Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, I'd like to call this meeting of the Hackensack City Council to order. It is Tuesday, September 1st, 2026. It is 5.31 p.m. If you can call, please.

This meeting is being held in accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act, NJSA 10-4-6 at SEC, notice of which was posted on the municipal website pursuant to Public Law 2025, Chapter 72.

Thank you. Roll call, please.

Mayor Gaines. Here. Deputy Mayor Toomey. Here. Councilman Carroll. Councilwoman Clark-Collins. Here. Councilman Diaz.

Here.

We have a quorum.

Thank you. Everyone can please rise to the flag salute. Thank you. And I have a motion to approve the minutes of the August 11th, 2026 council meeting.

I'll offer.

Second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Thank you. I'm going to ask for a motion for a resolution to go into executive session to discuss ongoing litigation, matters involving attorney-client privilege, matters involving the purchase, lease, or acquisition of real property, and or any pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiations. Can I have a motion, please? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, we will return back by 6.30. Thank you in advance to everyone for your patience. Thank you. All right, everyone, thank you for your patience. Apologies for getting out of close a couple minutes late. So we are going to jump right in with a special proclamation today with for our crossing guards, our school crossing guards. And so I'm going to read the proclamation and then I will come down. We have a number of our crossing guards here with us today. Thank you for being here. Thank you for all you do for our kids and for our community and for our families, keeping our kids safe. I'm going to read the proclamation, then I will come down. And for the folks who are here, we have certificates of appreciation on behalf of the city council. And for the folks who are not here, we have certificates that we will get to them at a subsequent time. whereas as students throughout the city of hackensack prepare to begin a new school year the safety of our children remains one of our community's highest priorities and whereas the city's crossing guards serve as trusted protectors of our students helping them travel safely to and from school each day and whereas through their vigilance dedication and commitment to public safety Crossing guards provide reassurance to parents and guardians, support to our schools, and a safe environment for children navigating busy streets and intersections. And whereas rain or shine, through snow or heat, our crossing guards faithfully report for duty. demonstrate professionalism, patience, and care while safeguarding the well-being of our youngest residents. And whereas by protecting our students and serving as a welcoming presence in our neighborhoods, crossing guards help create a sense of security and community for students and families alike. And whereas the city of Hackensack is grateful for the contributions of its crossing guards whose daily efforts help ensure that every school day begins and ends safely. And whereas it is fitting that the residents of Hackensack recognize and thank these dedicated public servants for the important role they play in protecting our children. And now, therefore, I, Kasim Gaines, Mayor of the City of Hackensack, along with the entire City Council, do hereby recognize and commend the crossing guards of the City of Hackensack for their outstanding service and unwavering commitment to the safety of our students and extend our sincere appreciation as we welcome the beginning of a new school year. For the folks who are here, I'm going to ask for you to come up when I say your name. Again, if I miss you, we have certificates for you. Emmanuel Antonio. Michael J. Brown. Debbie J. Bullock. Mahai Josue Kamisaru. Idel Dawson. All right, Ms. Dawson, come on up now. Theodore L. DiLello. Thank you. Helen Franklin. John D. Furman.

You got it, you got it. There you go.

Yes, I'm going to call them up. Yeah, we'll get them up. Sylvia A. Gandy. Christopher Giordano.

Thank you.

Novaline B. Graves Venable.

Perfect.

How are you? Good to see you.

Thank you. All right, we're going to pause just for a quick second. We're going to take a picture with this group. Everyone can come down, and then we'll do another round. Just sit tight, just for a second. There's lots of crossing guards. All right, if everyone can just come on up, please. Thank you. Yes, please, if you don't mind.

You want to stand up here, Mayor?

Yeah. Yeah, if everyone can just stand up here, then we'll...

Okay, sure, sure, sure.

Can you take a friend?

Sure. Take a friend.

Come on, come over, come over, come over, come over.

Oh, shut up.

That's what I said to you already. Here we go, everybody get a space forward. All right, we're almost there.

All right, here we go. Cheese! We can just tighten up a little bit.

Archibald Monroe. Cheese! Oh, not yet. Smile number six.

Great. All right, Genevieve Harris. Praveen Adams. There you go. Thank you, very nice to see you. Can you stay out here?

There you go, very nice to see you. How are you?

Okay, Jason Kelly. Patricia Leroy. Leroy. Patricia Leroy. Kenneth Lassiter. Very nice to see you.

There you go, very nice to see you. Oh good, which one? She's good, she's good.

Here you go, Mr. Lassiter.

Here you go. Very nice to see you. Can you just hang out here just for a second?

All right, Patricia Lovelace. Betty McLean. Luis Lopez Montero.

There you go. Very nice to see you. There you go. Very nice to see you. There you go. All right.

We're cooking. Tamara Peters. Ralph Pinto. Joseph Revis.

Are you Joseph? Very nice to see you. Susan Rossi. Rafael Ruiz. Maria Santiago.

Rosemarie Shaw. All right, Casey Stone. Thank you. Najenna Sassone Van Horn. EJ Gradison. Gadsen.

It says Gadsen, I just can't read it. Thank you.

Evan Washburn. Burl Cawthon. John Weeks. And Diane Pavlou. And I'm going to ask if everyone could just come up for one last picture. If everyone could just file in right here. All right.

Thank you, everyone. All right. Second row is probably good. There we go. All right. Wonderful. Thank you. I think we're all good.

All right. Thank you.

Thanks guys. Wait, wait, just come.

Okay, we're gonna keep on keeping on, as they say.

Thank you.

All right, so we are going to move on to our next order of business, which is going to be a little bit out of order. It's going to be on order in the docket. Resolution 239-26. If you can call that, please.

Resolution 239-26 is a resolution appointing Tony Jackson the inaugural poet laureate of the city of Hackensack.

Okay. And can I have a motion, please?

Second.

