MAYOR BHALLA'S FIRST SOTU
Aside from a circle of sore election losers, miscreants and bigots, the rest of Hoboken wants this mayor to succeed, because if a rising tide raises all boats, then a successful administration raises the quality of life for all. The vast majority of Hoboken wants the government to fight for us, not with each other.
Anyone who wants to hear this Mayor fill us in on where we've been, where we are, and where we are going, by all means attend tomorrow's State of the City Address which will be held at DeBaun Auditorium, thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It would be nice to give this mayor some support, to neutralize the major stink eye he'll get from the usual suspects, if they show.
Here's a teaser on tomorrow's SOTC, from Mayor Bhalla:
"... I'm pleased to share with you a few of the initiatives we've been recently working on before a full 2019 preview at the State of the City.
Hoboken's Vision Zero
This year, a major priority for my administration is initiating Hoboken's Vision Zero Plan. We must and can do more to make our streets and sidewalks safer for all residents, especially our children and seniors. While Vision Zero initiatives have been introduced in other cities, including New York City, it is my goal to not only have zero pedestrian deaths, but ALSO zero traffic related injuries. In the weeks ahead, we'll be outlining our next steps, including a task force that will solicit active participation from residents.
Plastic Bag Ban
Earlier this week, our plastic bag ban went into effect, making Hoboken the largest municipality in New Jersey and the first in Hudson County to enact this regulation. Plastic bags cause litter on our street, contribute to climate change, and most of all are a detriment to our local environment. Thank you to Councilman Jim Doyle, the Hoboken Green Team, hMag, and activists including students from All Saints for turning this idea into a reality.
Madison Street Park
Earlier this month, we broke ground on our Madison Street Park renovation, the first major park project of my administration. After a robust community engagement process, we came up with plans to completely renovate the park to create more playground equipment for children of all ages, more safety features, better utilization of the park space, a new bathroom, additional benches, new spray features, and more.
Progress on Rebuild by Design
We continue to make progress on our $230 Million Rebuild by Design project to protect Hoboken from the impact of stronger storms and rising sea levels. This flood protection will take the form of a new park uptown at Harborside Cove at 15th and Garden - in other words, the flood protection will be included within the park's design. Like our other park projects, we want to include a comprehensive community process, and we'll be introducing three new park design concepts at public meetings on February 4 (7:00 pm at Multi-Service Center, 124 Grand Street) and February 7 (7:00 pm at Elysian Charter School, 1460 Garden Street).
Preventing overdevelopment
Recently, I learned of a proposal by Academy Bus, a major property owner in Southwest Hoboken, to make substantial changes to the Southwest Redevelopment Plan including a dramatic increase in building heights and residential density. It is also my understanding that some Council members were involved, or at least consulted in the creation of this proposal.
Let me be absolutely clear - I remain fully supportive of the current Southwest Redevelopment plan passed under Mayor Zimmer’s administration that includes limited residential density. The proposal by Academy to increase the amount of residential units to 493 (compared to 192 permitted) is a non-starter for me.
On a similar note, I remain committed to expanding the Southwest Park to include the additional acre of land on Block 10, preferably through direct acquisition which we continue to explore. However, if this turns out to be financially infeasible, the only amendment to the Southwest Redevelopment Plan I would consider is one that incorporates the build out of the Southwest Park.
Thanks, and I hope to see you at the State of the City on Tuesday!
Best,
Ravi S. Bhalla
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