July 31st, 2026
Edition 1
A look into Councilperson Ephros’ community outreach, efforts, and developments.
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A look into Councilperson Ephros’ community outreach, efforts, and developments. 〰️
Ward D Newsletter
Upcoming Community Events & Resources:
ADUs in Jersey City
Throughout the year, Councilman Ephros has been listening to community members express their concerns about accessory dwelling units throughout Jersey City. Upon collecting feedback, our office took meetings with Planning to talk about a proposed ordinance to find a way to address concerns about ADUs in Jersey City. We will continue to keep our eyes on community feedback as we formulate this ordinance. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about ADUs, please feel free to reach out to our office any time to discuss.
Nature Based Story Time at the Reservoir
Councilman Ephros sat down for Nature Based Storytime, at the Historic Reservoir #3. This event, which was held on every Wednesday of August and September by The Jersey City Department of Recreation and Youth Development in partnership with the Jersey City Free Public Library was open to children aged 0-5 and their parents. Councilman Ephros joined host Dawn Giambalvo to lead story time, taking advantage of the fresh air and beautiful weather!
Over this last month, we’ve been discussing the future of block 29-01, also known as the Burger King lot. Many of our Ward D residents have come to us with many suggestions of what the space might be used for. We’re open to collecting any ideas that you might have for the space, as we continue moving forward on crafting the future redevelopment plan for this space. Please do feel free to keep in touch about this and stay tuned for upcoming developments to this process.
We were proud to stand with Councilman Ephros’ union family 32BJ SEIU, especially to push back against the Kushners’ attempted takeover of Jersey City. Residential building workers were demanding a fair contract and recognition of their rights to bargain. Kushner Real Estate needs to make their move and come to the table in good faith to discuss. Until then, we continue to stand in solidarity with our union workers.
Ongoing Discussions
We’ve been working alongside tenants who have been experiencing egregious rent hikes and less than favorable living conditions. Protecting tenants rights is an ongoing battle that doesn’t end with one victory. If you’re experiencing any issues with your housing, please reach out to our office and the Office of Landlord & Tenant Relations at (201) 547-4821 or by email at landlord-tenant@jcnj.org.
Our office helped staff the Senior Freeze, ANCHOR, and Stay NJ Application Session at the Joseph Connors Center. We assisted many community members, especially seniors, understand what resources are available to them. We also signed dozens of neighbors up for eligible programs. We’re hoping to have even more dates scheduled soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, you can always stop by our office hours for help.
We’ve been working closely with neighborhood advocates to discuss the effects that the closure of Christ Hospital has had. Soon, we’ll be dropping a needs assessment form to get some more input so we can find the best solution going forward. Please stay tuned for that! The Save Our Hospital Coalition will be hosting a town hall on Tuesday, October 27 to discuss updates to the fight to reopen Christ Hospital. Sign up here.
September’s Community Events
Councilman Ephros with the winner of Miss New Jersey 2026, Jacqueline Jetter!
We stopped by Sneaker Room’s backpack giveaway where roughly 1000 bags were passed out!
We joined the Solomon Civic Association for Senior Bingo!
We gathered at City Hall to commemorate Glenn D. Cunningham day, to remember and honor the past Mayor and State Senator.
Let’s Talk Budget
Thank you to everyone who attended our Ward D Budget specific town halls at our office on Tuesday, August 4th, and Tuesday, August 18th.
During these in-depth sessions, residents joined Councilmember Ephros and the Ward D council office to examine the proposed City budget line by line and discuss the property tax increase in detail. We provided printed copies of the tax breakdowns and answered constituent questions regarding specific line items and the overall budget process.
Following these town halls, the City Council approved the budget on Wednesday, August 26th, by a vote of 8-0-1.
Thank you again to everyone who participated in this process and shared your concerns and vision for our community. We remain dedicated to identifying new revenue opportunities for our city to help alleviate the impact of this change.