Okay. Before we vote on it, because there are some folks here, I want to make sure that we read that resolution out. Whereas poetry is an artistic form of literature that honors self-expression, fosters creativity, and stirs the imagination in powerful ways. And whereas throughout history, poetry has served as a meaningful reflection of time, place, culture, and shared experiences, connecting communities and enabling them to tell their stories and preserve their identity. And whereas the city of Hackensack is committed to supporting the cultural and literary arts throughout the city and wishes to create the position of poet laureate to serve as a public voice of Hackensack. And whereas the Poet Laureate shall create original works that celebrate the city's cultural vibrancy, heritage, diversity, and history, serve as Hackensack's literary ambassador at events that promote the literary arts, and nurture a broader appreciation of poetry and literature. And whereas the Mayor and Council have considered his longstanding history of creative excellence and community impact, as well as his well-documented ability to foster the cultural and literary arts within Hackensack and beyond, have determined that Tony Jackson should serve as the first individual in the city's history appointed to the position of poet laureate. And whereas Tony Jackson is a lifelong Hackensack resident and nationally recognized poet, educator, author, hip hop artist, and teaching artist who brings his talent into the classroom as a veteran fourth grade teacher at Nellie K. Parker School, And whereas, Tony Jackson is the author and illustrator of I'm Jack, I'm Black, whose work has been featured by organizations including the National Education Association, the Children's Book Council, and who has collaborated with major educational organizations including Microsoft Education, Canva, and Houghton Mifflur Harcourt. And whereas Tony has been an active leader in New Jersey's poetry and spoken word community for more than two decades, helping to establish groups like Verbal Mayhem and the Mayhem Poets, and speak, sharing poetic expressions, artistry, and knowledge, bringing people together and serving as an advocate for the power of poetry and the arts to help people tell their stories, celebrate their communities, and build meaningful connections. I'm going to truncate the rest of this. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Mayor and Council of the City of Hackensack, County of Bergen, State of New Jersey, that Tony Jackson be and hereby is appointed the inaugural Poet Laureate of the City of Hackensack for a term effective September 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2027. This is an honorary position with no honorarium or fee associated with this role. I'm going to ask for a call of the role, please.

Deputy Mayor Toomey.

Yes.

Councilwoman Clark Collins. Yes. Councilman Carroll. Yes. Councilman Diaz. Yes. Mayor Gaines.

Yeah.

Yes. The resolution passes.

And with this, before we move into public comments, I'm going to ask for the poet laureate of Hackensack, New Jersey, if he would like to share some words before we move on to the public proper. If you want, you can stand there or if you want to stand there, whatever you prefer. It's up to you.

Can I swivel a little bit? I think so.

Frank, is that okay?

Yep. Great. Good evening, everyone. This is a poem entitled A City in Motion or Hackensack in Poetry. And before I read, I just want to recognize my brother from our sister city, the poet laureate of Teaneck, New Jersey, Scott Pleasence. Thank you so much for being an inspiration for me. A city in motion or hackensack in poetry. An object in motion, but a city. a people who move purpose propelling perpetually the firm palm of the past pushing against our backs backward is not an option for us forward our charge we move like an army marching down main street across the green, see our blue and gold, a mix of peoples and histories, the new and the old, the present is the gift of the past meant for the future to pass on. We keep it moving. we move constantly stirring like the mixing pots getting hot don't get stuck on the bottom just keep it moving we move like two streams meeting at the mouth of a river rushing to ebb and flow where vital necessary a tidal estuary waving as it moves to the ocean saying Not a command to quiet down, but music to move to when we stroll the sidewalks, samba in the streets. We move like immigrants imminently entering a new home, settled but not settling, toiling and tilling the soil to cultivate culture. We keep it moving like past plates, kitchen or collection. We move. like spirits, sermons, and songs through saints in the sanctuary. We move like comets, our tails letting the tails telling the tales of our trails we blazed to get here. We move on and on, and we don't stop. We can't help it. We're rooted in movements. The buried bones of this city talk in tomes of poems of what was and what had to be moved to make way for the growth of a city, the prospering of a people we. Move through these streets, lined with trees standing as stanzas, moved by the wind that talk like whoosh, whoosh. the sound of a city branching out but not leaving behind a people who stand and stay in motion, moving like traffic eventually, like track meets cyclical, circular, like ain't no stopping us now as long as we move together. Thank you.

Absolutely. Thank you. And if any family wants to come up as well, if Tony doesn't mind.

No, please, please, please, please, please, please.

You can get them all.

I believe you like it.

All right. Dude. Great. Thank you so much.

Great job. Great guy.

Thank you again so much.

I intend to.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

Okay, and with that, we're gonna go a little bit out of order again. I'm gonna ask for a motion to go into public comment on any agenda item, so any item that's on the agenda. If you would like to speak and be heard at the appropriate time, I'm gonna ask for you to state your name, your municipality. You have three minutes at the microphone. I will keep time for you. Once we get to the three minute mark, I will ask for you to bring your comments to a close. I will ask very politely, and I will ask that you very politely oblige and wrap your point up and take your seat. Okay, can I have a motion to open to the public on any agenda item?

I'll offer. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstention? Any member of the public wishing to speak on any agenda item? You can come up to the microphone, as long as it's an item on the agenda.

Sure.

It does?

Randy Glover, Hackensack. I want to say it's about time that Tony was recognized to be the Poet Laureate. When I came to Hackensack, I noticed that there was so much talent here that was being like overlooked, whether it's Cassine, who's a world-famous author, Matthew Whitaker, who when I met him, the Waltons, the Walton family was flying him all over the world in a private jet, but yet he lives here and he just won a, what do you call it, a Grammy for this year, whether it's Deborah Geddes, who traveled all over the country as a singer, the Indian community, and I mean the Middle Eastern community, when we celebrated them to show their culture as they are a part of Hackensack, the LGBTQ community and the talented people there, this is a vibrant city. Tony is an example of excellence. He's an example of what this city represents and we need to start looking at who is here and just because you might not understand what they mean to a culture but other people understand what they mean to the world, that means you have to open up your eyes and ears and start to understand the value of the people that we have living here. Thank you, Tony, for being who you are.

Thank you, Mr. Glover. Frank, is the podium in an OK spot for you? You good?

Hey, good evening folks.

Good evening.

