It was a beautiful night in Hoboken. What a a beautiful night in the 3^rd ward!

In so many ways this has been one of the toughest campaigns of my life. I know most of you know that our family suffered two losses just last month. They brought us great sadness. But I know that – on election night – Grandma Josie and Grandma Mary are looking down on us tonight and saying – Good Job, everybody.

I am humbled. Humbled by your support and by the trust that you have placed in me. Humbled that you came out and cast a vote for me, and – more importantly – cast a vote for the 3^rd ward. This election was about the heart of Hoboken. And I can tell you that the heart of Hoboken is beating strongly!

Starting today, and over the next four years, we are going to build a new park in this ward. We will build a place where our children – including my baby girl, Lia Grace – can play in safety and security.

We are going to make sure that City Hall pays attention to our ward. That our streets get paved, and that our taxes are lowered. Over the next four years, we are going to continue to fight for the 3^rd ward first.

It was a wonderful celebration last night, but, today, it’s back to work!

Thank you everybody. God bless you!

I was glad to finally get a chance to have an exchange of ideas with my opponent in the 3rd ward race. For some time, he has been running a negative campaign, ignoring the issues of the ward and concentrating on name calling and mudslinging. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch these excerpts from this week’s candidate’s forum at OLG Auditorium. If you are wondering where the fiction ends and the facts begin, I urge you see where I stand on the issues facing our ward.

When the city council passed a $20 million open space bond ordinance, I held my vote until we got assurances that we would get strong consideration for a 3rd ward park. After meeting with the mayor, she expressed support for a purchase of land in the 3rd ward. I want to hold the mayor to her promise, but we can’t build a park on a promise. We have to get together and push the idea to the front of the line. While $20 million sounds like a lot of money, it goes fast once you start trying to buy land for open space.

Residents of the 3rd ward have been living without a park for too long. We need one desperately. There is a shortage of public open space in our city and many of our neighbors in other wards feel strongly about getting a park in their ward, too. I believe the vacant lot, roughly and acre and a half adjacent to the Jubilee Center, presents a perfect opportunity for us to grab hold of an idea for a park and get the community behind it.

With that in mind, I felt it was important to get some 3rd ward residents together for a meeting to discuss what we’d like to see replace this neighborhood eyesore. I talk about a park because the bond ordinance is intended for open space acquisition, but we are just beginning this discussion. Consider it a blank canvas. The main point is that we will never have more of a say in what happens to that vacant lot than we do right now. If it’s sold to a private developer, our last best chance for a park in our near-term future will be gone.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch these video excerpts from our first meeting and join us at future meetings where we hope to organize a group of residents into a working group. Rev. Geoff Curtiss, of the Jubilee Center, graciously allowed the use of the center for the meeting; Principal Rose Perry, of the Hoboken Catholic Academy, talked about the importance of an open space for her students nearby; Assemblyman Ruben Ramos expressed support on the state level for potential remediation efforts, representatives of the Juliana Apartments management said they would do all they could to help the effort and At Large Councilman Dave Mello also expressed support for the land being included in the city’s plans for parks. That’s a pretty good group to start with. How about it? Join us. Contact 3rdwardpark@gmail.com to join the effort.

Almost anything is better than this

It was a busy day in Hoboken, one that started in the blustery cold with the 60th annual Little League Parade and Opening Day Ceremonies down Washington Street and ended in the warm sunshine of Madison Street. I always march in the parade, and we have sponsored a team for years. Baseball is a beautiful game and I’m proud to live in the town where it was born. Our squad looks good this year as you can see by a few of the game faces in this photo. Maria Pepe was there to catch the ceremonial first pitch. It was inspiring to see a real Hoboken hero. I threw the ball around a little bit, but when the kids started making me run sprints I knew it was time to get outta there. I must admit, my arm was still pretty good, though.

We moved on to Biggie’s where I hosted a “Celebrate Hoboken” campaign party. By noon the sun was out and it had warmed up enough to take Lia Grace out for a stroll. We walked from home to Biggie’s on Madison, where we were greeted by a full house. The guys at Biggie’s have never let their fame go to their heads! They run a great Hoboken joint and are a tremendous showcase for our city. The crowd was so great. They embraced me with warmth and good cheers. Some folks were understandably upset about the negative campaign that the other side is running. “Fight back, Mike,” some were saying. “Give him a taste of his own medicine.”

I know how you feel. It’s hard to listen to some of that stuff, but I have learned one thing from getting mud slung at me for years. You don’t fight hate with hate.  You fight hate with love, and I know that my family, Lisa and Lia Grace, know me and love me unconditionally. That tops anything that anyone can say or write about me. I love my community and am honored to have been elected to serve it. That comes through in everything I do. It was great to meet some new friends, too, including a couple who just happened upon our party and were soon sharing some delicious grilled hot dogs and root beer. It happens every day in the 3rd ward, where once you’re here, you’re Hoboken.

This stretch of Madison Street is scheduled for paving this spring

I got an e-mail recently from a resident of the Metrostop building on 9th Street. He was concerned with the conditions of the streets around the complex. Anyone who’s been through that area knows those streets are a mess and frequently un-passable, even when they’re not covered in snow and ice. I’ve been fighting to get what limited resources there are for street paving, dedicated to streets in the 3rd ward.

Towards that end, I’m happy to report that there will be some paving of the streets in this part of town. This spring, Monroe St., between 8th and 11th streets, are scheduled to be paved. These long-overdue repairs were left undone in 2010, but I’ve fought to make sure that they were included on the list this year.

Also slated for paving this year is Madison St., between 8th and 11th streets. That, too, was a job left undone from last year. Madison St., between 7th and 8th streets will also be paved this year as part of a 2011 Department of Transportation grant.

I wish I could say that all the streets in the 3rd ward will be getting attention this year, but that’s just not going to happen. I frequent the area near Metrostop and the Shop Rite nearby regularly, so I know that these improvements will provide, at least, some relief. I can tell you that every time funding becomes available, I will fight to make sure that we get our share.

Specifically, the mayor and I discussed acquisition of the site at 605 Jackson Street for a new park in the 3rd ward. This site is perfectly sized and perfectly situated to get put on a fast track. The mayor showed a real willingness to work with me on this and I appreciate it.

The bond ordinance, which requires six votes for approval, will be repaid by funds from the Open Space Trust Fund. The Jackson Street site is located near the Jubilee Center, the Hoboken Housing Authority residences, and the Hoboken Catholic Academy.  Residents and other stakeholders should have input into what kind of open space they want to see at the site. I think we could be very creative and find a plan that will work for everyone. Once the city acquires the property, we can all decide what the space will eventually look like.