Local Economy

I am committed to supporting a thriving local economy by continuing to champion small businesses, promoting local hiring, and encouraging sustainable development.

Bring More Business to Hoboken

  • Streamline Permitting: Work with the Hoboken Business Alliance to do a full audit of the process a new business must go through to open in Hoboken and streamline that.

    • Make Application Process Transparent: Create a checklist of all required documents and steps associated with the process of obtaining each business license so that every applicant will understand exactly what is required from the very start.

  • Welcome More Local Small Business: Dedicate resources across Constituent Services and the Hoboken Business Alliance to provide a “welcome wagon” style kit that can be provided to residents who wish to open a small business with guidance, recommendations, and points of contact for technical questions.

  • Hoboken is a Destination for Corporate HQ: Expand on the success of the Waterfront Corporate Center, which has brought in new corporate headquarters for companies such as Unilever, Wiley & Son, EY, etc.

    • Work with the Hoboken Business Alliance to market Hoboken as a great place to work, live, and play.

  • Expand Main Street Options: Expand the availability of commercial centers to help increase supply, and thus bring down cost, through the creation of a new commercial corridor along 15th Street west of Willow. This means prioritizing the approval of the street-level commercial spaces associated with the new developments in this area.

Support the Hoboken Business Community

  • Champion Hoboken’s Main Street: Continue to focus resources from the Hoboken Business Alliance into Washington Street to ensure that we are putting our best foot forward when it comes to our main commercial corridor, for example expanding the sanitation program to ensure overnight trash pickup and more frequent power washing.

    • Implement a financial penalty for commercial property owners who leave vacancies on Washington Street for extended periods of time, creating the sense of blighted storefronts. 

    • Work with the Transportation Department to create a HOP dedicated to the business district during peak holiday shopping periods that’s available evenings and weekends.

  • Position Hoboken as a Destination for Tourism: Working in partnership with organizations such as the Hoboken Business Alliance and the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, promote Hoboken as a destination - including working to move the Hilton Hotel project forward.

Alternative Revenue Sources

  • Work Collaboratively with Hudson County: The Hudson County footprint in Hoboken is composed of Columbus Park and the open space under the 14th Street viaduct; however, there are many streets that are County-owned that are not maintained by the County with respect to law enforcement and maintenance. I will work closely with the County Executive, the County government, and the Hudson County Sheriff to ensure that Hoboken gets more bang for our buck when it comes to taxes paid to the County, reducing the burden on local resources to address challenges such as E-bikes, speeding, and degraded roads. 

  • Explore the Use of Automated Enforcement: Based on pilot data, Hoboken enforces less than 20% of the infractions committed on a regular basis along Washington Street. Through use of automated technology, the City can more consistently enforce against violations that create an unsafe area for pedestrians and bikers, while also increasing revenue - and tailor the implementation of that enforcement in a way to avoid hitting residents.

    • This approach could also be expanded to other areas where there are frequent infractions (e.g. ongoing double parking on Willow).

    • Work with state legislators to advocate for the ability to bring back red-light cameras and automated enforcement tools that will both assist with promoting a safer city when it comes to speeding and running stop signs, while creating an additional revenue source from ticketing.

  • Expand Hotel Tax Benefit from Short-term Rentals: Explore the benefits of setting up a process to both register and tax short-term rental units via platforms like AirBnb so that the city can apply hotel taxes that would be paid for by the visitors, not the property owners (estimated benefit of $200-300K annually).

  • Identify areas of non-compliance to increase fee collection: Dedicate additional staff resources to review the inventory of rental units across the city to identify and issue fines against landlords who have failed to register apartment rentals.