A Tougher Mask Mandate?

Good morning and hope you’ve all been enjoying your summer. It’s been a busy few weeks and I wanted to quickly update you on what’s happening around Hoboken.

A $250 FINE FOR NOT WEARING A MASK?

At last night’s City Council meeting, the mayor and his council allies proposed an ordinance that would’ve allegedly given the Bhalla Administration authority to impose a $250 fine to anyone not practicing social distancing in public.  Factually speaking, the ordinance rehashed an existing July 8th Executive Order from Governor Phil Murphy, word by word.  The proposed legislation only added two short and questionably enforceable clauses: one that broadly define the city employees able to issue a summons; the other set the limits of the fine at $250.

What's curious here is that the mayor is already legally authorized under the Faulkner Act to use city resources to enforce the governor’s mandate without any formal action of the City Council.  Financial penalties are also defined in the Executive Order, which means the mayor can work through the Hoboken Police and County Prosecutor’s Office to issue fines.  Finally, the fairness of having employees not trained in public health and the possibility of bias impacting their decision creates a dangerous slippery slope, policy wise.  

For all of these reasons, I along with a majority (6-3) of the City Council voted against the measure, and the ordinance failed to pass. Given this legislative overreach was more press stunt than policy, I call on Mayor Bhalla to put politics aside and continue working with the City Council, as he has each step of the way during this pandemic, to protect the health and welfare of all Hoboken residents.  

I remain fully committed to seeing an aggressive enforcement of the governor’s Executive Order, so long as it does not include a financially punitive fine. Instead, let’s focus our city’s resources on continuing Covid-19 education / outreach, mask distribution and bringing Hoboken together through science and facts, not driving us apart with politics. 

REVITALIZING A DOWNTOWN PARK INTO AN URBAN OASIS 

For far too long, the park on the corner of Newark and Garden Streets has been cut off from the community by a fence and sadly, underutilized for years. I’ve long envisioned a better use of this space, which is why I’m excited to announce a plan that will modernize and renovate it into a public park with a locally owned coffee kiosk, at no cost to taxpayers. 

When the park was constructed during the late 1990s, the owner of the property entered into a limited access agreement with the city, meaning anyone can use the park, but only during certain hours. After speaking with the current owners, Equity Apartments, we’ve all agreed the park needs to be rehabilitated into a space that is more accessible and welcoming to residents. I’m proud to say, I’ve secured a financial commitment to do just that.

The pocket park at Garden and Newark Streets

Late last year, the mayor began negotiating a redevelopment project across the street from the park that would build an 11 story building on Willow Avenue. As the Councilman for the neighborhood, residents approached me with their concerns about the size of the building and a need for more accessible green space to accommodate more people moving into the area. After bringing these concerns to the developer and demanding a fair shake for my neighbors, I was able to secure a commitment of $500,000 to rehabilitate the park.

A conceptual rendering of the rehabilitated park on Newark and Garden Streets

Although Mayor Bhalla initially signaled that he was in support of this, he has since changed course and is unwilling to provide the necessary assurances that his administration will use the money for the park revisions should the Council approve his development agreement. It’s frustrating when good ideas that benefit the community get sidelined for political showmanship, but regardless, my top priority remains seeing that this park is properly renovated. Smart urban planning is about creating special spaces across our city -- places that entice residents to stop and stay, to appreciate our city and I won’t stop fighting for this vision for the future.  

THE MAYOR'S PROPOSED 9.8% TAX INCREASE

After months of keeping taxpayers out of the loop by refusing to publicly address the true state of the city’s finances, Mayor Bhalla has proposed raising municipal taxes by 9.8% amid an unprecedented economic recession. While the mayor continues to blame a global health crisis for his years of financial mismanagement, the fact of the matter is that we learned about a $7-14 million budget shortfall back in December, months before the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The proposed 9.8% municipal tax increase is being offset by Hudson County delivering a 6% county tax decrease, which has allowed the mayor to sweep the municipal increase under the rug. Further, the County has already secured $1.4 million in relief from the federal CARES Act on our behalf to offset the city’s pandemic related costs, which is the first of three tranches earmarked for Hoboken. In a time where so many people are out of work and many of us are worried about what this pandemic means for our own personal finances, it’s unconscionable for the mayor to ask Hoboken taxpayers to carry this economic burden. 

