North Arlington has long been a staunch supporter of “law and order” and placing a premium on the importance of public safety.
It is a community that prides itself on being “small, safe and suburban;” a quality of life now being trashed by an all-Republican local government.
While North Arlington has long been promoted as the first municipality of Bergen County, the Borough is now slowly being morphed as the last town in Hudson County and that’s bad news for taxpayers, tenants and homeowners who do not support this radical transformation of our community character with no input from residents!
During these turbulent times, our local Police Department has stood tall as a beacon of decency, understanding and keeping the peace.
A department that has led from the front of the line, displaying true leadership in every sense of the word!
This was evident when a small protest of our high school students along Ridge Road was guarded and monitored by our local police with class, professionalism and civility.
We are truly blessed as a community to have a police department that adheres to CDC guidelines, wearing masks and understanding that the community looks to their example of leadership and pride in the community.
Unfortunately, like our President we have a Mayor who doesn’t seem to think the rules apply to him.
Instead of wearing a mask, he openly defies CDC guidelines as well as logic in his arrogant approach to governing.
While millions are losing their jobs and many of those happen to reside in North Arlington, Dan Pronti, Mario Karcic, Allison Sheedy, Brian Fitzhenry, Lynette Cavadas, Kirk Del Russo and Donna Bocchino all decided they deserved a raise!
Not only did they vote to give themselves a hefty pay hike, they also decided to dole out “25” for more raises in the middle of a pandemic mostly to patronage employees and partisan supporters of the Pronti Administration.
Not only did Council President Mario Karcic vote to give himself a raise, but he used his position to secure a job for his nephew in the Department of Public Works. His 2020 running-mate is Donna Bocchino, a full-time state government employee who not only decided to award herself a raise with less than six months on the job, but voted award her father, political insider Jimmy Bocchino a 23% pay hike as well!
Running-mate Karcic also voted to raise Bocchino’s pay as well after becoming an employee just about a year ago.
Do you know anyone who gets a 23% pay hike after a year on the job?
You see Jimmy Bocchino is not your average employee, but a highly partisan political leader who served as his daughter’s campaign last year and his wife served as treasurer too.
All in the family North Arlington!
For North Arlington local government is riddled with “double-dippers,” individuals who work for the government or receive a government pension as well as their elective salaries too.
Of the seven members of the Mayor and Council, five can be described as double-dippers!
Patronage, partisanship and nepotism seems to be running amok while these Republicans practice overdevelopment, density, more traffic and a transformation from suburban to urban, gentrification and Bergen to Hudson before our very eyes!
Pronti and his followers seem hell bent on a proliferation of new apartments, turning North Arlington into another Harrison where our longtime character is being trampled through the mud!
So as we witnessed the entire Mayor and Council ignore social distancing and the wearing of masks, North Arlington is bracing for literally hundreds of new apartments along Ridge Road with literally no input from the public while these officials remained silent when our dysfunctional Board of Education decided to sink some $11,000,000 into the dormant Queen of Peace HS without a hint or word of criticism. A structure that doesn’t house a single student or teacher while ignoring the true district needs that exist at NAHS, NAMS, Jefferson, Washington and Roosevelt elementary schools!
A decision no one supported or had the opportunity to speak out.
For this is the new North Arlington, where public input no longer matters!
Want to spend $11,000,000 with no public support, go right ahead!
Want to give yourself a raise?
Why not?
Want to hire relatives?
Go ahead!
Want to give your father, a political patronage employee an additional 23% raise?
Happy Father’s Day Dad!
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