Played By Backyard Party
(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 15, 2010)
PERTH AMBOY — Whether a backyard barbecue was a Cinco de Mayo celebration
or a 2010 political campaign event may determine the future of the Perth
Amboy Animal Shelter, Fayette Street.
Resident Alan Silber told the City Council last week he has evidence that
the party was identified as a “campaign rally” on the website of Moving
Forward Together, a campaign ticket in the May election consisting of Council
candidates Maria Garcia, Kenneth Gonzalez and William Petrick.
A potential problem may arise because of the city’s strict “pay-to-play”
regulations which are applicable to Gonzalez and Petrick, who are now Council
members.
The two Councilmen may have to decide whether they can vote on a contract
with the Perth Amboy Happy Home Shelter, whose Acting Director is local
businesswoman Wilma Matey, owner of the Water Street home where the party was
held.
Matey has been seeking to take-over operation of the city’s Shelter from
retired police officer Richard Cielesz and his wife, Michal, both certified
Animal Control Officers (ACOs), for almost a year, but the Council has taken
no action.
“There were people drinking, signs with candidates’ names, and people
walking-around with clipboards and pens,” Silber said. “It was more than just a
pig-roast for sharing with friends.”
As for Matey’s reported contention that the event cost only $150, Silber
said that if others brought food to the event, those donations should be
counted as “in-kind contributions” to the Moving Forward Together campaign.
“You can’t just bring things,” he said.
Matey, who spoke before Silber, read a prepared statement responding to
charges about the event which have been raised by others.
In her statement, Matey contended that “there are a few chosen city
officials who seem to feel that things should stay the way they are.
“These officials have stopped at nothing to prevent me from taking-over,
even-though it would benefit our city and the animals in many ways,” she said.
“I’ve complied with their entire request; now, they’re even pressuring
several Council members by telling them they can’t vote due to it being a
‘conflict-of-interest.’ ”
Matey also charged that Council President Kenneth Balut, a retired Perth
Amboy police officer and a friend of Cielesz, and Councilman Fernando
Gonzalez, who ran with Balut in 2008, should abstain from voting on “the licensing
for police-towing, taxicabs and bars that come in front of them” because
those interest-groups “gave contributions — and pig roasts — for their
campaigns.”
She went-on to say that “it’s sad that the same mentality of vengence and
protection-of-friends has poisoned the Council Chamber again, and that
instead of getting what’s good for all the citizens of Perth Amboy, we’re back
to what’s good for a few.”
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
TIE-VOTE FOR MAYOR?
County Miscount Gave Henry Lead
(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 8, 2010)
SOUTH AMBOY — Florida had its hanging-chads in 2000, and South Amboy’s
2010 election-outcome may hinge-upon an “identifiable ballot.”
The Middlesex County Board of Elections apparently miscounted the
provisional ballots cast in the city’s hotly-contested race for Mayor on Nov. 2,
leading to the strong likelihood of a special election on Tuesday, Jan. 18, with
the city’s voters asked to choose between the two tied candidates to
succeed Mayor John O’Leary, who decided in March not to seek an unprecedented
seventh four-year term as Chief Executive of the “Pleasant Little City.”
Despite a recount held three weeks ago which reaffirmed a one-vote lead by
Democratic City Council President Fred Henry over Independent mayoral
candidate Mary O’Connor, it now appears that the election resulted in a a tie
between O’Connor and Henry, with 1,127 votes each.
As of early this week, O’Connor and her attorney, Christopher Struben, were
still awaiting a response to a request filed a week earlier with Superior
Court Judge Philip Paley, sitting in New Brunswick, for a hearing on alleged
discrepancies in the counting of ballots in the city election.
On Monday, attorneys for the Board met with lawyers representing both her
and Henry and suggested that the Board, too, may file its own petition with
Paley to seek permission to count six provisional ballots which were
“misplaced” during the initial counting on Nov. 5 at the Board’s headquarters on
Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick.
However, O’Connor said after the meeting that she and Struben question the
integrity of those additional ballots in light of alleged “mishandling”
that led to their being opened by the Board’s staff after they were discovered
the day before Thanksgiving.
Citing ongoing investigations by the FBI Field Office in Somerset and the
state Attorney General’s Office concerning the conduct of elections at the
county level, the Board prevented O’Connor’s researchers from obtaining
access to documents needed for her court presentation until Nov. 23.
“The Board and the (Middlesex County) Clerk’s Office have lawyered-up, and
they weren’t allowing anyone to look at any documents,” O’Connor said
last week.
“When I finally got to physically-see the provisional ballots, I saw that
they made a mistake in counting a vote for Henry that shouldn’t have been
counted,” O’Connor stated early this week. “We put that into our petition to
the court, but the Board of Elections admitted today (Monday) that they made
a mistake, and it’s a tied election.”
The recount approved previously by Paley — which cost O’Connor $248 — was
conducted by the Board of Elections at its Edison voting-machine warehouse
on Friday, Nov. 19, and — as-expected — resulted in an identical outcome.
“The Board certified an election that was incorrect not once, but twice,”
O’Connor said early this week. “Meanwhile, I feel like they’ve done nothing
but put-up roadblocks.”
In the recount, Henry again received 1,075 votes to 1,061 for O’Connor on
the city’s nine voting-machines, based in various public buildings throughout
the one-square-mile municipality, for a slender 14-vote lead. This was
shaven to three votes after O’Connor received 59 Mail-In Ballots (MIBs),
formerly known as “absentee votes,” to 48 for Henry.
This is where one point where questions are expected to be raised by
Struben.
The counting of MIBs increased Henry’s unofficial vote-total to 1,106 to
1,098 for O’Connor on Election Night — a spread of eight — but that
difference was reduced to just three the following day, when a bag containing more
MIBs, reportedly from the city’s First Ward, was discovered in New Brunswick
and immediately added to the count.
O’Connor questions how the additional MIBs became separated and how they
were found.
O’Connor also received seven of the 12 provisional (challenged) ballots
counted by the Board to five for Henry, further reducing his margin to one vote.
Although 22 provisional ballots were reported to have been cast, only 12 of
them were counted by the Board at its Jersey Avenue headquarters after
eight ballots reportedly were voided by its staff, and the Board voted
unanimously to accept seven of the ballots challenged by O’Connor, rejecting only one
of them. Those seven went back into the mix with five unchallenged ballots,
and were pumped-through a counting machine, after the rest of the county’s
provisionals were counted by that device.
The counting of one of those seven is where another question was expected
to be raised by Struben.
Following the insistence of Board member Donald Katz that a vote cast by a
city employee who lives in neighboring Sayreville be counted for
non-municipal candidates only, given the fact that both South Amboy and Sayreville are
in the same Congressional District, the Board voted unanimously to allow the
counting of that ballot.
However, the law identifies such a ballot as an “identifiable ballot” that
cannot be counted, according to an informed source.
After being able to examine the ballot at Jersey Avenue, O’Connor said her
researchers noticed that “there was a sticker over his Council votes, but no
sticker over his vote for Fred Henry,” and thus the vote apparently was
counted as a vote for Henry by the Board on both Nov. 5 and Nov. 19.
At that time, the Board also left a mysterious 10th uncounted provisional
ballot — reportedly cast by a woman who voted for O’Connor, but which was
not examined by the Board — unaccounted-for.
That ballot — discovered by O’Connor’s researchers before she filed her
request for a recount — was voided reportedly because no records were found to
show that the voter had registered in-time to vote on Nov. 2. However, the
woman has insisted that she registered to vote through the state Motor
Vehicle Commission (MVC).
If her ballot had been counted, that, too, would have resulted in a tie
between O’Connor and Henry with 1,128 votes each, thereby forcing a special
election.