Sadly, we’ve already seen the administration force 26 essential city employees out of their jobs as a result of their misspending, and we simply cannot let that happen again. I’m committed to working with the mayor and entire City Council, to put Hoboken back on a fiscally responsible path forward and identifying ways for us to deliver a budget with no new tax increase.

CLOSING SINATRA DRIVE TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC 

One of the great things about being on the City Council is pushing for new ideas to make our ever changing city become better. Hoboken’s waterfront has long been a destination for residents and because of the pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in crowds and decrease in quality of life on our waterfront this spring and summer -- and something needed to be done about it. 

To address this issue, I was proud to work with Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher to close Sinatra Drive to most vehicular traffic, with the exception of caregivers, daycare dropoff and emergency vehicles, for the month of August. By doing this, we are giving people the room they need to properly distance, expanding recreational activities and freeing up more space for our waterfront eateries to expand their outdoor cafes.

SECURE BIKE STORAGE IN MUNICIPAL GARAGES + CITI BIKE 

More Hoboken residents are turning to bicycles as their primary mode of transportation, and as such, we as a city need to make investments in our infrastructure that reflects this trend. That’s why I was proud to work with Councilwoman Fisher to adopt a plan that would create secure bicycle storage options in our Municipal Garages for $1 a week. The reason we pushed for this plan is simple: in an urban community like Hoboken, far too many residents do not have space to store their bicycles within their apartment or home. 

Unfortunately, the mayor chose to veto our legislation, despite receiving a 6-3 approval from the Council.  I’m proud of the Council majority for working together to override the veto so we can move forward with this initiative. I’m now looking forward to working with the administration to build affordable and safe bike storage options in Hoboken.

At last night's Council meeting the administration finally introduced a shared program between Hoboken and Jersey City to bring CitiBike to town -- this is something I've been advocating for since 2017 and I couldn't be more excited.  The contract was made available to us shortly before the meeting started and upon review it was found that the proposal included a provision for electric bikes.  Given the rushed rollout of eScooters last spring and the administration's inability to currently curtail bike use on sidewalks, the Council has requested an enforcement plan before moving the contract forward.  

As a daily cyclist myself, I am eager to work with everyone to see this contract  approved quickly with appropriate safety mechanisms included, that we can enjoy the convenience of CitiBike this fall!  

THE FUTURE OF BUSINESSES DURING COVID 

Since the beginning of the pandemic,  I’ve worked tirelessly to help put good policy in place that will help our small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to the legislation that eased up on sidewalk cafe regulations, allowed businesses to build parklets in front of their establishments, activated underutilized space for popup markets, instituted a summer streets program for businesses to expand their operations outdoors and created a Riverfront Food Truck District. 

We have undoubtedly created a blueprint for municipalities across the state and country to follow and I’m proud to have been the first leader in Hoboken to call for these programs. But now, with the summer months coming to an end, there’s more work to be done to support the hospitality industry in particular and keep residents safe. We need to get creative and innovative here, and that could mean making the parklets that are working best a permanent fixture in our city, or even adopting new ideas for cold weather outdoor seating like the "igloos" that are being used in other cities. 

There’s no simple solution, but you have my work that I won't stop proposing new ways to support our local businesses and give Hoboken safe options for dining when the weather gets colder.

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. Really excited to see Mulligan’s Pub finally be given the greenlight to transform their storage space facing First Street into a beautiful outdoor dining experience. The owners had long envisioned doing this, but unfortunately some red tape and zoning concerns caused a number of setbacks. 

After connecting the owners with our zoning officer and neighboring residents, I was happy we were all able to agree on a renovation plan that works for everyone. I’ve always said neighborhoods are built around our mom and pop businesses, and now more than ever we need to work collaboratively to help them succeed during these difficult economic times. Congratulations to Paul and his crew on their new space, Slainte!

A Revitalized Public Park for Hoboken -- At No Cost to Taxpayers

Over the last twenty years, the park on the corner of Newark and Garden streets has not lived up to its full potential: it is full of overgrown trees, loose pavers and has been cut off from the community by a foreboding fence. I’ve long envisioned a better use of this space, one that is more welcoming and creates much needed green space in downtown Hoboken.  

Street view of the park at Newark and Garden streets

WHY DOES IT LOOK THIS WAY?

This often forgotten park was built in the late 1990s during the development of 77 Park Avenue and has a limited access agreement with the city, meaning residents are able to access it, but only during certain hours. The upkeep of the park is the responsibility of the property owners, and although they do maintain the space, it’s begun to show its age and without a capital improvement plan, it will continue to degrade.

