Suez defends millions of dollars in charges to N.J. towns for 'public fire protection'

WATER WORKS: Suez North America headquarters are on From Road in Paramus, above and below.

GOING TO THE SOURCE: I had been trying to get Suez North America to comment after Hackensack officials complained in June about their bill of more than $343,000 for "fire protection." So, I went to Suez headquarters without an appointment, cooled my heels in the waiting room and finally was given the cellphone number of the company spokeswoman, who said she was on the road. On Friday, she emailed me what I needed.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- When a vehicle struck a fire hydrant and ruptured a water main in Fort Lee, the water company immediately dispatched a repair crew.

"The cost was substantial, but the safety of that block depended on a working hydrant," Debra Vial, spokeswoman for Suez North America, said on Friday. "We are always on call."

The cost of the repairs were $38,741.27, she said, defending the charges to Hackensack and other towns for "public fire protection."

"We work every day ensure that the 16,226 hydrants in our system and all of the infrastructure to support them are always ready whenever and wherever a fire erupts," Vial said.

"This is critical to keeping our communities safe. As part of our commitment to the communities we serve, rates for hydrants are lower now than they were in 2010."

Hackensack's bill

As I reported on June 11, Suez's charges for "public fire protection" are $195.12 for each of Hackensack's 531 hydrants or $103,608.72; and $0.04 "per inch-foot of main" or $240,180.98.

The total bill for Hackenack in 2019 is $343,789.70.

Read: A $343,000 bill for 'fire protection'

 drives taxpayers and officials crazy

Testing of hydrants

Specifically, Hackensack officials are upset about the $103,608.72 in charges for hydrants.

Fire Chief Thomas J. Freeman was turned down when he asked Suez about potential savings, in view of his department checking and servicing hydrants for roughly 10 years.

"The charge represents far more than the maintenance and testing of hydrants," Vial said.

"It includes the cost of providing the overall operation, maintenance and infrastructure necessary to ensure a robust system capable of providing the adequate pressure and capacity needed to fight fires.

"For example, we must build and maintain enough storage to handle the additional volume and pumps to deliver at a higher capacity that what is needed for domestic services only."

Other towns

Teaneck presumably pays more to Suez, as do Paramus and Englewood, all of which are larger than Hackensack and have more hydrants.

Ridgewood, Paterson, Clifton and Passaic all own their own water systems, and do not pay Suez for fire protection.

Vial, the Suez spokeswoman, said if I wanted a list of New Jersey towns and what they pay Suez, I should ask the state Board of Public Utilities, which sets the fire-protection rates.

SUEZ CANAL: In the waiting room, below, you can watch a video on the origins of the one of the world's biggest suppliers of clean water and waste-recycling services.

BASED IN FRANCE: Suez says the company provides water and waste-recycling services to more than 7.5 million people in the United States and Canada.

SUEZ ADVISORY: A sign in the company's 4th-floor men's room asks you to "please be considerate of the next person and clean up after yourself." Given the large number of slobs, litterers and smokers who toss butts out of car windows, I'd love to see signs like that all over northern New Jersey.

Cartoons speak for themselves on Trump's racist campaign to demonize immigrants

Many observers equate President Trump's racial views with Hitler or the Ku Klux Klan. Here, Cartoonist Adam Zyglis of The Buffalo (N.Y.) News agrees Trump doesn't have "a" racist bone in his body; he has dozens of racist bones, one shaped like the hood of the ghostly Klan outfit.

Cartoonist Nate Beeler of The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio shows sewage flowing out of Trump's mouth. The manhole cover is labeled "Racism."

Cartoonist Dave Granlund of PoliticalCartoons.com has Trump complaining about his treatment after he makes racist remarks. "Hey, there are others who agree with me," the president says, throwing his arms around Hitler and a Klansman.

Jimmy Margolies, former editorial cartoonist for The Record of Woodland Park, shows Trump in a Klan outfit saying, "I could lynch somebody on Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters..."

