OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Jersey City Municipal Council Caucus Meeting - September 23, 2025

Council and Caucus Meetings — Tuesday, September 23, 2025
BodyJersey City, New Jersey
SessionCouncil and Caucus Meetings
DateTuesday, September 23, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:50:52

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:01

We are on the record.

0:02

Today is Monday, the 22nd day of September in the year 2025.

0:06

This is a city council caucus meeting of the Jersey City Municipal Council.

0:10

We had a scheduled 4 p.m.

0:11

start.

0:12

The clock of my cell phone is showing 4 02 p.m.

0:16

May I have a roll call for the commencement of this caucus, Councilperson Ridley.

0:20

Yeah.

0:21

Councilperson Hewlings will not be in attendance.

0:23

Councilperson Bajiano.

0:26

Councilperson Soleil is not here yet.

0:29

Councilperson Solomon is not here.

0:30

And Councilperson Gilmore is not here.

0:32

Councilperson DeGeece.

0:34

Here.

0:35

Councilperson Reburra.

0:36

Yeah.

0:37

And Council President Waterman.

0:42

We have five council members in attendance at 402 p.m.

0:47

on behalf of Council President Waterman and the members of the municipal council in accordance with New Jersey Public Laws of 1975, Chapter 231, the Open Public Meetings Act, also known as the Sunshine Law.

0:58

Adequate Notice of this meeting has been provided by the posting on the bulletin board of the first floor of City Hall, the annual notice, which is the schedule of meetings and caucuses of the municipal council for the calendar year 2025 and filed in the office of the city clerk on Friday, November 15th, 2024.

1:15

In addition, at its time for its preparation, the agenda of this meeting was similarly disseminated on Friday, September 19th, 2025 at 5 40 p.m.

1:24

to the mayor, municipal council, business administrator, corporation council, the newspapers, and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law.

1:34

Council President, I'm gonna turn it over to you.

1:37

Afternoon.

1:37

First director, Director Kears.

1:47

Good afternoon, President Waterman, members of the council.

1:50

I have two items before you today.

1:52

First one is item 1010 25615.

1:55

The resolution will authorize the sale of 28 motor vehicles and various motor vehicle equipment with a public surplus.com public online auction, which are no longer needed for public use.

2:09

Second item is 1011 25616.

2:13

Resolution will authorize the public sale of 73 motor vehicles through the public service surplus.com public online auction, no longer needed for public use.

2:38

So we now have six council members present.

2:41

Go ahead, Director.

2:43

Hello, everyone.

2:44

Good afternoon.

2:44

Um Deja Anderson, director of the Division of Community Development.

2:48

I have agenda item 10.15.

2:51

That's resolution 25-620.

2:55

And this is a resolution to authorize the municipal council to authorize amendments and forgive the notes made by the Fairmount Hotel to the City of Jersey City and authorize the discharges of the mortgage for the acquisitions and renovation of 2595 Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City, also known as the Fairmount Hotel.

3:17

Um I had come before council last week with some information, but I think there was some slight misinformation and miscommunication about this project.

3:27

Um, what this project is slated to provide to the community.

3:32

And I think the developer also needed to answer some questions and concerns about the relocation of the senior citizens because this is affordable housing uh for seniors in ward B.

3:47

Um, so this property received about three different funding streams totaling in the ballpark of slightly over a million dollars for work done in the property starting with uh November 28th of 1994, and then subsequent years where they received this funding.

4:08

Um, they have met their restricted period and their obligation for the funding that they've already received from the city.

4:16

Those restricted periods ended in November of 2024.

4:21

Okay.

4:22

So where we're at now, how these documents were written up is that there is a balloon repayment due at the end of this restricted period.

4:32

That repayment due to the city is in the amount of about 20 million dollars.

4:37

Okay.

4:37

So typically for community development block grant, we do not set those up as interest-bearing loans.

4:44

We're not a financial institution, and we don't have the ability to take those payments in on a monthly basis.

4:50

So if anything like this was written into our contracts, it's almost always written in as a balloon payment at the end of the period.

5:00

What the intent of writing something like that is to give the city and the municipal council a negotiating position with the property owner for us to be able to lock them into an additional or extended period of affordability.

5:15

This property owner did come to the city of Jersey City in 2022 and did request community development block fronts to do the said repairs to the property.

5:28

They were not eligible for these fundings, being a for-profit entity, those funds are for nonprofits or for the municipality to use on their own.

5:37

So with that being said, DCD advised the property owner to go out and find another source of funding to do the repairs, which they did.

5:46

They made application with the NJHMFA to do these repairs to the buildings for a pool of funding that was specifically set aside for buildings whose affordable restrictions had recently terminated or were nearing a termination period so that we can continue to preserve affordable housing here in the city.