My name is Scott Pleasance, I'm from Teaneck. And I come in the capacity as the first poet laureate for the township of Teaneck, New Jersey. Now I've been in that position since 2023, but Tony and I have crossed paths on a number of occasions before that. And I'd just like to say that words, our words, can be some of the most powerful things that we have. We have seen them take the ability to unite an entire country around hope. And on a local level, now you have the ability to enrich your community with a poet laureate. One of the really, really cool things, Tony, I just Googled it before I came here. 46 plus thousand people in your city and you chose Tony. That's incredible. So kudos to you on that. And for those who might not feel so comfortable in the creative space, something that I like to say when it comes to poetry, I say poetry initially for those who are not that familiar with it, it feels like you're holding hands with a stranger. but if you do it over and over and over again it becomes a familiar feeling so tony hat now has a tremendous responsibility to support your city but there's going to be a time or two um where he's going to come to you and look for some help and it might seem a little off the beaten path because it's a first but I implore you to make sure that you do whatever you can to support him. And Teaneck, we're just the stone throws away, and me in my position, I'll do whatever I can to support the city of Hackensack, along with Tony Jackson, your new poet laureate. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Good evening, Andrea Oates-Parchment, Hackensack resident and also acting superintendent of Hackensack Public Schools. Mr. Jackson, we are extremely proud of you. We spent a lot of time together, you're so talented. So is your mom, too. But you are so talented. Your gifts have enriched us. They've enriched our students. And I just look forward to your future and what it boils for you. I am really, really proud of you. And I wish you all the best. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Hello, everyone. My name is Hela Sidibe. First, congratulations to Mr. Jackson. I'm glad that I came to this meeting, because now I learned about someone new that I had no idea about, which is pretty awesome. I'm a two-year resident of Hackensack. I'm a homeowner. I bought my home two years ago. And I live on Euclid Ave. So one of the things that I noticed that really concerns me is the speed limit. The speed limit is 25 miles an hour. Every single day, cars are just flying through. My guess is anywhere between 40 miles an hour to 60 miles an hour. And it's very concerning because even for me as an adult, when I'm crossing the road, it's just like, you just have to be lucky sometimes. And there's kids on the streets now that are around. And I think something needs to be done about it until, we don't want to wait until it's too late. Because too late is now, it's like we could have done something about it. So my thinking was we either have a police officer there at all time, or we have a speed limit that can flashes that kind of like get people alert or put a speed bump. And I'm someone who's not a fan of speed bump. If it comes down to that, I really think it's important to put something like that on Euclid Ave, because I think one of these days, just a matter of time, we're just going to have something horrific happening there. In fact, I witnessed almost an accident happening in front of my own eyes. Someone is coming down really fast down the lane, and someone is about to make a U-turn, and they almost t-bone each other. That's one of my concerns. And second concern is, I do have one of the private lanes that goes to my garage. And there is a sign that says, it's a private lane, no thruway. So my theory is, people are thinking, it could connect to Summit. It's just saying no thruway, so I'm just going to go for it if no one catches me. There's no issue. Because many times we've had cars randomly come down that way. In fact, I myself witnessed someone who almost hit my neighbor's wall. And then they were trying to do a U-turn, almost hit my garage. And I was trying to talk to them to back out. They didn't really have it. And then they kind of like started freaking out and backed up. My security camera picked it up. And then I've caught someone looking into my garage going in there. And it kind of feels like your privacy is invaded. My security camera caught it. So I think I want to have something like dead end, no trespassing. Because if it's a dead end, people really know it's a dead end, they won't even try to get through it. There's a possibility for me to get a sign. It's not just me. I have other neighbors out there. they have concern about this thing. So I just told them I'm coming to this meeting. So the speed limit on Euclid is a concern, and also having people coming down that lane. If we can do something about it, I think it'd be amazing for all of us. So thank you guys. Appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you.

And appreciate you coming with some proposed solutions, Jeff. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Jeff Burgos, Euclid Ave. All right, so I have a comment and a question. This is for the city manager.

Sorry, just as a matter of protocol, you can direct all the questions to me, but he'll probably answer.

All right, so I've spoken to his office probably over 100 times, and this is about the speeding. I've spoken to his secretary before she went on vacation and after she came on vacation. I just want to know, because my inquiry was about either speed humps or a speed study. And I just want to know what his office had plans for. And that's it for me.

Okay, great. He has time for a report in about ten minutes or so. Just, I'm gonna call the next person just to moan. You can come on up. Just to let everyone know, the deputy mayor has to excuse herself in about 10 minutes. I'm just letting you know if she happens to get up, just so you know. Sorry, go ahead.

All right, good evening. Forgot being on the opposite side of this mic. Good evening, I'm Jennifer Harris, Hackensack resident, and I'm here representing the Hackensack Board of Education as the board president.

And Layla Amirhamsa, also Hackensack resident and member of the Board of Education.

First, I just wanted to thank the city council for honoring and kicking off our school year in such a positive way. As we begin, we started welcoming our teachers today and our students start on Thursday. I just want to thank and honor all of our crossing guards for all the hard work that you do. You are the first person that our students see, those that do go walking to school, and you kick off their day in a positive way. And when they see you at the end of the day, you are that constant factor. You keep them safe, you keep them knowing in terms of what's going on, they appreciate that and we appreciate that as well I also wanted to congratulate Tony Jackson we are so so proud of you you truly are an inspiration as an educator myself you know the things that you come up with are just so creative and so tailored to our students it is amazing and I can't wait exactly what miss Andrea Oates Parchment said you are still growing and I can't wait to see you 20 years from now and what you'll be doing you probably will have your own school here I can see that happening, so congratulations.

And just to reiterate, again, huge thanks to the city council for honoring Mr. Jackson. I'm sure after hearing him speak today, everyone is probably wondering why has it taken so long to have him named as our Poet Laureate. We are so very proud and grateful to have him as one of our educators who is able to share his talent with our students and our entire Comet community. Now we are even more proud and grateful that he will be able to share that talent with the entire city and all who come and visit. Thank you so very much and congratulations. Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, good evening. My name is Donna Petram-Wall, proud principal of Nellie K. Parker School. That's not what I was here to say. I just want to start with my name identifying myself. Mr. Jackson works at Nellie K. Parker School. He is a fourth grade teacher. We are incredibly happy and proud of Mr. Jackson. Receiving this award is amazing for Mr. Jackson personally. but also for Nellie K. Parker School. We have an immense amount of pride for Mr. Jackson. I've known Mr. Jackson for 20 years now, and I do want to say we've seen him grow and develop into an amazing person, and we feel the gift and talent of Mr. Tony Jackson being at Nellie K. Parker School is amazing, but I'm sure he'll spread his talent and gift throughout Hackensack, as Ms. Oat Parchment had mentioned, and we are excited to have not only an amazing staff at Nellie K. Parker School, But of course, Mr. Tony Jackson, our poet laureate for Hackensack. So thank you.

