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My Record is Clear! My first priority is the Health and Safety of all Residents in the First Ward My opponent was AGAINST saving St. Mary Hospital! Click HERE to see the video. Would eliminate the Police and Fire Departments through regionalization. Click HERE to see the video. Don't Take My Word for it... Turn to Channel 78 and Listen to His Words!

Dear First Ward Resident, It has recently come to my attention that my opponent, Ron Rosenberg, wants to make the First Ward election about more than just the issues. Mr. Rosenberg has decided to use slander tactics, in a feeble attempt to sway your vote. He has sent out literature, which accuses me of being a “yes vote.” for my family. Ads that he has put in the Hoboken Reporter suggest I am an old-time politician who tolerates political corruption. These accusations are nothing more than vicious lies. I have always, and will always, base my decisions as an elected official on the concerns and interests of the residents of the First Ward. The comments do not reflect poorly on me, but rather the character of my opponent. Ron calls himself a progressive voice for Hoboken being backed by developer Pupie Raia and the Hudson Democratic Organization. Perhaps it is only my opinion, but attempting to discredit me with baseless accusations doesn’t seem very progressive. If Ron is going to make political mudslinging the focus of his campaign, so be it. But I refuse to lower myself to his level. I will continue to focus my campaign on the issues that are most important to the residents I represent. I encourage you and all Hoboken residents to judge the candidates you may choose to support based on the issues, and ignore the negativity that surrounds election season. My history as a public servant and community leader is all I need to defend myself against Mr. Rosenberg’s childish name-calling. Theresa Castellano First Ward Councilwoman

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CONTACT: A. PASQUALE 201-988-4460

Reelect Hoboken First Ward Councilwoman Theresa Castellano
http://www.CastellanoForHoboken.com

Dear Friend & Resident: Proudly, I am endorsing and supporting Theresa Castellano for re-election as First Ward Councilwoman. She has served with honor and dedication. Theresa is a tireless, energetic, hard-working councilwoman. She is an independent thinker and very knowledgeable of the issues. Integrity, honest and trust are just a few of the virtues that Theresa possesses. These characteristics are important to me, and I know how much they mean to you. Please re-elect Theresa Castellano as First Ward Councilwoman on Tuesday, May 8th. Sincerely Richard Richard DelBoccio City Council President

The Hoboken Reporter April 15, 2007 The 1st Ward

The 1st Ward encompasses 37 blocks and has approximately 4,700 registered voters. Only 1,147 voted in the last ward election four years ago.

The 1st Ward includes much of the southern waterfront and shares a border with Jersey City, containing both the Hoboken Train Terminal and City Hall.

Development, transportation and economic issues are often at the forefront of debate in the 1st Ward.

Incumbent Theresa Castellano, who has retained her seat for the past 12 years, will be challenged for the second election in a row by Ron Rosenberg, a former Board of Education member and president of the Synagogue of Hoboken.

Theresa Castellano

Theresa Castellano, 58, a three-term incumbent, has spent 29 years involved with municipal government or volunteering on an assortment of city boards. She served on the Zoning Board from 1989 to 1995 and the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission since 1978.

Born and raised in Hoboken, Castellano graduated from Hoboken High School to go on to Fairleigh Dickerson University. She earned a degree in dental hygiene from the College of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark. The mother of two is married to Hoboken Police Det. Robert Castellano and has for the last 38 years owned and operated City Discount a retail store at 207 Washington St.

Castellano, who is one of the most vocal critics of the mayor and the administration's fiscal practices, plans to run with incumbent 3rd Ward Councilman Michael Russo, who is also her cousin. When asked what makes her more deserving of the council seat than her opponent, Castellano responded, "My record speaks for itself. When people refer to me, they describe me as 'constituent based.' I like to call myself a 'public servant.' I pride myself in responding to every request. If I don't have an immediate resolution, I do the necessary research. I never leave anyone without an answer or direction."

