Jersey City Councilwoman Amy DeGise Had 9 Outstanding Traffic Tickets: Report

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Amid the controversy over Jersey City Councilwoman Amy DeGise's July 17 crash with an Uber Eats bicyclist — for which she was cited for leaving the scene and failing to report the accident — Gov. Phil Murphy weighed in this week, calling the response "unacceptable."

According to numerous news outlets, Murphy made the comments Monday when asked about the crash at a groundbreaking for the new Portal Bridge in Hudson County. But he declined to suggest that DeGise resign, or go any further in his comments, saying in full, “I’ll leave the politics to the local realities. That’s behavior that’s unacceptable.”

Also this week, new information has emerged showing a pattern of traffic violations on behalf of DeGise. NJ.com reported that she had accumulated "dozens" of traffic tickets over 17 years, including nine that she paid only this Monday after reporters reached out.

After damning videos were released of the crash last week, as well as a video of DeGise reporting the accident to police six hours later, two Jersey City councilmen and several local activists have called on her to resign. However, Mayor Steve Fulop and the council members on his team have not.

DeGise is the daughter of longtime Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise and a teacher in the county public school system.

A spokesperson issued a statement Friday saying DeGise would not resign.

The video of the crash last week showed the Uber Eats bicyclist, a local resident, riding through a red light, then being hit by DeGise and being thrown into the air. DeGise continued on her way. The rider called 911 to report his injuries.

A GoFundMe for the bicyclist, who says he's been unable to work, had raised $4,500 by Tuesday morning. A petition calling for DeGise to resign has reached 4,300 signatures.

Aside from the other videos, an older bodycam video released last week shows that back in November of 2021, DeGise was towed in Hoboken for not having had her car registered since 2019. DeGise pleads with the police officer to give her a ticket instead, saying she's late to work, is supported by local police, and has phoned John Allen in the mayor's office. Her car was towed anyway.

Follow Jersey City or Hoboken Patch for updates on the story, and leave comments below.