Top row are Sheila Brennan, Cheryl Fallick and Paul Presinzano of the Independently Together slate and Jim Doyle, Emily Jabbour and Joe Quintero of the Team Bhalla slate. Bottome row are Ian Rintel, Manuel Rivera, Patricia Waiters and Cindy Wiegand.

FBW | October 21, 2021

The Hoboken City Council At-Large Candidates’ Forums sponsored by the Quality Coalition (QLC) will be held this Friday, Oct. 22. Ten candidates are vying for the three open at-large City Council seats. This year’s forum will be hosted as a pair of live-streamed events, with the field randomly divided into two separate groups, the first starting at 5:30 PM and the other at 8:00 PM.

The public will be able to participate live via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and to submit questions in advance and during the beginning of each live session. The forums will be recorded for rebroadcast after the event. Links to view the forum and additional information is on the QLC website.

Here are some pertinent questions we would like to pose:

The Waterfront

  • The City of Hoboken is expected to acquire the Union Dry Dock property in the coming months for use as a public park. What role did you play in the battle with NY Waterway and NJ Transit over the past 5 years? What is your vision for this public space?
  • During the Zimmer administration, consultants were hired to complete a plan for Sinatra Drive from 4th to 11th Streets that would include a protected bike pathway, tree-lined pedestrian walkways, additional public open space, etc. The project was never completed and has been stalled for 6 years. What is your position on this?

Flooding

  • Ida dumped 150 million gallons of water on Hoboken in an 8-hour period overwhelming the city’s flood mitigation strategies implemented since Sandy. The resulting flooding took two days to recede from Hoboken’s low lying areas. What do you propose to remedy this problem?

Development

  • Developers are poised to build projects on the few remaining undeveloped areas of town. What is your vision for what these projects should look like in regard to use, scale and character?   
  • The City Council adopted the North End Redevelopment Plan that includes a “linear park” running midblock between large residential and commercial development projects in an attempt to create public open space on private land. Do you consider this to be a feasible approach for creating public park space on this 40-acre site? 
  • It appears that the City has painted itself into a corner by failing to designate industrial zones where they could relocate the municipal public works garage or similar industrial uses. Do you have a solution to this problem?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 2 unless you decide to vote early. We highly recommend you watch the forum so that you can judge for yourself which candidates are likely to provide the best political leadership to move our City forward in the coming years..

Related links

Active streetscapes are the key to successful urban neighborhoods
Hoboken floods worsen as Ida, Henri put stormwater management strategies to the test
On City of Water Day FBW shines a spotlight on the unfinished central waterfront
After a contentious, multi-year battle, City will acquire Union Dry Dock
Urban design flaws afflict North End Plan
Monarch settlement advances
FBW’s 30-year history