She added, "I consider myself so fortunate to have grown up, raised my family, have succeeded in business, and have a beautiful place to call home, and I owe it all to a place called Hoboken. Now, it's my turn to give back to a community that has given me so much to be thankful for. I have the priceless experience, dedication and fortitude needed to deal with the day-to-day duties of governing this city. The formula for success is, always treat people the way you wish to be treated and never ever forget where you came from."

In response to what she believes are the most important issues facing the 1st Ward, Castellano said, "Presently, the calls range from dog droppings, noise, and open space. [In regards to dog droppings,] early-morning and late-night stings are part of the answer. I am as we speak, advocating for such action. Signs and fines help, but you have to catch someone in the act. Stings have been very successful in the past."

"[Regarding noise], neighborhood bars that have morphed into dance clubs with residents above, have been springing up. I want to amend legislation to keep the decibel level that is acceptable to residents. This would prohibit DJs from bringing in their own equipment."

"[Regarding open space], the waterfront is a tremendous asset for the 1st Ward. Pier A park in itself is 5.5 acres of passive open space. Add to that the walkway, Sinatra Park Soccer Field, our little field in Stevens Park which abuts the 1st Ward. Granted, we could always use more open space, but in an urban city, we in the 1st Ward have been very fortunate. I have supported open space initiatives throughout the city."

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This will be the second time Rosenberg has run against Castellano, having finished second in last year's runoff. He says he plans to run independently, but has the support of Mayor David Roberts and 3rd Ward candidate Frank Raia.

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When Mr. Rosenberg speaks about Pay to Play legislation he implies that Theresa Castellano was against Pay to Play legislation. In fact, she signed the petition for the amended ordinance and praised People for Open Government. Councilwoman Castellano has voted for this ordinance and any other Pay to Play ordinance before the Council.

City Council 2/21/2007 - Recap
From Hoboken411.com

Municipal Garage Plan Withdrawn
The Mayor’s latest attempt to throw out the community plan for the property was still on the agenda when people arrived to oppose it. After some discussion about how unnecessary it was to move forward with it, the resolution and ordinance were pulled from the agenda.

As a courtesy, people were still allowed to speak on it during the meeting. Members of the Observer Highway Redevelopment Advisory Committee thanks the council for removing the Mayor’s 12/10/8 story proposal once again and asked for support in working to find a solution to the ongoing saga.

Attorneys for Tarragon/URSA and MDK Development also addressed the Council. The developers seem to be almost as frustrated by the Mayor’s handling of this as the community is. Tarragon/Ursa’s attorney said his client wants a bidding process with a “Level Playing Field.”

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Proposed Resolution

St. Pat's Parade out of hand

Letter to the Editor
Hoboken Reporter

Dear Editor:

The Hoboken City Council Quality of Life Committee would like to comment on the recent St. Patrick's Day Parade.

We believe that the sponsors and committee for this event have every intention of honoring and paying tribute to their Irish Heritage, a mission that they have successfully accomplished. Everyone concerned should be complimented on putting together a beautiful parade. The parade gets bigger and better each year, and we all enjoy being Irish for the day.

However, the events before and after the parade are such that everyone who lives here has a story or two to tell. The first weekend in March, Hoboken becomes a "City Under Siege". We do not need to address all the things that took place that day but we do need to come up with some changes.

The Quality of Life Committee will be meeting with the all parties that are involved. We hope to open up a dialogue and work out a plan . that will make everyone happy. We want to have a beautiful day and parade each year, without the stories.

Any resident with suggestions, please feel free to email us at theresa@castellanoforhoboken.com or call 201-798-1962.

Sincerely,

The Quality of Life Committee

Theresa Castellano
Richard DelBoccio

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Dear Quality of Life Committee:

Thank you! It is about time the council is reaching out to the community to see what OUR opinion on this ridiculous parade is. I think the City Council, the Mayor and the Quality of Life Committee needs to open their eyes and realize that it is 2006 and we live in an extremely overpopulated city that is already impossible to drive through, walk through, cross the street safely, etc.

