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Bergen County Prosecutor Releases Identities of Deceased in Hackensack Murder/Suicide

Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S
file photo
June 6,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced today the identities of two deceased males discovered on Sunday, June 4, 2017 at 5 Linden Street, Hackensack, NJ. The investigation was conducted by members of the Hackensack Police Department under the direction of Officer in Charge Captain Francesco Aquila, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit under the direction of Chief Robert Anzilotti and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department under the direction of Sheriff Michael Saudino.

At approximately 9:17 AM on June 4, 2017, the Hackensack Police Department received a 9-1-1 call reporting gunshots and a man down in the lobby area of 5 Linden Street. Police officers arrived and located the body of JAMES BELLAMY (DOB: 9/6/50) next to the building’s elevator. Bellamy had been shot multiple times and was declared deceased at the scene. A building resident directed officers to the rear parking lot of the building and the path taken by the alleged gunman, later identified as ARTHUR HILLMAN (DOB: 9/20/53). The officers located HILLMAN’S deceased body in a 2011 Honda Civic in the rear parking lot; he was the victim of a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound and was found to be in possession of a loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun, which is believed to be the weapon used in the murder/suicide. Detectives also located a loaded .38 caliber weapon on Hillman’s body. The investigation revealed that no one else was involved in this incident.

Subsequent investigation revealed that both men were residents of 5 Linden Street. Bellamy resided in Apartment 4J and Hillman resided in Apartment 3J. Hillman had made repeated complaints to the Hackensack Police Department regarding the noise emanating from Bellamy’s upstairs apartment.

Prosecutor Grewal would like to thank the Hackensack Police Department and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in this investigation.

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Teen who sued her father following car crash reportedly awarded $4.1M

Bergen_county_court-House _theridgewoodblog

By Jeff Goldman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on March 01, 2017 at 1:29 PM, updated March 01, 2017 at 4:57 PM

HACKENSACK — A teenage girl who sued her father after he caused a car crash that allegedly left her with permanent spinal injuries has been awarded $4.1 million by a jury, according to a report.

The then 14-year-old was riding in the back seat on Feb. 23, 2013, when her father blew through a stop sign at the corner of Atwood Avenue and North Summit Street in Tenafly, NJLawJournal.com said.

The girl suffered two herniated discs in her neck and one in her back. The teen will have spinal surgery since she is still in pain despite undergoing therapy and acupuncture, the report said.

https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2017/03/teen_who_sued_father_following_car_accident_report.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

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Bergen County Democrats first Order of Business Raise Taxes

maple+field1-300x19911
January 6th 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, on Wednesday, the three Bergen County freeholders elected in November were sworn into office. Turning Bergen into the bluest of counties and making all county officials in Bergen, Democrats.

The annual reorganization meeting, Freeholders Mary J. Amoroso, Germaine M. Ortiz, and Thomas J. Sullivan were sworn in for their first full three-year terms. Freeholder Tracy Silna Zur–now entering her fifth year as freeholder–was elected as board chairwoman and Sullivan was selected as vice-chair.

The Democrats remained true to form and immediately began by raising what promises to be the first of many tax increases, the open-space tax.

The move increases the open-space tax back to 1 cent per $100 of assessed valuation, which is expected to bring in $12 million more annually for a popular program that had seen its funding cut by 75 percent in recent years.

While many embrace the idea of open space, the devil is as always in the details.Money is often used by the politicly connected for ball fields ie turf and to warehouse space, creating buffer zones for wealthy enclaves and keeping prime real-estate off the market so less desirable projects can not be built.
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Gov. Christie Highlights PSE&G Post-Sandy Investments to Improve Reliability with Visit to Hackensack

PSEG

file photo by Boyd Loving

$1.2 billion infrastructure upgrades are making New Jersey Energy Strong

October 29,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, Today, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joined PSE&G President and COO Ralph LaRossa at a Hackensack substation to highlight the infrastructure investments made since Superstorm Sandy left millions of people without power in the state four years ago tomorrow. Two-thirds of the equipment at the substation, which flooded during Sandy, has been raised 4.5 feet, and the remaining switchgear will be raised in the spring, ensuring more reliable service during future storms.

“Sandy was the second-worst natural disaster in American history that shook the lives of just about everyone,” Governor Christie said. “Unseen before in modern New Jersey, this superstorm interrupted 71 percent of New Jersey’s electric distribution system, cut power for 2.8 million residential and commercial customers and taught us difficult lessons about energy reliability and utility infrastructure. Over the last four years, under my administration, PSE&G has made significant progress raising and rebuilding switching and substations like Hackensack, as well as making other improvements, to increase the resiliency of New Jersey’s infrastructure and create a distribution grid that is far stronger and smarter than before.”

