Friday, January 30, 2004

Journal staff writer

HOBOKEN - Nearly a year after his brother began working with Stevens Institute of Technology as a consultant, Hoboken Zoning Board of Adjustment Chairman Joseph Crimmins recused himself Monday from hearings on the school's application to build a multilevel, 725-space parking garage beneath the Babbio Center for Technology on Sinatra Drive.

Crimmins' brother, former Hoboken Business Administrator George Crimmins, acknowledged both his relationship with the school and some involvement in the parking garage matter.

"I have consulted on matters which have included the Stevens garage," he said, but declined to provide further details or name the consulting firm for which he works. That firm is in turn employed by another firm, which is employed by Stevens.

Joseph Crimmins, who has been overseeing proceedings on the garage application for about four months, said he learned about his brother's relationship with the school about one month ago.

"The day he told me, which was probably in December, the very next morning I brought it up to the board attorney," he said.

The attorney, Douglas Bern, found no conflict, the chairman said. But after further consideration, the chairman decided to recuse himself to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

"I think that technically, by the law, I don't have a conflict," he explained. "Yes, he is my brother, but that's it.

"I don't believe he gets any more money if this project goes forward or not . It has no impact on me financially. I'm not going to benefit from a possible approval."

But Michael Garofalo, an attorney for the Fund for a Better Waterfront - one of the garage's most vocal opponents - said the chairman's recusal came just hours after he sent a letter requesting the Stevens application be voided because of the conflict.

"Because the conflict involves a member of the immediate family of a board member, all proceedings to date are voidable," Garofalo's letter said.

Garofalo's letter cited a ruling by the Appellate Court in the matter Care of Tenafly v. the Zoning Board of Adjustment that voided a site plan approval for a supermarket because the mother of a board member owned property 50 feet from the site.

The letter also asked that the board's hearing on the Stevens garage be terminated and a new application be filed by Stevens.

"That's what the law compels," Garofalo said. "I can't waive it, the board can't waive it. The whole thing has to start again. It's non-negotiable."

But Bern advised the board otherwise, telling its members they could proceed with the case, albeit without their chairman.

"He made no evidentiary findings, no rulings," Bern said. "The case was not even one-half completed. He hadn't articulated any point of view or prejudiced either side."

For his part, Garofalo promised that if the project receives approval by the Zoning Board, the FBW will raise the Crimmins matter on appeal.

Stevens spokeswoman Cass Bruton-Ward, who also acknowledged that George Crimmins has done consulting for the school, said he had no financial relationship with Stevens because he works for a consulting firm and is not paid directly by the school.

However, she declined to describe the nature of George Crimmins work on the school's behalf. "It's irrelevant to this issue. It doesn't have anything to do with what's before the Zoning Board," she said.

The parking garage's history is a contentious one. In December 2000, the Hoboken Planning Board approved plans for the Babbio Center with a one-level foundation that would extend beyond the footprint of the building and accommodate an open-air, 105-space parking lot.

The school later received permits from city officials to build a more extensive four-story foundation, but the plans were never heard by the Planning Board.

By the late summer of 2002, community members began raising objections to the newly configured foundation, saying it was actually intended as a parking garage. Ramps leading from one level to another had been built, they said.

City officials issued a stop-work order for the project, but later allowed construction of the center itself to continue with the proviso that work on the foundation would not resume until all necessary approvals were obtained. The current application before the Zoning Board is part of that process.

Ron Hine, executive director of Fund for a Better Waterfront, declined to comment on the Crimmins matter, but did weigh in on the garage project itself.

"It's bringing development on the waterfront to an all-time low in Hoboken. It's bad planning, bad design. We deserved something far, far better than this," he said.

Supporters of the project say it will help to accommodate a serious need in the parking-strapped city.

Bruton-Ward said she views the Crimmins issue as "an obstructionist tactic" on the fund's part. "It's typical of them to try to go to the newspapers and draw attention to themselves."

Last year, Stevens filed a defamation lawsuit against the fund for statements made by the organization concerning construction of the Babbio Center. That matter is still pending before the court.

Maria Zingaro Conte can be reached at mzconte@jjournal.com