A second cartoon from Adam Zyglis labels as "vintage racism" Trump's words to four women of color in the House of Representatives: "Go back to where you came from!!"

In another cartoon from Dave Granlund, the ICE roundup announced by Trump ensnares Melania Knauss, his wife, for green card violations and illegal employment.

North Jersey residents turn thumbs down on editor who says they must pay for news

The front page of The Record of Woodland Park on June 4, 2018, before reporter John Cichowski put readers out of their misery by retiring. He wrote The Road Warrior column for more than 14 years. The so-called commuting column focused almost exclusively on drivers.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The executive editor of The Record today formally announced a policy that had been apparent to readers of NorthJersey.com for many months:

"A portion of our reporting will be available only to subscribers," Daniel Sforza said on NorthJersey.com -- the paper's website -- via a link from Twitter.

"These will be labeled 'For Subscribers' on NorthJersey.com and our mobile apps," said Forza, a former Record assignment editor who rose to executive editor of The Record of Woodland Park and these other Gannett properties:

North Jersey.com, The Herald News, The Daily Record in Parsippany; The Journal News, LoHud.com, and The Poughkeepsie Journal, the last three in New York State.

The job came with a modest raise, but unlimited mileage reimbursement, some wags have suggested.

Reader reaction

"So the number of readers you do have, which I can assure you is very limited, will continue to plummet just like CNN's ratings," Johnny B Good @mastrfriendship replied on Twitter. "An interesting strategy for an already failed news source."

Apple Ridge Something @AppleRidgeGuy wanted to know, "Do your 300 ads per page still pop up for subscribers?"

"I'll guess I'll u follow you now. Bye, said G.O. @bankerdad73. 

"$7.99 a month for a digital only subscription is way too much so sadly I guess I won't be seeing your posts," tweeted Paige Ryan @paigeonedesigns.

"Bye," said Pinky @NJPinkSky, showing an emoji with a waving hand.

Read: Tombstones for great local journalism

Read: The Record and NorthJersey.com

 lose even more readers in 2018

Layoffs, cuts in local news

In his statement, Sforza invokes the glorious history of The Record without mentioning the layoffs of more than 350 employees after the Gannett Co. paid nearly $40 million in cash to the Borg family for North Jersey Media Group in July 2016.

Then-Publisher Stephen A. Borg had engineered the biggest downsizing in The Record's history in 2008, then abandoned Hackensack in 2009, moving more than 1,000 employees to Woodland Park and Rockaway Township.

Gannett not only cut the payroll. Local news pages in the print edition dwindled and ads increased. 

The Record no longer runs an editorial everyday. And as the Local news section shrank, the Sports section was expanded.

A few weeks ago, The Record included an 8-page Sports section and only 3 pages of local news, much of it from Passaic County and of little interest to the heart of the readership in Bergen County.

Sforza's statement fails to acknowledge that he has helped Gannett turn The Record into a rag:

"In a few short months, The Record will be celebrating its 125th year of publication.

"That's more than a century of covering North Jersey, from its time as a rural farming community to the building of the George Washington Bridge to its place as a retail and residential hub in the shadow of New York City.

"Over that time, we've worked to deliver information that's important to you, to your families, to your businesses and to your future.

"The Record still does all of that, landing on newsstands and in your driveways each day. But it now does so much more.

"First and foremost, it's the storytelling engine behind NorthJersey.com, our virtual home where you can get not only our award-winning articles, but view fantastic videos, photo galleries, newsletters and more.

"That shift, which brings local news to you around the clock on your mobile phones, laptops and tablets, has also changed how we support the journalism that is so intrinsic to the way we live and to our democracy.

"Now more than ever before we are relying on our subscribers to support our news gathering.

"In recognition of that growing reliance on our readers’ support, a portion of our reporting will be available only to subscribers, starting Tuesday. This will include many of our exclusive stories unavailable from other news sources. These will be labeled “For Subscribers” on NorthJersey.com and our mobile apps.

"As savvy readers, you have no doubt noticed that we have been scaling back on the number of free stories available each month on our digital site. That's because we value our journalism and we know that you value it as well.