But if Paley rules in-favor of accepting that ballot, O’Connor would win
the election by one vote.
Another MIB, also reportedly for O’Connor, was found in the Board’s office
one week after the election, but this one was rejected unanimously by the
four-member Board because the voter allegedly did not comply with proper
procedure.
At that emergency meeting, Administrator James Vokral explained that the
ballot was “put in the wrong pile” because the outer envelope in which it was
supposed-to be mailed was not used, but was replaced with a regular brown
envelope.
The voter placed his MIB inside the proper inner envelope and sealed it,
but failed to attach his signed certificate to the inner envelope.
“This ballot would have been voided even if it had been put in the proper
pile,” Vokral said.
However, that voter is believed to have signed an affidavit claiming that
he followed the Board’s instructions before he mailed his ballot.
O’Connor and her attorney were informed by the Board more than three weeks
after the election that five more provisional ballots were discovered at its
Jersey Avenue headquarters.
O’Connor told the Amboy Beacon that she received a telephone-call at 3:15
p.m. that day: “The Board of Elections found five provisional ballots.”
In what had been believed to have been “empty envelopes” when her
researchers were at the building, five additional uncounted ballots were discovered,
she said.
“I’ve been down-there for days, asking for provisional ballots, and I was
told there were none,” O’Connor said. “The Board said they didn’t exist.
“The FBI was down-there a week before, scouring the place, and I’m sure
they didn’t find them.”
When O’Connor and Struben arrived, she said they were told by Vokral that
it was “more like six” ballots that were found.
The ballots were found to have been from the South Amboy election after one
envelope was opened, and the five others were opened as-well, O’Connor said.
“After they opened one South Amboy envelope, why did they open more of
them?” she asked. “Is this the accepted practice, or did they vary from normal
procedure?”
O’Connor said the Board’s actions raise questions about whether their
actions were “inept” or if they constitute “gross negligence” because “these
ballots were mishandled four times.
“They were mishandled at the intial opening; the Board wouldn’t let me see
them before the recount; they wouldn’t let me see them at the recount, and
I asked for a copy of the questionable ballot, and they wouldn’t give it to
me,” she said. “Since then, I’ve learned that I am allowed to have a
copy.”
O’Connor’s request to go further, if approved by Paley, could include an
examination of any heretofore uncounted MIBs and provisional ballots, as
well as challenges of specific individual ballots which were counted.
At-least one business-owner who was openly registered to vote in South
Amboy while actually living in Sayreville and as many as three police officers
who live out-of-town but may have participated in South Amboy’s 2010 election
remain unresolved issues.
Meanwhile, Henry has said that he believed the contest “is finally over,”
so he intended to appoint a transition team to “work with Mayor O’Leary to
make this change as-smooth-as-possible and move-forward.”
(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 8, 2010)
SOUTH AMBOY — Florida had its hanging-chads in 2000, and South Amboy’s
2010 election-outcome may hinge-upon an “identifiable ballot.”
The Middlesex County Board of Elections apparently miscounted the
provisional ballots cast in the city’s hotly-contested race for Mayor on Nov. 2,
leading to the strong likelihood of a special election on Tuesday, Jan. 18, with
the city’s voters asked to choose between the two tied candidates to
succeed Mayor John O’Leary, who decided in March not to seek an unprecedented
seventh four-year term as Chief Executive of the “Pleasant Little City.”
Despite a recount held three weeks ago which reaffirmed a one-vote lead by
Democratic City Council President Fred Henry over Independent mayoral
candidate Mary O’Connor, it now appears that the election resulted in a a tie
between O’Connor and Henry, with 1,127 votes each.
As of early this week, O’Connor and her attorney, Christopher Struben, were
still awaiting a response to a request filed a week earlier with Superior
Court Judge Philip Paley, sitting in New Brunswick, for a hearing on alleged
discrepancies in the counting of ballots in the city election.
On Monday, attorneys for the Board met with lawyers representing both her
and Henry and suggested that the Board, too, may file its own petition with
Paley to seek permission to count six provisional ballots which were
“misplaced” during the initial counting on Nov. 5 at the Board’s headquarters on
Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick.
However, O’Connor said after the meeting that she and Struben question the
integrity of those additional ballots in light of alleged “mishandling”
that led to their being opened by the Board’s staff after they were discovered
the day before Thanksgiving.
Citing ongoing investigations by the FBI Field Office in Somerset and the
state Attorney General’s Office concerning the conduct of elections at the
county level, the Board prevented O’Connor’s researchers from obtaining
access to documents needed for her court presentation until Nov. 23.
“The Board and the (Middlesex County) Clerk’s Office have lawyered-up, and
they weren’t allowing anyone to look at any documents,” O’Connor said
last week.
“When I finally got to physically-see the provisional ballots, I saw that
they made a mistake in counting a vote for Henry that shouldn’t have been
counted,” O’Connor stated early this week. “We put that into our petition to
the court, but the Board of Elections admitted today (Monday) that they made
a mistake, and it’s a tied election.”
The recount approved previously by Paley — which cost O’Connor $248 — was
conducted by the Board of Elections at its Edison voting-machine warehouse
on Friday, Nov. 19, and — as-expected — resulted in an identical outcome.
“The Board certified an election that was incorrect not once, but twice,”
O’Connor said early this week. “Meanwhile, I feel like they’ve done nothing
but put-up roadblocks.”
In the recount, Henry again received 1,075 votes to 1,061 for O’Connor on
the city’s nine voting-machines, based in various public buildings throughout
the one-square-mile municipality, for a slender 14-vote lead. This was
shaven to three votes after O’Connor received 59 Mail-In Ballots (MIBs),
formerly known as “absentee votes,” to 48 for Henry.
This is where one point where questions are expected to be raised by
Struben.
The counting of MIBs increased Henry’s unofficial vote-total to 1,106 to
1,098 for O’Connor on Election Night — a spread of eight — but that
difference was reduced to just three the following day, when a bag containing more
MIBs, reportedly from the city’s First Ward, was discovered in New Brunswick
and immediately added to the count.
O’Connor questions how the additional MIBs became separated and how they
were found.
O’Connor also received seven of the 12 provisional (challenged) ballots
counted by the Board to five for Henry, further reducing his margin to one vote.
Although 22 provisional ballots were reported to have been cast, only 12 of
them were counted by the Board at its Jersey Avenue headquarters after
eight ballots reportedly were voided by its staff, and the Board voted
unanimously to accept seven of the ballots challenged by O’Connor, rejecting only one
of them. Those seven went back into the mix with five unchallenged ballots,
and were pumped-through a counting machine, after the rest of the county’s
provisionals were counted by that device.
The counting of one of those seven is where another question was expected
to be raised by Struben.
Following the insistence of Board member Donald Katz that a vote cast by a
city employee who lives in neighboring Sayreville be counted for
non-municipal candidates only, given the fact that both South Amboy and Sayreville are
in the same Congressional District, the Board voted unanimously to allow the
counting of that ballot.
However, the law identifies such a ballot as an “identifiable ballot” that
cannot be counted, according to an informed source.
After being able to examine the ballot at Jersey Avenue, O’Connor said her
researchers noticed that “there was a sticker over his Council votes, but no
sticker over his vote for Fred Henry,” and thus the vote apparently was
counted as a vote for Henry by the Board on both Nov. 5 and Nov. 19.
At that time, the Board also left a mysterious 10th uncounted provisional
ballot — reportedly cast by a woman who voted for O’Connor, but which was
not examined by the Board — unaccounted-for.
That ballot — discovered by O’Connor’s researchers before she filed her
request for a recount — was voided reportedly because no records were found to
show that the voter had registered in-time to vote on Nov. 2. However, the
woman has insisted that she registered to vote through the state Motor
Vehicle Commission (MVC).
