Hoboken 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo, a candidate for mayor, has rolled out his citywide recreation plan, which includes a waterfront pool and revamping programs.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“The land we live on in Hoboken is truly special, and that means we’ve got to have the best recreation possible,” he said in a statement.
“So I surveyed hundreds of residents—and based on their feedback, I’m proposing a bold path forward—including a state-of-the-art pool complex on the waterfront, revamping our program offerings with a focus on Hoboken residents, and more. The proposal starts off with the survey results, and then gets into the big ideas.”
The 13-page plan says a Hoboken Aquatic Center, which includes an indoor event center, on “Pier B,” the land between Pier A and Pier C on the waterfront.
Russo, who said he would get into a detailed financing plan at a later date, noted that utilizing the Hudson County Recreation Trust Fund, New Jersey Open Space Trust Fund and New Jersey Green Acres Fund, as well as the federal Community Project Funding, will be essential.
Still, he recognizes that won’t be enough to get the job done.
“But grant funding won’t cover everything. I’ve spoken on the City Council dais in the past
about my core belief that we should avoid bonding for something unless it generates
revenue for the City, and I will not let us lose sight of debt service like others in the past,” Russo explained.
“So under this plan, the City would institute a pool membership system that puts residents first and ultimately opens up to everyone. The adjacent recreation and event center would be able to support various types of events, from retirement parties to weddings, and support catering.”
Russo continued that community feedback needs to be considered in more detail when it comes to deciding how to run youth sports programs.
“Either way, right now there are redundant entities that run the same type of activity—for
example, five concurrent soccer programs—and they all need space. Right now we simply
don’t have the physical space necessary to accommodate everyone and it shows. We barely
have open space for people to practice recreationally unless they’re signed up for one of our programs; that’s how tight everything has become,” the councilman wrote.
“I’m recommending that we examine all of these programs from a macro standpoint and figure out if we want to combine them, divert resources back to the City, or farm them out if and only if the change would be advantageous. If this section sounds basic, that’s intentional; community feedback will be critical in this process and specific to each program. I will not move forward on any reorganization without stakeholder feedback.”
To that end, Russo also announced a companion Town Hall event, his fourth overall, which will be held at Psycho Mike’s Therapy Bar and Grill, located at 125 Washington St., at 7:00 p.m. on May 28th.
Appetizers will be served, and Hoboken residents and stakeholders are invited to come share their thoughts. Registration is required and a ticket can be secured here.
Russo is in a five-way dance in the non-partisan November 4th mayoral race.
The other declared candidates are 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour, and former U.S. Treasury official Dini Ajmani.
Russo is so full of it.
Hates any revenues unless it comes from a developer. Votes against projects but now magically is going to bring up a floating pool like his buddy delfusco
Give us a break. Can u please just skip all this nonsense and go to jail already
First Michael Russo worked with his council allies to try and shut down the hospital in Hoboken and put Hoboken taxpayers on the hook for $75 million, all in. The governor was so aghast, he stepped in to stop them.
Now Russo claims he’s going to deliver this cartoon rendition of a pool that would cost at least $75 million. It’s a pipe dream but the dream that matters here is Mike getting a nice government check to go along with his subsidized Church Towers apartment.
He really needs that mayor’s seat to make his dream come true.
Psycho Mike’s the perfect name for a place to hold a Russo fundraiser
They may even serve “Pie in the Sky” for dessert
Mikey Squared knows full well His Dad’s partner in Crime Families ( The Barry’s ) wont allow a Pool by 333 River or the W hotel