Dear Neighbors,
I hope everyone enjoyed a festive Halloween holiday. As we head towards Thanksgiving, here is an update on the latest.
Sandy’s 10th Anniversary — 10 Years of Progress on Hoboken’s Road to Resiliency
Ten years after Sandy, Hoboken continues making major investments in resiliency infrastructure for the long term. Our community is a leader in resiliency planning including our major Rebuild by Design efforts. As a member of the Citizens’ Advisory Group for Rebuild by Design, I am proud of the progress we have made on the road to long-term resiliency.
Our newly constructed resiliency parks have underground tanks that store up to one million gallons of water, we have implemented rain gardens and bio-infrastructures, worked to elevate the City’s PSE&G substations to prevent citywide power outages, and have designed a flood wall that will seamlessly snake through the city to prevent storm surges. While climate change continues to affect us, Hoboken works daily on being a more resilient community. I’m particularly proud of working with the Bhalla administration’s efforts to build the 5-acre Northwest Resiliency Park, which will become one of the country’s largest parks with above and below-ground flood infrastructure. Once the park opens next year and construction is complete, this will be a game-changing open space amenity and flood mitigation tool to directly benefit Fifth Ward residents.
On the 10th Anniversary of Sandy, journalists interviewed city leaders and considered Hoboken’s accomplishments and plans for building resilient infrastructure as a model for coastal communities on the front lines of climate change. You can read these well-reported stories published on Sandy’s 10th anniversary here and here.
Community Meeting on Hoboken’s Automated Flood Warning System
At 6 pm on Wednesday, November 9th, the City will host a virtual community meeting on its new Automated Flood Warning System. A number of the City's most flood-prone intersections in western Hoboken will be equipped with automated flood barricades and warning signs this winter.
With this new flood warning system, the community will be better protected during severe storms by safely closing flooded roadways and preventing injuries and damage caused by drivers traversing unsafe floodwaters. I was proud to authorize funding for this system on the City Council, which I believe will be an important tool to assist residents during heavy rainstorms that are only getting worse due to climate change.
To register for this meeting, click here. For more information about the Automated Flood Warning System, click here.
Cannabis Update: The Jersey Joint Dispensary is Approved
On Wednesday the City Council voted 8-1 (with Councilmember Giattino voting no) authorizing the Jersey Joint Dispensary to proceed with seeking a license from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. This dispensary will be located at 1427 Grand Street at the intersection of 15th and Grand — across from the Pilsner Haus — and is the only dispensary approved by the Hoboken Cannabis Review Board and the Hoboken Planning Board located in the 5th Ward.
After the Jersey Joint was approved by the Planning Board, its owner reached out to me, presented its plan, and answered all my questions. I was impressed with the owner’s thoughtful business plan addressing security concerns as well as preventing queuing outside the dispensary — with a business model that includes online purchases for pick-up and customer purchases by appointment. The owner’s plan for this 3,700 sq. ft. business is to design the sales floor with a theme of Hoboken’s industrial history. I reviewed the owner’s camping-themed dispensary operating in Massachusetts and expect this dispensary will likewise be a well-designed, thoughtfully managed business for our community — anticipated to open sometime in the middle of 2023.
You can read more about the Jersey Joint here. To date, this is the second general dispensary approved by the City Council, in addition to two medical dispensaries.
No Hoboken dispensaries are expected to open for business this year and to date, no general cannabis licenses have been issued to a Hoboken applicant by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Once operational, each sale by a Hoboken cannabis dispensary will include a 2 percent local sales tax that will enhance the City’s annual revenues and directly help stabilize property taxes.
You can read more about my views on cannabis dispensaries in Hoboken, including the proposed Story dispensary, which was unanimously approved by the Hoboken Planning Board this week, in a special cannabis newsletter, I issued earlier this year.
A Protected Bike Lane Linking Hoboken and Jersey City is Coming
A new protected bike lane in Jersey City is under construction which, when complete, will link Hoboken’s Observer Highway protected bike line with a protected bike lane network in Jersey City on Marin Boulevard. I have long been an advocate for a circuit of protected bike lanes in our community and look forward to a “golden spike” ceremony linking Hoboken and Jersey City’s connected system of protected bike lanes to allow cyclists of all ages and abilities to safely commute and travel on bikes.
