PATERSON – Silk City honors its political past at City Hall better than most other municipalities, but part of that past isn’t as radiant as the decor. Situated in stained glass serenity, the faces of former Mayors Jose “Joey” Torres and Marty Barnes flank the stairwell between the first and second floors, like secular saints barely straining to gain admission to the  sacred kingdom.

In the street-level political world of purgatory otherwise known as Paterson, at least, it didn’t go well.

Both ended up indicted.

Busted on corruption charges, Torres is serving his term in prison now.

His longtime nemesis, Mayor Andre Sayegh, has held office for two weeks, having gutted his way through two unsuccessful attempts to dethrone the disgraced Torres to vanquish a field of other contenders earlier this year. Having run on the political promise of relationships he nurtured over the course of a decade-plus in elected office, Sayegh – in his first big act as mayor – infuriated his own old rivals with an announcement earlier this week that he plans to raise taxes by two percent.

Down the hall from the inner sanctum of Paterson portraiture that includes that iconic depiction of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton examining the Great Falls as part of Hamilton’s vision to create America’s first an industrial city, InsiderNJ sat down with Sayegh in his wood-paneled office on Friday morning to consider the going terrain.

“I’m actually relishing this,” he said, reflecting on his transition from campaigning for mayor to the office itself. “I have been fighting for it for a decade, and now that I’m in office I understand what is expected of an executive.”

His chief priority, he said, is what he describes as “council collaboration.”

“It’s about relationships,” he said with an enduring grin.

Councilman Bill McKoy may disagree.

He lost his May bid for mayor and cried foul when the new administration on Wednesday presented its plan for a $158.36 million tax levy, up from last year’s $155.22 million, according to Jayed Rahman of the Paterson Times.

But Sayegh dismisses the notion that he and McKoy can’t get along, talked about how he intends to nurture those longstanding ties he has with rivals on the city council, and made his case for the tax increase.

“We’ve inherited a structural deficit, which we have to address,” the mayor said. “The Department of Community Affairs [DCA] has said this is the way to stability. We have to have skin in the game because I’m going to ask for an extraordinary amount of transitional aid. What DCA has said is that if your budget is $300 million, one percent of that would be this two percent increase. During the next two quarters, Patersonian’s taxes will decrease, and then increase next year.”

The increase won’t occur in a vacuum, insisted Sayegh, as he immerses himself in trying to tap new development opportunities for the city.

“We will develop our way out of this deficit,” he promised.

Earlier the same morning, famed nonprofit developer Chris Paladino of New Brunswick Development Corps. stepped out of Sayegh’s office after meeting with the mayor to discuss his possible involvement in projects to enhance the Great Falls.

“It doesn’t get any better than Chris Paladino,” the mayor said of talks that are very preliminary. “His focus would be on the Falls, making it a vibrant tourist destination. As it stands, people come to Paterson, they get out of their cars to take a picture, and then they get back in their cars and leave. We’ve got to give people options – shopping and dining options. When we do that, then the perception of Paterson will change. We’re here to make it manifest. The Falls – that’s where city was born and where it will be reborn.”

Sayegh sees closing on Great Falls development as a chief priority.

“I can remember going to Niagara Falls as a kid and thinking we sort of have a Niagara Falls in our own backyard,” he said. “Give [Alexander] Hamilton credit. He saw something other people did not. It’s not Niagara Falls just yet, but that’s our obligation.”

The mayor also wants to rely more on grants for critical city programs like recreation to alleviate pressure on the general operating budget. The city will hire a grants writer and that individual will be in City Hall at least once a week.

But if friction between the mayor’s office and the city council classically defines Paterson’s political dysfunction, the mayor insisted that he intends to work productively with his colleagues. Whatever personal collisions occurred, they have common interests, he said.

“It depends on what these individuals want to accomplish,” Sayegh said.

He and the man who replaced him as the 6th Ward Councilman – Al Abdel-Aziz – are collaborating on charging a hookah licensing fee and generating a new city revenue. He and Councilman Flavio Rivera – who ran on a ticket with failed mayoral candidate Alex Mendez – are working on financial issues, including those that impact the city armory. He also asked all ward council people to submit the names of two streets in their wards the city can prioritize to clean every day, and all the council people complied.

They may not be able to eradicate the tensions utterly, but they can prioritize Paterson.

Coming out of the budget process, Sayegh thanked Governor Phil Murphy for restoring $20 million in school funding as Paterson – its schools under state control going back to 1991 – looks to transition to local control over the next two years, and – on several occasions during the interview – noted his close political relationship with Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who heads up DCA.

“She and Governor Murphy were both here for my inauguration,” said the mayor.

As part of his schedule, Sayegh met earlier this week with the president of Passaic County Community College to examine ways the city can partner with the school to increase employment opportunities. On Monday, he will swear into office 12 new police officers to add to the 24 the city added on the day the mayor assumed office earlier this month. And as part of the Great Falls centerpiece to his economic development plan, the mayor – excitable on his favorite subject – said he anticipates a later summer unveiling of a 120-seat Overlook Park amphitheater, intent, he said, on Paterson beautification.