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

HUDSON TV EXCLUSIVE

By Julio Reynoso, Publisher & Editor

SECAUCUS, N.J. — Facing a packed council chambers on Tuesday night, Oct. 27, 2026, Secaucus Town Administrator Gary M. Jeffas announced that the Mayor and Council were abruptly pulling their draft Data Centers Zoning Ordinance and companion Planning Board referral resolution for two weeks—while admitting on the record that even if enacted, the ordinance only covers Secaucus’s 12 percent municipal industrial zone and will not apply to existing facilities or the 88 percent of town inside the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) Meadowlands District, including CoreSite Real Estate NY4 LLC’s approved four-story, 446,761-square-foot, 75-megawatt data center at 215 County Avenue.

During the 1-hour, 49-minute televised meeting, Mayor Michael J. Gonnelli opened the public comment portion by launching an unprompted attack from the dais against Hudson TV’s primary-source investigation into Secaucus’s data-center approvals—claiming on camera that voting Zoning Board of Adjustment Commissioner Maryam Eldesouki resigned from her paid role as Zoning Board Secretary in “2024” (“This is 2026, so you made a mistake”) and asserting that the “SUAREZ, MARCO” listed in the Town’s check registers is the son of voting Zoning Board Commissioner Antonio “Tony” Suarez (“He generated the money selling ice at an event. So it’s Tony’s son”).

Yet the Town of Secaucus’s own certified OPRA check registers (CHECK REGISTER 2024_SEPT 2026.pdf, Pages 247–477) flatly contradict the Mayor’s claim on Eldesouki: Town records document 16 checks totaling $14,200.00 paid to “ELDESOUKI, MARYAM” in calendar years 2025 and 2026 for Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Board secretarial services (part of $24,855.00 across 35 Town check-register entries from Sept. 28, 2022 through Jan. 28, 2026)—including four checks cut on January 28, 2026 alone (Page 477) totaling $3,900.00. Simultaneously, by addressing the $3,458.00 in Town recreation payments to Marco Suarez, Gonnelli confirmed on the official public record that the Town paid $3,458.00 in municipal event checks to the son of voting Zoning Board Commissioner Antonio “Tony” Suarez, who voted YES on May 11 and June 8, 2026 to approve CoreSite’s 215 County Avenue data center and was listed on the adopted resolution only by last name as “Commissioner Suarez” and “Mr. Suarez.”

Moments after Gonnelli told residents in the gallery, “I know CoreSite is here right now, but we’re working really hard on it… you guys are hammering me over stupid reasons, so I’m not going to answer these questions,” former Secaucus Board of Education Trustee Kathy Fallen stepped to the microphone, rebuked the Mayor for disparaging Hudson TV, and read Julio Reynoso’s Hudson TV investigation aloud into the official municipal record.

1. Mayor Gonnelli’s Opening Attack on Hudson TV vs. Secaucus’s Own 2025–2026 Check Registers (Pages 247–477)

Before a single resident was allowed to speak during the public comment period on ordinances (`[00:30:05 – 00:31:27]`), Mayor Gonnelli looked directly at Hudson TV anchor Jeff Henig in the council chambers and attempted to discredit Hudson TV’s reporting on the Secaucus Zoning Board of Adjustment members who voted 5–0 on May 11 and June 8, 2026 to approve CoreSite’s 215 County Avenue data center and on-site PSE&G substation.

Gonnelli did not challenge Hudson TV’s findings on the 125-megawatt combined electrical load of the Equinix and CoreSite expansions, the $24.69 million tax-assessment gap across Secaucus’s nine data-center properties, the absence of any Community Benefit Agreement, or Zoning Board member John Hugerich’s company collecting $1,073,910.30 to $1,185,086.74 from the Town. Instead, Gonnelli made two specific claims from the dais:

“First of all, I’ve got to talk about the TV—on your TV [Hudson TV]. 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? … 2024. This is 2026, so you made a mistake.”

— Secaucus Mayor Michael J. Gonnelli, Oct. 27, 2026 Town Council Meeting [00:30:05 – 00:31:08]

When Henig calmly replied from the floor (`[00:31:08]`), “I will let my boss know. I did not write the article. I will let him know… I just hope that you bring the truth,” Gonnelli shot back (`[00:31:16 – 00:31:27]`): “We made several mistakes… So everything is a mistake, my new friend… I tell the truth all the time. Believe me or not, I tell the truth all the time.”

