HUDSON COUNTY EXECUTIVE CRAIG GUY DELIVERS STATE OF THE COUNTY ADDRESS FOCUSING ON SERVICE, OPPORTUNITY

Highlighting first year accomplishments, pledges to continue to put service, opportunity and affordability first

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Today, Hudson County Executive Craig Guy delivered his second State of the County Address, highlighting the administration’s accomplishments in providing services and opportunities for County residents. The County Executive touched on a number of important topics, including services, housing and food insecurity, careers and opportunity, the arts, Vision Zero, and community engagement and communication. Additionally, County Executive Guy announced the launch of the newly redesigned Hudson County website, www.hcnj.us

“Today I laid out the work that’s been done in my first year in office and our plans for the future of Hudson County. 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,” said County Executive Guy. “As your County Executive, I am ready to meet any challenge head on, because I know we can achieve the impossible with hard work and partnership. I am excited for what we have accomplished and everything we will accomplish in future together.”

To view the full livestream recording of the Address, click here.

For photos, click here.

The County Executive’s Address, as prepared for delivery:

I want to begin by thanking everyone assembled here today, especially my partners in elected office. To our commissioners, mayors, state and federal partners, and other municipal leaders- thank you for your commitment and service to the people of Hudson County.

Hudson County stands in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. For decades, millions of immigrants saw this tribute to freedom and opportunity as they entered Ellis Island. As government officials, our role is to serve the public and help protect that freedom and provide that opportunity.

From my early days as a cop on the streets of Jersey City and now as your County Executive, I have never shied away from the opportunity to serve.

We will need to work together — now more than ever — to ensure we protect and serve our community. We owe Hudson County residents nothing less.

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.

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;

We helped almost 2000 adults and over 3,000 children via the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program — the largest number of clients helped in the state;

And Hudson County is the only county in the state that has built programming for the 3,000 children on welfare to ensure that they will not need assistance as adults.

On food security issues, which unfortunately are all too prevalent in Hudson, we have made some important strides:

We assisted over 55,000 clients with the SNAP benefits program, the second-largest number in the state;

We hosted over 300 food distribution events supporting thousands of people in the county;

We provided a 1.8 million dollar grant for the Hoboken Community Center to build a permanent home for its pantry program;

We’ve secured funding to create a permanent food pantry in the city of Bayonne-

Thank you to Governor Murphy and Mayor Davis.

And we are currently purchasing land to create an agricultural hub in Kearny, allowing for storage of produce, meat, and other commodities for distribution to pantries throughout the county.

Thank you, Mayor Doyle and her team, for working with us on this project.

I am proud that Hudson County stands apart from the rest of the state in our delivery of services.

Of course, all the services we offer and provide do no good to a resident who cannot afford a decent quality of life. To me, quality of life includes the ability to afford to live here in Hudson County, to feel safe and secure with the opportunity to enjoy open space with friends and family.

We all know there is an affordable housing crisis, and my Administration has made affordable housing a priority since day one.

We are working to get our most vulnerable residents into housing. Today Irving Peoples, is here with us. Mr. Peoples is a former ranger who proudly served his country in the U.S. Army from 1979 to 1984, including a stint with a peacekeeping group in Lebanon. Through our Department of Aging and Veteran Affairs, we were able to find him and other veterans affordable housing right here in Jersey City.

Let’s all give Mr. Peoples and our Department of Aging and Veteran Affairs a round of applause.

It’s important to increase the supply of affordable housing here in Hudson County. And I’m excited to announce we have identified 5 sites where we can develop affordable housing. I’m happy to say we will have more news to report.

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.

Additionally, in November I announced Hudson County’s first-ever Affordable Housing Task Force. This Task Force purposefully brings together a diverse group, from advocates to developers to folks in the Labor Movement, to find policy recommendations we can implement in Hudson.

The Task Force is already hard at work, meeting multiple times over the past few months to map out strategies for this year. The Task Force has already been engaging with the public, and will continue to do so, so that residents can express their thoughts on the challenges of affordable housing.

To ensure our residents remain safe in our communities, I have implemented numerous public safety initiatives. To crack down on illegal motorized bike usage, I established new signage in our county parks to keep them as safe places for our youth and seniors. And we’ve worked to increase visibility on County roads by replacing streetlights with LED lighting for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians alike.

