Politics & Government

Business Owner Granted Full Access to 1714 Willow Ave. Site

Needs to send the city a 24 hour notice if vehicles need to be moved.

A judge in Hudson County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon granted Mike Stigliano, co-owner of doggy day care business Hoboken Unleashed full access to 1714 Willow Ave., a site to which he holds a lease, but is currently being used by the City of Hoboken as municipal garage. 

Originally the city had asked that Hoboken Unleashed give a 48 hour notice before visiting the site, because a third party supervisor had to be found. The city also wanted to restrict Stigliano's access to after 4 p.m. on weekdays. Judge Thomas Olivieri did not deem that necessary.

"That really limits the plaintiff and agents from doing prep work to gain approvals," said Olivieri. 

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Before Stigliano can move his dog resort into 1714 Willow, he needs approval from the city's Zoning Board. Stigliano said he applied yesterday and asked the city for a special zoning board hearing, for which he will pay. 

Stigliano can drop by when he wants, but has to e-mail the city at least 24 hours in advance if vehicles have to be moved. 

Find out what's happening in Hobokenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hoboken Corporation Counsel Michael Kates said the city anticipated that it would probably have to grant access to Stigliano. 

"It's not a defeat in the overall scheme of things," Kates said after the hearing. 

Stigliano said he was happy, with the access "we should have had anyway." Stigliano pays the landlord of the property, Frank Savino of Willow Enterprises LLC, $2,000 a month to make sure no other tenant can rent the property. 

By allowing the city to use the location as a municipal garage—albeit for only an initial 60 days—is a breach of the lease agreement between Stigliano and Savino. 

Savino said the city approached him about the space at 1714 Willow Ave., and told him it was an "emergency situation." Savino said he intends to allow Stigliano to move in, as soon as he has the necessary approvals to start his doggy day care. 

Although agreed upon for now, this case is not over yet and Stigliano said he will continue to sue the city to, ultimately, have the municipal vehicles removed from the site altogether. The parties will appear back in court on Oct. 12, at 10:30 a.m. in front of Olivieri in Jersey City, if no settlement is reached before then. 

Until then, Olivieri told the lawyers for all parties involved, "common sense better prevail."


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