City Council Passes Ordinance Banning Data Centers in Industrial Zones
We are excited to announce a rather significant policy update from the council:
On August 20th, Jersey City became the largest municipality in New Jersey to pass an ordinance banning data centers in all industrial zones.
Industrial zones are typically prime targets for large data center developments due to their vast space and utility infrastructure. However, rather than selling available land to private equity and Big Tech companies, Jersey City chose to protect these areas for local businesses that will generate more jobs within our community. This decision ensures that land is preserved for residents and business owners who wish to invest directly in the community they are proud to call home.
“Working families shouldn’t be struck with higher utility bills so private equity can profit from massive server farms. Jersey City’s industrial land should support good-paying jobs and an economy that works for our residents. We need a statewide moratorium to slow these projects down and make sure communities come first.”
Polluters Pay Rally at City Hall
Photo credit to Jennifer Brown.
On August 18th, Councilmembers Ephros, Little, and Mayor James Solomon joined others to support the Polluters Pay Act, also known as the Climate Superfund Act. This legislation aims to address the rising costs New Jersey taxpayers face while enduring the effects of pollution.
This summer, Jersey City and our entire state experienced extreme heat, flooding, and severe storms. As a result, many residents have seen their electricity costs skyrocket, effectively requiring that the community foot the bill for environmental damage caused by major corporations like Exxon, ConocoPhillips, and BP. Instead of paying for their own environmental impact, these polluters continue to pass the financial burden onto everyday people with zero oversight.
The Polluters Pay Act ensures that major fossil fuel companies pay for the impact of their greenhouse gas emissions, rather than simply opting to pass these costs on to residents who must suffer the consequences.
Funds collected from polluters will support Jersey City's climate resiliency, cooling centers, wetland restoration, green infrastructure, and overall emergency preparedness. We are grateful to the local organizations and activists working to pass this vital legislation and continue to support its passage in New Jersey.
To learn more about the Polluters Pay Act and see how you can get involved, visit the campaign’s website here.
The Heights is always bustling because it is the home to many local businesses and public spaces. To ensure our neighborhood stays clean and accessible, regular upkeep is essential—especially for our storm drains, which can easily become blocked by litter and cause flooding during heavy rains.
After noticing an accumulation of trash around Central Avenue and the surrounding areas, the Ward D council team promptly scheduled our second neighborhood cleanup event. While we are committed to finding long term solutions to the issue, we believe there’s a lot we can do as a community as we await those solutions. A recurring trash clean up event is one of the ways we are working to combat this!
Ward D Trash Clean Up
On August 15, in collaboration with the Jersey City Department of Public Works—who generously provided trash picks and large waste bags—our team worked with volunteers to lead a successful cleanup across different areas of The Heights.
Community members joined us as volunteers to collect approximately eight large bags of litter from the streets, parks, and sidewalks of Ward D. We really appreciate everyone who came out to help on such a beautiful day. A special thank you goes out to the Department of Public Works for lending us tools, picking up the collected trash bags, and helping make this event possible for us.
We hope to make these cleanups a monthly occurrence. If you are interested in joining future events, please sign up to volunteer with us here.
The Heights Free Market
A few months ago, a local organizer and constituent reached out to the Ward D council office regarding a free market she had been running from her very own stoop. To help accommodate the growing demands of the market, we were glad to partner with her and offer our Heights office as the new host location to welcome even more community members.
In late July, our team coordinated to receive and store hundreds of donated items, including clothes, shoes, household goods, and toys for our second free market. We are deeply grateful to the generous residents in and around Ward D who contributed to this effort.
Thanks to the help of our council aides, interns, and volunteers, we successfully distributed hundreds of new and gently used items to community members. There was barely anything leftover! Any remaining items have since been donated to local shelters and resource centers.
Please note that we are not currently accepting donations while we optimize our storage space to accommodate more items. However, we are excitedly planning our next free market and will announce the next donation period and following market date as soon as details are finalized. Stay tuned!
