Below is an update from Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla on various public safety topics in Hoboken:
I want to begin by thanking the many residents who have reached out regarding the recent attack at Church Square Park on October 31, and other public safety concerns. As a father of two children who enjoy our parks, ensuring safety for all in our public spaces is a top priority, and one I take seriously.
I write to provide an update and respond to concerns that have been raised, in advance of the public meeting we are holding tonight, Nov. 18, at 5:30 pm in the City Council Chambers. For those who cannot attend, we will be livestreaming the meeting on the City of Hoboken’s YouTube channel, at https://www.youtube.com/@cityofhoboken6014.
As residents may know, we have taken a number of steps to address various quality of life issues, including hiring 23 more police officers over the past year, hiring two full-time social workers, and partnering with several local organizations who provide services to disadvantaged members of our community. However, the Church Square Park incident is a reminder that we need to do better to ensure our public gathering places are safe for all.
Perpetrator is currently detained, review of criminal justice system
First, I wish the victim of the violent incident a continued recovery and am glad to see the outpouring of support for her from our residents.
Within moments of the incident in Church Square Park, multiple officers came to the aid of the victim and immediately arrested the perpetrator. I extend my gratitude to all these Hoboken police officers who prevented a horrible situation from escalating.
Unfortunately, the detained individual has a substantial criminal record, having previously been arrested five times for various, serious crimes. While he remains in detention currently, the previous several times the individual was arrested, he was released, under the current bail laws and regulations set by state law, despite legal motions for detention by the Hudson County Prosecutors Office. In my eyes, this severely undermines the work of our dedicated police officers and necessitates a comprehensive review of our criminal justice system.
While the intent of recent bail reform in New Jersey —to ensure fairness and prevent unnecessary detentions—is very important, I sincerely believe stronger measures need to be in place to ensure public safety in cases involving repeat and violent offenders as was the case here. I am calling on state policymakers to review and refine these policies to find a more nuanced approach that does not unjustly target disadvantaged communities, while also ensuring the safety of our community.
Supporting our police department
As some may know, over the past 7 years, we have welcomed over 60 new officers to our ranks in the Hoboken Police Department, including 23 new officers this year (as mentioned above), underscoring our commitment to ensuring Police Chief Steve Aguiar has the officers needed to address our public safety needs.
Unfortunately, attracting and retaining police officers has been a major challenge in Hoboken, similar to police departments across the region. In fact, following the pandemic, the City was unable to come close to filling its table of organization of 146 police officers, despite our best and frequent recruitment efforts. That’s why my administration, in partnership with the City Council and Hoboken Police Department, recently waived the requirement that any new police officer must currently be a resident of Hoboken. This systematic change in the department has allowed us to successfully hire the 23 new officers this year, further underscoring the City’s support for HPD.
Nonetheless, as it stands currently, while our Police Department Table of Organization is currently 146 officers, we currently sit at 139. We are actively working to fill these positions by 2025. While six new officers are in training at the police academy, which brings us to the 139 number, we are attempting to hire seven at the start of the year. We have fully funded our Table of Organization, and now we try to find qualified and interested applicants. Once these new officers are hired, it will allow us to further bolster the patrol of parks and other city spaces.
Additional visibility and patrols
Earlier this year, the Hoboken Police Department further increased police visibility and patrols in Church Square Park, as well as other City public spaces. Within Church Square Park, the Hoboken Police Department now has a fixed post from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a police tent set up at the gazebo, light towers are now positioned in the park, and mobile cameras are placed at entrances and exits. In addition, HPD conducts regular overnight checks of other city parks as well.
Context on homelessness in Hoboken and the tri-state area
Cities all across the country, including our neighbors in New York City, are spending millions of dollars in resources to address the homelessness crisis that is not unique to Hoboken. In addressing this important issue, I ask all our residents to have a level of compassion for our unhoused residents, recognizing that many of us could be one or two life events from not being able to afford to pay our rent or mortgage, and finding ourselves without the means to get by on a day-to-day basis.
