shooting in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16th.
Sadly, hate crimes motivated by anti-Asian sentiment have jumped 1,900% in New York City in 2020 and almost 3,000 reports of anti-Asian discrimination between March 19 and December 31, 2020 have been recorded by the Stop AAPI Hate.
Moreover, racially-motivated assaults and harassment targeting of AAPI seniors have dramatically increased and include the recent attack and subsequent tragic death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco on January 28, 2021.
In response to the xenophobic and inflammatory rhetoric about COVID-19, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. issued an Executive Order on January 26th during the first week of his administration to show that most Americans across the country abhor this type of behavior by the bigots who commit these crimes.
The Teaneck Mayor and Council unanimously passed a resolution rejecting hate within the Township and support measures at the municipal and state level to combat the insidious and persistent impact of racism.
The Resolution that will be adopted by the Teaneck Council this Thursday night will:

Continue reading “We stand in solidarity with our AAPI Community”

Glenpointe Settlement Data

Keith Kaplan / / Development, Teaneck

The Settlement with Glenpointe announced and approved by the Township includes:

  • 2007 through 2010 (part of litigation)
  • 2011 through 2019* (additional years not part of litigation)

The full amount the Township is refunding based on the litigation is: $1,711,869 + interest

The chart below indicates the refunds by year, which can also be found in Resolution 58-2021 on the Township’s website.

*  While not part of the litigation, years 2011-12 were subject to the “Freeze Act”

 

Glenpointe Tax Appeal in the Rear-view Mirror

Keith Kaplan / / Development, Teaneck

What is the Glenpointe Tax Appeal?

The Glenpointe complex, consisting of Hotels, Offices, Atriums, parking lots and more appealed the assessment of their taxes for the years 2007 through 20101.

Had the Glenpointe prevailed, the Township would have been responsible for refunding over $15 million dollars.

[Note: $15M figure does not take into account tax appeals for years 2011 through 2018, which are included in the settlement agreed to by the parties]

After the Superior Court found mostly for the Town, the appeals were ultimately settled for $8,083,000 (including interest).

From Judge Andresini:
(all quotes are fully explained below with relevant links to the opinion)

[T]he court rejects Plaintiff’s expert’s determination of stabilized revenue. Given that the Township’s expert’s stabilized ADR figures are in line with the actual ADR of the subject Hotel for the relevant tax years, did not overstate the effect of the economic downturn on those years, and are supported by the comparable data sets contained in the PKF trends he used, the court finds his stabilization of the subject Hotel’s revenues to be reliable and will adopt his conclusions of revenues accordingly.

Continue reading “Glenpointe Tax Appeal in the Rear-view Mirror”

Soriano-Taveras Apologizes for ‘Doing Nothing Wrong’ in Calling for Boycott

Keith Kaplan / / Elections, Teaneck

After audio surfaced of Alexandra Soriano-Taveras calling for a boycott of Cedar Lane businesses, questions began to swarm about her fitness to represent the 37th District, which includes Teaneck, in the NJ Assembly.

Yesterday, Soriano-Taveras released a statement (see full statement below) via InsiderNJ.

“There was a call to action in Teaneck this past summer and I attended to speak up and speak out against our town leadership who once again was not listening to the voices of our community.”

Continue reading “Soriano-Taveras Apologizes for ‘Doing Nothing Wrong’ in Calling for Boycott”

Teaneck Bans Facial Recognition by Police and Departments

Keith Kaplan / / Ordinances, Safety, Teaneck

Ordinance 7-2021:

ADDING ARTICLE XXXIV, “PRIVACY” TO CHAPTER 2 OF THE TOWNSHIP CODE ENTITLED “CHARTER/ADMINISTRATIVE CODE”

This ordinance will ban the use of facial recognition surveillance technologies by the Township.

These technologies have resulted in innocent people (including this one here in NJ), being held for crimes they didn’t commit. Crimes there were not even anywhere close to. 10 days. Sitting in a cell for a crime you didn’t commit. Continue reading “Teaneck Bans Facial Recognition by Police and Departments”

Blue Teaneck Throwing Shade

Keith Kaplan / / Development, Teaneck

On his page, local gadfly Bill Orr has a post about housing in Teaneck.

This is an important issue and worth taking a look at, in depth.

“Housing should be a basic human right for all not just those who are affluent. Increasingly such is not the case in Teaneck. With people moving from NYC and elsewhere to our town, it has brought us higher prices and done little to help those who cannot afford these costs.”

There are two ways to reduce housing costs.

  1. Create more housing
  2. Reduce the value of existing housing

What does Blue Teaneck suggest Teaneck do? Continue reading “Blue Teaneck Throwing Shade”

IMPORTANT: COVID Vaccine Appointment Updates

Keith Kaplan / / Health, Teaneck

 

Dear Colleagues,

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Holy Name has worked tirelessly to provide our patients and the community at-large with the best and most effective treatment possible. More than that, our work, in the fight against this virus has always been driven by our commitment to compassion, empathy and full transparency. As challenges arose during the course of the past year, we stood firmly as a hospital and as a community leader to meet them.

Today, a new challenge has arisen. Unfortunately, due to weather-related issues across the United States, and beyond anyone’s control, shipments of critically important vaccines earmarked for our hospital, have been effectively grounded in different parts of the country. These issues, coupled with the latest storm affecting our own region, have combined to create a great deal of uncertainty around when additional shipments of vaccines will arrive.

As a result, we have had to postpone many vaccination appointments. I truly apologize for the current situation and would like to assure you all that we are doing everything in our power to make sure these much-needed vaccine doses arrive as quickly as possible.

All individuals with appointments have been notified directly already and should continue to monitor their emails and texts for additional, specific, updates related directly to their appointments. I would also like to reassure those who have had their second-dose appointments delayed, that we are confident those rescheduled appointments will be conducted within an appropriate and acceptable timeframe — in-line with the CDC’s guidance.

As the President and CEO of Holy Name Medical Center, and as a member of this community, I fully understand and appreciate your collective and personal frustration with these delays and the current situation we all find ourselves in. You have all put your trust and faith in us. We are committed to making sure that trust has not been misplaced.

Michael Maron
President & CEO