If her ballot had been counted, that, too, would have resulted in a tie
between O’Connor and Henry with 1,128 votes each, thereby forcing a special
election.
But if Paley rules in-favor of accepting that ballot, O’Connor would win
the election by one vote.
Another MIB, also reportedly for O’Connor, was found in the Board’s office
one week after the election, but this one was rejected unanimously by the
four-member Board because the voter allegedly did not comply with proper
procedure.
At that emergency meeting, Administrator James Vokral explained that the
ballot was “put in the wrong pile” because the outer envelope in which it was
supposed-to be mailed was not used, but was replaced with a regular brown
envelope.
The voter placed his MIB inside the proper inner envelope and sealed it,
but failed to attach his signed certificate to the inner envelope.
“This ballot would have been voided even if it had been put in the proper
pile,” Vokral said.
However, that voter is believed to have signed an affidavit claiming that
he followed the Board’s instructions before he mailed his ballot.
O’Connor and her attorney were informed by the Board more than three weeks
after the election that five more provisional ballots were discovered at its
Jersey Avenue headquarters.
O’Connor told the Amboy Beacon that she received a telephone-call at 3:15
p.m. that day: “The Board of Elections found five provisional ballots.”
In what had been believed to have been “empty envelopes” when her
researchers were at the building, five additional uncounted ballots were discovered,
she said.
“I’ve been down-there for days, asking for provisional ballots, and I was
told there were none,” O’Connor said. “The Board said they didn’t exist.
“The FBI was down-there a week before, scouring the place, and I’m sure
they didn’t find them.”
When O’Connor and Struben arrived, she said they were told by Vokral that
it was “more like six” ballots that were found.
The ballots were found to have been from the South Amboy election after one
envelope was opened, and the five others were opened as-well, O’Connor said.
“After they opened one South Amboy envelope, why did they open more of
them?” she asked. “Is this the accepted practice, or did they vary from normal
procedure?”
O’Connor said the Board’s actions raise questions about whether their
actions were “inept” or if they constitute “gross negligence” because “these
ballots were mishandled four times.
“They were mishandled at the intial opening; the Board wouldn’t let me see
them before the recount; they wouldn’t let me see them at the recount, and
I asked for a copy of the questionable ballot, and they wouldn’t give it to
me,” she said. “Since then, I’ve learned that I am allowed to have a
copy.”
O’Connor’s request to go further, if approved by Paley, could include an
examination of any heretofore uncounted MIBs and provisional ballots, as
well as challenges of specific individual ballots which were counted.
At-least one business-owner who was openly registered to vote in South
Amboy while actually living in Sayreville and as many as three police officers
who live out-of-town but may have participated in South Amboy’s 2010 election
remain unresolved issues.
Meanwhile, Henry has said that he believed the contest “is finally over,”
so he intended to appoint a transition team to “work with Mayor O’Leary to
make this change as-smooth-as-possible and move-forward.”
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
BULLETIN:
CAPT. BENJAMIN RUIZ IS EXPECTED TO BE SWORN-IN AS PERTH AMBOY’S
FIRST HISPANIC POLICE CHIEF AT WEDNESDAY’S CITY COUNCIL MEETING!
FIRST HISPANIC POLICE CHIEF AT WEDNESDAY’S CITY COUNCIL MEETING!
5 MORE BALLOTS FOUND
Court-Date Awaited For S. Amboy Election Challenge
(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 1, 2010)
SOUTH AMBOY — When everyone following the 2010 election-results for Mayor
of South Amboy thought they had heard everything, something unbelievable
happened last Wednesday.
Five more election-ballots were discovered on Thanksgiving Eve at the
Middlesex County Board of Elections headquarters on Jersey Avenue in New
Brunswick.
Independent mayoral candidate Mary O’Connor told the Amboy Beacon that she
received a telephone-call at 3:15 p.m. that day: “The Board of Elections
found five provisional ballots.”
In what had been believed to have been “empty envelopes” when her
investigative team was at the building, five additional uncounted ballots were
discovered, she said.
“I’ve been down-there for days, asking for provisional ballots, and I was
told there were none,” O’Connor said. “The FBI was down-there a week ago,
scouring the place, and I’m sure they didn’t find them.”
Despite a recount held two weeks ago, it appears that the election of a new
Mayor is not over yet.
A request by O’Connor for a recount of the Nov. 2 city election’s votes in
her contest with Democratic City Council President Fred Henry and two
others — with only one vote separating her and Henry — was approved by Superior
Court Judge Philip Paley, sitting in New Brunswick.
Two days later, the recount — which cost O’Connor $248 — was conducted by
the Board of Elections at its Edison voting-machine warehouse, resulting in
an identical outcome.
Henry again received 1,075 votes to 1,061 for O’Connor on the city’s nine
voting-machines, based in various public buildings throughout the
one-square-mile municipality, for a slender 14-vote lead. This was shaven to three
votes after O’Connor received 59 Mail-In Ballots (MIBs), formerly known as
“absentee votes,” to 48 for Henry.
O’Connor also received seven of the 12 provisional (challenged) ballots
counted by the Board to five for Henry, further reducing his margin to one
vote. As Board member Donald Katz read-off the names, staffers with count-sheets
called-out “Five” each time five votes were tallied.
On Election Night, the 2010 campaign for two at-large Council seats and one
Ward Council seat resulted in the Democratic Council nominees easily
defeating their opponents, newcomer Gross leading with 1,135 unofficial votes,
followed by incumbent Councilman Joseph Connors with 1,014, Republican nominee
Saverio Sagliocco with 982, Independent Eugene “Gene” Reagan with 751 and
GOP nominee David Longenhagen with 680. Recently-appointed First Ward
Councilman Donald Applegate, running unopposed, received 463 unofficial votes.
Those numbers have changed slightly since then, but the margins were
sufficiently-wide to assure the Council winners of their victories.
Although there were 22 provisional ballots reported cast, only 12 of them
were counted by the Board after eight ballots were voided by the staff, and
the Board voted unanimously to accept seven of the ballots challenged by
O’Connor, rejecting only one of them. Those seven went back into the mix with
five unchallenged ballots, and were pumped-through a counting machine, after
the rest of the county’s provisionals were counted by that device.
That left a mysterious 10th uncounted provisional ballot — cast by a woman
who voted for O’Connor, but which was not examined by the Board —
unaccounted-for.
That ballot — discovered by the Independent’s researchers before she filed
her request for a recount — was voided reportedly because no records were
found to show that the voter had registered in-time to vote on Nov. 2.
However, the woman insisted that she registered to vote through the state Motor
Vehicle Commission (MVC).
If her ballot had been counted, there would have been a tie between
O’Connor and Henry with 1,128 votes each, thereby forcing a special election on
Tuesday, Jan. 18, with the city’s voters asked to choose between the two tied
candidates to succeed Mayor John O’Leary, who decided in March not to seek an
unprecedented seventh four-year term as Chief Executive of the “Pleasant
Little City.”
Another MIB, also reportedly for O’Connor, was found in the Board’s office
one week after the election, and this was rejected unanimously by the four
-member Board because the voter allegedly did not comply with proper
procedure.
At that emergency meeting, Administrator James Vokral explained that the
ballot was “put in the wrong pile” because the outer envelope in which it
was supposed-to be mailed was not used, but was replaced with a regular brown
envelope.
The voter placed his MIB inside the proper inner envelope and sealed it,
but failed to attach his signed certificate to the inner envelope.
“This ballot would have been voided even if it had been put in the proper
pile,” Vokral said.
However, that voter is believed to have signed an affidavit claiming that
he followed the Board’s instructions before he mailed his ballot.
