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Ally of Jersey City Mayor Under Scrutiny as City Skyline Changes

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Jersey City has created a lot of believers over the last few years. But now, questions are being raised.

With Mayor Steve Fulop in charge for more than half a decade, the city has been pro-business, and it has paid off with new jobs, living units and revenue.

“But there could be a reckoning in New Jersey’s second-largest city, a federal investigation suggests,” reported Crain’s New York Business. “Some developers and builders have paid millions of dollars in all to a political operative and longtime ally of Fulop to expedite construction and permits through the city’s complex process. The tough-talking ally, Tom Bertoli, has been warned he could face criminal charges for failing to pay federal taxes on the payments.”

“The mayor’s only consideration is what is best for Jersey City’s residents and taxpayers based on market and economic conditions,” a spokesperson for Fulop’s office said in a statement to Bloomberg.

“One developer that has worked with Bertoli is the Charles Kushner-led Kushner Companies, which used him for its Trump Bay Street project,” according to Bloomberg. “The New York-based company also gave tens of thousands of dollars to Fulop’s exploratory campaign for governor as it sought permits for another development, the outlet reported. But Fulop’s office last year denied tax abatements sought by Kushner’s firm, leading to a falling out between the two.”

“Bertoli was a chief architect of Fulop’s 2013 mayoral victory, but had been in Fulop’s corner since at least 2005, when Fulop first won election to the City Council,” reported The Jersey Journal. “Fulop’s administration shielded emails and texts between Bertoli and the mayor from the public for nearly a year, but released some of those communications after a judge ruled against the administration in 2016. Several of those exchanges showed that Bertoli has, or had, the mayor’s ear on real-estate development projects.”

“An examination by Bloomberg News of Fulop’s relationships with a handful of businesses turned up transactions—one involving Bertoli—that pose possible conflicts of interest,” reported Crain’s. “Those transactions include campaign donations and political arrangements; tax assessments; and personal home loans and an expansive oceanfront beach house that the mayor and his wife are building in Narragansett, Rhode Island, with an infinity pool on a third-floor deck.”

With local media swarming all over the controversy, Fulop has taken pains to shift attention to other, more positive news, such as the Jersey City Mural Arts Program unveiling an 18-story mural painted by international artist MadC as part of the Jersey City Mural Arts

Program. The mural is part of a robust public art program that now boasts more than 130 murals citywide created by artists from 16 countries, 7 US States and dozens of our local artists.

“From local to international artists, Jersey City’s mural arts program is one of the most expansive and diverse in the nation and continues to be a citywide success,” said Mayor Fulop. “This is really a testament to how far our mural arts program has taken off from its original effort to deter graffiti and vandalism and to encourage local artists to get involved in our community in a positive way. We even have a summer program for local students to create original large scale murals which has been an ongoing success for the past 6 summers.”

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