From left, Husband Greg Diaz, Congressman Frank Pallone, Mayor Wilda Diaz, Asm. Craig Coughlin, Son, Greg Diaz, Jr. (Rear) Asm. Yvonne Lopez, Councilman Helmin Caba
PERTH AMBOY – On Tuesday, March 27, 2018 Mayor Wilda Diaz gave the 2018 State of the City Address. The Perth Amboy Police and Fire Departments gave the Presentation of Colors. The Pledge of Allegiance was given by the Perth Amboy High School NJROTC. The National Anthem was sung by the Academy for Urban Leadership Charter School Choir. Monsignor John Gordon gave the Invocation.
Lydia J. Valencia, CEO/President, Puerto Rican Congress of NJ, Inc.
There was a ten-minute film highlighting the accomplishments and character of Mayor Wilda Diaz. Diaz was then introduced by Lydia J. Valencia, CEO/President, Puerto Rican Congress of NJ, Inc. “10 years of public service. In 3 terms – you’re in – you’re all in. The first female Mayor in Perth Amboy. She’s led her life to serve all of her constituents. She’s the first Latina chair of the Urban Mayor Association. She learned to do right by others and felt the need to stand up and lead.”
Mayor Wilda Diaz then came up to speak and thanked everyone who was present. “It is hard to believe that a decade has passed since I was first sworn in, and I am proud of the work that we have accomplished together. It’s been ten years of difficult decision making, growth and progress and serving the community that I absolutely love!”
Diaz thanked God for His guidance, stressing her faith that keeps her going through tough times. “I have two wonderful adult children, Greg who completed his undergraduate education and has honorably served our country, during two tours overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq as a Sergeant of the Army reserves. And tonight, I have an exciting family announcement, Gregory and his beautiful girlfriend are going to make us grandparents. My daughter, Samantha will soon be completing her fellowship in Minnesota, as she works towards attaining her Master’s Degree in Public Administration.” Diaz thanked her parents in Puerto Rico and her sisters. “I love you so much!”
“Year after year, my administration, our council and I have worked to restore this City back to good health. Together, we have proven time and again that our quality of life, investments, partnerships and opportunities for each of our residents has strengthened and matured. One great accomplishment is a well-negotiated PILOT program for Bridge Development Partners located on High Street, which the Council approved last summer. I would like to thank the City Council for their partnership in the project. It became the home of Target’s first distribution center in the State and one of the single most important commercial facilities built in New Jersey over the past few years. With the adoption of the Bridge, Phase 1 PILOT agreement, the City secured over $2.2 million dollars in annual revenue stream that will benefit our community long-term!! Target, as the only occupied facility to date, hiring over 60 percent of their workforce as Perth Amboy residents. In 2008, we were facing a national economic crisis and the City had an unemployment rate of 16 % – one of the highest in the State. Today, that rate has been cut to 6 % – the lowest it’s been in 10 years.”
She spoke about the ePort project. “It was named a finalist as “Industry of the Year” by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Recently, the 1.2 million sqft. of warehouse facilities was sold to Duke Reality. Duke is a national investment group who made its first expansion into the north east region of the United States through Perth Amboy. I welcome them to the City of Perth Amboy and congratulate them on leasing an additional building will be announced this summer. The Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency currently has 16 projects underway. Within the next 12-18 months, we are awaiting over 1,000 new jobs, over 100 acres of brownfields remediation and over 500 million dollars of investments are in progress and millions in anticipated new tax revenues. The Elm Street Logistics Center, will be investing over $100 million in the remediation and construction of 92 acres of modern warehouse facilities, beginning at the end 2019.
