The Hoboken City Council candidates sounded off on various issues during a two-part council debate hosted by the Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition at DeBaun Auditorium at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Moderators Bob Bowden and Hudson County View’s John Heinis asked questions gathered from the public during the two two-hour debates consisting of the 14 ward council candidates.
Questions included Hoboken’s pilot e-scooter sharing program, the latest version of the Hoboken Railyards Redevelopment Plan, bike lanes, and taxes.
Odd-numbered ward candidates faced off on Oct. 22; even-numbered ward candidates on Oct. 24.
The first debate included incumbent Councilman Michael DeFusco and Migdalia Pagan-Milano of the Team Bhalla ticket for the First Ward; incumbent Councilman Michael Russo and activist Ronald Bautista for the Third Ward; and Phil Cohen of the Bhalla ticket and independent candidates Timothy Crowell and Nicola Maganuco for the Fifth Ward.
The second debate included incumbent Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher and Nora Martinez DeBenedetto of the Bhalla slate for Second Ward; incumbent Councilman Ruben Ramos and Bhalla-backed Lisa Sprengle for the Fourth Ward; and incumbent Council President Jen Giattino, Bhalla-backed Cristin Cricco-Powell, and independent candidate Frank Rosner for the Sixth Ward.
Bike lanes
Candidates were asked their positions on the pilot e-scooter sharing program, and protected bike lanes
Candidates were generally in favor of bike lanes, but said it depends where they are placed and how they are implemented.
“We are not going to ban cars in my lifetime,” Rosner said. “I’m for bike lanes in appropriate locations.”
DeBenedetto advocated for a network of connected bike lanes so they would be easier to use.
Bautista, a member of Bike Hoboken, said Hoboken needs more protected bike lanes, noting they would get bikes and scooters off city sidewalks.
Russo said he’d surveyed residents and found 54 percent were not in favor of protected bike lanes and said though he voted in favor of Hoboken’s first protected bike lane, they must be evaluated on a street-by-street basis.
Cohen said he fully supports protected bike lanes and is in favor of the city’s Vision 0 initiative, adding he wished the Washington Street bike lanes had been placed next to the curb, instead of between parked cars and traffic.
Maganuco said bike lanes need repainting, and the city should post more signs to direct riders.
E-scooters
The majority of candidates generally supported scooters but stressed the need for additional enforcement and safety measures.
Crowell said the city needs to focus on educating scooter riders and should incentivize Lime to assist with law enforcement.
“The current way the program has rolled out, I am not in favor of scooters,” he said, adding that his kids like to draw on the sidewalk with chalk, but he is scared they would be hit by a scooter.
Cricco-Powell said bike lanes would help keep scooters off city sidewalks and added that in the future she would want designated parking areas for scooters because now they impede pedestrians, in particular people with disabilities or who use wheelchairs.
Giattino, who voted against the scooter pilot program, said she isn’t anti scooter and said if there were to be a scooter contract in the future, she would want a partnership between local businesses and the scooter company to charge the electric scooters because now they are charged in Secaucus, and local businesses would benefit from the revenue.
Pagan Milano said she was in favor of scooters because they offer another way for people to get around who don’t want to bike, and they keep vehicles off the street.
However, she said the program needs better maintenance and enforcement, noting the two micro-mobility officers the city hired to help enforcement.
DeFusco said he supports bike lanes in the appropriate places and that the scooter program was rolled out poorly. He has worked to strengthen the city’s scooter laws along with Fisher, including banning them on portions of the waterfront, and raising fines for violations.
DeBenedetto said the scooter program was “scary to me” but said it should be given a fair shot.
Fisher and Ramos said they would want to take a break and review the scooter program over the winter months, with Fisher adding that she thinks it’s important to expand transportation options, but right now the program isn’t safe.
Fiscal responsibility
Many candidates said they would hold the line on taxes. But Russo said he would try to decrease the municipal tax by curtailing spending and bonding.
Bautista challenged Russo, saying he has served on the council for years and hadn’t done so.
“When you’re a council member you get one vote,” Russo responded. “You advocate for your position. You try to get your colleagues to see that position and vote the way you’re trying to influence. You cannot do it alone.”
Several candidates including Giattino and DeFusco also said it was important for the city to work to diversify its tax base.
All the candidates wanted to obtain more services and funds from the county.
Cohen said he felt the city had done a “pretty good job” keeping taxes relatively stable but said the city was treated unfairly by the county in how much it contributes over different municipalities. Maganuco and Crowell said they had experience with managing budgets. Maganuco works in regulatory governance at a financial firm in New York City, and Crowell works in real estate managing assets.
Ramos said it was all about maximizing partnerships with the county for more services and would like to see traffic control by the sheriff’s department in southwestern Hoboken on Observer Highway, a county road.
Fisher, who currently chairs the council’s finance subcommittee, agreed, adding she too would like to see the county contribute more, including repaving roads and helping fund more projects at local parks.
Sprengle would like to explore why Hoboken pays such a large share of county taxes and what recourse Hoboken has to get more resources back from the county, including more affordable housing vouchers and services for seniors, something Ramos said the county already does.
Rosner said he would explore all avenues of funding.
Hoboken Rail Yard
The Hoboken Rail Yard Redevelopment Plan would see development in the First Ward just south of Observer Highway as well as near the terminal.
Most candidates agree that the project needs to move forward and generally agree that the project needs public input.
“This was a development that was shepherded through city hall with no interest in having any public input,” Fisher said, noting she would like more public input and to review the traffic study.
Both First Ward candidates said they support the plan.
DeFusco said it was an opportunity to make infrastructure upgrades. He discussed the rehabilitation of Warrington Plaza and the terminal as part of the smaller development plan.
Pagan-Milano said the city needs to ensure that the rail yards don’t affect Hoboken’s charm.
“We only get on chance to get this right,” said Crowell, noting that development touches on quality-of-life concerns like traffic, parking, and infrastructure.
Cohen said the project was critical, noting the importance of the Rebuild By Design project and the southern wall, which shrunk the project’s size.
Bautista said he would like the project to include more affordable housing. Russo said he was in favor of the project as were the the majority of people who took his survey.
Cricco-Powell said she felt the plan was developer and not community driven but said she is for commercial development because it’s one of the ways she would want to fund more affordable housing but would need to look at the project’s impacts on traffic and infrastructure.
Giattino said she’s for commercial development because the tenants will support local businesses but said the new plan switches the location of the commercial building further from the transportation hub, which she did not believe made sense.
Sprengel said the plan would have an impact on the Fourth Ward because the area was flooded during Sandy. She said it’s imperative that the RBD project moves forward but not at the cost of an out-of-scale development.
Ramos said he wants to see the terminal revitalized and the financial analysis of the plan.
Rosner said he would like to see a height restriction on the buildings to 10 or 12 stories.
To watch the debates go to Hudsoncountyview.com.
For updates on this and other stories keep check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Marilyn Baer can be reached at Marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.