August’s Community Events
First, Councilmember Ephros was honored at Hudson County Family Promise’s fourth annual Promise Awards. Later, he spent time catching up with children participating in summer camp, who were learning about fire safety from the JCFD. Next, we attended "Drag Me to the Garden," hosted by the Riverview Neighborhood Association and Friends of Riverview Garden. It was a stellar kick-off ahead of the weekend’s Pride festival. Finally, we marched in the Puerto Rican Day Parade, celebrating our Boricua community in Jersey City.
We had a lot of fun at La Festa Italiana, where we caught up with neighbors and enjoyed some fantastic food! Councilmember Ephros also joined the North NJ DSA table at Jersey City’s Pride Festival. We handed out swag and literature, and spoke with attendees about the history of Pride. Finally, we teamed up with Hudson County Complete Streets for a light-rail canvass. We spoke with neighbors and commuters about improving the light rail through 10-minute off-peak service, expansions, and in-fill stations, obtaining signatures for a petition to demand a better light rail in the process. Want to get involved? Check out their website.
Thanks to everyone who joined in on this months’ events!
Divesting From Citizens Bank
In early June, Council members Jake Ephros and Joel Brooks (of Ward B) released a joint statement with Mayor James Solomon to announce Jersey City’s divestment from Citizens Bank. This statement came in response to the bank deepening its’ financial support for the country’s two largest private prison companies, CoreCivic and the GEO group. Citizens Bank has allowed these two companies to access more than $2.5 billion in finances while combined, these CoreCivic and GEO group operate over 70,000 ICE detention beds, and are looking to expand to 100,000 detainees by the end of the year.
Both companies have been faced with mounting allegations of forced labor and wrongful deaths due to understaffing and neglect. GEO group even owns and operates Delaney Hall, where detainees recently organized hunger strikes to protest deplorable conditions and ongoing human rights abuses. The divestment of Jersey City’s funds from Citizens Bank is a reaffirmation of the city’s commitment to being a safe place for immigrant families.
Watch Councilman Ephros speak about Citizens Bank on DemocracyNow! here.
Photo by Farragutful, 2022.
“ICE is a rogue agency inflicting terror on immigrant communities, and the private prison industry exists for one reason: to profit from that terror. Citizens Bank is a willing partner in that project. Jersey City’s money will not fund human rights abuses, and we will not rest until ICE is abolished.”
Jersey City Youth Council
By Saadhana Karri, Ward D Intern
On June 24, 2026, the Jersey City Council unanimously approved Ordinance 26-042, establishing the Jersey City Youth Liaison Council (JCYLC). Sponsored by Councilmember Ephros, this ordinance establishes a formal body for young people to directly collaborate with local government officials. This effort was developed over several months through coordination between the Ward D Council Office, Jersey City middle and high school students, and the Mayor’s office.
The JCYLC will bring together residents ages 12 through 18 across each ward to spearhead youth centred initiatives and provide recommendations on issues impacting young people. Applications for the inaugural council will open later this fall and are designed to ensure equitable representation from Jersey City’s diverse communities.
The Jersey City Budget
As soon as Councilperson Ephros took office 6 months ago, it became apparent to our office that Jersey City would be facing a budget crisis. Our first concern was making sure that we were focused on advancing a plan that protects our most vulnerable communities and working Jersey City families, while ensuring that we could maintain operative public services, like transportation, trash collection, and public safety.
Every year since 2019, the City has been spending more money than it brings in with tax revenue. While we support eliminating waste in departments and we scrutinized every line item in the budget during our hearings, we simply cannot cut our way to an immediate solution to this fiscal crisis as some are calling for.
Jersey city was offered a historic aid package from the state which was solidified with the MOU Council voted to approve unanimously. However, that aid package came with a stipulation of a mandated tax increase. We did not make this decision lightly. But we do believe that the tax increase coupled with the state aid is the most fiscally responsible way for us to stabilize the city’s finances.
