Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla gave his third State of the City Address, his first since 2020, virtually on Monday night. He spoke of accomplishments and what lies ahead in 2022, everything from safer streets, to park development and flood control efforts to his vision for a new, northern end of town DPW and Public Safety complex.
He spoke of the past two years, when Hoboken, like every other city in the state and country, had to battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. He spoke of Hoboken being strong and the willingness of its residents to assist whenever possible, their neighbors during such a tragic time, when the Mile Square lost 60 of its own to the pandemic.
He talked about the success of the Bike Sharing program with Jersey City and the continued need to address climate change and reduce pollution created by automobiles so the city doesn’t find itself a victim to continual rising flood waters every time a heavy rain, or worse, comes Hudson County’s way.
He proudly spoke of the improvements made to Washington Street, the city’s main retail corridor, and the Vision Zero initiative providing improved safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, with curb extensions, new traffic lights and crosswalk, countdown clocks.
Finally he spoke of the city’s victories at the Monarch site, where two residential towers will not be built, rather, a new park will be constructed, and the victory at Dry Dock preventing a NY Waterway refueling facility from going on line. Now, the city can move forward so public access from Pier A all the way to the Weehawken Cove can proceed.
