Bayonne Resident Exposes Missing Records on Housing Authority Vacancy

Bayonne resident Roberto Feliz Betancourt challenged city officials Tuesday night over missing records tied to a long-vacant state-appointed seat on the Bayonne Housing Authority board, exposing a gap between public statements and documented evidence.

At the Aug. 12 council meeting, Business Administrator Andrew Calses told the public the administration had been in talks with the housing authority about filling the DCA-appointed seat, which had sat empty for some time. Feliz followed up with an OPRA request on Aug. 24, numbered 26 1633, seeking all communications between the city and the Department of Community Affairs, internal city emails, texts, memos and notes about the vacancy.

The city’s response was blunt: “We have no responsive documents to this request at this time.”

“When the public is told that the conversations occurred and the records response says no responsive documents were located, the public should be able to get a straightforward factual explanation,” Feliz said.

Feliz also contacted the DCA directly. The only record returned was a Nov. 21, 2017 letter reappointing Maria Pinero Kaskowski to the board through Feb. 11, 2022. No later appointment history was provided.

Addressing Calses directly, Feliz asked how the administration communicated with the housing authority and with whom, noting the lack of records contradicts the earlier public assurances. Officials said they would follow up with him personally but offered no immediate answers during the meeting.