"Often, readers will tell me that they get their news through Facebook or Twitter. But behind the stories you find on social media networks are organizations like NorthJersey.com and The Record, where hard working journalists are doing the on-the-ground reporting to get to the bottom of a scandal, tell you about the new restaurant opening up, or analyzing the latest Yankees victory.

"It's important to realize that. And it's important to acknowledge that the content provided through social media is not generated by social media. 

"The success of local media will increasingly depend on support from our most loyal readers — those of you who subscribe to The Record and NorthJersey.com. 

"Many of you may already have subscriptions to The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. But only The Record and NorthJersey.com cover the towns you live in, the schools in your neighborhood, and the high school athletics your sons and daughters participate in.

"In addition, as New Jersey is comprised of more than 500 towns, it's important to keep watch on what is happening in our local governments. Only reporters from The Record and NorthJersey.com are keeping tabs on our politicians, our school boards, our downtowns, our health organizations, public transit agencies and the environment.

"This type of reporting is critical to a functioning democracy. It's critical to watching how your tax dollars are spent. And it's critical to how you make decisions that are in the best interest of your family, your business and your career....

"We have also returned coverage of the New York Rangers to our sports pages, adding it to our already robust coverage of the Devils, Knicks, Yankees, Mets, Giants and Jets. And we do it like no other.

"In the coming months, we will be adding searchable online databases of everything from state employee salaries to tax data to education statistics.

"None of this would be possible without our subscribers....

"To get all your digital benefits, you just need to log in our activate your digital account. 

Dan Sforza (Photo: Tariq Zehawi/NorthJersey.com)

"As a lifelong resident of North Jersey, I know how passionate we all are about the role The Record plays in our lives. And I'm grateful to everyone who supports our efforts.

"Again, thank you, and please don't hesitate to reach out with your suggestions for coverage."

Daniel Sforza is the executive editor of the The Record, NorthJersey.com, The Herald News, The Journal News, LoHud.com, The Daily Record and The Poughkeepsie Journal. He can be reached at sforza@northjersey.com, on Twitter @sforzadan. Subscribe to our independent reporting that supports our local communities and our democracy.

Ethnic restaurants pop up in Hackensack even before apartments are ready to rent

THAT'S A WRAP: An appetizer of Crispy Veggie Spring Rolls ($7), with Romaine lettuce for wrapping and a dipping sauce, at Pho Saigon, 296 Main St. in Hackensack.

TAKEOUT: I ordered three meals to go at Platters Corner, a Mediterranean Syrian restaurant at 60 River St. in Hackensack, including this Kofta Platter with rice, salad and bread ($10.30). 

Syrian, Vietnamese, Greek and Colombian

specialties tease our palates

Editor's note: As of November 2019, two of the casual restaurants mentioned here have closed. Both King Falafel and Yasou Paros were on a block of Main Street where traffic was barred when a crane was used in the construction of a 14-story apartment building. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- In the past decade, the downtown of this small city has been known more for the restaurants that have closed or changed hands than for new places to eat out.

But this year -- despite street closings, and the upheaval and noise caused by the construction of hundreds of apartments on or near Main Street -- more than a half-dozen casual restaurants have popped up to tease the palates of residents and visitors alike.

Two that I've tried are Platters Corner, a Halal restaurant serving Mediterranean Syrian food; and Pho Saigon, which offers a large menu of Vietnamese specialties in the space once occupied by Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles. 

Two other new places on Main Street are King Falafel, serving Mediterranean food a couple of doors away from Art of Spice, an Indian restaurant; and Yasou Paros, described as a Greek rotisserie.

Organic, vegan

Platters Corner offers a number of organic and vegan items, including hummus, baba ghanouj, house salad and falafel.

A potato sandwich also is listed as vegan.

All the sauces, which are complimentary, are made in the restaurant and organic.

Middle Eastern food

Of course, restaurants that call themselves Mediterranean serve Middle Eastern food -- Syrian, Lebanese or Palestinian -- and the label includes Egyptian and Turkish fare.