This is why, I am incredibly excited to announce that after months of discussions with the owners of the property, Equity Apartments, I’ve been able to secure a more favorable access agreement for residents to enjoy a newly renovated public park, all at no cost to Hoboken taxpayers. 

The plan I've proposed would not only modernize the park, but also bring a coffee kiosk to the corner -- much like you find throughout Europe -- and accomplishes the goal of building a small urban oasis in our city while also giving residents the opportunity to support a local business. 

500,000 WORTH OF IMPROVEMENTS 

Over the years, countless residents in downtown have complained about development that adds residents and doesn't give anything back to the community. Late last year the mayor began negotiating with a developer in the neighborhood to build a residential building on Willow Avenue and after discussing the project with local residents, we’ve been able to scale back the size of the building. It’s clear the Mayor is prepared to push his redevelopment plan through, which is why I’ve spent countless hours talking to the residents who will be directly impacted to ensure their needs are met. In doing so, we’ve demanded that their neighborhood receives more green space for the additional residents the project will add.

In response, as Chairman of the Southern Development Subcommittee, and Councilman of the district, I secured a commitment of $500,000 from the very same developer to rehabilitate the space. With the administration having already begun negotiations with the developer, it is now up to Mayor Bhalla to work the amended community benefit into the agreement, ensuring the neighborhood most directly impacted by this development, will benefit from revitalized green space.  

PARKS AND POLICY

These are the kinds of thoughtful negotiations we need to prioritize in Hoboken, especially given the fact that the mayor has proposed a nearly 10% municipal tax increase in the middle of an economic crisis. Hoboken has spent decades investing millions of dollars in open space, but unfortunately under Mayor Bhalla’s administration, we have borrowed nearly $100 million on the backs of taxpayers to build new parks, while existing ones go under maintenanced.

I’m incredibly pleased with this commitment because it sets the tone that future redevelopment plans should include quality of life and givebacks to the immediate community. I look forward to working with Mayor Bhalla and all stakeholders to see this project through. 

Stronger than the Virus

HELPING HOBOKEN BUSINESSES RECOVER

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted each of us in one way or another, but after three months of staying home and doing our part to stop the spread of this virus, we finally reached a positive new milestone on Monday with our restaurants and small businesses reopening their doors for business. Early on, it became abundantly clear that even when stay at home orders would be lifted, the hospitality industry was going to need every resource available to them to adapt in a new era of social distancing. 

That’s why I was incredibly proud to put forward an innovative plan that creates unique opportunities for our restaurants and small businesses to expand their operations outdoors. Because of the collaborative work done with Council President Jen Giattino, the City Council and the administration, we were able roll out a Small Business Recovery Plan that permits the expansion of sidewalk cafes, allows businesses to create parklets in front of their brick and mortars and will begin the process of intermittently shutting down streets to create more space for dining and retail. 

Check out my interview with CBS New York discussing our business recovery plans.

In addition to the Small Business Recovery plan, I’m excited to have sponsored two pieces of legislation that moved forward at the last Council meeting:

Riverfront Food Truck District: The Riverfront Food Truck District we are forming would relocate food trucks that currently idle near our largest residential complexes just north of the fishing pier on Sinatra Drive and create a pop up dining experience. This is a location that is still heavily trafficked, has more space for additional vendors and limits the environmental impacts on neighboring residents. 

Pop Up Markets: This new law will allow property owners to activate spaces, like vacant parking lots, and transform them into pop up markets, creating unique temporary experiences for businesses and residents alike. I often discuss what we can do as a city to activate underutilized space for new uses, and now more than ever it's necessary for us to capitalize on every square foot of outdoor space in Hoboken.

This package of pro-business legislation has undoubtedly created a blueprint that neighboring municipalities, and towns across the entire state, are following. Though we’ve been through some dark days, the future's looking bright in Hoboken. If you’re heading out for a meal with the family or visiting your favorite small business, please continue to practice social distancing, wear a mask and wash those hands. Let’s continue to set the stage for recovery and not make the same mistakes we are seeing in other states throughout the country. 

SECURE BICYCLE PARKING IN MUNICIPAL GARAGES 

With more residents relying on bicycles as their primary mode of transportation, it’s important for us to properly activate space in Hoboken that reflects this shift. The truth of the matter is that we live in a city where a majority of residents live in smaller apartments without a safe place to park their bikes and we need to do better for bicycle owners in our community. 

