Good morning, I hope you’re staying safe and warm! It’s been a while since I’ve last connected with you, but with an uptick in city business I wanted to update you on some pressing issues in Hoboken.
A SETTLEMENT WITH THE MONARCH PROJECT
Last night, the City Council overwhelmingly approved a settlement to end the decade-long battle to connect and preserve our waterfront as open public space. The agreement also allowed us to secure a separate piece of land at 800 Monroe that was previously zoned for development and will instead be the site of a future city project, like a school, community center or park.
I’m also particularly proud to have successfully advocated to have the DPW garage permanently moved out of the First Ward, an important issue that even my predecessor spent years attempting to address. Relocating the garage will greatly improve the quality of life downtown by reducing noise, pollution and carbon emissions while ultimately paving the way for a more positive gateway to our transit hub.
A rendering of the initial proposal for the uptown Monarch Development.
A quick refresher: the Monarch Settlement stems from the administration's failed attempt to litigate against an uptown waterfront development and the N.J. Supreme Court sided with the developer, not the city, forcing the Mayor to negotiate under less than optimal circumstances.
As the Councilman who represents the community that will be most directly impacted by this agreement, many of my neighbors have reached out to me with questions and concerns about the project. I want to make it abundantly clear that the administration did not share the final details of the agreement with the City Council until Monday evening, in the middle of a blizzard, and released the details to the community and press the next morning. This not only placed undue pressure on the City Council, but also only allowed less than 48 hours for anyone to review the plans.
Out of respect for my downtown constituency as well as my uptown neighbors in the 5th Ward who would have likely been impacted by the garage relocation, I supported a motion to postpone the vote for two weeks to allow us time to receive additional community feedback. Unfortunately, the measure failed and a vote was called. The settlement passed 8-0-1, with Council Vice President Jen Giattino abstaining.
I am not going to hide the fact that there are issues stemming from the Mayor’s rush to settle this, including a woefully inadequate 11% affordable housing component and most obviously the lack of a concrete plan for both the temporary and permanent garage. I think most of us agree that we do not want to see a DPW garage be built adjacent to our brand new Northwest Park and any attempt to pit neighborhoods against each other through this settlement is unproductive and benefits no one. I want to thank Fifth Ward Councilman Phil Cohen and Vice President Giattino for cosponsoring my emergency resolution last night to identify a location for the DPW garage north of 15th Street, ensuring it will never be placed at Northwest Park.
Despite the flaws, the settlement is markedly better than the 2019 agreement and I am confident in my ability to work with the administration through the development process to not only ensure accountability for my downtown district, the First Ward, but all of Hoboken. Please know this is only the first step in a very long settlement process and on Wednesday, February 10 at 6:00 p.m. I will be hosting a virtual meeting with Mayor Bhalla to allow for a more thorough and appropriate community discussion about the project.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/99032769457?pwd=NmtOMlg3SlZEVDVlR1RreksyUHN0dz09
Meeting ID: 990 3276 9457 / Passcode: 101623
Or you can join by phone by dialing 929 205 6099
GETTING MORE FROM NJ’S NEW CANNABIS LAW
As you may already know, adult use cannabis was approved in New Jersey via a ballot referendum in November and Hoboken has been well ahead in its planning efforts. Three years ago as Chairman of the Zoning Committee, I was proud to work with the administration to zone for medicinal use dispensaries knowing that eventually these would be used for adult use cannabis sales. As part of the plan at that time, I also established a cannabis improvement district to provide additional benefits to the neighborhoods where the dispensaries would be placed.
With our proximity to New York City, where the sale of adult use cannabis has not yet been legalized, Hoboken and a handful of our neighboring cities will likely account for the largest percentage of cannabis sales in the entire state. With that in mind, Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher and I sponsored and passed a resolution urging Governor Murphy and State Legislatures to allow municipalities, like Hoboken, to generate additional local tax revenue from cannabis sales for additional quality of life improvements, public safety initiatives and social justice concerns.
I am hopeful our leadership in Trenton will take our unique needs into consideration as they continue to negotiate the specifics of adult use cannabis sales.
CAPPING THIRD PARTY DELIVERY FEES DURING STATE OF EMERGENCY
In the early months of the pandemic, one of my top priorities was identifying ways to help our small businesses succeed, despite strict operating regulations in place intended to keep our community safe and healthy. As part of a pro business legislation package I put forward in May, I proposed putting a cap on the commission fees third party delivery companies can collect from restaurants during the COVID-19 crisis. This piece of legislation single handedly began a conversation throughout New Jersey and ultimately resulted in a statewide third party delivery cap.
However, when indoor dining resumed at 25% back in September, the state rescinded the order, essentially eliminating any oversight that had been created to protect small businesses from being price gouged by third party delivery companies.