O’Connor’s request to go further, if it is approved by Paley, would
include an examination of any heretofore uncounted MIBs and provisional ballots,
as well as challenges of specific individual ballots.
At-least one business-owner who lives in neighboring Sayreville and as many
as three police officers who live out-of-town may have participated in
South Amboy’s 2010 election, following a contentious campaign which was branded
by many observers as the city’s “dirtiest.”
In addition to the usual rash of reports of campaign-signs being torn-down
or put-up without authorization, this year’s local contest saw the
resurrection on a weekly basis of a bimonthly community newspaper which was defunct
for about 10 years, now unabashedly promoting the Democratic ticket; the
anonymous distribution of one flier depicting an O’Connor supporter in a Nazi
uniform, and another flier attacking O’Connor as a “terrorist,” and an
alleged “endorsement” of Mackiel’s candidacy by a non-existent “South Amboy Tea
Party.”
During Election Day itself, numerous complaints reportedly were made to the
Police Department, the Board of Elections and the state Attorney General’s
Office, which is believed to have sent an observer to the city to monitor
the voting.
One Council candidate was accused of “electioneering” at the Senior
Resource Center, S. Stevens Avenue, and was asked to leave; a photographer from an
out-of-county daily newspaper allegedly took random photos at a
polling-place and was escorted out, and eggs were said to have been thrown at an
O’Connor supporter’s car by Henry supporters, leading to a heated confrontation
involving the driver’s brother which police officers broke-up. There were
unconfirmed reports that off-duty police were called-out by Police Chief Darren
LaVigne to maintain order.
Because of suspected irregularities, FBI agents who raided the Board’s New
Brunswick headquarters and the County Clerk’s Office to investigate the June
8 Democratic primary election in the county seat are now believed to have
expanded the scope of their probe to other elections, possibly including
South Amboy’s.
The local race followed back-to-back municipal tax-increases of 38 percent
last year and 12 percent this year, plus an increase of over five percent in
school taxes approved in-between by the incumbent Council.
An Amendment to the Calendar Year 2010 Budget adopted by the Council is
expected to increase local taxes by another $722,576, on top of the $39 hike
previously-announced by the Administration and the Council, on a home assessed
at $266,000, the average in South Amboy, from the unamended spending plan.
Using the numbers provided with the CY 2010 Budget as introduced, the
amended Budget is expected to increase the municipal portion of taxes on the
average home by $268.
During the campaign, the challengers criticized the tax-hikes, pledging to
encourage more commercial tax-ratables to replace revenues now drawn from
residential property taxes, while the Democratic incumbents blamed the
tax-hikes on Republican Gov. Christopher Christie.
(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 1, 2010)
SOUTH AMBOY — When everyone following the 2010 election-results for Mayor
of South Amboy thought they had heard everything, something unbelievable
happened last Wednesday.
Five more election-ballots were discovered on Thanksgiving Eve at the
Middlesex County Board of Elections headquarters on Jersey Avenue in New
Brunswick.
Independent mayoral candidate Mary O’Connor told the Amboy Beacon that she
received a telephone-call at 3:15 p.m. that day: “The Board of Elections
found five provisional ballots.”
In what had been believed to have been “empty envelopes” when her
investigative team was at the building, five additional uncounted ballots were
discovered, she said.
“I’ve been down-there for days, asking for provisional ballots, and I was
told there were none,” O’Connor said. “The FBI was down-there a week ago,
scouring the place, and I’m sure they didn’t find them.”
Despite a recount held two weeks ago, it appears that the election of a new
Mayor is not over yet.
A request by O’Connor for a recount of the Nov. 2 city election’s votes in
her contest with Democratic City Council President Fred Henry and two
others — with only one vote separating her and Henry — was approved by Superior
Court Judge Philip Paley, sitting in New Brunswick.
Two days later, the recount — which cost O’Connor $248 — was conducted by
the Board of Elections at its Edison voting-machine warehouse, resulting in
an identical outcome.
Henry again received 1,075 votes to 1,061 for O’Connor on the city’s nine
voting-machines, based in various public buildings throughout the
one-square-mile municipality, for a slender 14-vote lead. This was shaven to three
votes after O’Connor received 59 Mail-In Ballots (MIBs), formerly known as
“absentee votes,” to 48 for Henry.
O’Connor also received seven of the 12 provisional (challenged) ballots
counted by the Board to five for Henry, further reducing his margin to one
vote. As Board member Donald Katz read-off the names, staffers with count-sheets
called-out “Five” each time five votes were tallied.
On Election Night, the 2010 campaign for two at-large Council seats and one
Ward Council seat resulted in the Democratic Council nominees easily
defeating their opponents, newcomer Gross leading with 1,135 unofficial votes,
followed by incumbent Councilman Joseph Connors with 1,014, Republican nominee
Saverio Sagliocco with 982, Independent Eugene “Gene” Reagan with 751 and
GOP nominee David Longenhagen with 680. Recently-appointed First Ward
Councilman Donald Applegate, running unopposed, received 463 unofficial votes.
Those numbers have changed slightly since then, but the margins were
sufficiently-wide to assure the Council winners of their victories.
Although there were 22 provisional ballots reported cast, only 12 of them
were counted by the Board after eight ballots were voided by the staff, and
the Board voted unanimously to accept seven of the ballots challenged by
O’Connor, rejecting only one of them. Those seven went back into the mix with
five unchallenged ballots, and were pumped-through a counting machine, after
the rest of the county’s provisionals were counted by that device.
That left a mysterious 10th uncounted provisional ballot — cast by a woman
who voted for O’Connor, but which was not examined by the Board —
unaccounted-for.
That ballot — discovered by the Independent’s researchers before she filed
her request for a recount — was voided reportedly because no records were
found to show that the voter had registered in-time to vote on Nov. 2.
However, the woman insisted that she registered to vote through the state Motor
Vehicle Commission (MVC).
If her ballot had been counted, there would have been a tie between
O’Connor and Henry with 1,128 votes each, thereby forcing a special election on
Tuesday, Jan. 18, with the city’s voters asked to choose between the two tied
candidates to succeed Mayor John O’Leary, who decided in March not to seek an
unprecedented seventh four-year term as Chief Executive of the “Pleasant
Little City.”
Another MIB, also reportedly for O’Connor, was found in the Board’s office
one week after the election, and this was rejected unanimously by the four
-member Board because the voter allegedly did not comply with proper
procedure.
At that emergency meeting, Administrator James Vokral explained that the
ballot was “put in the wrong pile” because the outer envelope in which it
was supposed-to be mailed was not used, but was replaced with a regular brown
envelope.
The voter placed his MIB inside the proper inner envelope and sealed it,
but failed to attach his signed certificate to the inner envelope.
“This ballot would have been voided even if it had been put in the proper
pile,” Vokral said.
However, that voter is believed to have signed an affidavit claiming that
he followed the Board’s instructions before he mailed his ballot.
O’Connor’s request to go further, if it is approved by Paley, would
include an examination of any heretofore uncounted MIBs and provisional ballots,
as well as challenges of specific individual ballots.
At-least one business-owner who lives in neighboring Sayreville and as many
as three police officers who live out-of-town may have participated in
South Amboy’s 2010 election, following a contentious campaign which was branded
by many observers as the city’s “dirtiest.”
In addition to the usual rash of reports of campaign-signs being torn-down
or put-up without authorization, this year’s local contest saw the
resurrection on a weekly basis of a bimonthly community newspaper which was defunct
for about 10 years, now unabashedly promoting the Democratic ticket; the
anonymous distribution of one flier depicting an O’Connor supporter in a Nazi
uniform, and another flier attacking O’Connor as a “terrorist,” and an
alleged “endorsement” of Mackiel’s candidacy by a non-existent “South Amboy Tea
Party.”