Good evening. Christy Izzo, Hackensack resident and President of the Board of Trustees of the Johnson Public Library. On behalf of the library board, Tony, I just wanted to say thank you so much and congratulations. Many of you might not know, but Tony is a representative for the superintendent of schools on the library board, and he brings a richness to the board that we're so happy to have, and your poem was very moving. So thank you so much, and it's a pleasure to work with you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Brother Jermaine Frye, aka Insane Jermaine, Hackensack, New Jersey, resident, born, raised in Atmore, Alabama. I just wanna say, Mr. Tony Jackson, if you wanna get big, I'm the founder of Master P, 1993. I start the first two reps in Alabama. I did all that with no high school diploma, get kicked out of high school my senior year. Right now I got a bachelor's degree, T-Net, New Jersey. British Law Management. I'm an investor, entrepreneur. I have my own business. I do a 1099, plus I do a W-2, plus I volunteer. And yes, November, everybody, vote for my queen, my wife, Fatima Reza, First Lady, President of the United States.

Thank you, sir.

Set any topic.

Evening all. First off, again, a moment of silence for Erica Beeks. On August 15th, a 65-year-old driving under the influence killed Erica Beeks of Leidenwall, New Jersey. Police officers were dispatched to the 1900 block of Laurel Road about 10.20 PM Saturday, found reports of a severe motor vehicle crash. Upon arrival, officers discovered that a motor vehicle that had struck a person riding an e-bike That e-bike operator was identified as 46-year-old Erica Beeks, who worked at Laurel Manor. She was a facility clerk at a rehab facility, critical care, who helped those in rehab or disability recovery. The lady was charged with second degree death by auto and issued multiple traffic summonses, including driving under the influence. And previously I've came up here and talked about the security guard, no, the crossing guard that was also killed a few months back. So I'm glad to see that they were recognized today and that they're also being issued That particular duty for the coming school year to protect our children, families, and community. So, be it that it may, let's make sure we protect them also. Because these streets aren't safe, as you can hear from the residents out there. And the police, they're doing an excellent job. When you read that blotter report of all the arrests, because there's drugs flowing in and out of the city, and all the nonsense that's going on behind the scenes that nobody hears, but they know about it, we got to give them the support and the resources to make sure that what we're hearing out here isn't happening. Labor Day is coming up. They got that. checkpoint going on for those silly drivers out there, especially with the no licenses, no registration, no insurance. Let's just make sure that we don't have it happen just for that one single weekend. Let's make it ongoing. Because if Cedar Grove and West Orange got it down pat and they're locked up, they need to be here. Because we are, number one, the county seat in Bergen County. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak on any agenda item? Seeing none, motion to close to the public on any agenda item. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Deputy Mayor? Thank you. Okay, we are going to press on to our project management report by Mr. Ryan Westra. Ryan Thyme. Good evening.

Okay, the first slide here is just a quick overview of our previous CSO separation contracts that we have completed. The reason I bring it up is that we've finally gotten DEP authorization to go out to bid for the first phase of the West of Rail, which I've highlighted in red there. That area continues on Clay Street up in the second and third street areas. So to date with the five or six other contracts, and including this one, the city has removed 108 acres of drainage area out of the combined system and discharged it stormwater only into the Hackensack River, limiting some flooding in some previous hard hit areas. The bid schedule for that is anticipated to be advertised September 14th with about four weeks out to bid and then we'll have the bid opening in October and then hopefully award it at the second meeting in October. East Kennedy has progressing. The two new pumps have been installed. The associated electrical equipment is being installed as well. We did have an issue a couple storms ago of one of the new pumps kind of had a malfunction. So that has been pulled and the installer is looking it over. They're in contact with the manufacturer to see what the problem is and we're working on getting that reinstalled as soon as possible. In the picture you see them lowering the pump into place and then the picture on the left is with the motor mounted. Fishini Park, here's what Fishini Park used to look like, fields 8, 9, and 10. And then PD assisted with some drone footage of the work that has been completed. We still have some punch list items. The main issue is the power needs to be fed with the new transformer. We're working with PSEG to get that up as soon as possible. Baldwin Park. Has been completed, again, that we received 70,000 in grant funds for that. That included the ADA walkways and the improvements around the playset. On for tonight is a proposal from our engineers, for designing this improvements at West Railroad Park. West Railroad Park is located at Clay Street and Railroad Avenue. It used to be just a swing set and then that was removed to allow this area to be used as construction staging as well as for the sewer separation. That is where the pipes come underneath the railroad tracks. So part of the requirements from DEP and Green Acres was we had to restore this area back to a playground. So the details are a new play structure for five to 12 year olds, some benches, the rubber safety servicing, fencing around the park, some landscaping and addition to the reconstructed sidewalks. We did receive Brigham County open space funding for that work. The mini pitch is scheduled to be installed September 21st over in Pulaski Park on the asphalt basketball court area. That area was freshened up with some new asphalt to make the installation easier. So we'll look forward to have that in a couple weeks. The Grand Ave Pedestrian Safety Improvements by the Fairmount School has been completed. That work included some milling paving of the intersections, limited storm drainage, the curb bump outs, thermoplastic striping, and the rapid flashing beacons as seen in the photo. Spring Valley pedestrian safety improvements. The concrete work has begun and is completed. The contractor plans to mill and pave towards the middle to end of next week. We'll get that wrapped up in about a week and a half, two weeks. And then we'll come back and do the flashing signs and the striping. Bergen County, they completed the resurfacing of South River Street from Kansas Street to the little ferry line. They elected to do that at night this time around, so it was a lot easier on everybody, but that work has also been completed. Just an update on Route 4, the bridge replacement work has started. There's been limited lane shifting and closures, but this project's really going to get going in about three to four weeks. So we will see some limited lane closures, but the majority of the work is going to be lane shifts, so there's not going to be too much disruption to traffic. A lot of it's going to be overnight as well. So they're going to do, you know, once that bridge is completed, you'll have four lanes in each direction again and some sidewalks. And then they're currently in the pre-stage construction right now, which is going to be about 18 months. As you can see in the photo, this was taken from the Route 4 Bridge Project website. They're going to essentially build a temporary structure adjacent to the bridge So the lanes of traffic can remain. They're going to build part of the new bridge, and then they'll shift that over and then start work on the other side. I think the total duration for this project, this DOT project, is I think it's going to be completed by 2035. So it's going to be here for a while. But again, the lane closures are limited in duration to overnight, and it's mostly going to be lane shifting so that three lanes of travel can be going at all times. The city paving work is nearly complete. We have one more street, Kennedy, that's from Hudson to East Wesley Street, will be milled and paved. This work is going to be, weather permitting, September 17th, 18th, and then the 21st, but this will be overnight as well, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., and that's the last street for our city work. All other streets are complete, minus some punch list items that need to get taken care of. We had a few emergency repairs the last time I was here. We had some roadway repairs done due to some of the flash flooding and storms that we've had. In addition, we had to do some cleanup with the assistance of River Edge and Bergen County of the Coles Brook, which, as you can see in the photo, had a lot of storm debris from these flash floods that we've been seeing lately. And that was cleaned up a few weeks ago. And to continue on flooding issues, I would like, if people see areas of concern, please report to the project manager or DPW. The sooner we're aware of these problems, the sooner we can act. Some of the things can be done real quick. If it's a matter of there's some litter or debris on a catch basin, we'll send the guys out. as soon as possible. If it's more involved, we'll talk with our engineers and do whatever we can. Our contact information is up there for anybody who wishes to reach out or if you just have general questions. And just to note, July of this year, we saw eight inches of rain. resulted in 16 overflows at our CSO facilities, nine at Anderson and seven at Court. And just to put that in a little perspective, the average rainfall for July is about four inches. So we got about double the average in July alone. And again, please don't flush wipes. As you can see in the right-hand picture of our screens, that's all wipes. So it is detrimental. Any questions?

