Today, Hoboken 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos and 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher both pledged to halt Hoboken’s automated parking cameras if elected mayor, with the former pointing to a recent vote to make himself standout from the crowd.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I was the only candidate for Mayor who voted NO on this plan when it was introduced in the City Council, because I share the concerns raised by residents and small businesses that automated parking enforcement without the discretion of human beings will just become a cash grab that unfairly penalizes residents,” Ramos said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, the program passed with the support of Emily Jabbour, Tiffanie Fisher and Michael Russo. As Hoboken’s next Mayor, I will make it a priority to end automated parking enforcement and get back to basics with human enforcement of our parking rules.”
The cameras are set to start issuing tickets this week, and according to Ramos, this has led to widespread confusion with multiple residents posting on social media that they have received warning letters from the city already.
At the September 17th City Council meeting, Ramos, along with 1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano, introduced a resolution to delay implementing the Camera-based License Plate Enforcement for Access & Response (CLEAR) until February 1st, 2026.
The local legislation failed 4-4, with Ramos, Presinzano, Fisher, and 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo voting yes, while Council President Jim Doyle, 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, Councilman-at-Large Joe Quintero, and Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour voted no.
However, the initial measure to potentially implement a pilot program for the cameras in the future, the one referenced by Ramos, came about a year-and-a-half ago, and that is where he case the only no vote. Jabbour and Russo declined to respond to Ramos.
Fisher said in her own statement that the council was told that vote was about collecting parking data and finding ways to improve it without any mention of enforcement at the time.
“Residents and small businesses are rightfully upset about the rollout of these cameras, which happened without Council approval or community input,” she began.
“The Council voted 18 months ago to collect data to explore better parking solutions — including 15-minute parking stops on Washington Street and additional loading zones — not to launch automated ticketing. Mayor Bhalla exploited a loophole in our laws to turn a data pilot into a cash-grab enforcement scheme.”
Her proposed amendment would close this “loophole” by extending Hoboken’s existing ban on red light and stop sign cameras to cover fully automated parking enforcement systems.
“The cameras were meant to be used as originally intended — to inform a better parking design for our commercial districts that would minimize the need for double parking. We need a holistic solution that improves safety while also supporting accessibility and commerce on Washington Street,” Fisher added.
“While handheld devices and vehicle-mounted plate readers remain valid tools of human-directed enforcement, unmanned automated camera systems undermine transparency, accountability, and the public trust. I am hopeful this change in our laws will lead to a better solution for everyone.”
How many times will “policy wonk Tiffanie” use the excuse that she didn’t read the ordinance or claimed it was unclear.
Do you effing job, you whiny brat
Councilwoman Fisher is trying to stop Ravi’s latest abuse against Hoboken with his horrible rubber-stamping bots Emily Jabbour and Joe Quintero. Focus on the abusers!