During Election Day itself, numerous complaints reportedly were made to the
Police Department, the Board of Elections and the state Attorney General’s
Office, which is believed to have sent an observer to the city to monitor
the voting.
One Council candidate was accused of “electioneering” at the Senior
Resource Center, S. Stevens Avenue, and was asked to leave; a photographer from an
out-of-county daily newspaper allegedly took random photos at a
polling-place and was escorted out, and eggs were said to have been thrown at an
O’Connor supporter’s car by Henry supporters, leading to a heated confrontation
involving the driver’s brother which police officers broke-up. There were
unconfirmed reports that off-duty police were called-out by Police Chief Darren
LaVigne to maintain order.
Because of suspected irregularities, FBI agents who raided the Board’s New
Brunswick headquarters and the County Clerk’s Office to investigate the June
8 Democratic primary election in the county seat are now believed to have
expanded the scope of their probe to other elections, possibly including
South Amboy’s.
The local race followed back-to-back municipal tax-increases of 38 percent
last year and 12 percent this year, plus an increase of over five percent in
school taxes approved in-between by the incumbent Council.
An Amendment to the Calendar Year 2010 Budget adopted by the Council is
expected to increase local taxes by another $722,576, on top of the $39 hike
previously-announced by the Administration and the Council, on a home assessed
at $266,000, the average in South Amboy, from the unamended spending plan.
Using the numbers provided with the CY 2010 Budget as introduced, the
amended Budget is expected to increase the municipal portion of taxes on the
average home by $268.
During the campaign, the challengers criticized the tax-hikes, pledging to
encourage more commercial tax-ratables to replace revenues now drawn from
residential property taxes, while the Democratic incumbents blamed the
tax-hikes on Republican Gov. Christopher Christie.
Perth Amboy: ‘City Of Giving’
(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 1, 2010)
PERTH AMBOY — For Thanksgiving 2010, the City of Perth Amboy
transformed-into the “City of Giving,” as some 2,000 traditional Thanksgiving turkey
dinners were served to those less-fortunate.
The Trujillo family and friends, Supremo Food Market, White Rose Foods and
St. Vincent dePaul Food Pantry sponsored the largest mass-feeding of the
season, the 2010 Thanksgiving Friendship Feast honoring the memory of Andrea
Trujillo, at St. Demetrios’ Greek Orthodox Church Hall, Wisteria Street.
Andrea Trujillo, who lived in Perth Amboy for almost 40 years, came from
very-humble beginnings but always gave to those less-fortunate than her.
Andrea Trujillo’s favorite holiday was Thanksgiving, so in her memory, dozens of
volunteers joined together to share this Thanksgiving meal and the gift of
giving that she so-enjoyed with a crowd of almost 600, accommodated with two
seatings.
The Thanksgiving Friendship Feast featured roast turkey, stuffing, mashed
potatoes and gravy, and a wide array of salads and cooked vegetables, plus
such Hispanic favorites as arroz con gandules, yucca and pernil, and an
assortment of desserts. Also, over 100 prizes were given-out to those
in-attendance, including major appliances and electronics, in an outpouring of
charitable giving.
The outpouring of giving actually got-started on Friday, Nov. 19, when the
Perth Amboy Merchants Association (PAMA) held a community outreach program
providing FREE turkey dinners for senior citizens at the Hanson Apartments,
Fayette Street, open to residents of the Hanson and Stack Apartments.
That same day, the Salvation Army Perth Amboy Corps, State Street,
distributed 100 turkeys to needy families.
At the Perth Amboy Knights of Columbus Council 299 “Feed the Needy”
Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, Nov. 21, over 300 people from the local community
were served a free meal.
The city’s Office on Aging invited Perth Amboy senior citizens to a
complimentary Thanksgiving Eve Luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 24, at the Jankowski
Community Center, Olive Street.
Faith Community Worship Center, Renovation House and Abundant Life Worship
Center teamed-up the next day — Thanksgiving Day — to serve meals at the
Jankowski Community Center, Olive Street, to over 200 families, including the
hard-core homeless. The menu included turkey, corn, peas, beans,
stringbeans, macaroni & cheese, apple and sweet potato pies, juices and sodas.
Vida Church, formerly Mount St. Carmel, at Maple and Fayette Streets,
served 400 turkey dinners to visitors to the Church Hall.
After the holiday, Copa de Oro Tavern, Smith Street, offered FREE turkey
dinners “for those with no place to go” on Saturday, Nov. 27.
PERTH AMBOY — For Thanksgiving 2010, the City of Perth Amboy
transformed-into the “City of Giving,” as some 2,000 traditional Thanksgiving turkey
dinners were served to those less-fortunate.
The Trujillo family and friends, Supremo Food Market, White Rose Foods and
St. Vincent dePaul Food Pantry sponsored the largest mass-feeding of the
season, the 2010 Thanksgiving Friendship Feast honoring the memory of Andrea
Trujillo, at St. Demetrios’ Greek Orthodox Church Hall, Wisteria Street.
Andrea Trujillo, who lived in Perth Amboy for almost 40 years, came from
very-humble beginnings but always gave to those less-fortunate than her.
Andrea Trujillo’s favorite holiday was Thanksgiving, so in her memory, dozens of
volunteers joined together to share this Thanksgiving meal and the gift of
giving that she so-enjoyed with a crowd of almost 600, accommodated with two
seatings.
The Thanksgiving Friendship Feast featured roast turkey, stuffing, mashed
potatoes and gravy, and a wide array of salads and cooked vegetables, plus
such Hispanic favorites as arroz con gandules, yucca and pernil, and an
assortment of desserts. Also, over 100 prizes were given-out to those
in-attendance, including major appliances and electronics, in an outpouring of
charitable giving.
The outpouring of giving actually got-started on Friday, Nov. 19, when the
Perth Amboy Merchants Association (PAMA) held a community outreach program
providing FREE turkey dinners for senior citizens at the Hanson Apartments,
Fayette Street, open to residents of the Hanson and Stack Apartments.
That same day, the Salvation Army Perth Amboy Corps, State Street,
distributed 100 turkeys to needy families.
At the Perth Amboy Knights of Columbus Council 299 “Feed the Needy”
Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, Nov. 21, over 300 people from the local community
were served a free meal.
The city’s Office on Aging invited Perth Amboy senior citizens to a
complimentary Thanksgiving Eve Luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 24, at the Jankowski
Community Center, Olive Street.
Faith Community Worship Center, Renovation House and Abundant Life Worship
Center teamed-up the next day — Thanksgiving Day — to serve meals at the
Jankowski Community Center, Olive Street, to over 200 families, including the
hard-core homeless. The menu included turkey, corn, peas, beans,
stringbeans, macaroni & cheese, apple and sweet potato pies, juices and sodas.
Vida Church, formerly Mount St. Carmel, at Maple and Fayette Streets,
served 400 turkey dinners to visitors to the Church Hall.
After the holiday, Copa de Oro Tavern, Smith Street, offered FREE turkey
dinners “for those with no place to go” on Saturday, Nov. 27.
ABOVE & BEYOND
(Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 1, 2010)
PERTH AMBOY — Five Firefighters were commended at the City Council’s last
meeting for action above-and-beyond the call-of-duty in three separate
incidents.
Each Firefighter was presented with a framed Proclamation and a framed Coun
cil Resolution by Mayor Wilda Diaz and Fire Chief David Volk.
At 9:50 a.m. on Oct. 7, Engine No. 1, with Firefighters John DeNardo and
Eric Wilhelm, was driving on Smith Street when they witnessed a vehicle
driving erratically proceeding west on Smith Street. The vehicle ran-through the
red-light at Smith and Oak Streets, running-into a parked vehicle.
