The five Hoboken City Council members on the Hilton Hotel subcommittee said early this morning that KMS Development Partners have agreed to an additional $350,000 in community givebacks, bringing the total to $4.85 million.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“The City Council Subcommittee wants to thank KMS Development for their incredible commitment to supporting the broad needs within our community and for bringing a world class hotel to Hoboken that will redefine our southern waterfront,” they said in a statement.
“We appreciated working collaboratively with all stakeholders in making community benefits in this redevelopment a priority and trust that Mayor Bhalla finds these additional concessions from the developer a benefit as well. We encourage our neighbors to reach out to the Mayor and the rest of City Council to ask for their support of this improved plan that reaches even more of us.â€
The revised proposal now includes $2 million to help establish the Hoboken Community Center, with $75,000 to be immediately available to fund their feasibility study and launch the project, $1.165 million for infrastructure, with $165,000 to be dedicated to the needs of the adjacent neighborhoods, $1 million for the Hoboken Public Education Foundation, $485,000 to the three Hoboken Public Charter Schools and $200,000 into our Affordable Housing Trust fund.
Hoboken’s three charter schools initially were not slotted to receive any funding from KMS, but Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced late Monday, and reiterated on Tuesday, that further negotiations led to the developer committing another $300,000 – $100,000 to each charter school.
With continued efforts from the council majority, that figure has now increased to $485,000 combined, or about $161,666.67 each.
“We are so grateful to the City Council members (Cunningham, DeFusco, Fisher, Giattino) who feel as we do that Hoboken public charter school students deserve equal funding,” Elysian Charter School President Eduardo Gonzalez wrote in a mass email that went out this morning.
“We are also thankful that the developer in this project, KMS Development, has given its verbal agreement to increase the funds to public charter schools to get to parity.”
City spokesman Santiago Melli-Huber called the situation “an excellent win for the people of Hoboken.”
“The Mayor negotiated an agreement that included $4.5 million in community givebacks. We applaud the City Council for securing an additional $350,000. This is an excellent win for the people of Hoboken.”
That’s great work by the City Council and especially Councilwoman Jen Giattino who has worked probably harder on this project than anyone in Hoboken.
Thankful the City Council got more for Hoboken!! Maybe Ravi Bhalla should try to work with others instead of grabbing headlines and leaving money on the table!
Horse poo!
Jen was not the leader of anything… She was an equal.
The 70 extra hotel rooms will generate about $6 million in revenue per year for the developer so it’s the developer and the unions who should be proud of what they’re getting out of this deal. Who wouldn’t sell a chump a shiny metal quarter for an ugly paper dollar. But this is what you get when Democrats are in control. The combination of corrupt or stupid Democrats and greedy developers and unions has bankrupted NJ.
Yes, democrats are the problem! Just ask my Hero Horse! He is very busy solving the terror flyer case for that incompetent police chief Ferrante. That’s why he doesn’t have time to tell democrats Giattino and Fisher how terrible they are. That’s the only reason. He’s not a hypocrite or anything like that.
I want to thank Councilwoman Jen Giattino and the City Council for not leaving us behind. Our children matter.
Thank you!
I heard that the Council led by Jen Giattino, having used their math skills to fully leverage the City’s negotiating position, has also gotten the developer to pay for a slice of pizza for Councilman DeFusco, so that he too won’t again be left behind while his Marine View constituents are eating.
Any truth to that rumor?
Stan and “the Veej” plotting all around Hoboken.
Acting like the new Bill and Hillary.
Go away! Let Ravi run the city. Shadow, Ravi is not your spouse.
I was skeptical but I have ti applaud all parties involved. Good work!
Lolololololol!!!