6:08

Are there any questions that you have for me and DCD in reference to this?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Affordable Housing████████████████████████████████████36%
Pending Litigation████████████████16%
Zoning███████████11%
Public Safety█████████9%
Procedural████████8%
Public Engagement████4%
Fiscal Sustainability████4%
Rent Control███3%
Community Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Jersey City Municipal Council Caucus Meeting - September 23, 2025

The Jersey City Municipal Council held a caucus meeting on September 23, 2025, starting at 4:02 PM and adjourning at 5:52 PM. Eight council members were present. The meeting covered a range of topics including a senior affordable housing project, code enforcement reforms, the Journal Square redevelopment plan, a tax abatement for a large downtown development, and various routine resolutions. No formal votes were taken; the caucus served as a discussion session ahead of the regular council meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • Authorized the sale of 28 motor vehicles and 73 motor vehicles via public auction (Items 10.10 and 10.11).
  • Designated reserve parking spaces at various locations (Ordinance 25-104).
  • Established loading zones at 911 Brigham Avenue and 200 Monticello Avenue (Resolutions 25-617 and 25-618).
  • Continued a contract with Longview Technology Solutions for a harm reduction kiosk (Resolution 25-611).
  • Appointed Julie Serrano and Daniel Cronin to the Ethical Standards Board, Philip Rivo to the Rent Leveling Board, and Patrick G. Patel to the Cannabis Control Board (Resolutions 25-607, 25-608, 25-609, 25-623).
  • Increased the city’s bid threshold to $53,000 (Resolution 25-619).
  • Authorized a closed session on October 2, 2025 (Resolution 25-621).
  • Other routine items such as a commemoration resolution and a license agreement for Paulus Hook Park.

Public Comments & Testimony

A public hearing was held on the 2025–2026 Exchange Place Alliance Special Improvement District assessment roll and budget. Forty-three speakers registered to testify; no specific comments were detailed in the transcript.

Discussion Items

Fairmont Hotel (Senior Affordable Housing) – Resolution 25-620

Director Deja Anderson of the Division of Community Development presented a resolution to forgive notes and discharge a mortgage for the Fairmont Hotel at 2595 Kennedy Boulevard. The property received over $1 million in city funding between 1994 and 2024, with a balloon repayment of approximately $20 million due. The city intends to use the forgiveness to negotiate an extended affordability period. Attorney Jim McCann from Connell Foley, representing the owner, outlined a relocation plan for seniors during renovations: temporary moves to vacant units in the building, moving in with family (with no rent charged), or relocation to a market-rate building in Bayonne at the same rent. The renovation is expected to take one year, with individual unit work lasting about three months. Council members expressed concerns about tenant communication, storage of belongings, and enforcement of the relocation plan. McCann committed to providing additional details before the vote.

Code Enforcement Reform Ordinances (Items 3.5, 4.4, 4.5)

Director Shiron Richardson of Housing Preservation explained that item 4.4 clarifies that all properties must register, including those exempt from rent control. For items 3.5 and 4.5, Municipal Prosecutor Jacob Weinstein provided a detailed overview of enforcement challenges: code violations are treated as quasi-criminal offenses, requiring a high burden of proof; some judges require separate trials for each summons; and LLC ownership makes it difficult to identify responsible parties. He highlighted that the Office of Code Compliance issued 13,681 summonses in 2025 (down from 18,299 in 2024) but noted that the office now writes over four times as many summonses as a few years ago. Ordinance 25-105 (item 3.5) clarifies that a single summons can cover a per-day violation with a maximum $2,000 fine, streamlining prosecution. Councilman Solomon questioned about repeat offenders and plea bargains; the prosecutor explained that failures to appear and shell companies are major obstacles. It was agreed that item 4.5 would be defeated, and item 3.5 would replace it. The council requested a written legal opinion from the law department.

Journal Square Redevelopment Plan Amendment (Ordinance 25-086, Item 11.11)

Planning Director Tanya Andrewes presented an amendment to the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan that excludes a mandatory affordable housing overlay for Zone 4. The amendment includes technical map changes, expansion of the arts walk, parking bonuses, senior housing, and rent control replacement language. The affordable housing component for Zone 4 was removed after public feedback and a planning board vote that did not second the inclusion. Councilman Boggiano emphasized that residents wanted to preserve one-, two-, and three-family neighborhoods and not allow high-rises. Councilwoman Soleil asked about the geographic scope; Andrewes clarified that only a few parcels were affected, including the former Dollar General site. Councilman Solomon expressed concern about spot zoning and suggested a separate ordinance for Zone 4 mandatory affordable housing. Andrewes and Boggiano agreed to pursue a separate resolution to study Zone 4 further.