Demolition is complete and remedial work is currently being conducted. Upon completion, the project is set to generate between 400-600 jobs in our City. The unique feature of this particular redevelopment project is that it will create public access, near and around the commercial property at the gateway of our City. Through this partnership, we plan to preserve two historic structures for recreational use on the site and provide public waterfront access, including an amphitheater, public picnic area, restrooms, a senior citizen park located near our Jankowski Community Center and a mile-long green pathway that borders the shoreline. Other redevelopment projects are the Second Street Park Project which received $7.1 million dollars of funding dedicated by NJDEP for the environmental clean-up and construction of the 6-acre parcel. Amenities include an adventure playground, a spray park, a plaza and picnic area, a skate park, tiered seating and performance space. In order to continue attracting investors we submitted a request to the State of New Jersey to become designated as a Community Opportunity Zone. This new program established by Congress provides significant tax incentives for private investors. Last week, Governor Murphy announced that Perth Amboy’s request is currently being reviewed for final approval. Future private developments are still underway totaling over $15 million dollars throughout several areas in the City as well! 500 High Street is in remediation for 21 luxury units, roof top gardens and restaurant on the first floor, and a 46-unit apartment complex on Washington Street, will soon be available housing for working professionals at our local hospital. The former Good Year Tire business on Smith Street will be converted into modern design commercial property with 2 floors of housing. We encourage those who are seeking to rent or purchase property to visit the Perth Amboy Housing Expo on April 21st.
Staff and resources will be available to guide you in that process. Small businesses are the driving force of Perth Amboy’s economy. My mission is to make our City a premier destination where residents and visitors have the opportunity to enjoy a transit district with thriving businesses and a walkable downtown area. that effortlessly connects you to both mass transit and the quiet, scenic view of our waterfront. In 2008, one of my first projects was my advocacy for a new train station with complete accessibility. NJ Transit is in the process of an environmental review in preparation for the renovation of this historic site in 2020. Before the proposed Transit Village takes form, the City plans to draw more diners and shoppers to the heart of the downtown by introducing a “Parklet Concept.” In the first phase, the sidewalks by the restaurants are being extended to make room for more outdoor dining. Phase 2 of our future plan includes a seasonal Pedestrian Plaza, with outdoor seating and a space for music, art and food to enjoy. We hope to attract even more visitors to our bustling shopping district and increase visibility for our small businesses. Last year, we passed a street performers ordinance for artists to showcase their talent in the downtown area. It’s all a part of making our city more livable. We continue to strengthen our small businesses through seminars, workshops and promotions, like “Café con Wilda,” a social media series that really highlights our restaurants and their bestselling dishes though a one-on-one interview with myself and the owner, over a delicious cup of Joe or as I would say, “café con leche.” This past year, as the Perth Amboy Parking Utility remains self-sufficient it collected a surplus of $76,000, through continued enforcement and a near ten percent increase in monthly permits. Through our summer employment program, we hired over 100 students, who while working in various departments they learned how to contribute to our city, while adopting financial literacy and job training. This summer we will introduce an anti-cyber bullying campaign to instill in our youth a message of care and respect for their classmates and peers.
Mayor Wilda Diaz delivers the State of the City Address
*Photos by Paul W. Wang
The Perth Amboy Public Library provides ESL courses and citizenship classes for all residents. It hosted the VITA program for the past three years established to offer income tax filings for FREE to the residents! The library’s return on investment amounts to over 1.1. million dollars! Every book, film, newspaper and magazine is there to aid, educate and inspire our readers and viewers. The Perth Amboy Public library has a wealth of resources that is just a free library card away. I want to thank them for their dedication to our community! Expungement programs for second chances in the area of employment and an “employment bank” to assist with available work opportunities are being offered. Just 2 weeks ago, we joined P.A.R.T.N.E.R. and held a successful Career Fair with many co-sponsoring organizations, reaching hundreds of residents seeking career launches or changes. Additionally, a 70-page information directory, which includes a workforce and human development section will soon be made available for public access. Soon, we’ll be running a trade union educational campaign in the near future to expose residents to the benefits of joining a trade union—for security, strength and opportunity.