I have one question.

Yes.

So you were talking about the park on Railroad Avenue. Yes. So just south of that, There is a municipal lot. Yes. Do I understand that that lot has been sold and there's going to be some kind of project that's going to be a building that's going to be erected there?

I don't believe the property has been sold, but there was proposed plans for affordable housing in that location.

Prior to our getting into office. Correct.

I have a question about that part too. Yes railroad. Yeah It's gonna be fenced in right this correct.

Yes, the entire will be fenced in with a gate.

Okay, great practice Thank you, thank you City manager

Thank you good evening, everyone just a couple follow-ups from our last meeting. We had several residents wasting their concern about property taxes and renters and seniors as well and based on that the mayor and council directed us to do a little bit of a social media blitz get the word out that you know, we have information available flyers available we have information on the website on different programs tax relief senior tax freeze and so forth and so on so please take advantage of that and if you have any questions feel free to call the city manager's office and we can direct you to some of that literature Mister Smith last meeting. There was a curveball and asked us about the bike safety. So I just want to report I don't see him here, but from the police department followed up with them and they just reiterated that the bike laws officially went into effect on January 1st of 26 over the state implemented a grace period which ended on July 19th. HPD officers are currently stopping e-bikes and they're issuing warnings at this time and at an appropriate time they will start issuing summonses as well. As far as the school crossings, all of the road painting on the school crossings, the traffic maintenance department and the sign shop have been updating all the roadway striping and crosswalks throughout the city in preparation for the new school year. As far as the Euclid Avenue residents that are here this evening. I will pass your concerns along and speak to the police department traffic division as well with the speeding concerns and then also with the lane concern that you have about people accessing the private lane. Those are some of my updates from last meeting. To report tonight, I just would like to put out a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in making the 25th Hackensack Police Youth Academy a success. The children had an incredible experience, learned valuable lessons, and greatly enjoyed interacting with our police and fire departments. Your dedication to investing in our youth and strengthening community connections is sincerely appreciated. Some community reminders. New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission mobile unit. The Hackensack is hosting them again. We have had them here twice and they're coming back in on Friday, September 4th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot behind City Hall here, 65 Central Avenue. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit hackensack.org for those contacts. The splash pads will be open until Labor Day, which is Monday. Unfortunately, they were closed today due to the weather, but the plan is for them to be open all weekend long, and that will be the end of the splash pads come Labor Day. Recreation. Registration is now open for junior football and girls volleyball. Residents may register online or in person at the rec center located at 116 Holt Street. Just a reminder, the 25th anniversary of 9-11 memorial ceremony will be held in front of fire headquarters on September 11th at 2.30 p.m. Community members, families, and first responders are invited to gather in solemn reflection as we honor the courage, sacrifice, and lives forever remembered from that day. We will never forget. And there's plenty of programming still going on at HACPAC. I urge you to visit HACPAC website for further information. Thank you.

Thank you. With that, we're going to move on to new business. We have an ordinance for second reading. That's Resolution 240-26.

Resolution 240-26 is the adoption of Ordinance 16-2026, an ordinance to amend Chapter 170 of the Code of the City of Hackensack parking to update meter fees for use of certain off-street municipal parking lots. This ordinance has been published according to law and now calls for a public hearing.

Okay, can I have a motion to open to the public on this resolution, this resolution only?

I'll offer. Second.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Any resident or any person who seems to speak on resolution 240-26? Seeing none, motion to close to the public.

I'll offer. Second.

Can I have a motion to adopt resolution 240-26? I'll offer. A roll call, please.

Councilwoman Clark-Collins? Yes. Councilman Carroll? Yes. Councilman Diaz? Yes. Mayor Gaines? Yes. Be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Hackensack, County of Bergen, and State of New Jersey that ordinance number 16-2026 has passed its second and final reading and is hereby adopted.

Thank you. Mr. Hopkins, forgive me. I'm going to go out of order just to take care of this. So we're going to do number 13 on the non-consent agenda, resolution 251-26.

Mayor, if I may, I have a conflict on that. May I step off the dais and let Mr. Meneker come forward?

Yes, you may.

Thank you, Mayor. Steve.

Good evening.

OK, you don't mind. Resolution 251-26 is a resolution authorizing the supplemental Ferioli agreement between the City of Hackensack and Selective Insurance Company of America and Selective Way Insurance Company.

Thank you. Can I have a motion to adopt resolution 251-26?

Second.

Roll call, please.

Councilwoman Clark Collins. Yes. Councilman Carroll.

Abstain.

Councilman DS.

Yes.

Mayor gains. Yes. Resolution passes.

Thank you, Mr. Medicare. Thank you for your time and service. Thank you. And while we do the changing of the guard here, if you can call the consent agenda, please.

The following items are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion. Any items requiring expenditure are supported by a certification of availability of funds. Any item requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda. And consent agenda items will be reflected in full in the minutes, including any exceptions and or additions. The consent agenda includes resolution 241-26, resolution authorizing payment of bills. Resolution 242-26, resolution authorizing tax refunds. Resolution 243-26, resolution authorizing 100% veteran tax deduction for 47 Coles Avenue. Resolution 244-26, resolution authorizing the award of a co-op contract for the relocation and abandonment of Storm Sewer Mains near River Street and East Kennedy Street. Resolution 245-26, resolution authorizing the award of a state contract for the purchase of portable radios for the Department of Public Works. Resolution 246-26, resolution authorizing the award of a co-op contract for the purchase of two Ford F250 pickup trucks for the Department of Public Works. Resolution 247-26, resolution authorizing the award of a state contract for the purchase of three 2026 Chevrolet Trax LS sedans for the parking utility. Resolution 248-26, resolution authorizing the award of a contract to Alimo Engineering for West Railroad Park and Playground Improvement Project. Resolution 249-26, resolution approving appointment of school year crossing guards for 2026-2027 school year. Resolution 250-26, resolution authorizing the renewal of RPS Bollinger Sports and Leisure for city supplemental sports accident and general liability insurance.

