Hope everyone enjoyed a short holiday break — we’re already halfway to the weekend! I'm reaching out to quickly update you on two pressing issues facing Hoboken over the next week.
ADVANCING A EUROPEAN-STYLE MARKET AND DEVELOPING OUR RAIL YARDS… RESPONSIBLY
Revitalizing and transforming Hoboken Terminal has long been a priority of mine but with all development, especially a project of this scope, it needs to be done thoughtfully. Over the past several months the City has worked collaboratively to reactivate and responsibly develop our entire rail yards.
However on Friday, City Council members were notified by the administration that we would be voting on a final plan for the Hoboken Yard Project… tonight. The problem is that the plan had not been shared with the Council’s Southern Development Committee, which I chair, and the community began to express justified concern about transparency when a community alert went out over the holiday weekend. This is the same tactic the Mayor used when he attempted to rush this project forward shortly before the November elections.
After spending the past 48 hours going through each line of the proposal, it was clear to me that one of the largest community concerns had not been addressed: how this new development will impact traffic flow in downtown Hoboken. As such, I’ve written into the redevelopment plan an essential amendment that will incorporate a designated pick up and drop off zone contained within the development area. This covered area for ride sharing services (like Lyft and Uber), taxis and shuttle buses is needed to prevent these vehicles from clogging our neighborhood streets.
I spoke with Council President Jen Giattino last night and she has agreed that this element is essential to ensure we are putting a sensible traffic circulation plan in place and I thank her for her collaborative spirit. For that reason, the vote on the project has been pushed back until next Wednesday and the meeting tonight will consist of a presentation on the plan and will give the community the opportunity to share their feedback with the City.
Another amendment, advocated directly by Council President Giattino, replaces the proposed residential units in the first phase of the project with state of the art office space. I applaud this change of use as it will help our neighborhood grow responsibly, eliminate the potential burden on our school system and further diversify our taxbase. However, any future residential units that may arise through this redevelopment plan will still be required to provide 20% affordable housing that Council Vice President Vanessa Falco and I secured late last year.
And finally, the plan leaves in place an earlier amendment to prioritize the European-style market at Hoboken Terminal as part of the first phase of development as well as a temporary activation of Warrington Plaza into an outdoor marketplace in the interim. Seeing this come to be has been one of my biggest goals since I first took office four years ago, I want to make sure we have the opportunity to build a world class transportation hub that embraces creatives and innovative small businesses while leading the way as a transit-oriented community.
It’s not always easy standing up the political machine to push for ideas that will redefine Hoboken in the near and long term, but I think with these proper changes we are finally headed in the right direction. So please, if you’re around tonight, come out to City Hall, 94 Washington Street, and let your voice be heard. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers. Hope to see you there.
RAISING RESIDENTIAL PARKING FEES BY 240%
Last week, the City Council gave initial approval on a plan that would increase resident parking permits by over 240%. I’ve always supported initiatives that address some of the most critical issues with our parking system, but sadly this just reeks of another attempt to fill a projected $7 million dollar gap in our city’s operating budget.
My biggest concern, as it was around this same time last year, is that the administration is rushing to generate new revenue to mask the Mayor’s rampant overspending and address the financial crisis our city is facing. Instead of finding responsible ways to save money and generate additional income across the board by helping small businesses, the administration wants to penalize Hoboken residents and taxpayers and have us foot the bill.
I understand that raising permits from $15 to $52 may not seem like a significant hike for some of us, but for our most vulnerable residents, seniors and students that extra $37 can go a long way. I cannot reasonably support a parking rate increase, especially of this magnitude, if that money is not being used to directly invest in our infrastructure. Any additional revenue from parking should be put towards identifying holistic solutions to improve parking in Hoboken… whether it be through new technology to direct more cars to underutilized parking areas or identifying additional transportation options.
This can, and has been, done without throwing the burden on taxpayers.
Earlier this year I was proud to work with the administration to fund an engineering study for our municipal garages with the goal of identifying ways to modernize our parking garages and create revenue generating mixed use facilities. Innovative governing like this is how we grow as a city -- not through backdoor taxes.
With Hoboken continuing to grow its tax base more rapidly than ever, it’s hard to understand why we keep finding ourselves in this financial deficit under Mayor Bhalla’s leadership. Now is the time for the Mayor to stop relying on political gimmicks and I hope he can start working together with the City Council to responsibly address both our parking and budget crises.
I am only one voice, together we are stronger. Please sign the petition to tell the Mayor and City Council that you are against raising parking prices in Hoboken without a commensurate investment in parking technology and infrastructure.
As always, should you have any concerns, please feel free to reach out to me directly on my cell: 646.372.4341 or via email: mike@mikedefusco.com