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going to lose by huge numbers.
“And I say that because you’ve
got to keep perspective that it’s a
complicated city, a big city, and most
people appreciate growth.”
He also acknowledged that the city,
like the rest of the region, still faces
a signifi cant housing shortage. That
continues to put pressure on rents,
he said, especially given the lack of
development in New York City over
the past decade. It also speaks to the
top campaign issue for Councilman
James Solomon, who will succeed
Fulop as mayor after winning a
runoff election against former Gov.
Jim McGreevey.
“I feel like we’ve done a lot, and
I feel like you could always do
more,” said Fulop, who did not
seek a fourth term as mayor amid
an unsuccessful run for governor.
“I think there’s defi nitely an
affordability crisis throughout New
Jersey — there’s no question about
that. There’s an affordability crisis in
this entire region. And it’s not only
about housing. Wages haven’t been
increased at the same rate as costs.
That’s at the core of the problem.”
Fulop is set to become CEO and
president of the Partnership for New
York City, the infl uential nonprofi t
business advocacy group, replacing
longtime leader Kathryn S. Wylde
under a move announced in early
October. That follows two decades
of public service in Jersey City that
began in his late 20s, when he fi rst
won a council seat after an upstart,
grassroots campaign for a post he
would hold for eight years.
His time on the council and
subsequent three terms as mayor
focused largely on progressive
causes, from ensuring paid sick leave
for workers to major reforms to the
city’s police department. He’s also
had political highs and lows, from
quickly becoming a rising star in
the Democratic party to this year’s
loss in the gubernatorial primary.
But Fulop is widely associated and
credited with Jersey City’s broad-
based economic development boom.
TAX BREAK OVERHAUL
It wasn’t long after he was elected
mayor in May 2013 that Fulop, a
former Goldman Sachs trader who
served in the Marines after Sept. 11,
set out to “clarify how we’re going
to approach development and try
to eliminate some of the politics of
it.” That meant revamping Jersey
City’s tax abatement program to spur
development in more overlooked
areas such as Journal Square,
Bergen-Lafayette and the West
Side — creating a tiered system
based on census tracts while cutting
subsidies in the booming downtown
and waterfront neighborhoods. The
policy also created new requirements
and incentives for incorporating
affordable housing, among other
provisions.
“When we started, it wasn’t healthy
because the tax abatements were
given out so easily that they were
by right, almost,” Fulop said. “So if Journal Squared at 595 Pavonia Ave. in Jersey City
Courtesy: JLL