The increase in people experiencing homelessness is a major regional crisis within the tri-state area, and in New Jersey alone it has climbed 24% since last year. According to a report from the non-profit organization Monarch Housing Associates, which compiles statistics on this topic each year, 12,680 individuals experienced homelessness across New Jersey, due to a number of factors including a major shortfall in supply of affordable housing, an increase in evictions, a sharp rise in rental prices across the state, and a very low vacancy rate.
In Hoboken, we are committed to doing our part to address the housing crisis by prioritizing an increase in affordable housing units in new development, including a 20% affordable housing requirement at the new residential development as a part of the LCOR project, a new 100% senior affordable housing complex at 11th and Willow, new developments in the pipeline that includes a minimum of 10% affordable housing in all projects above 10 units, and much more.
Addressing mental health and the unhoused in our community
Incidents like the recent attack underscore the importance of addressing the challenges of mental health and homelessness within our community. Understanding that many individuals experiencing homelessness could use a helping hand to get them back on their feet, my administration, in partnership with the City Council, hired two full-time social workers to actively engage and connect individuals experiencing homelessness with essential resources. Since they began, they’ve worked (often behind the scenes) with hundreds of unhoused residents and have successfully secured housing or other resources for many of them.
For some perspective, since our social workers began in February of 2023, they have:
It is important to know that the social workers are on the ground nearly every day, conducting outreach in various locations, including St. Matthew’s Lunchtime Ministry, the Hoboken Public Library, the Hoboken Shelter, and public spaces like Washington Street, Church Square Park, and the Hoboken Terminal, and will continue to do so.
While they work to assist as many homeless community members as they can, unfortunately it is a reality that many freely choose not to receive help. Nonetheless, it has become clear that while our social workers are providing critical, and often times life-saving services on a daily basis, they could use additional resources. That is why I will be asking the City Council to fully fund two additional social workers to bolster the work already being done by our team, so they can respond to and address as many concerns as possible. I strongly believe that their compassionate work to assist the unhoused will yield positive results.
Support for community organizations
Hoboken has made significant contributions to support our unhoused community and address mental health needs. Over the last two years, the City has awarded over $25,000 to the Hoboken Community Center’s food pantry and behavioral health programs and allocated $199,500 to the Hoboken Shelter for operation costs and HVAC relocation through the City’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, as a couple examples. Organizations like the Hoboken Shelter, Hoboken Food Pantry, Street Life Ministry, and others have been doing an incredible job of providing compassionate assistance to residents in need, and we are committed to continuing to support them.
Need for resources including new cameras and communication upgrades
To effectively address the very valid safety concerns of residents in public spaces, I am asking for the support of the entire City Council to fund various quality of life improvements and police resources. First, I firmly believe that in order to provide stability to our police department, we must adopt Chief Aguiar’s contract which has expired and will provide the department with the stability it needs to move forward and make improvements.
Second, I urge the Council to support my administration’s proposal for new cameras and communication upgrades to enhance our public safety infrastructure at Church Square Park and other public spaces. This proposal has been in the works for some time, and I believe this new equipment can act as a deterrent to crime and be a valuable resource, making our parks and public spaces safer for everyone. We expect to have this proposal before the City Council in December.
Third, I ask the City Council to put forward a proposal for a potential increase in the police department Table of Organization and any corresponding increase in the City budget that they are willing to approve. Various Councilmembers have proposed increasing the Table of Organization by 34 officers, to a total of 180 officers in all ranks. To be transparent with the public, even if we were to recruit this amount of officers, an increase of that many officers would add roughly between $2.5 and $4 million in new salary and benefits cost to the City budget, and a 4% municipal tax increase, not withstanding other budgetary constraints.
I want to conclude by once again offering my sincere thanks to our police officers, social workers, and every resident committed to creating a safe and inclusive community. With the Council’s partnership and the continued engagement of our community, we can ensure that the necessary resources are in place to protect our residents and support those in need.
Sincerely,
Ravi S. Bhalla
Mayor