What the Town’s certified OPRA check registers prove on Maryam Eldesouki: 16 checks totaling $14,200.00 in 2025 and 2026

First, Hudson TV’s original report never called Maryam Eldesouki the Town’s “zoning official.” What Section 4 of Hudson TV’s original report actually stated was that while sitting as a voting Zoning Board of Adjustment Commissioner—currently listed #1 under Members on the Town of Secaucus’s official Zoning Board webpage, and voting YES on both the May 11, 2026 approval and the June 8, 2026 memorializing resolution for CoreSite’s 215 County Avenue data center—Eldesouki 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)” while employed full-time at the Hudson County Schools of Technology (HCST) at an annual salary of $90,744.00 (a county employment relationship Gonnelli himself confirmed from the dais when he said, “She does work for us in the County School for Technology”).

Second, Gonnelli’s claim that Eldesouki ended her paid role as Secretary to the Zoning Board and Planning Board in “2024” is directly refuted by the Town of Secaucus’s own certified OPRA check register (CHECK REGISTER 2024_SEPT 2026.pdf, released to Hudson TV by Town Clerk Michael Marra on Oct. 16, 2026). While Eldesouki received $24,855.00 across 35 check-register entries between Sept. 28, 2022 and Jan. 28, 2026, 16 of those 35 Town checks—totaling $14,200.00—were issued in calendar years 2025 and 2026 (Pages 247–477), including four checks cut on January 28, 2026 alone on Page 477 totaling $3,900.00:

In addition to her $90,744.00 HCST salary and $24,855.00 in Town of Secaucus payments, New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) records show Eldesouki contributed $150.00 on Oct. 10, 2025 to Hudson County Executive Craig Guy (listing HCST as her employer) and $100.00 to Gonnelli’s Moving Secaucus Forward campaign slate (listing the Town of Secaucus as her employer).

Following Tuesday night’s meeting, Hudson TV emailed all 16 of the 2025 and 2026 check-register entries (`Pages 247–477`, including the four Jan. 28, 2026 payments on `Page 477` totaling $3,900.00) from info@hudsontv.com to Mayor Gonnelli (mgonnelli@secaucus.net) and Town Administrator Gary Jeffas (gjeffas@secaucus.net)—copying Town Clerk Michael Marra (mmarra@secaucus.net), Chief Financial Officer / QPA John Peschetti (jpeschetti@secaucus.net), and Roberta Mroz (rmroz@secaucus.net)—seeking clarification on the exact dates of Eldesouki’s service as Board Secretary and voting Zoning Board Commissioner.

What Gonnelli confirmed on Antonio “Tony” Suarez and his son Marco Suarez ($3,458.00)

On the second point raised by the Mayor, the June 8, 2026 Zoning Board resolution memorializing CoreSite’s 215 County Avenue approval identified the voting board member only by last name as “Commissioner Suarez” and “Mr. Suarez” (voting YES on both May 11 and June 8, 2026), while the Town’s Zoning Board roster lists Antonio Suarez and the Town’s OPRA check registers record $3,458.00 in municipal recreation payments to “SUAREZ, MARCO”:

• Sept. 27, 2023 (CHECK REGISTER 2023.pdf, Page 59): $1,058.00 paid to SUAREZ, MARCO for "0000001-CAMP DAY EVENT" (Account 01-2010-00-51817-074).
• Aug. 26, 2026 (CHECK REGISTER 2024_SEPT 2026.pdf, Page 612): $2,400.00 paid to SUAREZ, MARCO for "7/1 celebration shaved ice" (Account Rec - Recreation Special Events).

Contrary to Mayor Gonnelli’s claim from the dais (“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 claimed Suarez generated that money as a Town employee “working for the town.” Instead, Section 4 of Hudson TV’s original report 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).” By shouting from the dais that the checks were for “selling ice at an event,” Gonnelli repeated the very recreation-event payouts Hudson TV had reported—while confirming on the official public record that the Town of Secaucus paid $3,458.00 in recreation vendor checks (including a $2,400.00 check cut on Aug. 26, 2026, just 11 weeks after the CoreSite vote) to the son of voting Zoning Board Commissioner Antonio “Tony” Suarez. Hudson TV has updated its original report to note both Antonio “Tony” Suarez’s full name and Mayor Gonnelli’s on-the-record confirmation that payee Marco Suarez is Commissioner Suarez’s son.

