The gun ban was approved 7-2, with councilpeople Michael Sottolano and Viola Richardson voting against it.

The city's pursuit of gun control laws has brought about opposition from some local residents and out-of-towners who claim those laws will penalize law-abiding gun owning citizens instead of stopping criminals from obtaining guns.

Frank Caso, the owner of Caso's Gun-O-Rama on Danforth Avenue, the only gun dealer in Jersey City, sued the city after the first version of the ordinance was passed, claiming the state already has gun laws in place that render city laws unnecessary. The lawsuit is still pending.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy pursued the passage of these laws to reduce homicides in the city.

St. Francis and American Can get tax breaks

Also at the meeting, special tax deals were given to a 225-unit residential project at the old St. Francis Hospital and a 511-unit project at the American Can factory.

The City Council granted two 25-year tax abatements to the St. Francis Hospital project, on McWilliams Place next to Hamilton Park.

The three old St. Francis Hospital buildings will be renovated to yield 225 residential units, 180 parking spaces, and 62,057 square feet of retail.

Local developers Eric and Paul Silverman, who built the Majestic condominiums on Grove Street, are building the project. The developers sent out an advisory last week that McWilliams Place will be closed to traffic and most parking on Monday, Oct. 23 due to brick removal of the hospital's Franciscan building.

The council approved a 30-year tax abatement for the second phase of the American Can Co. building project on Dey Street near Journal Square. The factory will be transformed into 511 market-rate units, 440 parking spaces, 7,000 square feet of open space, and 1,200 square feet of retail space. The developer of the project is the New York-based Coalco Co.

Will firehouse be sold to private owners?

But not all potential developments had smooth sailing.

The City Council rejected the sale of a firehouse at 218 Central Ave. and a city-owned building at 325 Palisade Ave. to potential developers, saying the developers' bids to buy the properties were too low.

Both properties were sold at an auction in September so the city could plug the money into their budget.

The winning bid for the firehouse was $382,000 from Ghaleb Salameh and Azzam Baker of Secaucus.

Several council people were swayed by the arguments of Jersey City Firefighter Al Coulter, who said the firehouse is a necessity since its officers were usually the first to arrive at fires in Journal Square, the Heights, and parts of downtown Jersey City.

However, the firehouse is presently closed and there are no plans to reopen it.

Councilman William Gaughan said a study done by the city several years prior called for the firehouse to be closed down.

The council will now think about what to do with the building.

In addition, the council also rejected a winning bid of $1.85 million for a building at 325 Palisade Ave. from West Caldwell-based Due Vecchio, LLC. There are two Jersey City firefighters as partners in the company.

Until earlier this year, the three-story brick Palisade Avenue building housed several city departments.

Gaughan has been one of most vocal critics of the sale, pointing out that the city paid $2.4 million in 1988 for the building, and there should be another sale.

David De Pierro, one of the Due Vecchio partners, said the company plans to appeal the decision to the city and he believes they will win.

Both votes were 4-4-1, with City Council members Bill Gaughan Steve Fulop, Peter Brennan, and Council President Mariano Vega voting against the 325 Palisade Ave. sale, while City Council members Michael Sottolano, Mary Spinello, Viola Richardson, and Steve Lipski voted in favor of the sale.

Fulop, Brennan, Vega, and Lipski voted no for the sale of the firehouse, and Gaughan, Sottolano, Spinello, and Richardson voted yes.

Councilwoman Willie Flood abstained on both votes.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com