The Personal Injury Attorney in Palisades Park, NJ, You Can Trust

Rebuilding the Pal Park/Leonia football program might be the toughest job in North Jersey, but new coach Sal DeGennaro believes it can be done.

“My commitment is full and I plan to be here for a long time and turn this program around and get it on the right track,” said DeGennaro, 26. “I know we can do it here. I’m real excited to see where this goes in the next couple of years.”

The co-op program hasn’t had a winning season since 2013 and went 0-8 last season, getting shut out three times.

“I think the first thing is building a foundation and making sure the kids are 100 percent committed,” said DeGennaro, who grew up in Lyndhurst “When you have the kids in a system where they know what coach wants and expects every day that’s when you start building your scheme and the kids can work on getting better and eventually you will see the results in the win column.”

Palisades Park/Leonia is one of the oldest co-op football programs in New Jersey. Last season, the Tigers had about 40 players involved, with a slight majority coming from Leonia.

DeGennaro has been on the Tigers' staff since 2022, serving as defensive coordinator in 2023 and offensive coordinator last season. He’s also a varsity assistant baseball coach at Leonia.

DeGennaro recognizes that it’s not just two districts coming together but three, with Edgewater kids also coming to Leonia High School. That can cause logistical issues and make it hard to get the team together for summer workouts.

“We get a great influx late in the preseason, but at that point it can be hard when half the team shows up Aug. 15 along with the new freshmen coming in,” DeGennaro said. “I have been talking to the athletic directors to get all of the kids ready to go. They’ve been great working with me.”

DeGennaro met with the Leonia players already and will meet with the Palisades Park kids on Friday.

“We have so much talent, so much size at Palisades Park, if we can tap into that potential we can be in a really good spot,” DeGennaro said.

After playing baseball and football at Lyndhurst, DeGennaro attended Montclair State, where he earned his master's degree in social studies. He was hired as a history and government teacher in Leonia in 2022.

“The final goal was to get somewhere where I could coach and be a teacher at the same time, and I found the golden egg in Leonia,” DeGennaro said.

He credits the coaches he played for in Lyndhurst, specifically football coach Rich Tuero and baseball coach Patrick Auteri, for mentoring him in his young career. He’s also grateful for the support of his father, Mauro, and fiancée, Brianna.

“I have a great staff that is coming with me that has the same vision and same mentality about what we want to build,” DeGennaro said. “I have gained experience in great programs since I was young and I want to use that going forward. It’s something I can definitely do.”

3-minute read

NorthJersey.com

PALISADES PARK — The borough is suing its former administrator to recoup nearly $300,000 in paid unused sick and vacation time.

Palisades Park officials filed a lawsuit against David Lorenzo, the fired former borough administrator they say wrongly received $276,334.85 in supplemental compensation from 2015 to 2024.

The borough's lawsuit says Lorenzo used his position in municipal government to authorize the improper payments to himself, which included payments for unused sick and vacation time to which he was not entitled under state law.

"As the business administrator for the borough, David Lorenzo had a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of the taxpayers and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations," Sara Rossi, a spokesperson for the borough, said in a statement. "Instead, he violated that trust by accepting funds he was not statutorily entitled to. Palisades Park is taking legal action to ensure these funds are returned to the borough and its residents."

Lorenzo served as the business administrator for Palisades Park from 2008 until he was terminated in 2024.

Lorenzo's attorney said the lawsuit was "frivolous" and in retaliation for filing pending lawsuits against the borough.

The lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Bergen County on Jan. 13, says that during his tenure, Lorenzo "deliberately and improperly claimed and received payments" for unused sick and vacation time, which were not in accordance with or applicable by state law and two state comptroller’s reports.

The borough seeks judgment against Lorenzo for the recoupment of the supplemental compensation in the full amount, along with interest, costs of suit and any additional relief deemed equitable and just by the court.

Between 2015 and 2024, Lorenzo "caused and authorized himself" to receive a total of $276,334.85 including, $81,226.65 for unused sick time and $195,108.20 for unused vacation days.

