Secaucus, N.J. tables data center law; checks rebut Gonnelli

HUDSON TV EXCLUSIVE

SECAUCUS, N.J. — Facing a packed council chambers on Tuesday night, Oct. 27, 2026, Secaucus Town Administrator Gary M. Jeffas announced ([00:12:52]) that the Mayor and Town Council were tabling their proposed Data Centers Zoning Ordinance for at least two weeks—while acknowledging on the record ([00:16:40] and [01:39:11]) that even if adopted, the ordinance only covers the roughly 12% of Secaucus inside the Town-controlled industrial zone and will do nothing to regulate existing data centers or the 88% of Secaucus under New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) zoning, including CoreSite’s approved 446,761-square-foot, 75-megawatt data center at 215 County Avenue.

At the start of public comment ([00:30:05]), Mayor Michael J. Gonnelli shouted from the dais at Hudson TV anchor Jeff Henig over Hudson TV’s Oct. 26 investigation—leaving untouched the report’s core findings on the 125 MW data-center expansion, the $0 Community Benefit Agreement, Jeffas’s written admission that he “did not review specific plans submitted by the entities,” and Zoning Board member John Hugerich’s family firm collecting $1,073,910.30 net ($1,185,086.74 gross) from the Town, while making two claims about Zoning Board members Maryam Eldesouki and Antonio “Tony” Suarez that are directly contradicted by the Town’s own check registers and by the text of our original report.

1. Mayor Gonnelli’s Outburst vs. What Hudson TV Wrote & Secaucus’s 2026 Check Register ()

Pointing at Henig before any resident spoke ([00:30:16 - 00:31:09]), Gonnelli declared from the dais:

“You said Marcos Suarez is a member of the Zoning Board. He’s not Marcos Suarez, he’s Tony’s son, so that’s a big mix-up on your part. You said that he generated all this money for working for the town—he didn’t. He generated the money selling ice at an event. So it’s Tony’s son. That’s number one. Number two, Maryam Eldesouki. She does work for us in the County School for Technology. And she’s not our zoning official anymore. She was a secretary to that Zoning Board, she’s not that anymore. Maryam, when did you resign from the Zoning Board?”
— Maryam Eldesouki (from floor): “2024.”
— Mayor Gonnelli: “2024. This is 2026, so you made a mistake!”

Both of the Mayor’s claims collapse against Hudson TV’s original report and the Town’s own certified OPRA check registers (CHECK REGISTER 2024_SEPT 2026.pdf, Pages 247–477):

• On Maryam Eldesouki (see original report entry): First, Hudson TV’s original report never called Eldesouki the Town’s “zoning official”—it explicitly stated that while sitting as a voting Zoning Board of Adjustment Commissioner (who voted YES on CoreSite’s 215 County Ave. approval while earning $90,744.00/year at the Hudson County Schools of Technology), she was simultaneously paid “$24,855.00 across 35 Town check-register entries (Sept. 28, 2022 through Jan. 28, 2026) as the Town’s paid Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment Secretary ($200 per meeting plus $5,000 to $7,400 annual stipends under Res. 2023-293).” Second, contrary to Gonnelli and Eldesouki claiming she resigned that paid secretary post in “2024,” Secaucus’s own check register records 16 checks totaling $14,200.00 paid to ELDESOUKI, MARYAM in 2025 and 2026 (Pages 247–477)—culminating in four checks cut on January 28, 2026 on totaling $3,900.00 ($2,500.00 for "1/2 YR 2025 BOA SERVICES", $1,000.00 for "1/2 YR 2025 PLAN BRD SERVICES", $200.00 for "12/8/25 SECRETARIAL SERVICES", and $200.00 for "12/16/25 SECRETARIAL SERVICES").
• On Antonio “Tony” Suarez & Marco Suarez (see original report entry): Contrary to Gonnelli’s claim (“You said that he generated all this money for working for the town—he didn’t. He generated the money selling ice at an event”), Hudson TV’s original report never said Suarez worked for the Town as an employee—it stated verbatim that the $3,458.00 was paid by the Town “for recreation events ($1,058 on Sept. 27, 2023 for a Camp Day event and $2,400 on Aug. 26, 2026 for the town’s July 1 celebration)” ( and ). Because the June 8, 2026 CoreSite resolution printed the voting commissioner’s name only as "Commissioner Suarez", Gonnelli repeated the exact recreation-event payouts from our article while confirming on the public record that the Town paid $3,458.00 (including a $2,400.00 check on Aug. 26, 2026, 11 weeks after the CoreSite vote) to voting Commissioner Antonio “Tony” Suarez’s son, Marco Suarez.

Hudson TV emailed all 16 of the 2025–2026 check-register entries (Pages 247–477) to Mayor Gonnelli (mgonnelli@secaucus.net) and Administrator Jeffas (gjeffas@secaucus.net) Tuesday night inviting a response; neither had replied as of publication.

2. Residents Read Hudson TV’s Findings Into the Record as Ordinance Is Pulled

Moments after Gonnelli told residents, “You guys are hammering me over stupid reasons and I’m not going to answer these questions” ([00:32:55]), former Board of Education trustee Kathy Fallen ([00:36:02]) stepped to the microphone and read Hudson TV’s investigation—including Jeffas’s written admission that he never reviewed the specific plans and the $0 Community Benefit Agreement—directly into the official municipal record:

“According to the Hudson TV article written by Julio Reynoso, and I quote—and you just bashed that newspaper—’The Equinix and CoreSite expansions add 125 megawatts of new electrical load, pushing Secaucus’s five-facility data center footprint to an estimated 245 to 285 megawatts without a dollar in community benefit agreements, and after Town Administrator Gary Jeffas admitted in writing that he never reviewed the plans.'”

Across nearly two hours of testimony, 15 residents pressed the Council on why the tabled ordinance excludes the 88% NJSEA zone ([00:16:40]), why NJDEP rejected Equinix’s initial remediation report on the Sept. 11 diesel spill at 275 Hartz Way ([01:08:25]), and why Gonnelli admitted ([01:36:14]) he “just found out” 60 days ago that NJSEA zoning control is a detriment to the town.

Secaucus homeowners can check whether their property is over-assessed with GardenState.ai’s Property Tax Appeal tool.