2. Former BOE Trustee Kathy Fallen Rebukes Gonnelli and Reads Hudson TV’s Investigation Into the Official Record

Immediately after attacking Hudson TV, Mayor Gonnelli called out three Secaucus residents by name from the dais before they had even spoken—former Board of Education Trustee Kathy Fallen (`[00:31:28]`), resident David Kratz (`[00:32:25]`), and resident Linda Weber (`[00:32:55]`)—insisting that Hartz Mountain’s Moores Tract property “is going to be a warehouse, whether you like it or not, it’s not going to be the largest data center in the state of New Jersey” and concluding (`[00:33:20 – 00:33:46]`):

“We’re working with CoreSite right now to do something up there to help the people… I know CoreSite is here right now, but we’re working really hard on it. So listen, I love this town more than anything in the world, and you guys are hammering me over stupid reasons, so I’m not going to answer these questions. Thank you.”

— Mayor Michael J. Gonnelli [00:33:20 – 00:33:46]

Taking the podium as the first public speaker (`[00:33:54 – 00:41:54]`), Kathy Fallen rebuked Gonnelli for calling residents’ concerns “stupid” and then read Julio Reynoso’s Hudson TV investigation directly into the official Council record (`[00:36:02 – 00:38:19]`):

“According to the Hudson TV article written by Julio Reynoso, and I quote—and you just bashed that newspaper—’The Equinix project at 275 Hartz Way will have a maximum usage of 50 megawatts, and the CoreSite project at 215 County Avenue will have a maximum usage of 75 megawatts, for a total of 125 megawatts. The combined megawatts are the equivalent of the electricity needed to power 100,000 to 125,000 New Jersey homes.’ …

And it goes on to say, Mr. Jeffas, it quotes you as saying: ‘Please note that I did not review specific plans submitted by the entities.’ Why didn’t you review the plans, Gary? Somebody in our town should have looked at what was going in here before it was approved. Somebody dropped the ball.

The article also revealed that Secaucus has a data center footprint of 245 to 285 megawatts in a six-square-mile town. That should scare the hell out of all of us… And according to the Hudson TV article, they were approved with zero Community Benefit Agreements. We are receiving some property tax relief, school backpacks, toy donations, and a sponsored PBA golf outing. No wonder data centers want to build in Secaucus—it’s like winning the lottery for them.”

— Former Secaucus BOE Trustee Kathy Fallen [00:36:02 – 00:38:08]

When Fallen concluded by telling the governing body, “Stop approving data centers in Secaucus!”, Mayor Gonnelli blurted out into his microphone (`[00:37:33]`): “I wish we could.”

3. Ordinance Pulled for Two Weeks as Jeffas Admits It Excludes the 88% NJSEA Zone and 215 County Ave.

Earlier in the meeting (`[00:12:52 – 00:18:31]`), Town Administrator Gary Jeffas announced that following caucus discussions, the Council was tabling both the first reading of the Data Centers Zoning Ordinance and the companion resolution referring a Master Plan update to the Planning Board, with plans to reintroduce a revised version in two weeks.

While outlining the draft ordinance—which proposed an 80-megawatt power cap intended to block 100+ MW hyperscale AI facilities, a pre-construction acoustic study, post-construction sound testing once a year, and written water capacity confirmation from Veolia without a numeric gallon-per-day cap—Jeffas made a critical jurisdictional admission (`[00:13:59 – 00:14:34]`):

“Now, it’s very important to understand that we only have the capacity, the ability, to regulate our industrial area. This is not for the NJSEA zone. It is only for the industrial area that the Town of Secaucus has the capacity to regulate.”

— Secaucus Town Administrator Gary M. Jeffas [00:13:59 – 00:14:34]

Later in the meeting (`[01:38:59 – 01:39:33]`), when a resident asked whether the proposed ordinance would apply to Secaucus’s existing data centers or to CoreSite’s 215 County Avenue project, Jeffas confirmed:

“Brand new ones, and it’s only in the Secaucus-controlled industrial zone, not in the NJSEA zone… So the one on County Ave, that’s under the NJSEA. There’s a chance this might not apply.”

— Town Administrator Gary M. Jeffas [01:39:09 – 01:39:33]

Similarly, when 50-year Lincoln Avenue resident Michelle LaRue (`[00:47:20 – 00:52:44]`) told the Council that neighbors across from 215 County Avenue were shocked to learn last week that CoreSite’s facility will rise four stories high, Gonnelli replied (`[00:48:28]`): “Michelle, we knew how high it was going to be. It’s in the Meadowlands’ jurisdiction, I have no say on it.” Gonnelli also revealed (`[00:50:28]`) that he resigned as chairman of the Hackensack Meadowlands Municipal Committee (HMMC)—the statutory body of Meadowlands mayors empowered to review NJSEA master-plan and zoning actions—saying, “There’s no mayors showing up, you couldn’t get a quorum for a meeting.”

