Thread: MEXICAN CONSULATE HALTS SERVICES IN NEW BRUNSWICK / 1 day

MEXICAN CONSULATE HALTS SERVICES IN NEW BRUNSWICK AFTER ONE DAY

By RICHARD KHAVKINE • STAFF WRITER • October 9, 2008

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ —Lacking the requisite permits, a scheduled monthlong "consulate on wheels" sponsored by the Mexican government at First Baptist Church on Hale Street closed after just a day.

The consular office, the fourth such endeavor set up in the city this year, was open just Monday, Oct. 6.

The Rev. Dr. John Hayward and the Rev. Dr. Luciano Marquez Jr., the church's co-pastors, said a city zoning official showed up at the church either Monday or Tuesday, Oct. 7, according to differing accounts, and enumerated several conditions that needed correcting before the consular office could reopen.

Those included the removal of portable toilets on church property, which is at the corner of Livingston Avenue.

"Like any use in the city there are certain approvals that are needed before you can open shop," city spokesman Bill Bray said. "The consulate operating over there would entail a change of use from religious use to an office use, so certainly there is a need for a zoning permit. ... Any business needs a zoning permit."

Hayward, though, questioned the need for the permit, saying that the church was already in a mixed-use zone. He also said the church's partnership with the Mexican government was not a commercial enterprise.

"What the heck for?" he asked about the need for a permit. "There's no money exchanged. The church is paying for it."

Hayward and Marquez both said that Central Jersey's Mexican community had lost an invaluable service, and one they were counting on to help process needed paperwork such as passports and birth certificates.

"You had to see the faces of people coming here having hope that they can put their papers in order and when they knew that everything was canceled, (they had) tears in their eyes," Marquez said. "This really broke our heart."

Aside from legal, political or other issues, Marquez said, "What hurt us is we want to serve our community."

Bray said the required one-page application for the permit could conceivably have been approved in time to allow consular officials to reopen the facility the next day.

Mexican officials, who were notified of the noncompliance with city regulations on Monday afternoon, opted instead to move their operations to Passaic.

The consul general of Mexico in New York, Ruben Beltran, said that given the temporary nature of the roving consulates, it is local institutions that must address municipal regulations.

"It's for our partners who are housing us very kindly to fulfil local requirements," Beltran said. "They tell me what to do and I do it, but it's for them to do whatever they have to do locally to comply with local regulations."

Despite the mix-up, which came 10 day after Mexican President Felipe Calderon said his government would seek to open a satellite consulate during a visit to Lord Sterling Community School, Beltran said that he and his staff remained on good terms with city officials, New Brunswick Tomorrow and community leaders.

"We're pretty proud of how we've been working with the church, very proud that we've been working with our friends and brothers from New Brunswick Tomorrow. We have wonderful constructive conversations with the local authorities," he said.

Still, he said he sympathized with Mexican nationals who might have been frustrated by the consulate's unexpected departure.

"But we have nothing but respect (for) the decisions of local authorities should they believe that paperwork was not filed properly," he said.

The roving consulate, which has processed about 30,000 requests for paperwork throughout the state this year, Beltran said, was at Sacred Heart Church on Throop Avenue, Suydam Street Reformed Church and at Middlesex County Community College earlier this year.

Bray said he did not think that those churches had been asked to file for zoning applications. "I don't know what the circumstances were the other times," he said.

Bray said the city was "completely unaware" of any efforts to have the roving consulate at First Baptist and didn't find out until Oct. 3. "So we weren't able to communicate to them and get the paperwork to them for them to process," Bray said.

The roving consulate's presence in the city has in each instance been facilitated by New Brunswick Tomorrow, the private, nonprofit organization that fosters public/private partnerships throughout the city.

Discussions between Hayward and Marquez and New Brunswick Tomorrow officials began about two months ago, the co-pastors said.

Jeffrey Vega, New Brunswick Tomorrow's president, said his board was apprised of the possibility of the roving consulate setting up at First Baptist. While Vega said he "could have done a better job of reaching out" to city officials, the organization's 26-member board includes city government and police representatives.

Hayward said that it was his understanding that New Brunswick Tomorrow officials had taken care of the requisite paperwork.

"We thought everything was in order. We didn't deal with the city, we dealt with New Brunswick Tomorrow" said Hayward, who has been at the church for 34 years. "I certainly didn't want anything uncomfortable for anybody. It doesn't serve the purpose. I don't want my church hurt in this, and we're being hurt by it."

Vega said that his organization strives only to be facilitator for needed services and that it was not versed in city zoning or other regulations.

"It's up to the host agency" to secure the needed permits, Vega said. "Again, we play the broker role. Clearly, I will also be educating myself."

Vega said he is hopeful of installment of the consulate program can be set up in the city.

Beltran, too, cautioned about reading any significance into this week's events.

"This is something I'm looking forward to discussing with local authorities," he said. "That is something that should come to a solution of its own volition."

Richard Khavkine: 732-565-7263; rkhavkine@mycentraljersey.com

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/ ... GECAROUSEL

Lacking the requisite permits, a scheduled monthlong "consulate on wheels" sponsored by the Mexican government at First Baptist Church on Hale Street closed after just a day. --------------------------------------

Lacking permits did not stop millions of Mexicans from invading our country.

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Brian
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Originally Posted by Brian2008

Each commercial provides access to the full speech as does ALIPAC's homepage at alipac.us. ALIPAC hosts a copy of the speech that Senator Graham would prefer South Carolinians not hear before election day on You tube where it has been viewed over 55,000 times as of this morning.
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Brian
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Welcome to ALIPAC, Brian2008!