Catch up with news from the past couple of weeks!

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Cashless tolls coming to GWB and Lincoln + Holland tunnels

That’s right – Port Authority commissioners approved $240 million in contracts to bring cashless toll collections in order to prevent traffic delays and crashes. They aim to have this ready and running by 2021.

Jersey City’s newly restructured recreation department shines focus on youth development beyond athletics

The Jersey City Department of Recreation will be redirected to the Jersey City Department of Youth Development to incorporate youth enrichment beyond athletic programs. This would help provide youth ages 7 to 24 access to mentors, skills training, and after school activities.

Rise for Refuge Rally to Urge the Administration to Admit 95,000 Refugees

Welcome Home, Jersey City Vigil for Refugees, First Friends of NJ & NY, and RDJ Refugee Center are sponsoring a rally to send the message that Jersey City is a welcoming community

Jersey City Fire Department Promotes 13 Firefighters to Captain

Thirteen new captains were sworn into the City’s Fire Department on July 23rd. This brings the total number of Captains on the JCFD to 141, the largest amount in a decade.

Jersey City holds faulty landlords accountable for relocation assistance for displaced renters

Mayor Fulop and City Council have introduced an ordinance that establishes a revolving Relocation Assistance Fund, which will provide the funding for safe housing to eligible tenants whose landlords fail to correct severe violations of housing and construction codes. Delinquent landlords who fail to rectify the cited violations and/or pay associated fines within 10 days of the court’s adjudication will now result in a lien on the property.

Jersey City police unit might have a TV show

According to NJ.com, “the Jersey City Council approved a resolution last week authorizing the city to enter an agreement with a TV production company to create a 13-episode reality series following the police department’s ESU.” Filming would take about 16 weeks and three ESU tours of duty would be followed by a film crew.

Audubon Park to be transformed

With the help of student volunteers, a multi-faceted transformation plan is being put in place to re-design Audubon Park. This plan would restore the park’s war memorial and create a space for sports and recreation.

Over 20,000 signatures collected to challenge Airbnb ordinance

On July 18th, 20,000 signatures were collected and submitted to City Council to challenge the Airbnb ordinance that would ban tenants from listing homes for short-term rentals. Under the ordinance, short-term rentals would be phased out by 2021.