During Lorenzo's tenure as borough administrator, the suit says, he "crafted several purported employment contracts for himself which defendant caused to be 'rubber stamped' by the borough’s governing body with actual or constructive knowledge that the contracts violated the applicable law as it pertains to the compensation of officers and employees of a municipality."

Officials said it wasn't until after Lorenzo was fired that the borough discovered the "full extent" of his actions and omissions that caused him to "wrongfully" be paid the supplemental compensation.

To date, says the lawsuit, filed by borough attorney Ruderman & Roth, Lorenzo "has refused" to return the money.

"Defendant’s actions and omissions which caused himself to be paid the supplemental compensation to which he was not entitled violated his duty of good faith and fair dealing and duty of loyalty," the suit says.

The lawsuit was a result of allegations made against Lorenzo before the Borough Council launched another investigation this past November, Rossi said.

"Mr. Lorenzo is being singled out in this frivolous lawsuit seeking to claw back salary payments he earned for accrued time dating back to 2015," said Richard Malagiere, Lorenzo's attorney.

The payments in the lawsuit were authorized by the borough's chief financial officer and presented and voted on by the mayor and council, including now-Mayor Chong "Paul" Kim, Malagiere said, until Lorenzo was "wrongfully terminated."

Comptroller's Palisades Park report

In 2021, a scathing comptroller's investigation found that officials were improperly paying employees for unused sick time.

After the state comptroller said hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were wasted, the mayor and Borough Council made changes, including amending white-collar contracts, issuing gas cards to department heads only and instituting an oversight committee.

Its most concerning findings are related to the borough’s policies on sick time payouts.

"Under state law, the 2015 contract and many actions taken by the Borough pursuant to the contract related to the BA (business administrator) and his sick and vacation leave appear unlawful," the report says.

A 2010 New Jersey law largely prohibits municipalities from making annual sick leave payouts, other than a one-time $15,000 payout at retirement. The law was put in place in an attempt to curb municipal spending, but Palisades Park “substantially” ignored it, the report said, paying out tens of thousands of dollars each year to workers for unused sick time.

The borough’s contract with Lorenzo came under specific criticism in the 2021 report.

At the time, Lorenzo's two most recent contracts had no limitations on sick leave payouts, and he received payouts of about $9,200 in 2018 and $9,500 in 2019. Lorenzo's contract also allowed him to accrue vacation time beyond the state's one-year cap, the report said.

Under the terms of his last contract, Lorenzo was entitled to receive a $160,000 total payout for sick and vacation leave that New Jersey law prevents him from getting, according to the report. That figure does not include the amount he has already received, it said.

Lorenzo is also promised terminal leave — a severance-like payout at retirement — that is calculated based on his entire tenure with Palisades Park, which includes 13 years when he was a councilman making less than $2,000 annually, according to the report. His terminal leave could total more than $100,000 for those 13 years when he earned just $24,000 total, the report says.

But, Lorenzo wasn't the only one.

The report found that in 2018, the borough made sick leave payouts of about $109,000 to 27 employees who, under a 2010 law, should not have received them. In 2019, $95,000 was paid to 22 employees. Most payments were between $3,000 and $5,000, the report shows.

The council hired Matthew Giacobbe of Cleary, Giacobbe, Alfieri, Jacobs to serve as the special counsel and paid the firm $150 an hour to review the comptroller's 56-page report.

"While the complaint against him is partly based on the 2021 comptroller's report, it is only one piece of a larger puzzle," Rossi said. "There are other employees under investigation, but no conclusions have been reached yet. The Cleary, Giacobbe report echoed the comptroller's findings and served as a basis for the lawsuit."

"Annual payments for accrued and unused sick and vacation pay were made to dozens of borough employees, year after year, and yet Mr. Lorenzo is the only former employee being singled out in this lawsuit," Malagiere said. "Clearly, this lawsuit is nothing more than retaliation against Mr. Lorenzo for his political activities and his pending lawsuits against the borough, Mayor Kim and Councilman Min."

Malagiere said they will "demand" an immediate dismissal of this lawsuit.