Thank you. Can I have a motion to adopt the consent agenda?

I'll offer.

Roll call please.

Councilman Clark Collins.

Yes.

Councilman Carroll.

Yes.

Councilman Diaz. Yes. Mayor Gaines. Yes. The consent agenda passes.

Thank you. We're going to move into our second and final public comment. Once again, you have three minutes. Please direct your comments to me. State your name, your municipality. Oh, can I have a motion to open to the public?

Second.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? I was just so eager. Please come on down.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Donald West of Union Street in Hackensack. OK. Well, first of all, a couple of you were looking at my shirt, so I was really happy to attend the Downtown Uptown event, and tonight made me realize, like, I really am proud to be from DeSAC. So thank you for honoring Tony Jackson. I told him that I would speak because I had non-agenda items. Let me start with I am very concerned about that potholes have now become sinkholes. It used to be when you ran over a pothole that there was something underneath. There are holes in Hackensack streets. I'm very concerned. Porter Avenue might not be ours. I looked it up. It might be Lodi. I'm not sure. But Porter Avenue is right off Essex Street in between the BP station and Charlie's Restaurant across from Speeder's Car Wash. My tire went into that. It's literally a hole. And it's getting bigger. Under Route 80 overpass on Polyfly Road when you're coming from Hasbrook Heights. That one continues to get bigger. It's like in the right lane. There are lots of deep holes on Essex Street. There's one at the intersection of First Street and Essex Street. And then there's a hole on Union Street and Passaic Street at that intersection. I'm very concerned like I said because now the potholes don't have anything in them. They're just holes that are just like Open when you look down in there and I have pictures if you need it my other concern is that we have manholes that are now lower than the street, so it's causing alignment issues. As soon as I take my car in, they tell me I have alignment issues. And part of it, I notice even with the paving that we've just done, the manholes sit lower than the new paved roads. So that concerns me, because it really does affect the alignment of our vehicles. I, too, would like to talk about reducing the speed limit. I was telling someone earlier, I was driving with my brother. He lives in Ridgeville Park. We went to Bogota, then we went to Teaneck. And so in Ridgeville Park, it's like 35, 40 miles an hour. And we get to the Bogota border, and he says, you better slow down. He's a police officer. I'm like, what are you talking about? I'm not going that fast. But obviously, it's understood in Bogota that you go 25 miles an hour. And all of the cars slowed down. Then, of course, when we got to the Teaneck border, people sped up. So it is something that we can enact because I understand now Union Street has become almost like a raceway. And I've mentioned this before. So a lot of people seem to be mentioning the fact that the speeding has become a real issue in Hackensack. Last thing. This is the street sweeper. I think it's your question. I'm sorry. So on Railroad Avenue, like when I'm out walking, who goes behind the street sweeper? Because I know that that big brush moves the stuff away from the curb, but that's all it does. It doesn't clean up anything. So the debris is still there, it's just moved away from the curb. So I was just wondering how that works, like who comes behind to clean up the debris that's been moved away from like the drains and things like that. Okay, thank you so much, but thank you again for all that you're doing. I'm really excited and I am proud to be from DeSAC, thank you.

Thank you, Ms. West, thank you.

Jermaine Fryell, Mr. Mayor, my concern is this really. Now, before I was even born, you have a problem here with these police officers, with this fraternity they got. And I was offered, one of your officers that used to work at Hackensack, want me to be a police officer at NYPD. None of them cops like Hackensack cops. They hate him with a passion before I was even born. I told him, no. And I said, man, if I make an oath with y'all, the first thing we doing, we killing them hackers. He said, cop, he said, that's why we need you. He's spilling the beans right now.

Sir, I'm sorry. Hold on. I'm going to have to stop.

Yo, cops, that's the problem, sir. It's a problem with your cops.

Hold on one second.

I'm not no studio gangster rapper, sir. Sir.

Hold on one second. They're breaking the law harassing. I'm speaking to you very politely. I'm just going to ask you just to hold on one second. I'm going to let you continue speaking. Just hold on just one second.

You don't want me to start no civil war, sir. It'll be history in this country with police. And that's in the name of my brother Jesus, sir. Don't no man do nothing for me on this earth. I know who my creator is. And my creator ain't no he. My creator's a she that created me. I'm Prophet Zayex too. Everybody around this world know me. I just got to talk to Elon Musk today. Trying to give me a million dollars. Everybody throwing money at me, sir. I attract money. Because I know who my creator is. Y'all said what y'all want to say about me. Now I got you in office. Miss Clark might be my cousin. Because Jane Box Boyd, Jane the Boyd, that's my cousin, who raised my grandmother. This is a small world. Evande Holyfield, my cousin. Soprano singer, driving Miss Daisy, that's my cousin. Ron Milton, used to be New York Jets coach, that's my people. Grammy Award winning John Fry, outcast, that's my cousin. I'm Creek Indian, European, Moorish American. Now you tell them police officers to grow up. I don't play with grown people. Now I want them people over there at that recreation, you give them, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. You got them people, y'all still got them people working for free. Would you work for free and work another job than what we going through right now? So what we need is with these kids, we need a book club, a finance club. That's what I want to do over there. See, I know Jeff Bezos on Amazon. I'm his best customer. I got over 4,000 books right now on River Street right now. That's my choice of drug, man, or book. That's why I think being cool. Remember that movie, Nerds? They made that of me. That's my gang that had nerds. You couldn't hang around me if you wasn't smart. That's why I think being cool, not being drunk, doing drugs, no, being smart. See, man play big bank, take little bank money. I play big brain, take little brain, sir. That's what I play. Tell them damn cops to grow up. I start a civil war, the first civil war in this country.