After approaching the vehicle, the Firefighters found an unconscious male
driver in the locked vehicle. After requesting EMS Assistance, DeNardo and
Wilhelm broke a rear window on the vehicle to gain access to the elderly male,
whom they found to be in full cardiac-arrest.
After securing the still-running vehicle, DeNardo and Wilhelm removed the
driver, initiated CPR, and connected a defibrillator unit. Upon arrival of
the Paramedics & EMS Unit from Raritan Bay Medical Center, they assisted
those units with further patient care and eventual transportation to the
hospital.
Although the patient unfortunately passed-away after being admitted to the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) later that morning, the actions taken by the
Firefighters were credited with reviving the driver of the vehicle and preserving
his life, providing the opportunity of receiving advanced care within RBMC.
Had these two not acted in the timely-manner that they did, all available
means of saving his life would not have been able to be undertaken.
Firefighter Eric Wilhelm has been a member of the Career Division since
Jan. 16, 1995, and Firefighter John DeNardo has been a member of the Career Divi
sion since Feb. 23, 1996.
At 2:09 a.m. on Oct. 22, the Fire and Police Departments and Paramedics &
EMS Unit from RBMC were dispatched to a reported truck fire on Route 440 at
Amboy Avenue.
Upon arrival, members found a tractor-trailer adjacent to the eastbound
entrance ramp of the highway from Amboy Avenue and Grove Street fully-involved
in fire.
After setting-up initial extinguishing operations on the truck, members
were made-aware of a second motor vehicle about 300 feet west, under the Amboy
Avenue overpass, with an unconscious male driver.
While firefighters continued extinguishing the truck fire; Lt. Edward
Mullen and Firefighter Eric Kayser approached the second vehicle, along with RBMC
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) Gary Batista and Matt Redding, to
extricate and treat the unconscious male occupant from the severely-damaged
vehicle.
As these members arrived at the vehicle, a mixture of diesel fuel and water
from the burning tractor-trailer ignited and began flowing down the
shoulder of the highway toward the vehicle and emergency responders.
Faced with a seriously-dangerous situation for not only the trapped vehicle
occupant, but also their own safety, Lt. Mullen and Firefighter Kayser
utilized a fire extinguisher and dry absorbent in an attempt to prevent the
quickly-advancing fire from reaching the vehicle.
At the same time, EMTs Batista and Redding, through physical force and
sheer determination, were able to gain-access to the passenger-compartment of
the vehicle and extricate the driver, who was partially-entrapped under the
dashboard.
Less than a minute after the members were able to move the victim away from
the vehicle, it became totally-engulfed in flames.
The victim was treated by EMS and transported to Robert Wood Johnson
University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was admitted with
non-life-threatening injuries.
After the removal of the victim, the Department continued to be faced with
a serious situation, where there were now two vehicles fully-involved in
fire, with the possibility of the burning fuel continuing westerly on the
shoulder towards stopped highway traffic and a catch-basin. With the assistance
of a foam unit operated by the Port Authority Police Department, the flowing
flammable liquid was rapidly-extinguished by members of the Department
before any additional damage or adverse impact to the storm-sewer system and
environment occurred.
Had it not been for the extraordinary and heroic actions of the emergency
responders, there certainly would have been one if not two fatalities as a
result of this accident. The entire contingent of emergency responders that
responded to this incident are to be commended for their actions. Emergency
responders, including the Fire Department, under the Command of Capt. Abraham
Pitre, Port Authority Police, Perth Amboy Police and Paramedics & EMS Unit
from RBMC insured that this extremely-serious incident was brought to a
successful conclusion with no loss of life and no injuries other than to the
drivers of both vehicles.
Lt. Edward Mullen has been a member of the Career Division since April 22,
2002 He was promoted to Lieutenant on June 11, 2010, and Firefighter Eric
Kayser has been a member of the Career Division since Sept. 14, 2004.
On Oct. 23, Volunteer Lieutenant/Training Officer Anton Massopust Jr. was
attending a church dinner at the Ukrainian Assumption Parish, Jacques Street.
During the event, a gentleman in-attendance went into cardiac-arrest.
Lt. Massopust went to his aid and found him to be in full cardiac-arrest,
breathless, and with no pulse. Lt. Massopust immediately initiated CPR on the
victim while 9-1-1 was being called for advanced medical assistance. Upon
arrival of members of the Fire Department and Paramedics & EMS Unit from
RBMC, the victim had regained a pulse and his breathing function. The victim
was placed on oxygen and transported to RBMC for further treatment.
Since then, the patient has fully-recovered and was in fact discharged from
RBMC on Oct. 26.
Had it not been for the quick life-saving actions of Lt. Massopust within a
minute of the gentleman entering into cardiac-arrest, the successful
outcome of this incident most-assuredly would have been quite different.
Lt. Anton Massopust Jr. has been a member of the Volunteer Division for
over 40 years, having previously served as Volunteer Chief of the Department
from 1986 to 1987. He is currently a state-certified EMT instructor, as well
as a CPR Instructor certified by both the American Heart Association and the
American Red Cross.
PERTH AMBOY — Five Firefighters were commended at the City Council’s last
meeting for action above-and-beyond the call-of-duty in three separate
incidents.
Each Firefighter was presented with a framed Proclamation and a framed Coun
cil Resolution by Mayor Wilda Diaz and Fire Chief David Volk.
At 9:50 a.m. on Oct. 7, Engine No. 1, with Firefighters John DeNardo and
Eric Wilhelm, was driving on Smith Street when they witnessed a vehicle
driving erratically proceeding west on Smith Street. The vehicle ran-through the
red-light at Smith and Oak Streets, running-into a parked vehicle.
After approaching the vehicle, the Firefighters found an unconscious male
driver in the locked vehicle. After requesting EMS Assistance, DeNardo and
Wilhelm broke a rear window on the vehicle to gain access to the elderly male,
whom they found to be in full cardiac-arrest.
After securing the still-running vehicle, DeNardo and Wilhelm removed the
driver, initiated CPR, and connected a defibrillator unit. Upon arrival of
the Paramedics & EMS Unit from Raritan Bay Medical Center, they assisted
those units with further patient care and eventual transportation to the
hospital.
Although the patient unfortunately passed-away after being admitted to the
Intensive Care Unit (ICU) later that morning, the actions taken by the
Firefighters were credited with reviving the driver of the vehicle and preserving
his life, providing the opportunity of receiving advanced care within RBMC.
Had these two not acted in the timely-manner that they did, all available
means of saving his life would not have been able to be undertaken.
Firefighter Eric Wilhelm has been a member of the Career Division since
Jan. 16, 1995, and Firefighter John DeNardo has been a member of the Career Divi
sion since Feb. 23, 1996.
At 2:09 a.m. on Oct. 22, the Fire and Police Departments and Paramedics &
EMS Unit from RBMC were dispatched to a reported truck fire on Route 440 at
Amboy Avenue.
Upon arrival, members found a tractor-trailer adjacent to the eastbound
entrance ramp of the highway from Amboy Avenue and Grove Street fully-involved
in fire.
After setting-up initial extinguishing operations on the truck, members
were made-aware of a second motor vehicle about 300 feet west, under the Amboy
Avenue overpass, with an unconscious male driver.
While firefighters continued extinguishing the truck fire; Lt. Edward
Mullen and Firefighter Eric Kayser approached the second vehicle, along with RBMC
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) Gary Batista and Matt Redding, to
extricate and treat the unconscious male occupant from the severely-damaged
vehicle.
As these members arrived at the vehicle, a mixture of diesel fuel and water
from the burning tractor-trailer ignited and began flowing down the
shoulder of the highway toward the vehicle and emergency responders.