Grand Street Tax Abatement (Ordinance 25-101, Item 3.1)

Attorney James McCann (Connell Foley) and Daniel Marinello of NW Financial Group presented a 30-year tax abatement for a 413-unit residential project at 177 & 193–195 Grand Street, with 62 affordable units (15%) and 7,500 square feet for a nursery school. Current taxes on the site are about $630,000; with the pilot, the city would receive approximately $2.5 million annually (12% of gross revenues for first 15 years, 13% for second 15 years, with a phase-in to 80% of regular taxes in the last 10 years). Marinello testified that the project’s returns are below 5% under conventional taxes, making the pilot necessary for financing. Council members questioned the relationship between the upzoning (via IZO) and the pilot, and requested an analysis for a 20% affordable housing scenario. The abatement includes compliance with the city’s living wage ordinance and a project employment contract (PECA). Councilwoman Gilmore asked about local hiring opportunities; McCann agreed to discuss with the developer.

Other Discussion Items

  • The traffic engineering director withdrew a duplicate ordinance on no-right-turn-on-red intersections (Item 3.2).
  • A first-reading ordinance to allow accessory retail uses in the Bright Street Redevelopment Plan (Item 3.6) was briefly discussed.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken at this caucus meeting.
  • Item 4.5 (single complaint sufficiency ordinance) will be defeated in favor of item 3.5.
  • The Fairmont Hotel resolution is expected to be voted on at the next regular meeting, pending additional tenant relocation details.
  • The Journal Square redevelopment plan amendment (11.11) will move forward without Zone 4 affordable housing; a separate resolution to study Zone 4 will be introduced.
  • The Grand Street tax abatement (3.1) will be further considered, with NW Financial to provide an analysis for 20% affordable housing.
  • The law department will provide a written opinion on the code enforcement ordinances.
  • The council requested a policy to standardize tax abatement evaluations for IZO projects.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. We are on the record. Today is Monday, the 22nd day of September in the year 2025. This is a city council caucus meeting of the Jersey City Municipal Council. We had a scheduled 4 p.m. start. The clock of my cell phone is showing 4 02 p.m. May I have a roll call for the commencement of this caucus, Councilperson Ridley. Yeah. Councilperson Hewlings will not be in attendance. Councilperson Bajiano. Councilperson Soleil is not here yet. Councilperson Solomon is not here. And Councilperson Gilmore is not here. Councilperson DeGeece. Here. Councilperson Reburra. Yeah. And Council President Waterman. We have five council members in attendance at 402 p.m. on behalf of Council President Waterman and the members of the municipal council in accordance with New Jersey Public Laws of 1975, Chapter 231, the Open Public Meetings Act, also known as the Sunshine Law. Adequate Notice of this meeting has been provided by the posting on the bulletin board of the first floor of City Hall, the annual notice, which is the schedule of meetings and caucuses of the municipal council for the calendar year 2025 and filed in the office of the city clerk on Friday, November 15th, 2024. In addition, at its time for its preparation, the agenda of this meeting was similarly disseminated on Friday, September 19th, 2025 at 5 40 p.m. to the mayor, municipal council, business administrator, corporation council, the newspapers, and posted on the city's website so I can certify as to our total compliance with the Sunshine Law. Council President, I'm gonna turn it over to you. Afternoon. First director, Director Kears. Good afternoon, President Waterman, members of the council. I have two items before you today. First one is item 1010 25615. The resolution will authorize the sale of 28 motor vehicles and various motor vehicle equipment with a public surplus.com public online auction, which are no longer needed for public use. Second item is 1011 25616. Resolution will authorize the public sale of 73 motor vehicles through the public service surplus.com public online auction, no longer needed for public use. So we now have six council members present. Go ahead, Director. Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. Um Deja Anderson, director of the Division of Community Development. I have agenda item 10.15. That's resolution 25-620. And this is a resolution to authorize the municipal council to authorize amendments and forgive the notes made by the Fairmount Hotel to the City of Jersey City and authorize the discharges of the mortgage for the acquisitions and renovation of 2595 Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City, also known as the Fairmount Hotel. Um I had come before council last week with some information, but I think there was some slight misinformation and miscommunication about this project. Um, what this project is slated to provide to the community. And I think the developer also needed to answer some questions and concerns about the relocation of the senior citizens because this is affordable housing uh for seniors in ward B. Um, so this property received about three different funding streams totaling in the ballpark of slightly over a million dollars for work done in the property starting with uh November 28th of 1994, and then subsequent years where they received this funding. Um, they have met their restricted period and their obligation for the funding that they've already received from the city. Those restricted periods ended in November of 2024. Okay. So where we're at now, how these documents were written up is that there is a balloon repayment due at the end of this restricted period. That repayment due to the city is in the amount of about 20 million dollars.

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