Palisades Park pending lawsuits

Lorenzo is currently suing the borough in federal court.

The day after being placed on administrative leave, Lorenzo filed a lawsuit against the borough, Kim and Councilman Suk "John" Min, claiming retaliation for protected speech, conspiracy to violate civil rights and common law conspiracy to violate civil rights.

Lorenzo's lawsuit says he was targeted after the Palisades Park Democratic Club — of which he serves as president — withdrew its support for Min and ceased campaigning on his behalf.

Lorenzo was eventually terminated last year for not seeing "eye to eye" with the council during its reorganization.

He also has a second pending lawsuit over Open Public Records Act requests.

Palisades Park and Clifton are the latest in a trend of local governments that have hired professional publicity companies to handle their municipal communications.

Clifton hired a communication manager earlier this month for a salary of between $80,000 to $100,000. The goal, councilmembers said, was to more effectively get information out to city residents.

Palisades Park hired Vision Media in November for $3,500 per month through the end of the year, with a plan to move forward with a longer-term agreement, said Philip Swibinski, the chief operating officer for Vision Media Marketing.

The trend to hire professionals to do the talking began at the state level and has spread to counties and municipalities to better control their message, said Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director at the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University.

Why are local governments hiring public relations companies?

Public officials and government employees have become increasingly wary of speaking to the media and to constituents privately and publicly.

Comments, Pfeiffer said, can become skewed by political opponents or taken out of context. The ability of misinformation to spread widely on social media, the partisan slant of some publications, journalists who look for “gotcha stories” and the concept of “fake news” have all contributed to a deterioration of trust between public officials and reporters, said Pfeiffer, a local government employee in New Jersey for 37 years.

The hiring of Vision Media by Palisades Park comes after years of internal conflicts and lawsuits, as well as scandals in the borough. Within the last year, a former councilwoman filed a lawsuit claiming a recording of her private conversation was wrongfully released, an employee claimed he was retaliated against for his protected speech, an ex-deputy administrator sued for being fired, claiming it was for not being Korean and a borough clerk quit and filed a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment against the mayor and the ex-borough manager. That employee was fired this year and in return filed two lawsuits.

What do media consulting, public relations firms do?

"Vision Media is excited to begin working with the Borough of Palisades Park to help ensure that residents, local businesses and other key stakeholders are informed about the tremendous progress happening in the community," Swibinski said.

Secaucus-based Vision Media provides public relations and media consulting services to governmental agencies, private sector clients, political campaigns and nonprofit organizations. Swibinski said the company looks forward to implementing a successful communications program in Palisades Park.

“It’s critically important to ensure that we effectively communicate with our residents and raise awareness about the many beneficial programs, initiatives and community events happening in Palisades Park," Palisades Park Mayor Chong "Paul" Kim said via a statement from Vision Media. "We are confident that Vision Media's experience and successful track record of implementing public relations strategies for municipalities throughout New Jersey will help us achieve that goal."

Why local governments spend money on public relations firms?

Hackensack has used Vision Media since 2016 for public relations consulting services, writing and disseminating press releases and statements and acting as the city’s media spokesperson and point of contact, under a contract for $4,000 a month.

The company also assists the city with social media content, graphic design and advising officials on public policy issues, Swibinski said.

“We really are just helping them communicate with residents,” he said. “I think that’s really an essential function of government and it’s becoming even more important now with the media landscape as it is.”

Many municipalities no longer have day-to-day media coverage as traditional media outlets have reduced their staffs or closed. Some areas are “news deserts and there is a lack of engagement,” Swibinski said. “This gives them a platform to engage with residents.”

For the past two municipal elections in 2017 and 2021, the firm, at the request of the city manager, has taken a break from its city role to help with the incumbents’ campaign.

In 2017, just before the company stepped down from its city work, then-Councilwoman Deborah Keeling-Geddis accused the mayor and other council members of using taxpayer dollars to send out campaign materials, specifically four mailers that were prepared by Vision Media for the city that featured Mayor John Labrosse and several of his running mates.

The political services Vision Media provides candidates, including paid media, direct mailers, digital advertising and social media messaging are paid for by the campaign, not the city, Swibinski said.

