Mayor Steven M. Fulop Delivers his 10th Annual State of the City Address

JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop delivered his 10th annual State of the City Address tonight to highlight efforts and achievements over the past decade and outline the administration’s important goals for 2023 and beyond. The State of the City Address was available via live stream to promote even more civic engagement.

“Jersey City has become the economic backbone of the state with economic growth, housing development, attracting businesses large and small, and ultimately accruing tax revenues that help alleviate financial burdens for all Jersey City and New Jersey residents,” Mayor Fulop said during his State of the City address. “We have a lot of truly incredible development happening in every corner of our City. In fact, we are literally surrounded by progress as I stand before you today, delivering my 10th State of the City address from the 9th floor of this highly anticipated Public Safety Headquarters."

Highlights from Mayor Fulop’s State of the City Address include:

Health and Human Services

• This past year, we opened the City’s second Healthy Greens JC vertical farm in public housing, providing over 500 pounds of free produce to hundreds of low-income families.
• Our Healthy Greens program goes far beyond providing healthy greens. It is our partnership with the community to encourage more residents to adopt healthier lifestyles.
• To further advance these public health efforts, this year, we are building a stand-alone food pantry within Curries Woods using federal grants. This is in conjunction with programs around healthy corner stores and senior supermarket tours.
• As the only municipality in the U.S. with federal approval for our immigration program, Jersey City has set a national precedent for helping immigrants navigate the corridors of the immigration system and accessing life-saving services.
• On a more global scale, we helped reunite families who escaped the Taliban, Ukrainian children and mothers fleeing Russian military invasion, and residents from Haiti, Latin America, Africa, and Asia looking for better opportunities.

Education

• No city in New Jersey has created more new seats for public education than Jersey City.
• Last month, we approved the Empowerment Charter School construction using city land, which will have over 2,000 students.
• Next month, we will break ground on Liberty Science Center High School, which will have 400 students and will be the state’s most innovative high school, offering students one of the top STEM educations in the region.
• NJCU is a vital part of the fabric of our community, and it is not an option to have campus life disappear from this part of the City. We have been working closely with Senator Stack to secure the necessary funds here.

Affordability

• Despite public housing shortages nationwide, Jersey City is adding to our public housing inventory.
• Hundreds of units are in cue or approved, and for the first time in years, we’ve seen the first affordable housing construction approved in areas that historically lacked affordable opportunities.
• Under the Bayfront Redevelopment project, we increased the number of affordable units on site from about 400 to 2,800 affordable units in total.
• For the first time in 40 years, we recently acquired a new building that we will transform into 100% affordable housing in partnership with the Jersey City Housing Authority.
• Just last month, we announced ambitious plans to redevelop Holland Gardens into a model mixed-income community.

Community Development

• Over 17,000 units have been approved by the Planning and Zoning Boards.
• Over 15,000 residential certificates of occupancy were also approved.
• Between new development and expanding property values, this year we are collecting $1 billion more in property tax revenues.
• During the Fulop Administration, property market values have jumped over $20 billion in just 10 years.
• New homeless shelter currently under construction.
• Two new public schools under construction that commenced without state help.
• One new library is under construction and a second library is in the works.
• Several acres of new public parks and open space are coming online in our urban core.
• Senior Center under construction in the heights.
• New police precinct under construction for the East District.

Fiscal Responsibility

• Over the last 10 years, the administration has introduced seven budgets with no tax increases on the municipal side.
• This year, despite nationwide inflation of 6% percent and unprecedented cost increases for goods and services, we will introduce a budget with only a 2% increase. That equates to an average of just $7 a month.
• We are getting back to the basics of financial stability and delivering a tax bill well below the rate of inflation.

Traffic Safety

• Last year, we had zero traffic deaths on city roadways due to our key safety improvements.
• Since becoming the first municipality in NJ to adopt Vision Zero in 2017, we have installed over 600 speed humps citywide at the direct request of residents.
• Over the past 5 years, over 400 intersections have been upgraded to improve safety.
• In just 3 years, we built 20 miles of protected bike lanes.

Public Safety

• We ended 2022 with a nearly 50% decrease in homicides and 30% decrease in shootings since Mayor Fulop’s first full year in office. We are on track for even better results this year.
• Of the 777 police officers hired by Mayor Fulop, 3 out of every 4 are minorities. This is a direct result of our ongoing diversity recruitment efforts, which have also grown the police department to its largest size in decades.
• Heeding the public’s call for better de-escalation practices, construction is underway to build the City’s first-ever De-escalation Training Center.
  • The Training Center will house our first 360-degree simulator, which is proven to be one of the most effective training tools for de-escalation.
  • The Training Center will be completed by the end of this year.
• For the first time in 85 years, this summer, we created two brand new fire companies - the High-rise Unit and Rapid Intervention Crew - expanding from 26 to 28 companies.
• The JCFD was also awarded the top 1% of fire protection nationwide for the first time.

City Hall Annex

• Jersey City’s first Public Safety Headquarters building will officially open next week and the entire community is invited to attend the celebration.
• The new Headquarters consolidates Public Safety operations bringing personnel under one roof, saving taxpayers’ dollars, streamlining public services, creating a 24/7 police presence, and ultimately reinvigorating the area to boost the local economy.
• On the ground floor of the new Public Safety Headquarters will be Jersey City’s first-ever Police and Fire Recruitment Center in conjunction with an interactive exhibit designed for field trips to encourage residents and families to visit the building.
• The Public Safety Headquarters is the fourth and final building to complete the Jackson Square City Hall Annex, bringing public-facing city services to one place on the south side of the City.

Arts and Culture

• In Journal Square, we will be investing more than $200M towards creating the museum of Jersey City History at the Apple Tree House.
• We’re renovating the historic Loews Theater to preserve its rich history and transform the venue into a sought-after destination for talent and visitors.
• Centre Pompidou x Jersey City is set to open in 2026. Journal Square will be home to a cultural center that showcases Picassos and Chagalls, and also, more importantly, invests in community programming and youth development.
• The Arts and Culture Trust Fund that voters overwhelmingly approved has become yet another success story where we were the first in New Jersey to implement it, and now large cities from across the country are reaching out for direction on how they too can replicate it.