Hudson County Executive Craig Guy highlighted rental assistance, housing, and food insecurity, and much more, at his second State of the County Address this afternoon.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“The role of government is to serve the public. And I take that role very seriously. The services we offer are vital to people’s everyday lives, touching upon numerous basic needs,” Guy said early on during his roughly 18-minute speech.
“Here’s just some of what we’ve accomplished in the past year: we helped more than 4,000 individuals and families, we disbursed more than 41 million dollars to help those in need with rental assistance, we provided emergency housing assistance to over 420 individuals – the most provided in the entire state of New Jersey.”
He continued that approximately 2,000 adults and 3,000 children received Temporary Assistance for the Needy Families program, also the largest number in the state, along with 3,000 children on welfare.
Furthermore, Guy, also chair the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), noted that 55,000 clients received assistance from the SNAP benefits program, over 300 food distribution events, and providing $1.8 million grant to Hudson County Community College (HCCC) for a permanent food pantry.
The county executive also mentioned that a permanent food pantry is coming to Bayonne and that an agricultural hub is on its way to Kearny before later mentioning plans for more affordable housing.
“It’s important to increase the supply of affordable housing here in Hudson County. And I’m excited to announce we have identified five sites where we can develop affordable housing. I’m happy to say we will have more news to report,” he noted.
“I’m also proud to announce the Hudson County Teachers Village Program, a plan that will provide affordable housing for working teachers and their families. This initiative will allow for educators to live near their schools, giving them the opportunity to live in the communities they serve.”
Over the course of the speech, Guy also touted the Hudson County Schools of Technology’s Vocational School at Bayonne High School, as well as the county’s affordable housing and LGBTQ+ task forces.
“When some folks hear the term ‘task force,’ they roll their eyes because they think it is just another way to kick the can down the road and avoid dealing with a serious issue. Well to me, task forces mean something, as a way to engage members of the public directly with county officials,” he said.
“These task forces won’t be just talk. I will work with these task forces to provide concrete, consensus policy recommendations for our county.”
As he concluded, Guy put an emphasis on collaboration.
“My administration is focused on service and opportunity, and whether it’s working to make Hudson County more affordable or helping residents meet their basic needs, I am working for you every single day,” he explained.
“As your County Executive, I am ready to meet any challenge head on, because I know we can accomplish the impossible with hard work and partnership. I am excited for what we have accomplished and everything we will accomplish in future – together.”
Next time send someone who is capable holding cell phone horizontal and in wide angle mode. We don’t need to see his bold spot up close.
As to Guy, with HC allowing developers rig the housing market, he will never catch up with affordable housing. Game is set against the people by default. But the good news is, we have Lgb task force.
The only bald spot here is your sarcasm masquerading as intelligence. We indeed can do more together to increase the stock of affordable housing and, we can stand up to those with other agendas who would seek to use the gay community as punching bags and scape goats.