Here is the latest newsletter from Hoboken’s 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos:
Dear neighbors,
With the election season behind us, I hope everyone embraced the cherished right to vote, one of our greatest acts as Americans. Today, as we consider what binds us together, I feel the deep loss of my dear friend and colleague, Council President Jen Giattino. Jen was a beloved leader and champion for Hoboken, whose kindness, integrity, and unwavering dedication touched countless lives, including my own. Her warmth and compassion will be profoundly missed, and her legacy will continue to inspire us. In that spirit of service and community, I’m pleased to share important updates for our community, knowing that Jen would want us to keep pushing forward, even in difficult times.
PS: Please indulge the length of this newsletter, I have dug into my inner Councilwoman Fisher!
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I’m writing to you today with a mixed bag of updates and frustrations with the state of our local government here in Hoboken. Make no mistake, Hoboken is an incredible place to live and I’m so proud to be a lifelong resident of our community, to raise my family here and to represent you on the City Council. But the simple fact is that our local government is not getting the job done in several key areas. The city needs to get Back to Basics and put a real focus on the quality of life issues that are affecting all of Hoboken. I pride myself with being a voice of reason, finding common sense solutions and bringing people together for the betterment of Hoboken.
My City Council colleagues and I have been hard at work continuing to address a number of quality of life initiatives, both in Southwest Hoboken and throughout the City. I know that while we’ve made great strides in a number of areas, there still is a lot to be done. Rest assured that I’ve heard your feedback on dirty streets, traffic, rats, homeless, e-bikes, flooding, recreation and more. However, it’s not all doom and gloom and I appreciate the positive feedback we receive on items that are going well but my job is to always focus on how we can make improvements to our quality of life everyday. Here are a few updates on various topics:
Public Safety Community Meeting Tonight
After an abundance of outcry from the community, The City of Hoboken is holding a community meeting of the City Council to discuss Public Safety. Members of the community are invited to provide input and comment at a public meeting tonight (Monday) at 5:30 pm. The meeting will take place at council chambers in City Hall. This is a meeting that many of my colleagues and I have been advocating for. Please join us.
Dirty Streets
An issue I hear from my constituents every day is that there is garbage on our streets and nothing is being done about it. Hoboken is a first-class city and we need to take pride in keeping our streets clean all the time. Anything less should not be acceptable and there needs to be accountability at the administrative level to provide the proper leadership and guidance to support our DPW staff to help them get the job done.
Public Safety
In just the past few months we have seen an increase in burglaries throughout the city, including some brazen burglaries along Washington Street, something that would seem unheard of just a few years ago. This comes on the heels of several carjackings over the summer months. The men and women of our Hoboken Police Department are doing their best to deal with the situation, but it’s clear that we need to adjust tactics to help deter crime across all our streets. This is why I have long advocated for a mobile precinct which would give our department more flexibility to provide a physical presence at various locations throughout the city. Mobile precinct is currently being outfitted and hopefully will be ready for deployment in the near future.
Problems In Our Parks/Homeless
A rise in the local homeless population in many city parks is causing residents to feel unsafe. We should have compassion for people facing hard times and offer resources and support, but we also need to make sure that our parks and public spaces are safe for our residents. Three years ago I successfully advocated for the inclusion of social workers within our municipal budget to help connect the homeless population with services. To date I do not believe we’ve received the desired effect and need to reevaluate the effectiveness of how the program is being administered and make the necessary adjustments. One indicator that leads me to believe its ineffectiveness is that the senior citizens who would congregate around the benches of city hall and socialize with friends no longer do so out of concern for their safety from homeless and e-bike riders on sidewalks.
Summer Recreation Programs
Unlike most neighboring communities, Hoboken does not offer children’s summer camp programs and our recreation offerings overall are not sufficient for our city’s population. Families desire activities that they can afford and that their children will enjoy. This is an issue that needs to be planned for now as Summer 2025 fast approaches.
Hoboken Housing Authority Redevelopment Plan
No plan is more dear to my heart than the Hoboken Housing Authority redevelopment plan, a major part of the 4th Ward. I’ve spoken openly to many of you about the need to improve the quality of housing for our HHA residents and how this will have a positive impact for not just HHA residents but for all Hoboken residents. Lack of collaboration at various levels has been a major cause of frustration that has led to delays in the past. I want to thank the City council subcommittee which I proudly chair for initiating a plan where we are not only rehabbing every single unit of housing in the HHA , but also creating new workforce development housing, while ensuring no resident is displaced during the process. I’ve also spearheaded an initiative on the council and was happy to have all of my council colleagues join me in this initiative to expand the scope of the project and include the land at 2nd and Marshall. Inclusion of this Marshall Street property will allow us to integrate a community space for all residents and lessen the timeline for overall project completion by years and not days.
