A little over six months ago, I had the honor of being sworn in as Mayor of Hoboken. Since then, we’ve made tremendous strides in making our City an even better place to live, work and play. Below is a recap of 25 major priorities we’ve accomplished together this year:

1. Declared Hoboken a Free and Welcoming City
2. Secured excellent AA+ credit rating for Hoboken from Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings
3. Created new office of constituent affairs to address quality of life issues
4. Secured $1,000,000 in transportation funding from State
5. Advanced final design options for Hoboken’s soon to be Northwest Park
6. Improved quality of life and safety during “Leprecon” event with Hoboken Police Department
7. Initiated Multi-Service Center renovation project to increase indoor recreation
8. Expanded fitness in the park to 6 locations, including the Southwest Park, Pier C and Northwest Park
9. Saw 10% reduction in overall crime in 2018 compared to 2017 
10. Signed executive order to fund public art in Hoboken
11. Developed plans for two new dog parks at 2nd/Hudson and 15th/Garden
12. Launched new, user friendly government website: http://www.hobokennj.gov
13. Created official task force to address homelessness in Hoboken
14. Prevented Union Dry Dock from Chris Christie/NJ Transit takeover (fight is still ongoing!)
15. Finalized plans to renovate Madison Street Park with upgraded park equipment
16. Adopted budget with NO tax increase for 2018
17. Invested $5 million in water main upgrades, $2.2 million in road resurfacing
18. Planned expansion of composting for residents and businesses
19. Expanded hours for free tenant advocate service for Hoboken residents
20. Negotiated new plans for a hotel in downtown Hoboken with 60 foot height reduction
21. Signed executive order ensuring paid parental leave
22. Supported LGTBQ+ community with gender neutral bathroom executive order
23. Expanded free summer concert series to Southwest Park
24. Signed into law regulations on single use plastic bags to improve our environment
25. Moved ahead with $230 Million Rebuild by Design project to protect Hoboken from major storm surge events

I look forward to working on additional priorities including moving our Washington Street Project forward, transportation initiatives, infrastructure upgrades and more in the months ahead. Thanks for all of your support.

Sincerely,

Ravi Bhalla

P.S. Thank you to the hundreds of residents who spoke out at last week’s public hearing on why Hoboken’s waterfront should not become a diesel refueling station! Click here for the New York Times’ coverage our our efforts.