Thomas Vezzetti

Last updated
Thomas R. Vezzetti
33rd Mayor of Hoboken
In office
1985–1988
Preceded by Steve Cappiello
Succeeded by Patrick Pasculli
Personal details
Born 1928
Leadville, Colorado, U.S.
Died March 2, 1988
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Residence Hoboken, New Jersey

Thomas R. Vezzetti (1928 – March 2, 1988) was the 33rd mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, and served as mayor from 1985 until his death in 1988. He fought against the gentrification of the city. [1] [2]

Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey head of Hoboken, New Jersey

The Mayor of the City of Hoboken is the head of the executive branch of government of Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. The mayor has the duty to enforce the municipal charter and ordinances; prepare the annual budget; appoint deputy mayors, department heads, and aides; and approve or veto ordinances passed by the City Council. The mayor is popularly elected in a nonpartisan general election. The office is held for a four-year term without term limits.

Hoboken, New Jersey City in New Jersey, United States

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005, having grown by 11,428 (+29.6%) from 38,577 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 5,180 (+15.5%) from the 33,397 in the 1990 Census. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the tri-state region.

Gentrification urban socioeconomic process

Gentrification is a process of renovating deteriorated urban neighborhoods by means of the influx of more affluent residents. This is a common and controversial topic in politics and in urban planning. Gentrification can improve the material quality of a neighborhood, while also potentially forcing relocation of current, established residents and businesses, causing them to move from a gentrified area, seeking lower cost housing and stores.

Contents

Biography

Vezzetti was born in 1928 in Bradley Beach, New Jersey along with his twin sister, Louise. He said his father was a bootlegger who owned five saloons in New Jersey. [1]

Bradley Beach, New Jersey Borough in New Jersey

Bradley Beach is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,298, reflecting a decline of 495 (-10.3%) from the 4,793 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 318 (+7.1%) from the 4,475 counted in the 1990 Census. The summer population can reach 30,000.

Rum-running illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages

Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting (smuggling) alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The term rum-running is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; bootlegging is applied to smuggling over land.

In the 1985 Hoboken mayoral election, Thomas Vezzetti narrowly defeated Steve Cappiello, who had been the mayor of Hoboken since 1973. Vezzetti received 6,990 votes and Cappiello received 6,647 votes in the 1985 election, which put Vezzetti in the mayor's office. Capiello's support for gentrification and his attribution of several arsons to a purported tradition of Puerto Rican revenge burnings resulted in many Puerto Rican residents voting for Vezetti. [3]

Steve Cappiello was a police officer and American Democratic Party politician who served as the 35th mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey from 1973 until 1985. Cappiello served as a city councilman from 1963 until his election as mayor, and again after completing his three terms. He also served on the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders from 1981 to 1984, when he lost his re-election bid to Republican Roger Dorian.

A Stateside Puerto Rican, also ambiguously Puerto Rican American, is a term for residents in the mainland United States who were born in or trace family ancestry to Puerto Rico.

The New York Daily News called Vezzetti "The Wackiest Mayor in America" [4] because of the odd things he did, like reporting a car stolen that ended up exactly where he had last parked it two months earlier. Vezzetti was known for eccentric behavior such as wearing mismatched shoes, and carrying all his belongings in two paper bags. [5]

On March 2, 1988, Vezzetti had a heart attack and died at Hoboken's St. Mary Hospital. He had never married. [1] [6]

Myocardial infarction interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart

Myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to a part of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may travel into the shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw. Often it occurs in the center or left side of the chest and lasts for more than a few minutes. The discomfort may occasionally feel like heartburn. Other symptoms may include shortness of breath, nausea, feeling faint, a cold sweat, or feeling tired. About 30% of people have atypical symptoms. Women more often present without chest pain and instead have neck pain, arm pain, or feel tired. Among those over 75 years old, about 5% have had an MI with little or no history of symptoms. An MI may cause heart failure, an irregular heartbeat, cardiogenic shock, or cardiac arrest.

Hoboken University Medical Center

Hoboken University Medical Center is a hospital located in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was founded in 1863 as St. Mary Hospital and operated under that name until 2007. The hospital is owned by Hudson Hospital Opco, known as CarePoint Health, a for-profit organization that also owns Bayonne Medical Center and Christ Hospital,

Legacy

Patrick Pasculli succeeded him as the Mayor of Hoboken. [6] A street is named after Vezzetti, which runs parallel to Observer Highway.

Patrick L. Pasculli is a retired educator and American Democratic Party politician who served as the 34th mayor of his native Hoboken, New Jersey, from 1988 to 1993.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Thomas Vezzetti, 59, Hoboken Mayor, Dies". The New York Times . 1988-03-03. Retrieved 2009-09-01. Mayor Thomas Vezzetti, who fought against the gentrification of this Hudson River city, died early today of a heart attack. He was 59 years old. ...
  2. ↑ "Hoboken Offers A Plan To Curb Development". New York Times . Associated Press. September 29, 1985. Retrieved 2015-02-13. The plan introduced this week had been promised by Mayor Thomas R. Vezzetti, who pledged in the campaign that led to his June election to curb the development of luxury condominiums that he said had displaced low- and middle-income Hoboken residents. ...
  3. ↑ Christina A. Ziegler-McPherson (2011). Immigrants in Hoboken: One-Way Ticket, 1845-1985. The History Press. ISBN   9781625842152.
  4. ↑ Welch, Matt (2009-06-01). "Hiking in Hoboken: revolting property taxes". Reason .
  5. ↑ "Thomas Vezzetti, Colorful Mayor of Hoboken, N.J., Dies". Los Angeles Times . New York Times. 1988-03-03. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  6. 1 2 "Some 'ego' or another will make it a race". The Jersey Journal . March 29, 1992. Retrieved 2009-09-01.


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