We, the undersigned, wish to express to the Hudson County Board of Elections displeasure at:

1.   The short notice of the initial Open Public Meeting, January 14, 2022
2.   The original date and time of the meeting
3.   The limitation of 100 virtual participants for a city of over 250,000 residents

More importantly, we, the undersigned, are dismayed by:

1.   The arbitrariness of the new borders.
2.   The lack of thought and consideration given to established neighborhoods, geographical boundaries, and ongoing issues.
3.   The disregard of the public input to adequately review the information.

4.  The reality that residents will not be represented by the Councilperson they voted for.

We single out one particular neighborhood in Jersey City for this petition, but this is by no means the only community affected by re-districting; THIS IS HAPPENING ALL OVER JERSEY CITY.

The Hamilton Park Neighborhood is on the Register of Historic Neighborhoods. It is bounded to the North by the inbound lanes of the Holland Tunnel, to the west by the Palisade Cliffs, to the East by Newport Mall, and to the South by the Sixth Street Embankment. The re-districting map indicates that the western half of the neighborhood would move to Ward C, which is in the Heights and represents the Journal Square community. This affected area in Hamilton Park Neighborhood is comprised of approximately 375 properties, 2,500 residents, or roughly 5.5% of the estimated 45,000 residents (re-districted total) of Ward C.

The Hamilton Park Neighborhood has been grappling with several ongoing issues: safe access for the residents through Newport Mall to the PATH Station, flooding on 10th St., and pedestrian safety under the inbound and outbound lanes of the Holland Tunnel. These issues are not aligned with the issues facing Ward C. They are aligned with the issues facing Ward E.  

In our educated opinion the Hudson County Board of Elections cannot simply look at a map and move lines without taking into careful and measured consideration all of the underlying implications of doing so. 

We, the undersigned, respectfully request the Hudson County Board of Elections:

1.   Seek an extension from the State for more time to re-examine the Ward boundaries.
2.   Provide multiple meeting dates so that residents of each Ward can voice their concerns about the impact.
3.   Meet with city officials and existing Councilpersons to propose new district lines that take into account existing geographical boundaries and historic neighborhoods.

We, the undersigned, believe this is a reasonable path forward and reserve the right to pursue any legal means necessary if this disenfranchisement of the residents of Jersey City continues.