When I stood before you as Mayor in 2008, Perth Amboy faced many serious fiscal challenges. I am happy to be standing on this side of the timeline, looking back on wage freezes, layoffs and increased taxes that were necessary in order to prevent bankruptcy and a State take-over. All of which came to light at a time when this country sank into the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, but my administration never concealed the facts from the public no matter how disturbing they were. We are open and honest about the condition of the city. It was also a time of shared sacrifice, when I voluntarily took a 30 thousand dollar pay cut for my first year in office and exceeded my pledge by declining any salary increases for 8 consecutive years.
The state is struggling to fund the many new initiatives they have planned, but my job is to protect Perth Amboy and I will support those proposals that I feel benefit our residents and will also be an active voice against those proposals which may cause us harm. This includes the conversation about legalizing recreational marijuana. I know that there are many opinions about this subject, but I want to be clear that “weed” will NOT be part of our community garden. There is nothing more that I would like to see, than for this city to reach its full potential in education, safety, commerce and that comes from good government! I want to personally thank the work of our Finance, Tax, Clerk and Business Administration Offices for making this possible. And good government in every area matters to all of us, especially when it comes to the well-being of our children and I thank the many students who are here. Thank you for participating in our program and for joining today’s ceremony. I am so impressed on how today’s youth have courageously speaks out for important political topics, such as school safety and gun control. Every decision made by our local governing body will impact our youth moving forward, whether fiscal or academic. We have created a stronger bond with the Board of Education to help aid our children to quality education. Congratulations and thanks to the School Development Authority and the Board of Education for their investment in our children by building learning facilities such as the Seaman Street Elementary Education school, currently underway and the future High School on Convery Blvd. The work of our Office of Recreation is second to none. Through countless programs among sports, fine and performing arts, summer programming and activities year-round. They are nothing short of making it happen.
This past December, we opened the Brighton Avenue Community Center as the Teen Center, the home base of the Perth Amboy Youth Alliance. We’ve partnered with the Middlesex County College to administer a summer learning and employment program through the Success Bound Summer Initiative. This will equip our students with the support they will need to be a successful learner, motivated student and gain leadership skills. I also want to thank a very special person Abraham Pitre, who is no longer with us, but a man who had a life of caring, especially for the youth. He selflessly served our community for 25 years as a humanitarian, and he unconditionally loved this City—of this, I have no doubt. Acting Chief Edward Mullen assumed command last year along with 5 firefighters who were promoted. I thank this team for continuing to demonstrate their diligence and comradery during such a difficult past year. They were awarded half a million dollars in aid and funding that allowed for 7 new hires, who completed over 10,000 hours of training and expanded the department to a total of 67 members. Nearly 2.3 million dollars have been awarded to the department in the past 4 years. Grants this year assisted in funding training and new apparatus and equipment of the newly established dive team that will be fully operational this spring. In 2017, the Fire Department began to receive funding for the new Fire Station 2, which will provide greater fire protection and first responder attention to the northeast side of our city. Our Fire Department continues to protect and educate our families with an outreach program. A 6-week Fire Safety Program in partnership with the American Red Cross was put into action the beginning of this year to continue educating and providing fire and carbon monoxide detectors at no cost to the residents. I want to congratulate the Department for their Class 3 upgrade. The rating upgrade is as a result of, increased staffing levels, upgrades to the 9-one-one Dispatch Center, new apparatus, and upgrades to the City of Perth Amboy’s water mains. Taxpayers may see a decrease in the fire portion of their property insurance premiums. The new Class 3 rating is effective June 1st. I’m proud of their work and training these individuals do to take care to keep the residents of our community safe. Our Fire Department is committed to the rescue of fire victims, and also to fire prevention. I commend them for their work in our great City!!! The Perth Amboy Police Department has been recognized as one of the top six community policing Precincts by the State of New Jersey’s Attorney General’s Office. We continue to see the results of our dedication to building a safer city. We are transitioning to using body cameras as a protection for the police and our citizens. Plans are to locate a police substation right in the heart of our community, the downtown district through a partnership with The Cathedral. This will continue developing partnerships with our schools, businesses and houses of worship and help bridge any gaps of communication. This continues with our youth outreach, when last year the Police Department launched the youth academy to teach them about law enforcement and the work and training of an officer. $10,000 was awarded through a Community Policing Grant Program to be used for Red Ribbon Week, the nation’s largest anti-drug campaign.
