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Dear Friends and Neighbors, Happy New Year! I hope you had a great holiday season. As 2016 begins, I wanted to provide you with a few brief updates on what’s happening in Hoboken. Rebuild by Design Update

As many of you may be aware, through the advocacy efforts of Mayor Zimmer, last year Hoboken was awarded $230 million in federal funding to implement a plan to keep our City safe from the massive flooding we have seen in the past, including the terrible damage stemming from Hurricane Sandy.  Read More...

A celebratory atmosphere at City Hall before an intimate audience saw six council members sworn in making official the results of last November’s council elections.

MSV will have more on the dramatic shift breaking the 5-4 paradigm set back in the spring of 2009 and what it may mean for Hoboken’s future.

Presiding over the occasion, Hoboken City Clerk Jimmy Farina.

Here’s the official 2016 Hoboken ward council members:

First ward Councilman Michael DeFusco takes the oath of office with his family looking on.

Second ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher saw her neighbor Emily lend a hand as she takes the oath making it official.

Councilman Michael Russo is aided and abetted by his uncle, George DeStefano.

Fourth ward Councilman Ruben Ramos returns to the council with his family in attendance.

Councilman Peter Cunningham is sworn in as his council colleague Jen Giattino pitches in holding the Bible. Fifth ward Councilman Cunningham, Reform’s anti-corruption champion will be serving in his third term.

Sixth ward Councilwoman Jen Giattino took the oath with her family on the scene as City Clerk Jimmy Farina joked, “You broght the whole sixth ward with you.”

On Monday, we’ll do it all over again for the benefit of the public before the 7:00 pm City Council meeting but this makes it official as they join their at-large colleagues: Ravi Bhalla, Dave Mello and Jim Doyle. Read More...

Tomorrow is the New Year but a new day will dawn for the City of Hoboken as City Council members are sworn in.

The ceremony will take place at City Hall at 12 noon.

Michael DeFusco will be sworn in as First Ward Councilman on Friday at noon with five of his council colleagues at City Hall tomorrow.

=&0=& will be sworn in as councilman for the First Ward. =&1=& will be sworn in as councilwoman in the Second Ward. =&2=& returns to hold the council seat in the Third Ward. =&3=& also returns to the council, this time for the Fourth Ward. =&4=& returns taking his third term for the Fifth Ward. =&5=& also returns to continue as councilwoman for the Sixth Ward. The regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council is =&6=&

=&0=& =&1=& =&1=& =&3=& Corporation Counsel Mellissa Longo will be returning to the private sector as an Associate Counsel at a private for-profit corporation. Her last day with the City of Hoboken will be January 15, 2016.

“Mellissa has served the City since the beginning of my Administration through some challenging times,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “I appreciate all that she has done for Hoboken and wish her the very best with her new endeavor.” Read More...

As some are weaned off the political juices near and far in the more dormant final week of 2015, one tale may help fend off the withdrawal until the new year.

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It may be unseasonable warm making some think back to 1982 when we last saw such high temps in late December but don’t let it lessen your holiday spirit.

For others, it may feel like a tundra has struck. Call it the post millenial black coal judgment.

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Office of the Mayor announces:

=&0=& Thank you to everyone who voiced their views on the Rebuild by Design Project through the last four community meetings and in writing. I met last week with NJDEP Commissioner Martin and shared our community’s serious concerns directly with him and based on ongoing public input, the NJDEP is currently reviewing alternative options within the five concepts. I have made it clear that a flood protection feature on Garden Street between 12^th and 14^th Streets is not a publicly supported concept. I am optimistic that the State will address those objections. As we move ahead, I want to make sure that everyone understands that the public process is real and meaningful. Since I have been Mayor, we have engaged in a robust public planning process with every major project including park design and redevelopment plans.  In every instance, the public planning process has resulted in significant positive changes to the preliminary proposals. I encourage everyone to continue voicing constructive suggestions so that together we can help chart the best course to take advantage of this historic opportunity to protect our City from future coastal storms and sea level rise. A video presentation and all materials can be viewed at www.rbd-hudsonriver.nj.gov and feedback can be emailed to rbd-hudsonriver@dep.nj.gov. Thank you to those who have provided some great ideas that are currently under consideration by the State. I want to address a few concerns that I have heard during the last three meetings: =&1=& Yes, it is absolutely necessary.  However, last week I heard from some residents who advocated for the idea that we would be better off simply abandoning the “Resist” strategy to protect Hoboken from future storm surges, even if that meant returning the $230 million grant. Doing nothing on the Resist strategy is not an option. The storm surge generated by Sandy resulted in approximately 500 million gallons of water from the Hudson River flooding our City. The Resist strategy is a critical component of any comprehensive solution to protect our community. No matter how effective our Delay, Store and Discharge strategies are, they could never handle 500 million gallons of water. We need to first Resist from the water entering our City or we will be severely flooded again with the next Sandy-type storm surge.  All of the components of the four-part water management strategy, Resist, Delay, Store, and Discharge, are necessary to protect our City. During the last 30 years, New Jersey has been impacted by a major hurricane every five to six years. Scientists predict that storms will continue to become more severe, so it is important that Hoboken is protected from another disastrous hurricane in the future. Some scientists have explained that the storm surge from Sandy was not nearly as bad as it could have been — it did not have the strong winds and rain that usually accompany a major storm. In fact, Hurricane Joaquin, when it was predicted to reach our region this past fall, was predicted to be worse than Sandy due to its powerful winds and rain. Working together, we need to protect our community from future severe storm events. =&2=& The renderings that were shown were preliminary concepts, not finalized plans, meant to show that community amenities could be integrated into flood protection measures. I agree with resident concerns regarding access to the waterfront and about impacts to residential neighborhoods and have conveyed those concerns directly to the State. Residents have already provided some great suggestions on alternative approaches that are currently under review.    =&3=& We are. Stevens engineering professors with expertise in modeling coastal flooding have been hired by the NJDEP and are conducting a peer review of the work throughout the process. =&4=& Absolutely not. Sandy flooded nearly 80% of our City — existing residents and businesses suffered; not new development. This project will protect the thousands of Hoboken residents and businesses that were devastated by Sandy and Irene and are vulnerable from future storm surges. It will also benefit our entire community by protecting critical infrastructure such as our hospital, electrical substations, sewage treatment plant and police and fire stations. =&5=& It is simply not possible to protect 100 percent of our City without impacting access to our waterfront.  As I have explained at the community meetings, a balance needs to be struck that protects areas most at risk while preserving the waterfront access that helps make our City such a special place.  =&6=&

From the desk of Councilman Peter Cunningham:

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