Evening. Thank you. Sergei Tolstoy, Hackensack. First off, I want to commend Ryan Westry for his department and the work they did in the paving of Hackensack. McKinley Street, it's like another universe. The truckers love it, the residents love it, and now we're ready to do some tree planting on that block because it really needed that, but you couldn't do it when you had that whole mess there. So commend him for his work and the crew that was out there because they did a bang-up job and they really turned it out on that. And I also would say Anderson and the other streets. So you guys, you did your job. In terms of what I just learned today, but it was out since June, Hackensack has urgent care. I didn't know that because I thought that we did, but it seems that Hackensack Meridian which took over the spot where Rite Aid was in the Sinzari Mall Plaza, opened up there. They haven't done the grand opening, but they invited me and others when they does come around. And I saw that Lodi had it, Maywood, a little ferry, go to Teaneck. But now that we have it, it puts us on the map. So I'm happy to say, and hopefully we can promote this to the residents, because a lot of people don't want to go to the hospital, but they tend to want to go to Urgent Care. Even though it's $250 a pop, you know, it's a good deal to have it in the city. So I wanted just to say that also. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

Bill Wasley, 464 Kaplan Avenue, 23 year, 24 year resident. National problem, data centers can become local at various times on that. I know we have a lot of things going on. I'm not sure we really have the space for the big ones to come here or anything like that. I just thought with looking at my electricity bill the other day on that. And thinking, well, it's pretty much almost $100 a month higher almost every month. And I know the water issue has become a thing. We had a lot of rain recently, but our water is not a long-term supply. It's always a short-term supply. So I just wanted to bring it up to possibly someone to talk about it. Bayonne and some other cities have had things about maybe doing a moratorium, not a permanent ban, just a moratorium temporarily till we get control of our electricity costs or something like that. And some kind of moratorium for the city to come out, some kind of proclamation at some point to maybe And I'll be a moratorium on data centers. That's it. One other item. On Kaplan Avenue, further down, my thing is for all the speed bumps are, hey, the ones that are put in are dangerous for your car. They are so high. And it's easy, just avoid it. You go to the next block. If you put them on the next block, we're going to go to the next block. And you put them there, we're going to the next block. I'm not mocking the people on Euclid or anything like that. My friend lives on Fairmont. He's got the same issue. He lives at the bottom of the thing where it comes down, people speeding down. He's got the same issue on that. It's coming down the hills. I know you put the signs up for the speeding things out there. I'm not sure what else you can really do. If you do put a speed thing out there, do some kind of hump, not these ones that are really dangerous for your cars on that, because people can really bottom out on that. I live on Kaplan. I never touch that part of Kaplan anymore. I always go around it no matter what. It is not safe to drive on it, seriously. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening. Danny Ferretti, Hackensack 160 Union. Stopping in tonight, I need some help from the mayor and council, as well as board, if possible. For the last six- Can you speak up just a little bit louder? Sure, sorry. Big guy, small voice, I guess, right? So for the last six weeks, we've been trying to get some assistance with the city to help us. We're trying to refinance our property, which is on 160 Union. It's a commercial pre-existing non-conforming use, a grandfathered usage. Our trucking companies and Ferretti companies have been there for over 85 years collectively. My grandfather started in Hackensack over 120 years ago in 1902. And we've been running into a problem because we got approved for our refinance, not an issue. We got everything done with the mortgage company. The mortgage company requested that we get a letter from the city stating the law which is in place, which is a, uh pre-existing non-conforming use in the event that we want to sell our property they want to know that the usage would be able to continue on in perpetuity beyond whether i sold it or the mortgage company had some kind of a reaction had to take it back for whatever the reason is The mortgage company is based out of California. They're not familiar with the New Jersey laws. So when we initially went to the city for this, we were focused and told to go to zoning. We spoke to Bridget McLaughlin. We were going back and forth with Bridget for approximately three weeks. She got back to me and said that they needed to come down and do an inspection. Her and Ernie came down to do an inspection. They came and inspected our site, passed with flying colors. All our usages are in place, licenses are in place. Bridget was able to give me a common letter, but not with the recitement of what the law is in regards to grandfathering use. So my real estate broker, who's doing a deal, had reached out to city attorney. We really didn't have too much communication back. as well as our attorney had reached out to him, and I had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Malagiri just a little while ago tonight, and he expressed to me that, you know, he works for the city, doesn't work for us, he can't issue the letter. Now, you know, over the years, we've probably paid well over $2 million in taxes in the city. We've employed hundreds of people in the city over the years. And the refinance is not for redevelopment. We're not looking to expand our use. We're not looking to change variants. All we're looking to do is replace our roof, replace our macadam, fix our sidewalks, and put up an ice fence. So that's the purpose of our refinance. We're at the point now where the mortgage company has given us a timestamp that they're going to withdraw our approval if we can't get this letter from the city. So unfortunately, I was backed into a corner tonight. I had to come in and kind of speak to you guys and hope that we can get to a common ground to get them what they need so we can proceed on. Because at this point in time, we have over $20,000 invested with the surveys, the appraisals, everything that they needed. And unfortunately, I'm locked up with one piece of paper that I can't get from the city of Hackensack. And I'm hoping that some way you guys can direct me in the right area to get this done.

OK, so we're we're at time, but I think you were you were pretty much at it. I'm going to what I'm going to do is I'm and I know that you've been in contact with various folks. I'm going to ask just once again, I know that you've shared your contact information, but before you leave tonight, just to share your contact information once again with the acting clerk. Someone will reach out to you tomorrow with some sense of what's possible, what's not possible, why it's not possible, why it is possible. But we'll make sure that you get some sort of response tomorrow. And beyond that, we're not the attorneys, but we'll make sure you get a response tomorrow.

Thanks. Anything's helpful. Absolutely. Like I said, I'm far from counsel, but at least if we can get the ball rolling, communication is key. Absolutely. And six weeks into this is dangerous for our future with getting these approved.

Completely understood. Thank you for coming. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anyone else from the public? Okay. Seeing none, motion to close to the public.

Second.

All in favor? Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Do you want the ball or are you okay? Yeah.

Yeah, just a quick follow up. Miss West, are you still here? Yes. Okay. I will I took note of the pothole locations you gave me but also just please be aware that on our website you can report the pothole directly right on the website with no delay. Yeah. So Frank's Frank's got it up there right now. Also, the street sweeper situation. The street sweeper is supposed to also vacuum up the debris once it's pulled away from the curb. We have major issues with our sweepers right now. We actually have two sweepers that we're going to be putting on order in the fall. We lost one, and the other one is very, very old. So it's a work in progress. But yes, the sweeper is supposed to do everything, not another person coming around after it. That was all I wanted to follow up on. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilwoman.