I am also a born and raised Hobokenite - my children are 4th Generation Hobokenites - and I would like to continue living in Hoboken in Marine View Plaza, but these parades and ridiculous street fairs that close our neighbourhood down on weekends when we need to move our cars and go food shopping and run errands are made impossible a few times a year when these events take place. What is wrong with Pier A? A few years ago, I attended a Puerto Rican Day festival there and had the best time ever. The venue was beautiful, there was no ALCOHOL. The bands were able to set up a beautiful stage and one small street that is not a heavy trafficked area was shut down.

On the night of this last Mess that this committee calls a parade was going on, my husband and I had a rare night that one of us was not working, my children were visiting my mom and we just wanted to go see a movie. We realized that we couldn't. Our movie theatre in Hoboken is now shut down (and boy did I utilize that theatre), we did not want to go on the path to Manhattan because we did not want to walk through the streets where the most damage was being done in town and we did not want to drive and get killed by the drunks that were driving in and out of our town. We realized that we were once again held HOSTAGE in our homes by gangs of drunks that showed our town such disrespect by urinating and vomiting all over our streets. I could not take my children to McDonalds for lunch because the lines for the bathroom alone were dangerous, I could not take my children to the park that afternoon for fear that they would have to watch grown men urinating in the park that they play in everyday! ENOUGH!!!!!!

I am also going to touch on another subject while I have my soap box out! The Madonna DeMartiri Feast needs to be moved to PIER A!!!!! I have a personal affiliation to this event and look forward to it every year. It is not loud or completely disruptive - but - the traffic around my building for 4 days is disgusting. When you come home from work on a Friday night the last thing I want to do is sit in traffic for 2 hours to pull into a garage I pay $125 a month to park in. These committees really need to listen to the people who LIVE in these neighborhoods and ask US how these events completely disrupt our QUALITY OF LIFE. The people who arrange this festival and disrupt MY life for 4 DAYS out of the year DO NOT LIVE IN HOBOKEN!!!!!

If you move from a town - LEAVE IT ALONE and have feasts and festivals in your own town!!!!!

THANK YOU for the opportunity to say what I believe to be true! If you would like to reach me regarding my opinion, you can respond to this e-mail.

Sincerely,

Concerned resident

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Hi,

We live on Park Avenue near O'Nieal's bar and it was quite a scene! I have some ideas/questions regarding the drinking situation:

1) Why are the bars allowed to begin serving alcohol so early in the day? Can't they begin serving later in the day? I know the holiday involves drinking, but it's way, way out of hand!

2) As it is obvious that the bar patrons are incredibly drunk, why are the bars continuing to serve them all day? Is anyone stopping in to make sure the bars are behaving responsibly?

3) I believe the bars and restaurants should be required to establish a St. Patrick's Day clean up fund. There were food and alcohol-related debris all over the sidewalks for days after the event. In fact, there is still broken glass from beer bottles on Fourth Street across from the park. I walk my dog there and I'm afraid she's going to cut her paws.

Sincerely,

Hoboken resident

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The opening of bars at 9:00 am is a disgrace to the people of this city ... why not at least make the opening at 3:00 pm? The enforcement should be done by the local bar owners as far as not serving anyone who is already drunk (they can tell actually any one can identify someone already drunk who needs no more .... the bar owners have a major responsibility in this category ... its all about the profits they make understandably but we residents pay the price and the police department has to deal with it besides their real duties of fighting crime.

someone on the city council needs to pass an ordinance for changing the times of bar openings on the parade day ... who will be the brave soul to do this?

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I'm a little late writing about the havoc caused by the St. Patrick's day parade this year - as well as previous years .... but my sentiments are still the same nonetheless...