St. Patrick's Day ☘️ Parade Survey
The Hoboken Business Alliance (HBA) is considering sponsoring a reinstituted family-friendly St. Patrick's Day Parade to replace the current unauthorized Lepre-Con bar crawl that occurs on March 1st. Members of the Hoboken community are being asked to participate in an online public survey to provide input into this proposal.
As the City Council representative on the HBA, I believe it was critical to solicit community feedback on this proposal, given the history of this parade in Hoboken. To take the survey and provide your feedback, click here. The survey is scheduled to close on November 10th. Also, I ask any residents who have opinions on this to feel free to contact me directly, as I have been in close contact with the Mayor’s office on these issues.
Voting in the November Election
Election day is November 8th. Residents can vote at their registered polling places between 6 am and 8 pm on Election Day. Early voting at Hoboken City Hall ends Sunday, November 6th. Early voting hours are Friday - Saturday 10 am – 8 pm, and Sunday 10 am – 6 pm.
You can also vote by mail. If you have a VBM ballot, you must return your mail-in ballot by placing it in a U.S. Postal Service mailbox, by using a dedicated drop box, or in person at your county Board of Elections on or before Tuesday, November 8th prior to 8 pm. Drop box locations can be found here. For more information on poll locations and how to vote, click here.
Mailing my ballot for the Leadership that Listens team, 2-I, 3-I, and 4-I
Monkeypox Update and Vaccine Clinic Locations
New Jersey has a total of 745 cases of monkeypox as of November 1st with 184 cases located in Hudson County.
The State is providing monkeypox vaccinations for eligible individuals. Eligible individuals include those who have had known contact with someone who tested positive for orthopoxvirus or monkeypox in the past 14 days, people who attended an event where known monkeypox exposure occurred within the past 14 days, and men who have sex with men.
Monkeypox Vaccine Locations
Hoboken will be hosting a Monkeypox vaccine clinic on November 10th at the Jackson St. Gym located at 605 Jackson Street, between 4 and 6:45 pm. You can sign up for a free vaccine appointment at vaxhudson.org.
To see all Monkeypox vaccination locations throughout New Jersey click here. If you believe you’ve been infected with Monkeypox, please contact the Hoboken Health Department at (201) 420-2375 for additional guidance, information, and contact tracing. Also, you can visit the CDC’s Monkeypox page here for additional information.
COVID Testing Updates
To get the current Hoboken COVID testing and hours click here.
At-home COVID testing
The NJ Department of Health and Vault Medical Services offers free, at-home COVID-19 saliva test kits. To order your kit go to learn.vaulthealth.com/nj.
COVID Vaccinations and Vaccination Records
To get current information on Hoboken vaccinations click here.
If you are a Hoboken resident and would like a copy of your vaccination record, please contact LMedeiros@hobokennj.gov. Vaccination records are also accessible for all New Jersey residents through the Docket app.
Coffee with Cohen … the home edition
On Tuesday, I hosted my 66th Coffee with Cohen event and welcomed two special guests, candidates for the Hoboken Board of Education with the Leadership the Listens team— Leslie Norwood and Alex De La Torre.
They discussed why this Hoboken Board of Education election is important, what they bring to the table as candidates, their favorite parts about Hoboken schools, and much more. I also addressed a question from a resident about the plans for the cobblestone street on Grand Street between 10th and 11th. Over 130 people have watched this event and you can check it out here.
Do you have a question for my next Coffee with Cohen? Send it to HobokenPhil@gmail.com as I try to address each one. This event — and many past Coffee with Cohen events — are recorded and hosted on my Facebook page and you can watch them here.
Staying Up To Date and Reaching Out For Assistance
I regularly issue this newsletter every other Friday. You also can stay up to date by following me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. If you have any questions or concerns, or if I can be of assistance to you or your family, please do not hesitate to contact me at HobokenPhil@gmail.com.
Phil Cohen
Hoboken City Councilman
Hoboken, New Jersey
HobokenPhil@gmail.com
(862) 234-9053
P.S. You can learn more about me and my ideas for Hoboken (as well as read this newsletter and prior newsletters) on my website philcohen.org.
