Jack Bredin is covering the home front for Blogfinger these days. Here he is with a North End bulletin: a commentary on the Township Comedy Meeting of December 20, 2018—the last opaque words for this year from this gang that can’t shoot straight.*
“The Approved NERP was for 165 units. After approval it was put into cold storage for ten years.
“Since then, the Mayor and the Township Committee, the Mayor’s Re-development Committee, the OGCMA, the OGHOA, the former Re-developers, and the new Re-developers, have all said the following :
‘There is a new Re-development Plan that cuts the proposed density 50%, down to 80 units.’
“Early this month the Township Committee reported they were voting on this new plan, and they did. And, the Mayor signed off on the plan they voted on.
“At the Dec. 20, 2018 meeting, an OG resident from Heck Ave (not Jack Bredin) said to the Committee: ‘The Township website is not clear as to what plan was approved at the last meeting.’
So, what plan was approved?’
“The answer from the Township Attorney was, ‘The 2008 plan was the only plan we were ever considering.’ “
* “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight” is the story of Papa Baccala, a Brooklyn Mafia boss, and Kid Sally Palumbo, a would-be capo who “couldn’t run a gas station at a profit even if he stole the customers’ cars”.
This Broadway tune is the perfect backdrop for the comedy of errors described above by Jack Bredin. We have Zero Mostel with a ditty from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” It goes to show how local government around here has deteriorated since the days of the Roman Forum when Jack was a prefect in a short skirt.
I think it’s clear, the plan that was just approved was..”Let the Developers do whatever they want Plan.”
Thanks Chuckle Head. No offense taken. I enjoyed hearing about your reactions to our style of reporting. –Paul @Blogfinger
Thanks Blogman. No intended offense to you. The quality of humor is consistently good. It’s just that in the old days my first reaction used to be a good ole belly laugh after reading your funny interpretations of these meetings. Now I have to shake my head first before I can chuckle.
Mad: So, you are not only upset over the outrageous behavior at the Committee, but you are also irritated by our BF attempts at humor.
But what we have here is the theater of the absurd, and the Township Comedy deserves ridicule, not respect. And, besides, let a smile be your umbrella on a rainy, rainy day.—Paul
Who’s the adult in the administration that actually understands the process of how things are supposed to get done? And why isn’t this process clearly provided to the Committee and to the public?
It’s time to STOP WASTING TIME and MONEY. I moved to OG in 2013 and my taxes have increased by almost 50% in that time. Through these Blogfinger posts, it’s clear that our Township administration is a wasteful, inefficient mess.
I can only think of 2 reasons why these Committee discussions about the North End are so unintelligible.
1. They have no idea what they are talking about,
or 2. They don’t want us to know what they are talking about…. 10 years of talk and no action. Unacceptable and shameful. It’s time to move forward with the the 2008 redevelopment plan or get rid of it and stick with the original Master Plan of single family homes. I personally want to stick with the original master plan.
“Redevelopment” is for economically depressed areas that need support and stimulation. Maybe in 2008 that was needed in the North End but not any more thanks to our entrepreneurial neighbors on the other side of the Casino.
I have the increasing tax bills and property assessments that show OG’s economy is healthy.
To get out of this no-man’s-land, the Township Committee needs a deadline to get their act together on the 2008 plan or drop it. I used to find these monthly Township Committee summaries on Blogfinger comedic and entertaining.
But after 5 years of following it with no progress, reading them has become more irritating than funny.