Better Blocks New Jersey sent this candidate questionnaire to all the campaigns running candidates for mayor and city council in Hoboken. We encourage you, the voters, to read these questions, think how you would answer them, and then evaluate candidate responses as they are published before you vote this November.

The purpose behind these questions is to determine how candidates align with Better Blocks New Jersey’s main focus areas on housing, transit, safe streets, and space for public recreation. Better Blocks takes an evidence-based approach to making policy decisions. These questions are based on peer-reviewed research on housing markets and best practices around transit and street safety.

While this survey is meant to be informative for candidates and voters alike, there are “good” and “bad” answers. Hoboken is facing important questions on each of these issues and the candidates we choose to elect can make any problems we face better or worse.

It is our small hope that we can help voters make the most informed decision on Election Day and help aspiring office holders make the most informed decisions when crafting future ordinances.

Read the survey below and consider donating if you want us to support candidates who align with our vision for an affordable, safe, and vibrant city.

Better Blocks New Jersey is a Continuing Political Committee advocating for smart growth, housing affordability, transit-oriented development, and sustainable land use in New Jersey. Our priorities are focused on implementing evidence-based policies and best practices around housing, transit, safe streets, and public parks to create vibrant, livable cities.

We invite you to share your positions on critical policy issues. Your responses will inform our endorsement decisions and will be published in full at www.betterblocksnj.org for your constituents to review.

Housing

1. Would you agree or disagree with this statement? “There is a housing shortage and building new housing helps make existing homes more affordable.”
   • Strong Agree
   • Agree
   • Disagree
   • Strong Disagree
     
2. Would you agree or disagree with this statement? “Hoboken is seeing too much development and once I’m in office, I’d work to slow it down.”
   • Strong Agree
   • Agree
   • Disagree
   • Strong Disagree
     
3. Would you agree or disagree with this statement? “I believe Hoboken is zoned for too much density. If elected to office, I would work to prevent more dense housing developments from being allowed even if such developments come with affordable housing and other community givebacks.”
   • Strong Agree
   • Agree
   • Disagree
   • Strong Disagree
     
4. Would you agree or disagree with this statement? “It is better to mandate affordability through policies like rent control than to increase total housing supply.”
   • Strong Agree
   • Agree
   • Disagree
   • Strong Disagree
     
5. What reforms, if any, would you make to Hoboken’s rent control ordinance?
   
6. Should the city reform zoning to reduce parking requirements and allow the construction of more apartments near PATH and light rail stations?
   • Yes, it is good to encourage more people to live near mass transit without needing to own a car.
   • No, it is important to create more parking near PATH and light rail stations and promote climate and environmental sustainability.
   • This would be a giveaway to developers. I’d only support this if we captured the value some other way.
   • Yes, other (explain)
   • No, other (explain)
     
7. Do you support zoning and building code reforms citywide to reduce red tape around single staircase prohibitions, setbacks, and parking minimums that reduce the number of housing units built and drive up the costs of construction?
   • Yes
   • No
     
8. Do you support the construction of affordable and workforce housing along with mixed-use retail on the site of Garage B?
   • Yes
   • No
   • If no, why not?
     
9. Affordable housing is expensive to build. While some state subsidies are available, they are limited. How would you source additional funding to pay for construction of affordable housing?
   • Force developers to absorb costs
   • Use tax incentives like PILOT Agreements
   • Direct subsidies from the city
   • Other (please explain)
     
10. Would you mandate a certain percentage of units in all new developments be income-restricted affordable housing?
    • Yes
    • No
    • If yes, what percentage and why?
      
11. What, if any, requirements would you put in place for a proposed development to qualify for a PILOT agreement?
    
12. What will you do to prevent new housing construction – both affordable and market rate – from getting stuck in legal quagmires and endless community meetings as seen with VINE, Artisan at Clinton, and Park & Garden apartment buildings?

Transit 

1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? “In Hoboken, walking, biking, and riding mass transit should be incentivized to make it safer and easier to get around and reduce traffic.”
   • Strongly Agree
   • Agree
   • Disagree
   • Strongly Disagree

2. Do you support creating two-way protected bike lanes on Washington Street?
   • Yes
   • No
   • If no, why not?

3. Do you support Hudson County Executive Craig Guy’s bus rapid transit plan on JFK Blvd and can you identify any areas in Hoboken for similar transit improvements?

4. Where would you like to see the Citibike station network expand to next in Hoboken? 

5. Do you envision adopting bike parking solutions like Oonee bike parking stations used in Jersey City in Hoboken as well? 

6. How can Hoboken prevent delivery cyclists from riding on sidewalks, especially on busy corridors like Washington Street, without sacrificing Hoboken’s walkability, bikeability, and general street safety?

7. While route operation is handled by NJ Transit, how can Hoboken improve the bus — including The Hop — and light rail service for its residents, both in terms of the ride itself but also the boarding process and quality of bus stops and rail stations?

8. Would you make a commitment to either bike, walk, or take public transit to work – like the majority of Hoboken residents – if elected to office?
   • Yes
   • No
   • If yes, what is your preferred method of commuting?

9. What is your grand vision for the future of transportation in and around Hoboken? Be as specific as you want.

Street Safety and Vision Zero

1. Hoboken has been a committed leader on a Vision Zero goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries. In recent years, many streets have been redesigned to be safer and provide for transportation alternatives to automobiles. Do you support continuing Vision Zero efforts in Hoboken? What further improvements would you make if elected to office?

2. If you are currently in office, how have you supported Vision Zero efforts to redesign Hoboken’s streets for safety? If you are not in office, what has your participation been in working towards safer streets?

3. If elected, would you support increasing the funding and capacity of the Department of Infrastructure to accelerate Vision Zero improvements, and how would you do so?

4. Do you support proven Vision Zero street safety improvements like curb extension, protected bike lanes, and eliminating conflicted left turns across traffic?
   • Yes
   • No
   • If no, why not?
5. Why do you think the Fourteenth Street Viaduct bike lane had such a prolonged approval despite it being a perennial community request and a (perhaps accidental) resounding success during construction in 2022?

6. Do you support dynamic pricing to regulate demand for parking in areas with limited parking supply?
   • Yes
   • No
   • If no, why not?

7. Would you support the implementation of speed and parking enforcement cameras, if able?
   • Yes
   • No

8. Would you be willing to fund safe street improvements and ease parking demand by increasing the cost of on-street parking near Hoboken Terminal?
   • Yes
   • No
   • If yes, how much should an annual on-street parking permit cost?

9. Do you support Hoboken using new developments as an opportunity to fund or build adjacent pedestrian or bike safety improvements?
   • Yes
   • No

Public Parks and Plazas

1. What can city hall do to return benches (or some other street furniture) to Washington Street while also addressing residents’ and business owners’ concerns of cleanliness and vagrancy?

2. New York City and Jersey City have experimented with large pedestrian plazas for shopping and dining. Where in Hoboken would you consider implementing a similar program to give more public space back to pedestrians? 

3. Would you be open to exploring if new developments can build new schools with on-site, multi-use outdoor fields for team sports and recreation?
   • Yes
   • No

4. Would you support the city using new developments as an opportunity to fund or build adjacent public pedestrian plazas or parks?
   • Yes
   • No

5. What plans do you have to increase the city’s tree canopy to reduce the urban heat island effect? 
   
6. What would be your top priorities for the creation of more passive outdoor park space and active outdoor recreational facilities?