Many of the dilapidated cities of New Jersey have experienced at least some level of rebirth in recent years. Paterson, however, seems to have fallen through the cracks. The largest city in Passaic County has had image problems in the recent past when it comes to crime and poverty, and many New Jersey residents feel that not much progress has been shown to reverse those trends any time soon. Mike Kelly is the award-winning NorthJersey.com columnist. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to say that, while cities like Newark, Jersey City and Camden have seen at least some level of improvement, Paterson has been stuck in neutral at best.
Kelly told host Larry Mendte that Paterson’s woes start at the top: “Now there are three- count ‘em, three- of nine municipal council members who are facing criminal charges. The latest was a councilman named Luis Velez, charged with illegally pulling a fire alarm at City Hall. We still don’t know why he did that because there was no fire, but he pulled the fire alarm, nevertheless. Then two other guys in the council are still awaiting prosecution for election fraud indictments. And let’s not forget the previous mayor, who was sent to jail for corruption, then got out on a plea agreement never to run for office anymore, then was re-indicted for running for office. So it is a bit of a mess.”
Kelly feels people from Trenton down to the local level just don’t want to get their hands dirty cleaning up the mess that is Paterson: “They’re just afraid of getting involved in this toxic stew of how life goes on there, and the result is that the city just never really pulls itself out of its decline. It’s a city that’s really hurting… [Paterson] needs a really solid rebuilding and cleanup, and it’s just not getting it.”
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