And, of course, after a year’s worth of listening to the public, I launched Hudson County’s Vision Zero Action Plan in January of this year, committing to attaining zero roadway deaths by 2034. There is no doubt that this is ambitious, but we already have 34 actions proposed for this year, and have implemented several curb extensions, high friction pavement, and striping upgrades to many of our roads.

During the Safety Plan process, we heard from our residents loud and clear — they want to walk more and they want to take to public transit more. And in response, the Plan includes actions to “Enhance Transit and Active Transportation.”

I believe the key to success here for all is for our governmental officials to stop treating our transit agencies as opponents– we will work together with them. I commit to advocating for additional funding sources for all our transit partners, including additional resources for NJ Transit and PATH.

And as we work to achieve greater affordability and safety, our residents will have the opportunity to enjoy all our county has to offer in heritage and culture, arts, and open space.

In 2024 we allocated almost 8.5 million dollars from our Open Space Trust Fund to 24 projects across all 12 towns in Hudson County, the most-ever funded by the program in a single year. These awards funded projects like safety upgrades, green space improvements, and playground enhancements.

We also provided $95,000 in Sports in Education grants to 10 schools in Hudson County, providing sports opportunities for kids who are not in organized leagues;

And lastly, we provided $225,000 in Arts in Education grants, allowing nonprofits to bring arts instruction to 37 schools that would not otherwise have art in their curriculum.

I’d like to recognize Hannah Weeks, the Managing Director of Nimbus Dance. Ms. Weeks, please stand. Nimbus is one of our longtime grant recipients, bringing a “dance to learn” program that transforms classroom education through individual creativity.

Let’s all give Ms. Weeks and Nimbus Dance a round of applause.

In 2025 we will continue to prioritize funding these grants.

And yet, while everyday needs and quality of life are critical to all of our success, the government must also ensure our residents have opportunities to pursue a good education and a good career.

I am proud of the educational options our residents have here in Hudson County – from grade school through graduate degrees.

Our county schools put our students first, often working in partnership with trades and labor to ensure our students graduate with the skills needed to establish careers. Whether bound for college or not, our students have the opportunity to choose good career paths.

In fact, the brand new, state of the art HCST Vocational School at Bayonne High School will be open later this year for high school students and post-secondary programs. This school will provide instruction in Carpentry, Welding, Plumbing, Electricity, and Cosmetology, developing skilled workers for our community.

This special project aligns with my mission to not only make sure the students in Hudson County are college ready, but career ready as well.

So please let me recognize both the educators in the room and the members of labor who are here – thank you for all you do to provide opportunities to our residents.

For those students bound for college, HCCC works with the county to ensure students have affordable options to pursue advanced degrees.

But we all know finding a career is not easy, and that is why we have our Hudson County Workforce Development Board.

The Workforce Development Board brings together leaders from the private sector, public agencies, education, labor unions, and community-based organizations to ensure that our efforts utilize the skilled workers of our community and are aligned with employer demands.

I’m delighted to announce that the Workforce Development Board has been reconstituted, and a new Executive Director, Sharita Brown, has been on-boarded. Ms. Brown, please stand. Ms. Brown has over 24 years working in workforce development, and over 9 years as a manager in our Hudson County One Stop Career Center. Sharita, we expect a lot – no pressure.

Let’s all give Ms. Brown a round of applause.

And I would be remiss not to mention our commitment to our small businesses in Hudson County.

One such business I’d like to highlight is Hudson Kitchen in Kearny, owned by Djenaba Johnson Jones, who is here with us today. Ms. Jones please stand. Let’s all give Ms. Jones a round of applause. Hudson Kitchen was the EDC’s first major loan to a start up business.

In fact, since 2016, the EDC has approved over $28 million in loans. Businesses used these loans to create or retain over 800 jobs across the county.

We have also completed a disparity study and provided recommendations to improve access to procurement for Minority & Women Businesses, as well veteran and disabled veteran owned businesses, in our county.

But everything I have just said means nothing if we fail to communicate with you. My Administration has been working to increase our efforts to both listen to and reach out to you:

We launched a redesigned website, www.hcnj.us – which you can see behind me.

We also launched a monthly email to update residents about our government services, events and opportunities – which you can sign up to receive right on our newly redesigned website.

I’ve established 2 task forces – the previously mentioned Affordable Housing Task Force and the LGBTQ+ Advisory Task Force, which just had its first meeting yesterday.

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.

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 I reflect on my first year in office, I think of this quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi- “start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

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.

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.

Thank you all.