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Petition Tag - jersey city
1. Support Lafayette Branch Library, Jersey City, NJ 
The Lafayette Branch was the sixth branch library in the Jersey City Free Public Library system when it opened in 1924. It has been in the same location, at 307 Pacific Avenue, with the exception of a period of time when it was renovated between 1999 and 2000. At its reopening, it "became the first automated branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library system". (Source: jclibrary.org)
This "neighborhood Library" serves the area of Jersey City referred to as "Communipaw-Lafayette". The branch has a two-person staff and operates in a storefront, a small but arguably adequate space.
It provides a center where computer access is available to the many who do not have the luxury of having a home computer. This is becoming more and more of a necessity as today's school curriculum incorporates homework that requires a computer.
2. First Street Park - Hudson County Open Space Grant
The chain-link gates leading into the First Street Park in The Village section of downtown Jersey City were locked in 1984 after only ten years of being unveiled as part of then-Mayor Paul Jordan’s “Legacy of Parks” campaign. Within that span, the park suffered irreparable damage due to vandalism, crime, and a lack of general maintenance. Village residents had no other recourse but to shut down the park. Consequently, deterioration and further vandalism virtually turned the site into a neighborhood eyesore and embarrassment.
Times have changed. The Village, like other Downtown Jersey City residential districts, is undergoing a real estate and cultural renaissance. The VNA, a non-profit corporation formed by Village residents in 2007, is the steward of its quality of life issues. The VNA is determined to reinvent the First Street Park site (Block 410, Lots 25-27, 0.12 Acres) into a neighborhood amenity that will erase all civic scars and add to the Village’s ongoing rebirth.
The VNA has gained the support of the City of Jersey City to spearhead this initiative. The VNA set forth and produced a Request for Proposal (RFP) which was sent to approximately a dozen architectural design firms. Four agencies agreed to share their design visions with the public during our October 2009 meeting. The design firm Future Green Studios was selected based upon public input and will be providing the city with detailed project drawings, including budgets, for the city to begin the bidding process this Spring. All work provided by Future Green was done pro bono. The city has since advised the VNA to apply for two grants to aid our cash-strapped City in funding the parks renovation. The Hudson County Open Space Grant application, and a state Green Acres grant application are both in the process.
3. Stop the Jersey City Tax Increase
In the waning days of your predecessors' administration, the City Council of Jersey City hastily proposed a budget that included a substantial tax increase (http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1263453994245760.xml&coll=3).
Additionally, the Council on January 27, 2010 passed a resolution on a 5 - 3 vote to petition the State of New Jersey to allow the city to raise property taxes above the legal maximum of 4%; N.J.S.A. 40A:4-45.15a).
The city has not followed the example of other states and municipalities and adjusted its expenses to the revenues it can raise. In fact, the city has not made a concerted effort to reduce its overall expenses, with the exception of cosmetic cuts such as furloughs, closing 4 fire stations and reassigning personnel, and requesting department to reduce costs.
