Ravi Bhalla served eight years as the 39th Mayor of the City of Hoboken. He will take the oath of office later today with all of New Jersey’s State Assembly persons at the War Memorial in Trenton, starting a two year term representing constituents in the 32nd Legislative District, which covers Hoboken and parts of Jersey City.
Bhalla issued the following statement on his last day as the Mile Square City’s chief executive:
“As I conclude my last day in office as Mayor of Hoboken, I wanted to share that it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as your Mayor for eight years. Thank you for the trust, partnership and support you have placed in me. I’m comforted by the fact that I am leaving this office with Hoboken as an even better place to live and raise a family than when I first took office, with more quality of life projects now underway that will continue with the next administration.
To my current and former staff, thank you for working tirelessly on behalf of our residents each and every day, driven by decisions that are rooted in good government. And most importantly, thank you to my family for being there with me every step of the way, and supporting me even during the most difficult days.
I look forward to representing Hoboken in the New Jersey Assembly, and continuing a new chapter of public service to our incredible community.
I remain hopeful, optimistic and confident that the best is yet to come for our Mile Square City.”
A city press release listed the major accomplishments during Mayor Bhalla’s two, consecutive terms:
* Signed an Executive Order declaring the City of Hoboken a Fair & Welcoming City * Established the City’s Vision Zero initiative to eliminate all traffic deaths and injuries by 2030 * Committed the City to an ambitious Climate Action Plan to achieve net-zero energy by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050 * Opened the City’s largest resiliency park (ResilienCity Park), capable of detaining up to 2 million gallons of stormwater to mitigate flooding, expanded the Southwest Resiliency Park, and broke ground on Maritime Park, one of the last missing pieces of publicly accessible open space along Hoboken’s waterfront
Hoboken Council President Jim Doyle will serve as Acting Mayor until Mayor-elect Emily Jabbour takes her oath of office on Thursday, January 15th.