If your tax bill looks higher and usual, there is an explanation for this:
“The alternatives ... to accepting the $105 million really amount to privatization: selling out our city to private industry. That could skyrocket costs for working class people. It’s neoliberalism. It’s gutting city government through devastating layoffs or sacrificing public assets like land that we own that when in the hands of private capital makes it that much harder for us to actually win the kind of development that serves the public good, like affordable housing or more public housing. I also expressed my frustration to the administration, that they started laying off city employees with no notice to council. In the budget hearings that are coming up, I’m going to fight against layoffs of our rank and file workers that run this city. So, thank you for showing up tonight and for showing up strong. Whether it’s health and human services workers, whether it’s the bus drivers for our seniors (one of two that we had in the city,) whether it’s the crossing guards that keep our neighbors safe. That’s critical. And I will also still look really diligently for savings in places at the top.”
— Councilperson Ephros at City Council’s 7/15 Meeting
The last two tax bills for the year, Q3 & Q4, need to account for both the tax increase and to compensate for the fact that the tax bills in Q1, Q2 were billed at a lower rate, 2.33%. Thus, the catch up for the first two quarters is reflected as split between the last two quarters.
The increase includes the catch up for the first half of the year in Q3 and the other half in Q4. Those high percentage increases of 25% or 28% will not remain forever. It is because of the need to catch up the bills from the first half of the year.
Wondering what your increase might look like? Estimate the impact of proposed 2026 tax increases on your property, including a breakdown by taxing authority and how the increase appears on your quarterly bills using Jersey City’s tax calculator.
Residents Displaced by Fire Return to Habitable Units
Back in November of 2024, a devastating four alarm fire in a ground floor business displaced 26 residents across 9 families from their homes in the adjacent building. Two firefighters sustained minor injuries and were treated at the Jersey City Medical Center. The fire began at a local business and quickly spread to the apartment building next door.
After an initial investigation took place, the 3505 Kennedy Boulevard Condo Association found that it had four units remaining that were still habitable, for some displaced residents to move into.
Photo courtesy of hudpost.
Residents waited over a year for a reply on the legality of moving into these units. After working with Assemblywoman Brennan, our team was able to get a clear answer for those displaced by the fire. The four unaffected units were confirmed to be habitable by the displaced residents, allowing for some families to move back. We remain committed to working alongside the association to make sure the remaining units are repaired so every family can return home.
July’s Community Events:
Celebrating Freedom on Juneteenth at City Hall with Council President Ridley, Councilman Griffin, and Councilwoman Singh.
Ringing in Independence Day with friends and neighbors. We spent the evening at Riverview Park!
Our July Free Market was a success! We gave away hundreds of household goods, clothing, and electronics to those that stopped by. Thank you to all who donated—we are looking forward to our next one!
Assemblywoman Brennan joined us for a Tenants Know Your Rights session to educate and provide support for JC residents.
Curious about what kinds of services we can help with our constituent services intake form? Take a look at our recently resolved cases.
Resolved Constituent Intake Cases
A Heights resident was experiencing issues with a problematic developer in a next-door lot proposing an overhang, severely impairing both properties’ ability to access their driveways. We spoke with an inspector and directed him to submit a formal request on SeeClickFix, leading to a stop work order until the issues with the overhang were resolved.
A local Heights resident reached out for assistance in collaborating on expanding donation events. We worked with them to distribute hundreds of items ranging from clothing to dinnerware at our Heights Free Market on July 25, 2026! Whatever was leftover was distributed to local shelters. We are looking into how to hold these more frequently to provide more goods to the community.
A resident came to the Ward D office asking for help with EBT fraud, and we were able to put her in touch with Hudson County’s family services to ensure one month’s worth of groceries could be provided.
A Heights native came to Jake with dynamic pricing concerns at a supermarket in Ward D. We referred her to the County but are also looking into protecting the residents of Jersey City from spending more at the register.
Our office helped a Ward D resident facing hundreds of dollars in landlord fees after rental assistance payments out of his control were delayed by connecting him with rent relief resources and next steps to explore.
LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH: