Posted by Steven Glazer, Urban Times News on July 14, 2003 at 18:59:20:

Steven Glazer, Email: sglazer@urbantimesnews.com Northern New Jersey’s Information Leader

Urban Times staffers said that Hoboken is a key distribution point for the newspaper because the residents there never have an opportunity to hear opposition points of views on issues.

Hoboken—This is a first. African American owned opposition weekly newspaper, Urban Times News has been kidnapped in broad daylight by Hoboken City officials.

In the daring daylight raid, City officials took the machine from a row of ten other newspaper vending machines chained to the same fence at First and Washington.

Urban Times has even been thrown out of jail before. County Executive Tom “Increase” DeGise prohibited the distribution of the Urban Times News at the County Correctional Facilities even though the inmates paid for delivery out of their own commissary funds. DeGise also banned the distribution of Urban Times News in County offices and building when he took office. DeGise’s media relations staff refuse to speak to Urban Times reporters.

We thought that we had seen everything. But we have been astonished to learn that The Urban Times News has just been kidnapped by the City of Hoboken.

An informant called with an anonymous tip that a city truck manned by city workers had hijacked a brand new vending machine full of the latest edition of Urban Times News from a location opposite City Hall. Urban Times is a Black-owned weekly newspaper published in Jersey City and distributed in the Counties of Hudson and Essex and parts of Passaic. Politically and philosophically, Urban Times News is aligned with the administration of Jersey City’s first African American Mayor, Glenn D. Cunningham and his Hudson Reform Democrats. This was the first installation of an Urban Times News vending machine in Hoboken.

We tracked the machine back to a city worker who said that his crew cut the chain securing the machine and brought it back to a city garage on the orders of the mayor’s business administrator, Robert Drasheff. Drasheff could not be reached for comment.

The worker told Urban Times that the reason for taking the machine was because it had no permit. The worker said that the permit could be obtained from City Clerk, James Farina. Urban Times called Farina and asked where the appropriate permit could be obtained and how. Urban Times told Farina that they would be happy to comply and complete any application for a permit and pay any applicable fee for the permit to be in full compliance with the law. Farina said that there was no such permit, to his knowledge. Farina categorically stated that no permit is required for a newspaper vending machine.

Urban Times staffers left urgent messages saying they were calling to secure the return of newspaper property and needed to speak with Drasheff as soon as possible. The staff member called again at about 4:15pm to find that Drasheff had left for the day, according to a police officer who happened to answer the phone.

Bill Campbell, the Mayor’s spokesperson did call later and said he would look into the matter. When Campbell called back he said that Urban Times News would be required to submitted a letter asking permission to place vending machines at the desired locations and specify the locations. Campbell said that this is necessary because Washington Street is historic. Once that was done Campbell said that he could see no reason why the request would not be granted and the confiscated machine returned.

Jonathan Metsch is a Hoboken resident who is an Organized Crime supporter and CEO of Liberty Health Care Systems who operates the Jersey City Medical Center. Metsch refers to Urban Times News in conversations with Medical Center staffers as “The Black Press.” Staff Members of the Medical Center are expressly forbidden to speak with the “Black Press.”

Urban Times staffers said that Hoboken is a key distribution point for the newspaper because the residents there never have an opportunity to hear opposition points of views on issues. Hoboken’s government is dominated by Organized Crime, aka HCDO, and many of its high-ranking members live in the mile square town, including Congressman Robert Menendez, D-13, known as the Don of Organized Crime.

An attempt to report the taking of the machine to the Hoboken Police Department was met with extreme reluctance on the part of officers to enter a report of the theft of the machine. The cost of the machine is about $250, according to the owner of the newspaper, and it was full of the latest edition of the newspaper, stale-dated by now implying a loss of several days’ revenue. The cost would also have to include the chain and lock that was cut to remove the machine. Nevertheless police would not take a report saying that only the owner of the newspaper, and not his representatives, could do that.

A senior officer said that the machine had been ordered removed by business administrator Drasheff. Police officials assured Urban Times that a record of the taking of the machine exists with the city. Urban Times still insisted on filing a report and the officer said that Drasheff ordered the removal for violation of an ordinance, 74-14, and that he would have to issue a summons to the paper if Urban Times insisted on “filing a report.” Recognizing the standoff that had developed, news staffers backed off for the long holiday weekend preferring to spend it in the company of their families rather than as guests of Hudson County.

Follow Ups:

• Re: ORGANIZED CRIME KIDNAPS URBAN TIMES NEWS Urban crap 21:14:52 07/18/03 (1)
  • Re: ORGANIZED CRIME KIDNAPS URBAN TIMES NEWS James Nesfield 22:16:56 07/25/03 (0)
• Desperate HCDO will do anything Fed UP 08:37:37 07/15/03 (1)
  • Re: Desperate UTN will do anything pudef 20:24:51 07/15/03 (0)
• Re: ORGANIZED CRIME KIDNAPS URBAN TIMES NEWS Hardy Boys 20:22:21 07/14/03 (4)
  • Re: ORGANIZED CRIME KIDNAPS URBAN TIMES NEWS Woolly Bully 08:26:23 07/15/03 (3)
    • Re: ORGANIZED CRIME takes over URBAN TIMES NEWS Bully lamb 20:27:22 07/15/03 (2)
      • Re: ORGANIZED CRIME takes over URBAN TIMES NEWS Woolly Bully 22:17:49 07/15/03 (1)
        • Re: ORGANIZED CRIME takes over URBAN TIMES NEWS wooly wooly 22:35:23 07/15/03 (0)

Post a Followup

Name    : 
E-Mail  : 
Subject : 

Comments:
: ORGANIZED CRIME KIDNAPS URBAN TIMES NEWS


Optional Link URL:  
Link Title:         
Optional Image URL: 

 

Hoboken Guide

Jersey City and Hoboken Real Estate Waterfront Apartments and Condominiums

Featured Link Featured Listing Advertising Program Business name, Web Site Link and a brief description or motto – runs for one month in the Page (or Pages) of your choice. Sales Associates Wanted! GET NJ seeks sales associates to market ads on a commission basis. For more information, e-mail your resume and contact information to sales@getnj.com – Be sure to mention the area of New Jersey and/or the market segment that you plan to serve. GRAVE ROBBER Jersey City Computer Repair 297 Griffith Street, Jersey City, NJ - 201-798-2292 - In the Heights just off of Kennedy Blvd. - Very close to Journal Square and Union City, just five minutes away from Hoboken, Downtown Jersey City, Newport, the Waterfront, Secaucus, North Bergen and Weehawken - Tech support for The Jersey City Mayor's Office during the administration of Bret Schundler - PC repair - Tivos, too!, upgrade, hardware install, software install, data recovery, spyware removal, virus removal, replace hard drive, replace motherboard, copy files from notebooks, backup information from dead laptops Wanted! Used Computers! Used computers bought and sold. Located in Jersey City, NJ - convenient to the Hoboken 2nd Street Light Rail stations and the Journal Square PATH subway station. E-mail graverobber@verizon.net with an itemized list (description) of what you have for sale and the price. Pickup in the New York City Metro area -- minimum 10 units. Secure, guaranteed data removal is available.

For All Sorts of Unique New York City Information, Visit GET NY!