During Sandy, 2 million of PSE&G’s 2.2 million electric customers lost power. “Hackensack is one of 29 switching and substations that are being raised or rebuilt to make them more resilient against storms,” LaRossa said. “Because of our infrastructure investments to date, if a Sandy-like storm were to occur today, about 225,000 customers impacted by flooded substations and switching stations during Sandy would not lose power. And customers who did lose power would be restored more quickly. We appreciate the support of the Governor and the BPU in getting this program started.”

LaRossa added, “This work is also benefitting New Jersey’s economy by creating thousands of jobs over the life of the program.”

The newly fortified stations are part of PSE&G’s $1.2 billion, multi-year Energy Strong program to make its infrastructure more reliable and resilient to severe weather. When the Energy Strong upgrades are complete, 460,000 PSE&G customers previously impacted would not lose power from flooding and all PSE&G electric customers would experience faster restoration times.

“When our Energy Strong program is complete, more than 250 hospitals and other critical customers who lost power during Sandy would either stay in service or have their restoration time greatly reduced,” said LaRossa.

Since Superstorm Sandy, PSE&G has invested $74 million in technology to reduce the number and duration of outages for hospitals and other critical customers. For example, when the Somerset Medical Center in Somerville experienced an outage during bad weather last year, the new technology enabled technicians to remotely switch them back into service in just 10 minutes – one-fifth of the time it would have taken without the upgrade. Also benefiting from this work are 400,000 customers and businesses in close proximity to critical customers where the technology has been installed.

In addition to Energy Strong electric upgrades, PSE&G has made great strides ensuring a more reliable and resilient natural gas system during flooding. The utility has installed 240 miles of new, sturdy and durable plastic natural gas pipes in flood-prone areas. Approximately 90,000 customers served by those pipes are no longer at risk of losing gas service from floodwaters seeping into these previously leak-prone mains. In addition, the danger of leaks of methane gas has been virtually eliminated in the new pipes.

The Energy Strong programs also provide the capability to remotely restore large numbers of customers. The program gives PSE&G the ability to remotely make changes on the circuits so they can be worked safely in the field, significantly improving crew productivity and restoration times.

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Bergen County Justice Center another New Jersey Boondoggle

Justice League

July 25,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, at $147 million, the new Bergen County Justice Center is the most expensive capital project in Bergen County history , some would say the largest County boondoggle in history . Sure the idiotic unwanted meadowlands mall project ” Xanadu ” dwarfs it but even in Bergen County at $147 million we are talking real money . Surprise ,surprise the county now says it needs even more money, that is right county officials acknowledge, they could need $20 million more to get it all done.

Yes again that is right for a mere $147 million or should I say $167 million county residents get a new public works garage in Paramus and a new justice center in Hackensack.

While country officials ramble off a myriad of the usual excuses  the fact is the DPW building in Paramus was originally planned to cost $16 million but the final price tag was $20.4 million about a 22% miss on the estimate.

No one denies the county court house is dilapidated and falling apart and yes County Officials openly acknowledge that to complete the project at least $20 million more will be needed.

But this brings us once again back to the same old issues and why New Jersey and particularly Bergen County has become the nations most fled jurisdiction.

Back in 2013 the Bergen County freeholders received a detailed briefing on the construction of the new Justice Center complex in Hackensack, County officials expected to break ground in August on the nearly $115 million project. Hummm $115 million ah $147 million oh no $167 million dollar project that nearing a 50% increase over the original estimate ?

Like many things in this state ,its time for a audit of all county ,state and local projects including the Transportation Slush Fund , we mean the Transportation Trust Fund . Some how I cant seem to believe a private developer would except a 50% cost overrun . Both County Republicans and Democrats point fingers at each other while the tax payer as usual gets stuck with the bill.

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Reader says ,Valley in Ridgewood has already lost – Hackensack is the regional hospital of choice

Bike Valley theridgewoodblog.net 71

Valley has already lost – Hackensack is the regional hospital of choice. Valley (and their arrogant supporters) just seem to want to win their battle with Ridgewood. Fact is, in order to have had any shot against Hackensack, they needed to have finished this expansion years ago but they’re still battling that handful of pesky neighbors that don’t know what’s good for them.

Next up – Real Estate Taxes!

