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Trenton council, mayor exchange barbs over failed Princetel deal

  • This artist rendering shows some of what Princetel plans for...

    Submitted Image

    This artist rendering shows some of what Princetel plans for Roebling Block II

  • Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora hosted a press conference Monday to...

    John Berry - The Trentonian

    Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora hosted a press conference Monday to publicly discuss a proposal from Hamilton manufacturer Princetel to develop part of the Roebling complex bringing several jobs immediately and the prospect of up to 400 total jobs to the city.

  • Historian Clifford Zink, author of “The Roebling Legacy,” speaks at...

    John Berry - The Trentonian

    Historian Clifford Zink, author of “The Roebling Legacy,” speaks at a press conference Monday.

  • Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora hosted a press conference Monday to...

    John Berry - The Trentonian

    Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora hosted a press conference Monday to publicly discuss a proposal from Hamilton manufacturer Princetel to develop part of the Roebling complex bringing several jobs immediately and the prospect of up to 400 total jobs to the city.

  • Historian Clifford Zink, author of “The Roebling Legacy,” speaks at...

    John Berry - The Trentonian

    Historian Clifford Zink, author of “The Roebling Legacy,” speaks at a press conference Monday.

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Isaac Avilucea
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

TRENTON – Members of the City Council and the administration continued slinging arrows at each other a day after Princetel’s $4 million revitalization proposal died on the legislative body’s dais.

“They don’t want the city to succeed,” Mayor Reed Gusciora declared in a them-versus-us Facebook post Tuesday night following the council’s 5-to-2 vote not to consider Princetel’s proposal at Thursday’s meeting.

The mayor said the high-tech manufacturer’s push to purchase and rehab a long-vacant stretch of the Roebling complex into an industrial plant and greenspace is dead.

Gusciora’s post highlighted the only-increasing divide between his administration and the legislative body, fueled by some of the mayor’s recent decisions, including one to increase directors’ salaries to $131K without giving the council a heads up.

Later in the day, council vice president Marge Caldwell-Wilson sent out a statement announcing the legislative body would hold a news conference Thursday afternoon – the second time it has done so Gusciora’s short tenure – to clarify the “misinformation being put out to the public by the mayor’s office regarding Princetel.”

Earlier in the day, West Ward councilwoman Robin Vaughn threw gasoline on the dumpster fire when she accused the administration of trying to saddle blame on the council for not pushing through the allegedly “corrupt” deal.

She suggested people could have gone to “prison” if council bent to the administration’s will rather than demanding the company sign off on pay-to-play documentation and require the administration to do another appraisal to ensure the city was properly compensated for the property.

“You ask: what could be at stake?” Vaughn responded to another commenter. Prison! There is required documentation requested (1) appraisal (minimum 2 prefer 3) one remains outstanding and (2) Developer sign-off regarding compliance with pay-to-play laws.”

That prompted a stern rebuke from the mayor’s chief of staff, Yoshi Manale.

“Please clarify by what you mean by prison? Has there been criminal activity regarding the disposition of this sale? If you have evidence of such, please let us know, and we will provide that information to the proper authorities,” he said.

Vice president Caldwell-Wilson chimed in on the thread.

“Let’s talk pay-to-play for starters,” she wrote.

Gusciora said in an interview Tuesday night, after the deal faltered, that he didn’t have any personal connections to Princetel CEO Barry Zhang or any company representatives.

He denied that anyone from the company donated to his campaign, which appeared supported by a quick search of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission’s contributions database that turned up no donations to Gusciora from Zhang or Princetel.

Despite that, suspicions continued to hang over the deal with some residents wondering why council didn’t get behind the proposal and others questioning why the company appeared so desperate to push the deal through that it upped the offer from $85,000 to $182,000 to entice the council to OK the land grab this week.

“I am curious why Barry and Co. refused to sign the pay to play declaration and get a current appraisal as apparently required,” said Michael Ranallo, a city resident and critic of the current administration. “No one is mentioning this and it was repeated by each Council member that voted against. Also Princetel upped their offer over $100,000 when pushed on the pay to play thing? Something sounded strange.”

South Ward councilman George Muschal said late Tuesday night that something about the Princetel deal “smelled like a 10-day-old fish.”

He wasn’t alone in his assessment.

“The investigation will find that it ain’t the Council that is corrupt,” Vaughn wrote on the mayor’s post, spurring the spirited exchange with Manale.

“By whom are you calling corrupt?” the chief of staff wrote. “Is there someone within one of our departments or City Hall?”

Manale said in an interview Wednesday he felt it was important to rebut the West Ward councilwoman’s assertions despite her penchant for making statements loosely grounded in fact and others that turned out to be completely untrue.

“I don’t believe it was just her that was trying to spin this narrative,” Manale said in a text message. “She is a public official and therefore has a strong voice in the public space, especially on such a central place as the mayor’s FB page.”

The mayor and council pushed back against each other in dueling statements released later in the day, underpinning the distrust between the two sides.

“I’m greatly disappointed that the City Council turned down this opportunity to bring redevelopment to the Roebling Block II site that has been vacant for 40 years,” he said. “While other towns seem to roll out the carpet for bringing business and jobs to the region, this was a missed opportunity. Not only did Council pull the proposal from their agenda on three prior Council sessions, they gave a last minute demand for an additional appraisal and a disclosure document that was not required by this developer. Unfortunately, after four months of delays, Princetel decided to move on. …We will try harder to bring development and jobs to the City. Trenton needs to send a message that we are open for business and should not miss such opportunities for growth in the future. I still remain optimistic that we can get the job done.”

The council said it would hold a news conference Thursday to dispel certain assumption about the failed Princetel deal.

The legislative body took the same approach when it felt Gusciora was abusing his authority to try to force a confirmation vote on ex-police director Carol Russell.

“Mayor Gusciora has blatantly ignored the fact that the City Council is the redevelopment authority for the City of Trenton,” Caldwell-Wilson said. “When he first presented this property to be sold to Princetel, he was advised by council that any sale of any land or property in a redevelopment area has to come before the City Council and redevelopment authority prior to being included on the Council’s docket. The council was advised by their legal counsel the actions of the administration were improper and were further advised of how the they should proceed. The City Council serves as the checks and balances of the administration. We do not work for the mayor but have tried to many times to work with him. All business of council will be done in a fair, open and legal manner.”