A crowded room in the Theater in the Perth Amboy YMCA
The Perth Amboy Auxiliary Officers became the first Auxiliary Unit in New Jersey to be trained on the use of Narcan, a lifesaving agent for opiate overdose cases. We’ve partnered with the Township of Woodbridge on a Shared Opioid Overdose Program Agreement to have recovery specialists available and on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help overdose victims when they are hospitalized. This program will establish a support system to initiate a road to recovery. When I took office, this department was severely understaffed, with less than 100 officers on duty. In the past 10 years the department has seen an 18 % increase in staffing and this past year alone. We now have a total of 135 uniforms, as a department that fully reflects the diversity of our community. The violent crime rate has decreased by 16 % in the past year. The PAPD continues to ensure an increased emphasis on quality of life for our residents. That is worthy of recognition and I thank them for their due diligence in curbing the availability of street drugs. Support and guidance is provided by our Chaplain Corps who have lifted the arms of these men and women, something that I am so thankful for. I’m proud of our departments, students and local businesses along with many others who volunteered over 9,000 hours during several weeks when we experienced such devastation across our nation after being hit with Hurricanes– Harvey, Irma and Maria and the earthquakes in Mexico. Perth Amboy was among the first to respond to the unbelievable devastation. Like many of you, my loved ones were in Puerto Rico when the storm hit. We could not have imagined the horror of that tempest. In Perth Amboy, my administration led a city-wide collection drive. More than 400,000 pounds of goods of essential supplies was collected. 4 officers and several chaplains who were deployed through the efforts of the State of New Jersey. Many families have lost so much on the island and are seeking a new life on the mainland. So far, we have welcomed over hundreds of families to the City of Perth Amboy from Puerto Rico. Our staff and community partners have assisted in getting families settled into our community and finding housing, employment, education and healthcare. It’s clear that my work as Mayor could not be accomplished without the community, and the same stands for the Island of Puerto Rico and all others devastated communities. We need to help our American brothers and sisters, looking beyond cultural boundaries and agendas. During a humanitarian crisis, all the luxuries afforded to us of opinions and differences must be set aside for the preservation of life. You have to understand that the Perth Amboy response is a typical response. We’re a unique caring community that looks out for one another. The Office on Aging assist people with disabilities, veterans and seniors, to go to meet their needs—the office offers support, friendship and wellness, through over 65 programs, workshop and activities year round. A grant provided by NJ Transit, enab led us to acqurie a new bus to provide for additional services and medical transportation. I want to thank the entire team for working so diligently with our maturing population. Another vulnerable population we have reached are the homeless. Our City works closely with the County to find solution on how to best serve them. This past winter, we hosted more than 50 code blue shelter nights.
The work of our diligent staff and generous business owners provided meals and a warm place to sleep during some of the coldest winter nights. Quality of life and wellness for all families and youth have been a main priority. Our annual summer food program has fed nearly 100,000 breakfast and lunch meals to children in many of our city parks and through other non-profits, this past year alone. Community gardens city-wide provide families with local grown produce through many of youth programs. Green space is extremely valued in such a small urban community, and so we’ve made improvements by investing over a million dollars in these areas. This includes renovation and upgrades to Washington Park, Willow Pond and our waterfront. We have enhanced over 45 acres of green space city-wide. We received the NY/NJ Baykeeper 2017 Outstanding Leadership Award, and the Outstanding Achievement in Recycling Award, for our extensive sustainable and recycling efforts. Our green initiatives are working toward protecting our aging infrastructure and building a healthier and stronger community. We have developed over 15 green programs that are in line to improve our stormwater management, our resident’s health and wellness, among others. Public Works has supported these efforts, among all of their daily duties they aid us in creating a green and clean environment for our City. Their work includes community street sweeps, clean-ups and a launch of the Recycle Coach app. This year, we will be investing over half a million dollars in grant money for road repairs and paving! In the next 2 weeks both the entire length of Smith and Market Street will be fully repaved. I want to thank the men and women of the DPW for their commitment and their work, even down to the very decorations you see here tonight. Our municipal court handles about 19,000 cases per year. While it’s one of the busiest departments we must ensure that services are provided with respect and compassion. I took advantage of the opportunity for the City to begin a total restructuring of the Municipal Prosecutor’s Office. Perth Amboy is now one of the very few, if any, fully bi-lingual Municipal Prosecutor’s office in the State of New Jersey. Perth Amboy, is now in the top tier municipalities in Middlesex County, to efficiently processing and resolving of cases. Our Code Department has reached new heights, as technology has allowed their work to be more efficient and as a result, increased revenue. They have also extended their implemented extended seasonal hours. I congratulate the skill and expertise of this department for receiving a Class 9 Recognition awarded by FEMA for exceeding the requirements of effective floodplain management.
