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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.