Every single year this city becomes one giant drunk fest ....and these drunks have ZERO respect for the residents of hoboken - i find this infuriating. They should go home to their own towns and act indignant. I could not believe that they were lining up at 9:00 am to get into the bars which hadn't opened yet, drinking on the street, urinating in the street, and THEY WERE EVERY WHERE - like magots - thousands of them. I DO NOT understand why the City of Hoboken allows this crap!!! I cannot imagine - people who are paying $8000 in taxes are happy about the disrespect shown to their property. Nor can I imagine that anyone even walking down the street can be happy by the disrespect shown to them trying to get from one place to another. Every person I spoke to had a disgusting story to tell. I personally saw a girl who was completely drunk and rolling around inside a pizza box while holding the slices of pizza in her hands -- as her boyfriend looked on hysterical laughing.

I encountered people that were down right belligerent - and I use the term people only to be kind. Certainly I have quite a few other choice words to described these St. Patrick's Day drunks.

I think the answer to the problem is to have the parade on a Monday night - everyone is home on a Monday night. All the children can come out to see - while the drunks can't come out because they live too far away.. ..there is no way a parade like this - that promotes drinking of that magnitude should be held on a weekend - nor in OUR TOWN!!!

I really hope something is done to make the Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Parade a lot more enjoyable for all involved throughout the entire City - rather than just the drunks and bar owners

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Hoboken not curbing St. Pat's

Jersey Journal
02/09/07

By CHARLES HACK

HOBOKEN - Concerns about lost revenue by the bar industry quashed an ordinance and a resolution at the City Council meeting Wednesday night designed to cut back on drunkenness at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The ordinance would have forced bars and liquor stores to wait until 11 a.m. to open, instead of 6 a.m., on the day of the parade, March 3.

The resolution called for police to step up enforcement of laws against open containers and urinating in public. It also called for a crackdown on bars that commit liquor license violations.

Councilwoman Theresa Castellano said the Quality of Life Committee had drawn up the proposals because of "disgusting' behavior at previous events.

It would also have required department heads to be on duty and for the municipal court to be open to process drunks hauled off the streets.

After hearing from the bar owners and parade leaders, the City Council voted down the ordinance and the resolution 6-3.

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No Crackdown

Jersey Journal Editorial

Every year, there is the cry from Hoboken residents about some of the drunken antics of those who come to the Mile Square City to take part in the revelry of the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

For this reason a vote was taken on an ordi­nance at Wednesday night's City Council meeting that would have mandated a later opening for bars and liquor stores -11 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. - on the day of the parade. Why give the heavy drinkers a head start? There was also a resolution calling for better police enforcement of laws against open containers and urinating in public, and a crack­down on bars that violate their liquor licenses.

After hearing from the bar owners and parade leaders, the City Council voted down the ordi­nance and the resolution by a 6-3 vote. It is assumed that no one is condoning any drunken behavior - but if there is to be heavy drinking in the morning, the City Council wants to make sure it is not a BYOB event.

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Drunks need not apply
City cites 'zero tolerance' on St. Pat's - but bars can still open at 6 a.m.

By Michael D. Mullins

Hoboken Reporter
02/11/2007

Hoboken bar owners and their employees breathed a sigh of relief this past Wednesday as the City Council rejected a resolution and ordinance that, if passed, would have prevented pubs and liquor stores from selling alcoholic beverages prior to 11 a.m. during the city's 2008 St. Patrick's Day parade celebration.

The proposal would not have been passed in time for the 2007 St. Patrick's Day parade, to be celebrated this March 3. Hoboken traditionally celebrates its parade early so that it won't have to compete with other towns' parades for the best bands. Partiers from around the state usually come to Hoboken on parade day to line up outside the bars.
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Click HERE for the complete article.

I endorse and support every Pay-to-Play ordinance presented. I am looking forward to a return to grassroots campaigning. Some say, “only the wealthy can run for office.” There are ordinary individuals who contribute to honest, sincere candidates whose only agenda is good government.

Court Street
A goal of the Historic Preservation Commission is to restore Historic Court Street to its former splendor, beginning with the replacement and restoration of cobblestone pavers

Holzberg said that the city is now negotiating to buy the buildings, which have been appraised at $6 million, to run family and AIDS pro­grams.