On Wednesday, Councilwoman Fisher and I advanced a plan that will allow Hoboken residents to safely store their bicycles in designated areas within Municipal Garages for just $1 a week. To be clear, this is not a blanket fee for every bike owner, rather just for those who wish to park in our public garages. As someone who rides their bike everyday (and has had his bike and tires stolen) I know how important it is to have access to safe storage locations. I’ve spoken with various stakeholders over the past week to make this legislation work for everyone and I look forward to working with my council colleagues and the mayor before the final vote next meeting to optimize the rollout.  

DEMANDING A FAIR AND HONEST BUDGET

Today, 169 days into the year, the mayor, shockingly, has still not presented the City Council with a municipal budget. Instead, he continues to rely on temporary appropriations to fund the city’s daily operations.

Back in early January, before COVID-19 was even a discussion, the mayor advised the City Council that we were facing a roughly $7 million dollar deficit this fiscal year. Later that month, it was estimated by the budget committee that number was closer to $14 million and that layoffs would be necessary to move forward. It was after all of this when the pandemic hit Hoboken. 

Despite these existing budget issues, the mayor chose to blame the pandemic, and has delayed presenting a budget.  Last week, the County approved sending Hoboken $1.4 million in federal grant money to defray a significant amount of what we have spent in our COVID-19 response. I thank County Executive Tom DeGise and Freeholder Anthony Romano for helping secure this reimbursement. Now that we know we will be recovering these costs, it's time for the mayor to stop using the pandemic as a smokescreen and present us with a budget. 

Ironically, the mayor continues to misuse city and taxpayer funded resources to attack those who do not agree with him politically and who stand up to speak truth to power. As a matter of fact, some of the top paid employees in City Hall either ran the mayor’s 2017 campaign or unsuccessfully ran on his ticket. Instead of cutting political appointments, he forced the retirements and terminated 26 hardworking City employees, including those essential to the daily operations of Hoboken. 

Further, the mayor has asked the Council to accept $4.7 million dollars in cash from the library, a board he appoints, in exchange for bonding that same amount to pay the library back over the next 20 years. It’s important to know that under state law, municipalities are not permitted to use bonds to cover budget expenses, yet our law department has sanctioned this massive money switch, as legal. 

This borrow now, worry later, mindset is a quick fix to a long term budget problem and artificially covers up the administration’s blatant misspending. Approving this bond could reduce a tax increase this year, which is a top priority for myself and my colleagues, but it will also burden future taxpayers for 20 years to come. I am open to considering lending my vote to this massive bailout, but only once we are presented with an honest and gimmick-free budget to review.

STANDING FOR JUSTICE AND EQUALITY 

Earlier this month I helped raise the LGBTQ+ Flag over City Hall to mark the beginning of Pride Month. As the first openly gay man elected to municipal office in Hudson County, one of my priorities has always been to create a community that is welcoming to everyone, regardless of who you love or the color of your skin.

As bigotry again raises its head across the country, now more than ever, it is up to each of us to take a stand against the injustices we see in our communities. This is the very reason why I was proud to join thousands in Hoboken who rallied in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. I’ve always believed that our voices are our strongest power, but it also takes more than just words to create a world that embraces a culture of acceptance. 

I strongly support policies that will hold our law enforcement officers accountable and to a high standard of ethics, but at the same time I’m concerned about Mayor Bhalla’s statements indicating he would potentially support looking to defund the Hoboken Police Department. While we’re facing a major budget deficit, we need to ensure every tax dollar is used responsibly while also making investments in social justice causes that give everyone a voice. 

As MLK once said about morality and inclusion: “from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice” and now, more than ever, we must remind our neighbors that love is universal. 

NEWARK STREET SAFETY UPGRADES

When I first ran for City Council in 2015, I advocated for streets that meet the realities and needs of a city that relies on multi-modal forms of transportation. One of the first changes I envisioned was finding a way to make a stretch of Newark Street, one of the most traveled corridors in Hoboken, safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Though it took nearly four years, the County finally finished a “Complete Street” redesign this spring, creating bump outs at intersections to slow traffic, adding additional stop signs, rain gardens and bike lanes to make Hoboken more walkable and bike-able.  

With the weather getting warmer, I’ve enjoyed biking and running through my neighborhood and already feel the positive results that these investments are yielding. Hoboken deserves safe streets and I am thankful for the County’s leadership in helping secure the necessary funding to accomplish this.

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.