This award also benefits the homeowners with a discount on flood insurance premium rates. Thanks to the entire team at Code Department. We are always enhancing our outreach and capitalizing on resources available to all. This year we will launch a new user-friendly and upgraded website through a complete redesign set to go live later this Spring. Last November, the New Jersey league of Municipalities presented an award to the City with the Best Overall Public Information Program for having developed successful and innovative techniques to better inform and serve our residents. I was also very excited to introduce the first mural project, Hometown Girl, transforming public spaces into a vibrant, lively community asset. This was made possible by the vision of the Perth Amboy Gateway Neighborhood Collaborative and residents. It has been my vision, as Mayor to incorporate such things into our programming. We started the summer arts program almost a decade ago and since then it has quickly expanded to the arts movement, we see today– From pop-up art murals, to our Community Theater Program, to various courses offered in music, performing and visual arts. Through these channels, we’re mobilizing creativity for all ages. From the Arts Festival to our Historic Tours and Sites— Perth Amboy embodies all that is arts, history and culture—through its diversity and through its many firsts during the birth of this nation. We opened the doors to the Surveyor’s General Building Museum showcasing artifacts and many integral pieces of Perth Amboy’s early years. And to help preserve Perth Amboy story, with the support of the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, our Public Library has digitized a 110 year of newspaper of our very own City’s history. As we memorialize our past, we honor where we came from, while looking forward to what’s ahead! TOGETHER, we perform with great service, strong partnership, vision and action. Through the investment of this administration and trust of this community, we have transformed this City. I also want to recognize those who have moved this City forward in a way that was thought unimaginable just 10 years ago. I thank my administration. I want to give a special thanks to my immediate office members, Irving Lozada, Jeannette Rios, Noelia Colon and Margarita Feliciano. Not one project is completed without them. It’s not an easy task, but they always get it done and for that I am sincerely grateful. I also want to Thank Dianne Roman for leading tonight’s ceremony, as our Mistress of Ceremonies. I would also like to thank the City Council members for being here this evening and their commitment to our residents. There needs to be more of it in our country—on a local state and national level. This is not about the agenda of any politician, but of the office holder to take in account what their constituents need to create an agenda for the people!
So what is the agenda of the people???
You asked for vision, we gave you a plan!
You asked for safer street, we hired more first responders!
You asked for transparency, we gave you honesty!
You asked for more jobs, we created them through numerous redevelopment projects!
You asked for cleaner streets, we improved your quality of life!
You asked for fiscal stability, we gave you sustainability!
You asked for better education, we provided youth engagement and programming!
You asked for more projects, we established partnerships!
You asked for a change, we gave you transformation!
They say… a goal without a plan, is just a wish. We have put our hands to the plow. That’s what a leader does. You can trust that we will make every effort to serve you, not just as citizens of Perth Amboy, but as our family. Thank you, once again for the honor of serving you these past ten years, as Mayor. I look forward to continue serving you. God Bless you! And God Bless the great City of Perth Amboy! God Bless the United States of America.
For a complete transcript of the 2018 State of the City Address in it’s entirety, Please go to www.amboyguardian.com