4. Sept. 11 Equinix Diesel Spill, NJDEP Contamination Filings & Calls to Investigate Town Administrator Gary Jeffas

Across 15 public comment speakers, residents pressed the Mayor and Council on environmental disclosures, zoning definitions, and municipal oversight:

• Equinix Sept. 11 Diesel Spill Report Rejected by NJDEP (`[01:07:01 – 01:09:02]`): Asked why residents still have not seen water or soil test results nearly seven weeks after the Sept. 11, 2026 diesel fuel spill at Equinix, Gonnelli stated (`[01:07:37]`): “Equinix submitted a report, it wasn’t good enough for NJDEP right there. We didn’t get it yet… No, they didn’t do the water quality.” When the resident asked why the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) waited until five months after 215 County Avenue was approved to study data-center water and cooling impacts, Gonnelli replied (`[01:08:40]`): “We’ve never had an issue with data centers before—no noise, no nothing. Now we have an issue, not because of the oil [spill], we have an issue because people have an issue with them.”
• Gonnelli Admits He “Just Found Out” NJSEA Control Is a Detriment (`[01:34:06 – 01:38:53]`): When a speaker asked whether NJSEA controlling 88 percent of Secaucus’s land is a detriment to the town, Gonnelli answered “Yes” (`[01:34:48]`). Asked what his action plan is, Gonnelli said (`[01:35:04]`): “Well, I just found out that it’s a detriment to the town… In this instance, people brought it to our attention about 60 days ago.” Gonnelli added (`[01:37:58]`) that Town officials had met with “a lot of people in the industry to give us information on data centers… Suez [Veolia], Public Service [PSE&G], engineers,” while Councilwoman Orietta Tringali scolded the speaker (`[01:36:56]`): “I think you’re very rude to our mayor. No, I think you should go talk to your own mayor in your own town.”
• David Kratz Presents NJSEA Zoning Definitions & Calls for Replacement of Gary Jeffas (`[00:52:45 – 01:06:59]`): Resident David Kratz distributed a seven-page packet citing NJSEA’s Light Industrial A regulations—pointing out that the zone permits “Disaster Recovery Facilities” rather than commercial “Data Centers,” which NJSEA defines as a separate land use—and called for an independent examination and replacement of Town Administrator Gary Jeffas under Section 23-2 of the Town Code (`[00:59:03]`). When Kratz attempted to read NJSEA’s separate “Data Center” definition after Jeffas read only the “Disaster Recovery Facility” clause, Jeffas cut him off (`[01:03:52]`: “You don’t have to… Now you’re done”), Councilman William McKeever shouted “This isn’t a debate!” (`[01:05:18]`), and Gonnelli yelled “Can you sit down, please!” 13 times in a row (`[01:06:46 – 01:06:58]`).
• Linda Weber Cites 2018 & 2022 NJDEP Contamination Filings on the Moores Tract (`[00:41:55 – 00:47:19]`): Resident Linda Weber cited a March 2018 NJDEP Confirmed Discharge Notification and a May 2022 Soil Remedial Action Permit documenting historic fill contamination (metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons above residential standards) on Hartz Mountain’s Moores Tract—arguing that residential housing was already barred on the tract and calling the Mayor and Council’s Feb. 5, 2026 statement thanking Hartz for not building school-impacting housing “a big fat lie.”
• Tax Assessor Resolution Pulled & Gonnelli’s “$400 a Square Foot” Claim (`[00:18:50]` & `[01:18:46]`): Earlier in the agenda, the Council pulled Consent Agenda Resolutions #3 and #14, noting one was pulled “because the tax assessor just needs to look at a correct amount.” Later (`[01:18:46]`), when resident Frank asked who is profiting from Secaucus’s data centers, Gonnelli claimed: “A warehouse pays $200 a square foot. A data center pays $400… You’re getting double what you get at the warehouse. In taxes.”

Secaucus and Hudson County homeowners who want to check how commercial and data-center tax assessments compare against residential tax bills or see if their own property is over-assessed can run a free analysis with GardenState.ai’s Property Tax Appeal tool and Tax Shock calculator.

Hudson TV asks: Should Secaucus require an independent conflict-of-interest and zoning audit of its data-center approvals—and explain why the Town Check Register shows 16 payments to Maryam Eldesouki in 2025 and 2026 after Mayor Gonnelli claimed she left the Zoning Board Secretary post in 2024? Reply A: Yes, conduct an independent audit now. Reply B: No, wait for the revised ordinance in two weeks.
Share your take in the comments.

Have a tip or public records about Secaucus zoning approvals, municipal contracts, or data centers? Email info@hudsontv.com.