Southwest Park
I started my career on the City Council advocating for additional open space in Southwest Hoboken, and thanks to our collective efforts, we are doubling the size of the park in our neighborhood. Working with the administration, I helped secure acquisition of property and funding on the City Council to help make this a reality and we will be celebrating the grand opening of this park in summer/fall 2025. This park space will include significant infrastructure improvements to mitigate flooding in Southwest Hoboken, a common quality of life issue that becomes more troublesome whenever there is significant rain.
38 Jackson Street
I also happily led the charge on the development at 38 Jackson Street, which is currently under construction that will create a vibrant mixed use development, including a number of commercial and retail uses. As of recently the developers of the project have informed me that they have not yet secured a provider for the supermarket to occupy the ground floor space, as discussed throughout the redevelopment process which had significant community input. I am actively working with my council colleagues to ensure that every option is exhausted to provide the developers the necessary tools and incentives to bring this much-needed supermarket to Southwest Hoboken. This project will provide our residents an option for food shopping in their immediate neighborhood that would enhance our quality of life.
Traffic issues
I’ve heard the frustration from many of you regarding the impact of many infrastructure projects taking place all at once and its impact on rush hour traffic – along our northern and southern borders of Hoboken. Many of these projects are certainly important to residents, such as improvements to our drinking water system (work at the border of downtown Hoboken/Jersey City) and the Rebuild by Design flood infrastructure project (work at 15th Street). The Hoboken Police Department has made every effort to manage the job along the Hoboken border by directing traffic, however we need to improve our coordination efforts with other public safety agencies that would allow for more officers to direct traffic at additional intersections. I have been working diligently with the Department of Public Safety and the Hoboken Police Department to request that more resources be used by our Jersey City neighbors to improve traffic flow and reduce the impact along our shared border.
Rebuild by Design
You may have seen part of the area adjacent to CVS downtown cordoned off to the public. This is due to the construction of a significant flood infrastructure being created, both above and below ground to protect Hoboken from flooding. This project is funded thanks to a $230 million grant from the federal government and will not have an impact on our local tax rate. However we have not received the annual cost of maintenance that this project will incur. This is a concern that I have shared since the project’s inception. Now that Mayors of both Jersey City and Hoboken have agreed about the parameters of the project, we will likely see this completed in the near future. One major benefit to this project is Hoboken residents should see a reduction in their flood insurance premiums because our homes will now have an additional layer of flood protection.
E-delivery Bikes
I have heard you loud and clear about the unacceptable danger of e-delivery bikes and riders on our streets. Let me be clear that many of the riders provide a very important service that we’ve all utilized over the years – delivery of food to our doors. However, I strongly believe the Hoboken Police Department, Hoboken Parking Utility, and administration should do more to enforce the ordinance we passed on the City Council requiring riders to wear a vest, pay a small fee, and pass a test. I participated in an event a few weeks ago where we took the vests and tests directly to riders, and hope that more riders will comply with our new ordinance.
Revitalizing the PATH Area
Recently, my colleagues and I passed a designation for a block of property around the PATH station to consider additional opportunities to revitalize this area with new retail and office space. When visitors and residents get off the PATH, they deserve to have state-of-the-art buildings and places to eat and play, and I look forward to creating a redevelopment plan that respects building height while also providing even more improvements to the area.
Sinatra Drive Repairs
Sinatra Drive remains in a state of disrepair with a sinkhole that was discovered by staff. My council colleagues and I were left with few options but to approve bonding for not just repairing the sinkhole, but supporting major repairs to the area that will leave part of the road off-limits for residents. I’ve asked the administration to continue to keep us updated as to how quickly the repairs can be made without significant disruptions to those who regularly utilize the road.
I want you to know that I’m listening and that I will continue to advocate on your behalf so that your issues are properly addressed and not swept under the rug. We must continue the dialogue of how we work collaboratively to address all concerns with clear and concise outcomes for all to benefit. Hearing from you about your concerns helps my advocacy to make our city continue forward.
In addition to Jen, heaven gained another angel this week with the passing of my grandmother Aida Molina yesterday morning. She was 97 and passed away surround by her family. She gave us all the ultimate gift of loving us with every fiber of her being and I am eternally grateful to have been a recipient of her gracious love. We will miss her but her spirit will now live through her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great, great grandchildren. Take a moment to hug your family members and close friends.
As always if you have any questions or concerns please reach out to me via phone 201-401-7947, text or email (councilmanramos4@gmail.com). Hope to hear from you soon!
Councilman Ruben Ramos Jr.
Hoboken City Council, 4th Ward
Real Leadership for a Better Hoboken
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