Jersey City, NJ hit-and-run councilwoman also fled a vet bill

JERSEY CITY – A Jersey City councilwoman facing calls to resign following a hit-and-run crash involving a cyclist has been ordered by a judge to settle an unpaid $2,865 veterinary bill.

The Jersey Journal reported that Oradell Animal Hospital in Paramus won a default judgment against Councilwoman Amy DeGise earlier this year for nonpayment for services rendered.

It’s the latest in a string of bad news over the last three weeks for DeGise, 36, a first-year elected official who was formerly the chair of the Hudson County Democrats:

• On the morning of July 19, DeGise struck an UberEats bicyclist who had run a red light, departed the scene and didn’t report it until six hours later.

• It was subsequently reported she has gotten dozens of motor vehicle tickets since 2006, nine of which were overdue until recently.

• Her vehicle was towed in Secaucus in 2017 for a suspended license, then again in Hoboken last November after it was illegally parked and hit by a truck. While she tried to avoid the tow by saying the police union had endorsed her council election, the police officer said her vehicle registration had expired in 2019.

Through a spokesman, DeGise told tThe Jersey Journal she was unaware of the legal action until the Hudson County Schools of Technology, where she works as an apprenticeship coordinator, told her a court had ordered her wages be garnished to pay off the bill and $500 in court fees.

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The spokesman, Phil Swibinski, said DeGise never received any correspondence from the court and pointed out that the address on the court documents was incorrect. It lists her boyfriend’s address in the same apartment complex where they both live.

Michael Symons is the Statehouse bureau chief for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at michael.symons@townsquaremedia.com

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