Yasou Paros has no seating, but there are a couple of counters where you can stand and eat or drink. King Falafel was closed on Saturday, and I don't know whether the small shop has seating. 

Pizza, Colombian

In June, the TapIntoHackensack site reported the opening of four casual downtown spots (but used the misspelling "Columbian" in one of them):

ASAP Pizza, a New York-style pizzeria at 80 Main St.; Bonanza Colombian Delights, which serves breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, as well as coffee and pastry, at 342B Main St.; King Falafel and Pho Saigon (in Wondee's old space) at 296 Main St.

Cuban, Thai, Korean

They join my longtime downtown favorites: Casual Habana Cafe, 125 Main St.; and Bangkok Thai Restaurant, 261 Main St.

Another standout closer to Route 4 is Kinyobi, a Korean fusion restaurant at 838 Main St.

ON THE TRIANGLE: Platters Corner is on a triangle of land on River Street, across from Solari's Italian Restaurant. The Mediterranean Syrian restaurant at 60 River St. has indoor and outdoor seating (see photos below).

VEGAN TAKEOUT: The Platter Corner Falafel ($10.30) is vegan, and includes 4 falafel wrapped in a thin, toasted bread with sauce and pickles. Rice, more bread, hummus and baba ghanouj complete the platter.

OPENED LAST WEEK: Yasou Paros at 137 1/2 Main St., above and below, offers a large takeout and catering menu of hot and cold Greek appetizers, saladas, gyro sandwiches, spinach pies, free-range rotisserie chicken and more. Six days after I posted this, I ordered takeout from Yasou Paros, but when I went to pick it up the air conditioner had broken and the place was closed. The food was delivered to my home by Yasou Santorini in Tenafly.  

WISHING YOU GOOD HEALTH: Yasou Paros is affiliated with Yasou Santorini in Tenafly, another Greek takeout restaurant. When you say "yasou" to another person, you are wishing good health.

MORE FALAFEL: King Falafel at 163 Main St. moved into the space of an ice cream shop that closed.

REAR DOOR NO LONGER OPEN: Pho Saigon serves Vietnamese specialties, including steaming bowls of anise-scented pho and bahn mi sandwiches, at 296 Main St. in Hackensack, where Wondee's operated for about 20 years. But the door to the rear parking lot can no longer be used by customers.

FISH BALLS: Pho Saigon's Seafood Noodle Soup ($12) includes fish balls, large shrimp and squid.

Sarah Sanders finally leaves White House, Trump distracts from Mueller's testimony

Sarah Sanders left her job as presidential press secretary last Friday, descending from a mountain of lies, says cartoonist David Fitzsimmons of the Arizona Daily Star.

Charles P. Pierce of Esquire called Sarah Huckabee Sanders "an embarrassingly bad liar and an embarrassingly arrogant countrified know-nothing for a criminal gang...."

Cartoonist Adam Zyglis of the Buffalo News: "I'm stepping down to spend more time with my family," Sanders said.

Pierce, the author of four books, condemned the "elite political media" for putting together farewell drinks for Sanders, whom he labeled as "an arrogant liar on behalf of a corrupt administration."

The decision by The New York Times International Edition to bar political cartoons left a bad taste in the mouths of cartoonist Christo Komarnitski of Bulgaria and many others. The decision came after The Times published a cartoon showing President Trump in a skullcap being led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was depicted as a guide dog wearing a Star of David.

Jimmy Margulies, former editorial cartoonist for The Record of Woodland Park, notes President Trump is a master of distracting many Americans from Democrats' call for impeachment and the expected testimony of Robert Mueller -- delayed a week and now scheduled for July 24 -- who led the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

President Trump's threats to go to war with Iran, and his demilitarized zone photo op with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un have distracted Americans from Democrats' call for impeachment.

Cartoonist David Whamond lampoons "the game show president," who is eliminated when he fails to profess his innocence.

See more cartoons at PoliticalCartoons.com and at The Cagle Post.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON