Councilman Blasts Potential Office Move; Mayor Calls His Claim a 'Political Stunt'

Third Ward Councilman Mike Russo is accusing the administration of keeping a potential move of the city's parking utility offices under wraps, claiming the shift to vacant space in the mid-town garage is being planned without public input.

Russo held a press conference Tuesday morning in front of the mid-town garage at 330 Clinton St., which is a potential site for the move. 

"Right now the hospital rents space from the city," said Russo in an interview after the press conference. If the parking utility moves there, he added, there will be no rent—thus, no revenue for the city—coming in. Russo did not know how much the monthly rent is for one of the offices.  

Mayor Dawn Zimmer responded to Russo's press conference with a statement: "The Midtown Garage is a potential site being considered, but it is still very early in the process and no decisions have been made. Relocation of the Parking Utility to the unused space in the Midtown Garage has been contemplated since the garage was originally built, so exploring this idea is not new and certainly not news."

Russo added that it would take away parking for residents in the area, because the parking utility vehicles will have to find parking. 

Not all of the office space available is currently occupied, but some of it is being used by Hoboken University Medical Center medical staff. 

Zimmer said also that this is an "election year political stunt."

When asked, Russo said that this "has nothing to do with the Fourth Ward elections."

The parking utility is currently located in the basement of City Hall, but those offices are—and have been for years—infected with termites. In the statement, Zimmer said she has been looking to temporarily relocate the Parking Utility while the City Hall offices get cleaned up and renovated. 

One Parking Utility employee, who preferred to remain anonymous, called the office a "health hazard."

"It's bug infested, it's mice-infested," said the employee, who has worked for the Parking Utility for about 15 years. "It's really disgusting down there."