By Zach K.
It’s springtime and budget season in Jersey City, and the nascent progressive movement in this city is facing an all-too-common problem. Our new left-of-center mayor, James Solomon, is confronted with the seemingly insurmountable budgetary mess left behind by his corporate lackey predecessor, Steven Fulop.
During a recent statewide budget hearing at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, Solomon appealed to the Sherrill administration for $150 million in aid to compensate for a projected $255 million budget shortfall. Mayor Solomon’s struggle mirrors that of his contemporary across the Hudson, as Mayor Zohran Mamdani negotiates with Gov. Kathy Hochul to fund his own bold agenda in the face of NYC’s own vast shortfall following the cartoonish corruption of the Adams administration. While the story of Jersey City may not reach a national profile, the stakes and scale of the crisis are comparable. The funds requested by Solomon, provided via the Department of Community Affairs, would be the largest transitional aid grant in NJ history.
The Fulop legacy: Growth at what cost?
Solomon lays the blame for this massive gap at the feet of Fulop, a man who serves as a model for every progressive-coded YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) Democrat. In his 13 years of governance, Fulop transformed Jersey City into a rapidly growing municipality with its own Wall Street West on the downtown waterfront. Along with the denser, more diverse housing stock throughout the rest of its six wards, Fulop’s administration attracted new residents, primarily financiers and young professionals, from the broader tri-state area.
All it took to accomplish this feat was a build-at-any-cost mindset, often to the detriment of affordable units and union labor — and despite local concerns over displacement, gentrification, and widening wealth inequality. Most significantly, this expansion was accomplished in collaboration with Fulop’s real estate buddies — including Jared Kushner — who were incentivized by thirty-year tax abatements to build a myriad of luxury towers and mid-rises. After a failed attempt at running for governor which saw Fulop unable to ride the middle lane between the progressive Ras Baraka and establishment Mikie Sherrill to victory, he has since pursued his true calling: moving to NYC and leading the business lobbying firm Partnership for New York City.
A new direction for Jersey City
Solomon, an independent councilor and constant critic within Fulop’s administration, was elected mayor as both a course correction from the developer-friendly strategy of his predecessor and a rejection of the old school cronyism of his opponent, former Gov. Jim McGreevey. His slate swept the city council along with two notable independents, our own North New Jersey Democratic Socialists Jake Ephros and Joel Brooks, united in the vision to build a fairer, more affordable, and more accessible Jersey City.
There’s only so much Solomon and the city council can do in the face of such a crisis without aid from Gov. Sherrill. The city can raise property taxes, itself difficult and highly contentious, or cut spending and sacrifice the mayor’s progressive agenda, frustrating the aspirations of the very people who elected him. Solomon, like Mamdani, has admirably tried to remain transparent to the public about the severity of the problem, the necessity of state funding, and the relative simplicity of the solution: raising taxes on the richest residents in one of the country’s richest states.
Plugging the holes: Solomon’s budget plan
Solomon’s current budget plan details how this “corruption tax” has been passed on to Jersey City renters, who have had to compensate for the Fulop administration’s tax breaks. Solomon has also drawn attention to the slashing of state aid to the city’s schools by two-thirds thanks to conservative forces in Trenton.
To claw back lost revenue and plug budget holes, Solomon has proposed the standard refrain of eliminating wasteful spending in addition to various audits of public agencies like the Utilities Authority and the City’s Redevelopment Agency. He has called for annual forensic audits of all developer tax abatements, including back payments or terminating agreements where the developer is out of compliance with requirements (we in the DSA would recommend adding the Jersey City Police Department to the list of necessary audits). He has also committed to fighting for the restoration of Jersey City’s fair share of state aid to schools.
Following through on these commitments would not only stabilize the budget, but send a clear message that Jersey City is no longer for sale to rich developers. Still, such a historic shortfall simply cannot be rectified without proper support from the state government (and federal aid, of course, is not arriving anytime soon given the Trump administration’s priorities).
The road ahead
It is the job of the socialist movement to row against the tide of austerity and continue pressing for a budget which meets the needs of working people now and in the future. That can only happen with representatives unafraid to lead, tax the rich, and redistribute wealth toward working people. Systems must be established to build affordable housing, ensure reliable transit, and fund universal programs like healthcare and childcare.
So far, Gov. Sherrill has signaled a willingness to follow through on her own commitments to freeze state utility costs, invest in state and municipal property for transit-oriented development, reduce deductions for businesses, and adjust tax break programs like StayNJ, potentially saving up to $500 million in funds. However, the Governor’s overall budget is fundamentally middle-of-the-road, increasing spending by 1.6 percent, far below the average 6.8 percent spending growth rate of her predecessor Phil Murphy. As for what assistance she’ll offer Jersey City, she’s given only vague assurances, and most talk remains behind closed doors. It is therefore incumbent upon the mayor, city councilors, and concerned citizens to continue pressuring the Sherrill administration to give the city its due and lay the groundwork for people-first development while administering responsible taxation and funding.
In May of last year, Jersey City broke ground on the Bayfront Promenade, approved at the tail end of Fulop’s term and actually fulfilling the progressive vision on which he, and later Solomon, were elected. The project is meant to be the largest mixed-income housing development in the city; 35 percent of units will be reserved for low- or middle-income households. It is the result of significant public pressure and criticism of the Fulop administration for his initial overreliance on tax abatements to encourage development. Though intended on Fulop’s end as a political move to restore credibility for his gubernatorial campaign, the Promenade will be a step in the right direction for the people of Jersey City, transforming the formerly industrial West Side waterfront into an affordable new community with transit access via a new light rail station. It should be the goal and the responsibility of the Solomon administration and the working people of Jersey City to ensure that this project is not only completed, but the rule going forward.
Thank you for reading
This article is part of Issue No. 01 of Garden State Socialist, a publication of the North New Jersey chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (NNJ DSA).
DSA is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with over 100,000 members and chapters in all 50 states. We believe that working people should run both the economy and society democratically to meet human needs, not to make profits for a few.
We are a political and activist organization, not a party; our members use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.
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