PERTH AMBOY – July 22 Special Meeting, R-346: Authorizing the Proper City Officials to accept the Highway Traffic Safety/State Pedestrian Safety Enforcement and Education Fund Grant 2013 in the amount of $15,000. This resolution brought about a disagreement between Business Administrator Greg Fehrenbach and Councilman Fernando Irizarry. Irizarry questioned if this grant was used for undercover police officers to ticket drivers of motor vehicles who they felt violated the rules of not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks.
Irizarry wondered why undercover cops are doing this and he spoke from personal experience. Irizarry said that his wife was stopped and ticketed $85 for not yielding to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. “An undercover cop is the one who gave her the ticket. Not only that, she missed the deadline for paying the $85 and wound up paying $240 instead.”
Fehrenbach told Irizarry that this grant called for the police to enforce the pedestrian safety at crosswalks, but it didn’t specifically say anything about undercover cops doing this work.
Councilman Kenneth Gonzalez said, “This is a two way problem. Because there are pedestrians who ignore traffic signals. This has happened to me, my wife and our friends several times. Pedestrians just cross in front of you when you’re driving and you have the right away.”
Resident John Siberry who has been at odds with Councilman Gonzalez in the past but this time he agreed with the Councilman.
Siberry stated, “The jaywalking ordinance should be enforced.” He also said, “What happened to crossing on the green and not in between? That was taught when I was growing up.”
Councilwoman Lisa Nanton emphasized the need for undercover cops to patrol the Waterfront on the weekends. We need to find out who is throwing excess garbage on the beaches during that time.
She was concerned about a house on the corner of Lewis and Rector Streets where the home is in disarray. “I saw there was a notice on the door. The premises had to be cleaned up by the end of June and it has not been done.