Faced with a seriously-dangerous situation for not only the trapped vehicle
occupant, but also their own safety, Lt. Mullen and Firefighter Kayser
utilized a fire extinguisher and dry absorbent in an attempt to prevent the
quickly-advancing fire from reaching the vehicle.
At the same time, EMTs Batista and Redding, through physical force and
sheer determination, were able to gain-access to the passenger-compartment of
the vehicle and extricate the driver, who was partially-entrapped under the
dashboard.
Less than a minute after the members were able to move the victim away from
the vehicle, it became totally-engulfed in flames.
The victim was treated by EMS and transported to Robert Wood Johnson
University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was admitted with
non-life-threatening injuries.
After the removal of the victim, the Department continued to be faced with
a serious situation, where there were now two vehicles fully-involved in
fire, with the possibility of the burning fuel continuing westerly on the
shoulder towards stopped highway traffic and a catch-basin. With the assistance
of a foam unit operated by the Port Authority Police Department, the flowing
flammable liquid was rapidly-extinguished by members of the Department
before any additional damage or adverse impact to the storm-sewer system and
environment occurred.
Had it not been for the extraordinary and heroic actions of the emergency
responders, there certainly would have been one if not two fatalities as a
result of this accident. The entire contingent of emergency responders that
responded to this incident are to be commended for their actions. Emergency
responders, including the Fire Department, under the Command of Capt. Abraham
Pitre, Port Authority Police, Perth Amboy Police and Paramedics & EMS Unit
from RBMC insured that this extremely-serious incident was brought to a
successful conclusion with no loss of life and no injuries other than to the
drivers of both vehicles.
Lt. Edward Mullen has been a member of the Career Division since April 22,
2002 He was promoted to Lieutenant on June 11, 2010, and Firefighter Eric
Kayser has been a member of the Career Division since Sept. 14, 2004.
On Oct. 23, Volunteer Lieutenant/Training Officer Anton Massopust Jr. was
attending a church dinner at the Ukrainian Assumption Parish, Jacques Street.
During the event, a gentleman in-attendance went into cardiac-arrest.
Lt. Massopust went to his aid and found him to be in full cardiac-arrest,
breathless, and with no pulse. Lt. Massopust immediately initiated CPR on the
victim while 9-1-1 was being called for advanced medical assistance. Upon
arrival of members of the Fire Department and Paramedics & EMS Unit from
RBMC, the victim had regained a pulse and his breathing function. The victim
was placed on oxygen and transported to RBMC for further treatment.
Since then, the patient has fully-recovered and was in fact discharged from
RBMC on Oct. 26.
Had it not been for the quick life-saving actions of Lt. Massopust within a
minute of the gentleman entering into cardiac-arrest, the successful
outcome of this incident most-assuredly would have been quite different.
Lt. Anton Massopust Jr. has been a member of the Volunteer Division for
over 40 years, having previously served as Volunteer Chief of the Department
from 1986 to 1987. He is currently a state-certified EMT instructor, as well
as a CPR Instructor certified by both the American Heart Association and the
American Red Cross.
Amboy Eats: Antojito Latino
(Restaurant Review, Reprinted from Amboy Beacon, Dec. 1, 2010)
By Bill George
Antojito Latino, 236 New Brunswick Ave., Perth Amboy. Open six days,
Tues.-Sun., 9 a.m.-11 p.m.; Mon., closed. Call (732) 442-0064. Rating: ****.
Antojito Latino, which translates literally as “Latin craving,” opened on
March 20 in a storefront that used-to be Parnes Bakery before it was
turned-into a Dominican cafeteria-style eatery.
Owners Alvarro, Smirna, Maria and Tino have transformed the previous food
operation into a comfortable dining experience incorporating the best in
Central American, South American and Caribbean cuisine, with a self-serve
all-you-can-eat buffet as its centerpiece.
The theme here is “Conserving Our Roots,” with the goal of offerring the
dining public a choice in authentic Latin dishes spanning a wide variety of
tastes.
The buffet, which is available Tuesday through Saturday between 11 a.m. and
7 p.m., features a soup kettle, 10 hot entrees and a salad bar, with coffee
or tea and dessert included, for an incredible $8.50. A sit-down breakfast
is served between 9 and 11 a.m., and sit-down service is offered all-day
Sundays and as an option when the buffet is open.
The buffet comes with at-least two varieties of rice — white and another —
and red beans, but what brings many local diners back here is the
perfectly-seasoned Pernil (baked pork shoulder), almost-always presented on the
buffet in one piece, ready for slicing, with a crusty skin and tender and juicy
interior. Sometimes, the Pernil is cut-up and cooked with tomatoes and onions
for a taste-sensation. Alvarro says it’s not uncommon for Antojito Latino
to go-through three pork shoulders in one day.
Running a close second to the Pernil in popularity is the Flat Iron Steak
($12.50), which arrives at your table sizzling in a black iron pan, covered
with mushroom slices and garlic cloves, along with an oval platter of white
rice and red beans, joined with a green salad. The meat is so-tender it melts
in your mouth.
Mofongo & Shrimp ($10.50) is a huge oval platter with a mound of smooth
mashed plantain covered with grilled medium shrimp in a garlicky sauce, also
joined with a green salad.
Those who enjoy the flavor of shrimp also will love Shrimp In Garlic Sauce
(also $10.50), featuring 10 extra-large pink beauties in bowl with a
flavorful sauce, accompanied by arepa, a large cornmeal cake covered with white
cheese.
A delicacy for particular tastes, Grilled Red Snapper ($12.50), turned-out
to be a culinary masterpiece at a bargain price. It was only my second
snapper because of the usually-prohibitive price. The entire fish arrives on a
huge colorful oval platter with lime wedges, and the flavorful beige flesh
strips cleanly off the bones. Casamiento — formed brown rice with black and
brown beans — and golden-brown fried yucca, crispy outside and soft inside,
complete the feast.
Grilled Chicken Breast & Garlic Shrimp ($12.50) is a boneless breast topped
with five large garlicky shrimp, with casamiento and tostones (fried green
plantain slices) and a bowl of pink dipping-sauce.
Baked Chicken Breast Stuffed with Crabmeat ($12.50) is exactly-that. The
flaky crabmeat-and-parsley filling is NOT the usual breadcrumb lump that’s
CALLED “crabmeat stuffing.” The boneless breast, topped with two jumbo shrimp,
sits-upon a bed of spaghetti and a tomatoey reddish-orange sauce, with
mushroom slices and onion strands.
Carne Asada ($9) is a perfectly-grilled flat steak topped with pico de
gallo (similar to bruschetta), accompanied by casamiento and a green salad.
Served that way is Grilled Chicken Breast ($8.50).
BBQ Ribs ($8) are four large meaty pork ribs, covered with a slightly-sweet
reddish-brown sauce, tender down to the bone, with arepa and a green salad.
Returning to the buffet, I found many dishes that I really-enjoyed. The
variety of offerings is astounding, given the reasonable price charged for what
can be considered gourmet dining.
In the buffet, on any given day, one might find: Chicken Stew, large white
meat and potato chunks in an orange-colored broth; Chicken Fingers, breaded
white meat strips; Chicken Nuggets, unbreaded pieces of white meat; Lemon
Chicken, breaded boneless white meat pieces in a luscious lemon sauce; Chicken
& Stringbeans, white meat chunks sauteed with fresh stringbeans; Grilled
Chicken, charcoal-grilled wings or drumsticks; Chicken Teriyaki, white meat
chunks sauteed with fresh peppers and onions in a slightly-sweet sauce; Fried
Chicken, crispy-coated pieces; BBQ Chicken, pieces coated with a
slightly-sweet sauce; Dominican-Style Spaghetti, pasta with chicken and peppers in an
orange-colored sauce; Empanadas, crispy doughy pockets with beef or chicken
fillings; Tacos Dorados, rolled tortillas filled with a chicken paste; Pork
Feet & Chickpeas, a great dish over white rice, and Steak, Tomato & Fries, a
one-pan meal. I hope I got them all!
