Council Vice President Phil Cohen has proudly served as an elected member of the Hoboken City Council since 2020.
Phil has lived in Hoboken for 39 years, moving to town after graduating from Tufts University to attend Rutgers Law School. Phil and his wife Rebecca Kramnick proudly raised their daughters, Madeline 29 and Anna 25, here in Hoboken.
For more than two decades Phil has been an engaged volunteer in Hoboken’s civic life. Since 2017, Phil has served as a member of the Citizens Advisory Board for Hoboken’s transformative $230 million federal Rebuild By Design project, working on the plan to implement protections for our City from rising tides and strengthening storms like Superstorm Sandy. As Councilman, Phil continued his long-standing public service related to Rebuild by Design on the Council, serving as the past Chair of the Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Rebuild by Design.
Before his election to the City Council, Phil served eight years as a Commissioner on the Hoboken Zoning Board and also served on the Hoboken Planning Board. As a Zoning Board Commissioner, Phil supported the adaptive reuse of abandoned industrial structures including the Pilsener Haus project. Phil also supported the introduction of new uses in the industrial northwest such as the Gravity Vault and the buildings that include the current and future homes of the Mile Square Theatre. He enthusiastically supported the construction of the American Legion Post, including housing for 6 homeless veterans. Later, as a Councilman, Phil was instrumental in securing a $100,000 contribution from the Jon Bon Jovi Foundation for the American Legion to expand the project and house an additional 18 homeless veterans on the site.
Phil is in his second year serving on the Hoboken Arts Advisory Committee. As the Council appointee to the Hoboken Arts Advisory Committee, Phil is committed to supporting the work of creators and artists, and bringing innovative, interesting and beautiful art to Hoboken’s public spaces.
Phil also served for two years as a Trustee of the Hoboken Business Alliance working closely with members of our business community on public art installations and beautifying and promoting Hoboken’s vibrant business district.
Phil is a longtime member of the Hoboken Democratic Party’s Executive Committee. Phil has been elected by his 5th Ward neighbors to serve as a Committeeman for more than 15years. In 2018, Phil was elected to a term as Chair of the Hoboken Democratic Party by the members of the Hoboken Democratic Party.
Phil served seven years on Stevens Cooperative School’s Board of Trustees and served a term as Stevens’ Board Chair. Phil also served for a decade as a trustee on the United Synagogue of Hoboken Board. Phil also has servedas a trustee on the Board of the animal welfare not-for-profit, The Liberty Humane Society — an organization from which Phil’s family adopted 4 wonderful cats. Phil and his family are long-time volunteers and supporters of the 11th Street Island Association, dedicated to enhancing the islands on 11th Street.
Phil served 7 years on the Board of Family Legal Care (formerly known as LIFT), a not-for-profit organization which each year provides free legal information and legal advice to tens of thousands of unrepresented families navigating New York’s Family Court system.
Phil is the recipient of the Corporate Leadership Award from the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation, a Bronx-based anti-poverty non-profit organization. Phil is a practicing attorney in the New York office of an international law firm where he is a shareholder in the firm’s litigation practice.
Committees
- Community Development and Housing (North) (Chair)
- Climate Action and Innovation
- Administration Finance & Infrastructure