The company will step down again ahead of the May municipal council election if asked, he said.

Besides Hackensack and Palisades Park, Vision Media works with North Bergen, West New York, Paterson, Morristown, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Edison, Fanwood and Berkeley Heights.

The firm Public Strategies Impact has also worked with local governments, including Cliffside Park and the Passaic County Sherriff's Office.

Professional firms can help local governments craft a message and get a statement out without an employee taking time to deal with a reporter, and without the concern of saying the wrong thing, Pfeiffer said.

“It has become more difficult for responsible and caring elected officials to have trustworthy relationships with the press,” he said. “The degradation of that relationship has contributed to the decisions made by some government agencies to have third-party representatives or communications professionals to face the press.”

Is the public less informed?

But this method of communication can lead to a less informed public, he said.

In getting information secondhand through a spokesperson, reporters cannot easily ask follow-up questions. It also makes it difficult to develop relationships with public officials and employees that provide a deeper understanding of a story, which then better informs the public.

Hearing from someone within the government who can speak about an issue rather than a spokesperson adds credibility to a story. Using a spokesperson can give the impression that the government has something to hide, instead of developing public trust.

“It’s really a sad state of affairs,” Pfeiffer said. “The wariness that public employees and officials have with the press is incredibly unfortunate, but it’s the price we’ve paid for how political and media environments have evolved over the last 15 years.”

PALISADES PARK — At a special meeting, the Borough Council unanimously approved new zoning and permits for accessory dwelling units for one- and two-family homes.

The ordinance creates a new code for building and accessory units. An accessory dwelling unit can be within a proposed or existing primary dwelling, like a basement or attic; an extension; or constructed as a separate detached structure on the same lot as the existing or proposed primary dwelling.

It was introduced last month right after a judge ordered the borough to develop an affordable housing plan.

The dwelling unit must provide complete independent living facilities including provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation, according to state regulations.

The installation of accessory dwelling units was created to provide additional options for affordable housing to allow residents to remain in town, Borough Attorney Scott Krumholz of Ruderman & Roth previously said.

"Older residents for example may be living on a fixed income and are thereby especially at risk and face the possibility of having to leave the Borough, taking with them a lifetime of experiences that benefit the entire community," the ordinance reads. "Also people with disabilities may face considerable challenges when finding adaptive housing and risk having to live away from family and trusted support networks in order to find appropriate living environments."

The accessory dwelling units are a "partial but important solution" that requires no or little investment from the borough, the ordinance says.

Palisades Park affordable housing settlements

The ordinance was approved a month after a judge ruled against the borough in six builders' remedy lawsuits from prospective developers.

A suit settlement agreement is scheduled to be on the agenda for the Dec. 16 council meeting.

Judge Christine Farrington also invalidated a borough zoning ordinance, saying it "failed to provide a realistic opportunity for the construction of the borough of Palisades Park's fair share of the regional need for low- and moderate-cost housing."

A court-appointed special adjudicator will now assist the borough in developing its fair share plan and new land use controls, the court order said. The borough will have 90 days to create a housing plan and new land use ordinance.

Accessory dwelling units bill

A bill to address concerns about the development and use of accessory dwelling units was introduced earlier this year on the state level by Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald, of the 6th District, and Assemblyman Benjie E. Wimberly, of the 35th District. It was referred to the Assembly Housing Committee.

This bill would authorize owners of property zoned for single-family or two-family residential use to develop an accessory dwelling unit on their property consistent with statewide standards. The bill would permit each municipality to adopt or amend its land use regulations to be consistent with the bill’s statewide standards.

Some regulations include a minimum floor area requirement of 300 square feet and a maximum of 1,200 square feet with a maximum height requirement of 20 feet.

The bill would also amend the Fair Housing Act to require a municipality's master plan housing element to include a plan to promote the creation of accessory dwelling units that will be offered "at affordable rent for low- and moderate-income households, and to clarify that amounts deposited in the New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund may be applied for the purpose of creating ADUs to be occupied by low- and moderate-income households."