Also, sold a la carte: Burrito ($7 each), large and filling, in beef or
chicken varieties; Pupusas ($1.50 each), filled dough cakes, and Tostadas
(three for $4), Guatemalan tortillas with toppings.
Breakfast ($7.25) can be various starch-meat-egg combinations, such as
Pancakes, Chicharron and Scrambled Eggs (the Pancakes are soft but crispy around
the edges, as they’re supposed-to be, and the Chicharron is hard, smokey
and salty, as it’s supposed-to be), or French Toast, Chorizo and Colombian
Omelette (the soft, cinnamony French Toast and smokey, thick-skinned Chorizo
are a contrast in textures and tastes, but the Colombian Omelette, with sliced
scallions and diced tomatoes, is a REAL treat!).
Beverages include the usual bottled sodas at $1.50 each. To be adventurous,
try the Passion Fruit Shake ($2.50), Salvadorean Fruit Juice ($1.75) or
Raspberry Iced Tea ($1.50). What a difference!
The homemade cakes at Antojito Latino (carrot is my favorite!) aren’t
overly-sweet, but they stand-up to the freshly-brewed coffee.
In evaluating food, atmosphere, service and value, Antojito Latino easily
earns our highest rating of FOUR STARS.
By Bill George
Antojito Latino, 236 New Brunswick Ave., Perth Amboy. Open six days,
Tues.-Sun., 9 a.m.-11 p.m.; Mon., closed. Call (732) 442-0064. Rating: ****.
Antojito Latino, which translates literally as “Latin craving,” opened on
March 20 in a storefront that used-to be Parnes Bakery before it was
turned-into a Dominican cafeteria-style eatery.
Owners Alvarro, Smirna, Maria and Tino have transformed the previous food
operation into a comfortable dining experience incorporating the best in
Central American, South American and Caribbean cuisine, with a self-serve
all-you-can-eat buffet as its centerpiece.
The theme here is “Conserving Our Roots,” with the goal of offerring the
dining public a choice in authentic Latin dishes spanning a wide variety of
tastes.
The buffet, which is available Tuesday through Saturday between 11 a.m. and
7 p.m., features a soup kettle, 10 hot entrees and a salad bar, with coffee
or tea and dessert included, for an incredible $8.50. A sit-down breakfast
is served between 9 and 11 a.m., and sit-down service is offered all-day
Sundays and as an option when the buffet is open.
The buffet comes with at-least two varieties of rice — white and another —
and red beans, but what brings many local diners back here is the
perfectly-seasoned Pernil (baked pork shoulder), almost-always presented on the
buffet in one piece, ready for slicing, with a crusty skin and tender and juicy
interior. Sometimes, the Pernil is cut-up and cooked with tomatoes and onions
for a taste-sensation. Alvarro says it’s not uncommon for Antojito Latino
to go-through three pork shoulders in one day.
Running a close second to the Pernil in popularity is the Flat Iron Steak
($12.50), which arrives at your table sizzling in a black iron pan, covered
with mushroom slices and garlic cloves, along with an oval platter of white
rice and red beans, joined with a green salad. The meat is so-tender it melts
in your mouth.
Mofongo & Shrimp ($10.50) is a huge oval platter with a mound of smooth
mashed plantain covered with grilled medium shrimp in a garlicky sauce, also
joined with a green salad.
Those who enjoy the flavor of shrimp also will love Shrimp In Garlic Sauce
(also $10.50), featuring 10 extra-large pink beauties in bowl with a
flavorful sauce, accompanied by arepa, a large cornmeal cake covered with white
cheese.
A delicacy for particular tastes, Grilled Red Snapper ($12.50), turned-out
to be a culinary masterpiece at a bargain price. It was only my second
snapper because of the usually-prohibitive price. The entire fish arrives on a
huge colorful oval platter with lime wedges, and the flavorful beige flesh
strips cleanly off the bones. Casamiento — formed brown rice with black and
brown beans — and golden-brown fried yucca, crispy outside and soft inside,
complete the feast.
Grilled Chicken Breast & Garlic Shrimp ($12.50) is a boneless breast topped
with five large garlicky shrimp, with casamiento and tostones (fried green
plantain slices) and a bowl of pink dipping-sauce.
Baked Chicken Breast Stuffed with Crabmeat ($12.50) is exactly-that. The
flaky crabmeat-and-parsley filling is NOT the usual breadcrumb lump that’s
CALLED “crabmeat stuffing.” The boneless breast, topped with two jumbo shrimp,
sits-upon a bed of spaghetti and a tomatoey reddish-orange sauce, with
mushroom slices and onion strands.
Carne Asada ($9) is a perfectly-grilled flat steak topped with pico de
gallo (similar to bruschetta), accompanied by casamiento and a green salad.
Served that way is Grilled Chicken Breast ($8.50).
BBQ Ribs ($8) are four large meaty pork ribs, covered with a slightly-sweet
reddish-brown sauce, tender down to the bone, with arepa and a green salad.
Returning to the buffet, I found many dishes that I really-enjoyed. The
variety of offerings is astounding, given the reasonable price charged for what
can be considered gourmet dining.
In the buffet, on any given day, one might find: Chicken Stew, large white
meat and potato chunks in an orange-colored broth; Chicken Fingers, breaded
white meat strips; Chicken Nuggets, unbreaded pieces of white meat; Lemon
Chicken, breaded boneless white meat pieces in a luscious lemon sauce; Chicken
& Stringbeans, white meat chunks sauteed with fresh stringbeans; Grilled
Chicken, charcoal-grilled wings or drumsticks; Chicken Teriyaki, white meat
chunks sauteed with fresh peppers and onions in a slightly-sweet sauce; Fried
Chicken, crispy-coated pieces; BBQ Chicken, pieces coated with a
slightly-sweet sauce; Dominican-Style Spaghetti, pasta with chicken and peppers in an
orange-colored sauce; Empanadas, crispy doughy pockets with beef or chicken
fillings; Tacos Dorados, rolled tortillas filled with a chicken paste; Pork
Feet & Chickpeas, a great dish over white rice, and Steak, Tomato & Fries, a
one-pan meal. I hope I got them all!
Also, sold a la carte: Burrito ($7 each), large and filling, in beef or
chicken varieties; Pupusas ($1.50 each), filled dough cakes, and Tostadas
(three for $4), Guatemalan tortillas with toppings.
Breakfast ($7.25) can be various starch-meat-egg combinations, such as
Pancakes, Chicharron and Scrambled Eggs (the Pancakes are soft but crispy around
the edges, as they’re supposed-to be, and the Chicharron is hard, smokey
and salty, as it’s supposed-to be), or French Toast, Chorizo and Colombian
Omelette (the soft, cinnamony French Toast and smokey, thick-skinned Chorizo
are a contrast in textures and tastes, but the Colombian Omelette, with sliced
scallions and diced tomatoes, is a REAL treat!).
Beverages include the usual bottled sodas at $1.50 each. To be adventurous,
try the Passion Fruit Shake ($2.50), Salvadorean Fruit Juice ($1.75) or
Raspberry Iced Tea ($1.50). What a difference!
The homemade cakes at Antojito Latino (carrot is my favorite!) aren’t
overly-sweet, but they stand-up to the freshly-brewed coffee.
In evaluating food, atmosphere, service and value, Antojito Latino easily
earns our highest rating of FOUR STARS.
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