Nothing really other than, as the city manager mentioned, we have the 25th anniversary of 9-11 coming up. I hope to see you at the ceremony from the city at the fire department. I will plan on attending that. And if you can't make the city's observance, there will be a ceremony given by the county at Overbeck County Park from 3.30 to 4.30. So you have two options to go to. Tomorrow there is a recreation board meeting at 6 p.m. here in the chambers. As your recreational liaison, I will be there and hope you can make it as well. As always, thank you for coming and get home safe.

thank you councilman we're trying thank you thank you thank you

I really don't have a lot this West I appreciate your comments on that she's still here. Yes, I too can understand that we have a room paid and my tire hits the sewer and they didn't raise it the way it's supposed to. I will say that's all County roads down Hackensack Road so kudos to our Hackensack people. The park, the playground on West Railroad, I think that's a great thing. It's been in the works for a while. And like I said, the parking lot adjacent to that, eventually that was sold prior to our administration. there is going to be a development there too in that small parking lot between railroad place and railroad Avenue so that's something to think about also you know when we have kids in the area Thank you to our DPW. We brought back to today a week. Garbage pickups when we got elected and with this hot weather. Thank God we have it for 2 weeks today pick up so I want to give kudos to our DPW and picking up our trash on a timely manner and that's it. Thank you for coming in. I hope we can address all your problems and all your concerns. Thank you.

Thank you. Councilman Diaz. Thank you, Mayor. Good evening. First, thank you all for being here today. The forecast didn't look very positive. However, you all come here today, which demonstrate how consistent you are in coming here and trying to put our thoughts together for the good of our community. So from that perspective, thank you so much. I also want to congratulate the crossing guards. It was a very happy moment because they are the very first line of safety for our kids. So that's very, very important. So it was very nice to see them all. And I think that they also felt very happy to be with us tonight. So once again, congratulations also to Tony Jackson, well deserved. Hackensack as a city is proud and honored to have him among our residents. Also, Ryan, Thank you so much. I think it was a very thorough report that you had tonight for us, so thank you so much. And finally, also, I want to invite you to join us on 9-11. I think it's going to be a great event. It's going to be a great moment for us to honor our service who lost their lives. So thank you so much once again for being here tonight, and have a good one.

Thank you, Councilman. Once again, I want to reiterate the call to come out to the 9-11 ceremony. I'm going to tick off some things. Data centers, absolutely something that we are looking at what other municipalities are doing, certainly aware of the trends. I would say that the negative consequences of a lot of these facilities and um something that i i know that we are all independently tracking and looking at and seeing what other municipalities are doing not to say that we need to emulate other municipalities we can lead on the issue as well but we want to make sure that we're thinking about it comprehensively but i i anticipate that we'll have some some action one way or the other on it. I'll leave it at that. I want to just echo the councilwoman mentioned the recreation board meeting tomorrow. The city manager mentioned that there are a number of sports and activities that have recreation registration right now. In months past and in years past, we've had issues where we haven't had enough kids for activities to run and then there's sort of a mad dash and social media call and we have to have everything go and so if you are interested in having your kid play a sport participate in activity I'm going to ask you to also ask your kids to ask their friends if they'd like to play as well and so if you can turn one registration into two or three and That just helps the program to run and it's obviously fun for all of our kids to be able to play with their friends and neighbors on teams as well. So hopefully that will help keep our numbers up so we don't run into any issues with programs potentially not running. In terms of the potholes, hear you. I just want to let you know this email address works. Some of my students get a kick out of taking pictures of potholes and then reporting them. That's their game that they like to play. And so I can say with confidence that every pothole that has been reported has been filled promptly. And I thank our team for that, our staff for that. So please just take a picture of it, let us know the intersection, and it will be handled in a timely manner. But thank you. for that reminder. This is just a personal pet peeve of mine. Those speed bumps on Kaplan are the wildest things in the world to me. I apologize to the people on Kaplan who like them. Don't take it personally. But I have personally seen cars fly literally fly as a result of those speed bumps. I know that those speed bumps were requested for many years. I'm aware of that. I know that those speed bumps, after years of being told that it was impossible to put them in, those speed bumps happened to be able to be put in right before the last municipal election, and I'll leave it at that. So I think those speed bumps are dangerous. I really do. I'm sorry. I really do. I think those speed bumps are dangerous. And I've witnessed it with my own eyes. And I'll leave that at that. So in terms of Ryan, I just want to say thank you. And I also want to say this. We all hear, whether it's the manager's office, mayor and council, we all hear when people have complaints, concerns. People like to say, what's wrong with Hackensack? Why can't they do this or that right? The fact that there are so many improvements that were done and I haven't heard a negative word about any of them. that means that they're being done right. They're being done well. People are appreciative of them. And so silence sometimes goes unheard. How's that? That's poetry, right? Silence can, you know, not have the same reaction, but I just want to say the silence is validation for the work that you and the staff do and that all of our contractors do. So thank you for that and for everything that's being done to keep those projects running smoothly. And that before and after of Fashini Park is amazing. And everyone in the city of Hackensack should be incredibly proud that our kids and not just our kids, our adults, Our residents have that to go out and play on because Fashini Park has looked almost exactly the same as it did when I was a kid. And now we have fields with dignity that our kids can play on. And so I just want to commend you and commend all of our employees and our contractors for the work that's being done. I know it's a lot of work, especially with adverse weather. So thank you. um and with that i just want to conclude on um you know we had some some really nice things that kicked off this meeting in terms of the crossing guards and naming mr jackson hackensack's first poet laureate and it's just such a reminder to me that These are folks that our kids and families interact with on a regular basis. Mr. Jackson is a teacher in our schools, and the crossing guards, as it has been said, are the first and final people that our kids see before and after they leave the house, before they leave the house and before they go home. It is so incredibly important that we never forget that our kids are our residents. It seems like an obvious thing, but they don't become residents when they turn 18 and they can vote for you. They don't become your residents when they start paying taxes. They become your residents when they're living in Hackensack. They are our most vulnerable residents, They are our future. And we want for our kids to be able to see themselves in all aspects of the city, not just in school, whether it's on our fields, whether it's going to an event and being able to see one of their teachers represent the city as the poet laureate. It is incredibly important that our kids recognize and realize that all of Hackensack belongs to them, not just our schools. And so I just want to commend my colleagues up here for, once again, always keeping that in mind because it has been a pet peeve of mine and a pet peeve of some of the rest of us here that we put up all of these buildings, and I say we the city, not we this administration, put up all of these buildings, and that with every single building that was put up, the previous folks said as a positive, don't worry, no kids are gonna move into those buildings. We're gonna grow Hackensack, and we're gonna cut kids out of the equation. We disagree. that is wrong, and I am glad that we are kicking off this school year in an appropriate fashion. And with that,