Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla today announced the departure of his Chief of Staff, Vijay Chaudhuri, who will step down from his role in the coming weeks. Chaudhuri will be departing City Hall to pursue another career opportunity in political and government consulting.
“Vijay Chaudhuri is one of the finest public servants I have had the privilege of working alongside,” said Mayor Bhalla. “His unwavering commitment to Hoboken and his deep understanding of government have helped transform our City for the better. Vijay has been a driving force behind some of our most ambitious and consequential projects and he has played a pivotal role in shaping Hoboken’s progress. Simply put, Hoboken is a better, safer, and stronger city because of him and while I am saddened to see him go, I have no doubt that he will continue to make a difference in his next steps. I wish him nothing but success in the next chapter of his career.”
Chaudhuri began his career with the City of Hoboken in 2015 as Chief of Staff to Mayor Dawn Zimmer. He then went on to serve as Communications Manager and later Chief of Staff to Mayor Bhalla.
In 2017, Chaudhuri served as campaign manager for then-Councilman Bhalla’s run for Mayor of Hoboken, in which he made history becoming New Jersey’s first Sikh Mayor. He was named an honorary chair of the Hoboken Democratic Party in 2017, and helped initiate and led a successful referendum to move municipal elections from May to November as a member of the “Vote Yes November Citizens Committee” in 2012.
During his employment with the City, Chaudhuri helped secure the former Union Dry Dock site for Maritime Park, assisted in the negotiations for the historic land swap agreement that gave Hoboken the Monarch site, and worked with City directors to position Hoboken as a national leader in sustainability and resiliency; providing support for the Rebuild by Design project, Vision Zero initiative, and Hoboken Climate Action Plan. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chaudhuri also worked to establish pop-up vaccine and testing clinics, kept the community informed on a daily basis of the latest CDC guidelines, and established local policies to keep residents healthy and businesses open.
“Serving the residents of Hoboken has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” said Chaudhuri. “I am deeply grateful to Mayor Zimmer for asking me to join her administration in 2015, and to Mayor Bhalla for his many years of unwavering commitment to Hoboken, both of whom entrusted me with the opportunity to help lead City Hall over the past decade. I am incredibly proud to have worked alongside both Mayors, members of the City Council, and my trusted colleagues on countless, game-changing projects that have made Hoboken the best urban city in New Jersey to live in. Hoboken has been fortunate to have had Mayor Bhalla’s steadfast leadership over the past seven years, and I am fully confident that his administration will be in good hands in the weeks and months ahead.”
Before his time in Hoboken, Chaudhuri served as Director of Community Relations for U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley, then Chair of the Queens Democratic Party, representing New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of Queens and the Bronx. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Wesleyan University.
The City will announce plans for the Chief of Staff role in the near future.