With the weather getting harsher every day, fewer people are choosing to dine out in the cold. This week alone, the snow forced many of our restaurants to either completely close or further limit the number of customers they could serve at their brick and mortar due to a lack of outdoor seating. This reason alone stresses the importance of bringing back a cap on delivery service commissions and we know this can be done because our neighbors in Jersey City passed a similar local ordinance last month.
So at last night’s Council meeting, I’m proud that Hoboken finally approved a ordinance that prohibits third delivery party companies from collecting more than a 15% commission from restaurants, or 5% when the order is being delivered by the business itself, for the remainder of the State of Emergency we are in. Now more than ever the hospitality industry needs our support to survive and I have no doubt these regulations will help businesses generate the revenue necessary to pay their bills and employ their staff.
ACCOUNTABILITY IN CITY HALL
My colleague Tiffanie Fisher has been one of the strongest advocates for accountability and transparency in local government and I’ve been proud to support her steadfast efforts, particularly over the past three years. At last night’s meeting, the Mayor’s Office forced Councilwoman Fisher to table an ordinance that would limit political contributions from vendors who receive contracts in emergent situations, as well as those vendors who fund independent expenditures. For example, one of these independent expenditures would have included the pro-development Super PAC funded by a major developer looking to do business with the Bhalla Administration, who spent $19,000 in negative mailers against me in my 2019 re-election campaign. Vendors are typically subject to a fair bidding process, but with these emergency contracts it is difficult for the Council to provide oversight and is with the City Attorney’s office to determine compliance.
Interestingly, in this case, that attorney is John Allen, the Mayor’s former running mate in the 2017 election who also recently served as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff. After coming under fire for having the largest and disproportionately sized offices in the entire state, Mayor Bhalla reassigned Mr. Allen to head the law department while quietly allowing him to continue serving as his closest political advisor.
What’s concerning to me is a report published just last week that brought to light Mr. Allen’s second job at a politically connected law firm, where they tout his publicly funded job on their website as an asset to the firm. In their own words they say this:
“Serving as a strategic advisor to two of New Jersey's more prominent mayors, John has developed an extensive network of contacts in both public and private sectors throughout the State.”
All of this is on top of the fact that Mr. Allen is our highest paid attorney (making more money than his female counterpart) while the law department continues to contract more and more work to outside law firms. In the coming weeks, I will again be pushing for an external audit of our city's finances so there is accountability and a better understanding about why our spending continues to skyrocket.
EXPANDING ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL HIV MEDICATION
Late last year, it was brought to my attention that the city’s health insurance plan offered limited access to Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), the most common and essential drug used in preventing the spread of HIV. Typically, this drug is prescribed in 90 day doses by physicians, but the city’s health insurance plan would only authorize the prescription to be filled for 30 days at a time. As a result, this required city employees who take this medication to meet with their doctor every month instead of once every three months.
After working with Business Administrator Jason Freeman and the administration, I’m proud to say the policy has been revised and makes this lifeline drug more easily accessible to city employees.
This is a big win for LGBTQ+ community and beyond because it not only prevents a potential lapse in coverage but also helps reduce the stigma and prejudices far too many individuals face at monthly doctors appointments. Hoboken prides itself in being one of the most inclusive and accepting communities in the nation and it was time our health insurance policy was reflective of that.
Last year's Pride Flag raising ceremony at City Hall.
COVID-19 UPDATE AND RESOURCES
It’s been a long and trying 11 months as we’ve all been doing our part to stop the spread of COVID-19, but with vaccination efforts fully underway we are now one step closer to seeing an end to this pandemic. With that said, I wanted to quickly provide you with some information about how you can schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of right now, the vaccine is being offered to healthcare professionals, first responders, seniors over the age of 65 and individuals with preexisting conditions that put them at greater risk for serious complications from the virus.
Hoboken residents who fall into this eligibility category can register to be vaccinated through the city or at the county-run site in Kearny. Regardless of whether or not you fall into this category, you can pre register for the vaccine with the State of New Jersey by visiting covidvaccine.nj.gov. We may be in the homestretch but please let’s not let our guard down: wear a mask and keep a safe distance between you and others. If you plan on going out to enjoy the Super Bowl this weekend, please be smart and mindful of those around you.
As always, should you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me directly on my cell: 646.372.4341 or via email: mike@mikedefusco.com.
P.S. -- Please note that street cleaning is suspended until Monday, February 8 in order to allow for continued snow removal. All other parking rules, including meter regulations, will remain in effect. Storms like the one we experienced this week become increasingly less thrilling as many of us (including myself) get older, but seeing the excitement on my nieces faces while they’re outside playing in the snow makes the cold weather a little bit more bearable for me :).
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