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Hackensack named an official transit village by N.J. transportation department

Ridgewood -bus-station-theridgewoodblog

ridgewood bus station

BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

After two years of work, Hackensack has finally been named an official transit village by the New Jersey transportation department, the city announced Wednesday. The designation will make it easier for the city’s government to apply for grants and to receive technical assistance from the state on redevelopment projects, said deputy mayor Kathleen Canestrino.

“We’re just thrilled to have this,” Canestrino said. “It verifies that the state is committed to our city’s vision for redevelopment.”

That vision is focused on the downtown bus terminal on River Street. The city has rewritten its zoning laws to allow taller, mixed-use commercial and residential buildings to be constructed within a half-mile of the terminal, Canestrino said, including much of Main Street. Developers have proposed or started construction on eight different projects within that zone, which city leaders hope will transform Hackensack’s long-suffering downtown into a hub for professionals commuting into New York City.

“We really had a failing Main Street that was totally underutilized,” said Canestrino. “The city took it upon itself to say okay, let’ really focus our redevelopment activities on that area.”

Two years sounds like a long time to invest in gaining transit village certification, but officials at the transportation department warned Hackensack’s leaders at the outset that the process would not be quick, Canestrino said. It included multiple visits to Hackensack by state bureaucrats, who looked to see that the area’s rezoning was done in accordance with state rules that encourage new residents to use mass transit, and that construction projects already were underway.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/hackensack-named-an-official-transit-village-by-n-j-transportation-department-1.1513275

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Shops at Riverside mall in Hackensack reopens after bomb threat

Riverside Square Mall

DECEMBER 12, 2015, 2:12 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2015, 6:47 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN AND HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

A false bomb threat led to the three-hour evacuation of The Shops at Riverside mall in Hackensack on the penultimate Saturday in the holiday shopping season.

As authorities investigated the threat — scrawled on a bathroom wall, graffiti-style — hundreds of jittery shoppers had to abandon their meals and purchases, and were forced out of the complex and into the parking lot, alongside mall workers.

Hackensack Police summoned the Bergen County bomb squad and ordered the evacuation after a security officer discovered the message written with a marker near a urinal in a lower-level men’s room at around 1 p.m., said Hackensack Police Capt. Timothy Lloyd.

Witnesses said several hundred customers and employees emptied out of the mall in an urgent but orderly fashion as both sound and light alarms went off.

A search by bomb-sniffing dogs and bomb-squad officers found no explosives and the mall — at the intersection of Route 4 and Hackensack Avenue — re-opened around 4 p.m., Lloyd said.

The evacuation also led police to divert traffic on Hackensack Avenue onto Route 4, said Anthony Cureton, a spokesman for the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office.

Some two hours into the evacuation, most people had cleared out of the area. On the grass at the outskirts of the complex’s parking lot, though, small groups of employees lingered waiting for their stores and restaurants to reopen. And some shoppers also stayed behind, forced to wait because, they said, authorities wouldn’t allow them to retrieve their vehicles from the mall’s multi-tiered parking garage before the all-clear was given.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/shops-at-riverside-mall-in-hackensack-reopens-after-bomb-threat-1.1472899

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300 protest outside Planned Parenthood offices in Hackensack

planned_parenthood

AUGUST 22, 2015, 5:50 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2015, 5:54 PM
BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Approximately 300 protesters crowded the sidewalks on both sides of Main Street in Hackensack on Saturday for a two-hour anti-abortion demonstration outside the offices of Planned Parenthood, one of hundreds that were to take place around the country, including four in New Jersey

The protests were in response to undercover videos released by anti-abortion groups that advocates say show that Planned Parenthood is profiting off the sale of aborted fetuses for medical research. Planned Parenthood has denied that, saying payments they’ve received for fetal tissue merely reimburse their costs and that the statements of the Planned Parenthood officials captured on the videos were taken out of context.

Among the protestors in Hackensack on Saturday was Marjorie Cox, 71, who said she had never before demonstrated or spoken up about her anti-abortion beliefs until she watched the videos.

“I can’t believe this is happening anywhere in the world, let alone in the United States. It’s barbaric,” said Cox, of Maywood. “This is my first time to a protest. Now I’m going to get involved.”

The videos were created by the Center for Medical Progress, an organization founded in 2013 three long-time anti-abortion activists, according to a filing with the California Attorney General.

So far the group has released eight videos. The latest, released Friday, is two minutes long and has been described as a “teaser,” indicating that more videos may be released in the future. The first recording was released in July. Edited down to nine minutes, it shows a secret recording from a two-hour lunch between Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, and two people pretending to be buyers of fetal tissue.

“What would you expect for intact tissue?” asked one of the people posing as buyers.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/300-protest-outside-planned-parenthood-offices-in-hackensack-1.1396891