Just a week before Election Day, Councilman Michael Russo is proposing legislation to combat the city's well-documented rat infestation.
As a temporary halt on new outdoor dining structures looms in Hoboken, one councilman wants to go a step further by tearing down all current “parklets” until next spring in an effort to curb the city’s well-documented rat infestation.
The city council is expected to pass a five-month moratorium Wednesday on any new parklets in the city. But one proposed ordinance by Councilman Michael Russo for first reading would ban any parklets from the streets until at least April 1 next year. And another proposal by Russo, also up for first reading, would require restaurants to remove the “decking,” or constructed flooring, from the parklets. The timing of the three legislative proposals comes just a week before Election Day, where the city’s six wards, including Russo’s Third Ward, are up for election, and could make parklets a wedge issue as voters head to the polls. “We need to eliminate the food, the burrows and where they’re building their homes,” Russo said in an interview. “Right now, we know that the parklets are a source of food, that they’re burrowing in and around them, and that they’re nesting underneath the decking of the parklets.” The proposed ordinance specifically says that any approved and constructed parklets must be “completely” removed, and that no new applications for parklets would be approved. Establishments would have to reapply for to build them again after April 1.with the restaurant industry when the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to find new ways to stay afloat while serving food safely. Hoboken officials eventually codified parklets last year, and 30 city parklet licenses are currently active., which has become one of the most-discussed issues this year, prompted numerous potential solutions, and in turn has put the local restaurant industry under the microscope.it due to concerns that it would hurt the city’s business community and “does not effectively address the issue it aims to resolve.” In his veto statement, Bhalla cited a letter from the Hoboken Business Alliance that opposed the ordinance because parklets generate “meaningful additional income and employment” to establishments and that there is no “significant or clear data” linking parklets to rat activity. In addition to the five-month parklet ban, Russo says the deck-removal ordinance would be another way to stop the rats without deconstructing the parklets. The intention of having both ordinances up for first reading is to give the council an option, Russo said. While he says the decking removal ordinance is the “better” ordinance, either one passing would work for him. Russo denied that his proposed legislation has anything to do with the election, even though he did make removing all of the city’s parklets. He said Monday the issue has “everything to do with the quality of life in Hoboken. Anyone who’s making claim otherwise, shame on them.” While the ordinances would not be passed into law until a day after the Nov. 7 election, a vote on the parklets and, by association, rat control, would force the candidates to take a position on it before voters cast their ballots. The same people that were against the ordinance that was vetoed — Bhalla’s allies and the HBA — also threw cold water on Russo’s proposed ban. HBA Executive Director Roxanne Earley argued it would cause layoffs in the restaurant and dining scene right before the holidays. “If required to remove the parklet, allows for a stability that an uncovered ‘streatery’ doesn’t allow for, we’ve been told that they’re going to have to contract their business,” Earley said. While the decking removal ordinance is a “good start” for discussing design guidelines, Earley said she’d still “hate” to see decking banned and that it would “solve one issue without necessarily creating another. … ADA access, drainage and stability reasons.” Council President Emily Jabbour called the proposed ban a “disproportionate reaction to something that has otherwise been very successful for our restaurant/small business community.” Councilman Ruben Ramos, meanwhile, supports Russo’s proposed ban. While he said there was “some merit” to Earley’s argument, he added that there’s “some merit to the fact that a taxpayer living in our city also wants to see a better job of us cleaning our city up.” And technically there’s a fourth piece of legislation, although it’s more symbolic — a commitment by the entire city to “engage in a complete review of the design guidelines for all new and existing parklets from now through March 31, 2024, to make necessary updates that will ensure the highest standards of cleanliness for the community.” City spokeswoman Marilyn Baer said Bhalla “is reviewing the proposed ordinances and looks forward to working with the Hoboken City Council on a comprehensive solution that would not negatively impact the business community.” If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation.and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our
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