Mayor & Council of New Providence, NJ

Mayor J. Brooke Hern
Annual Message
January 2012 

 

Welcome to the 2012 re-organization meeting of the New Providence Borough Council. 

First, we owe our thanks to former Councilman Vince Vyzas, for his three years of service on the Borough Council and as the Council representative to the Borough Planning Board.  Vince, thank you for your hard work, and for a job well done.

Next we owe our thanks to Councilman Bob Robinson, Alan Lesnewich, and Armand Galluccio.  Each of you knows from experience, that serving on this council requires a level self-sacrifice and hard work.  And with that knowledge you chose to serve again, and we all deeply appreciate that.  Just as each of you has done in the past, I'm very confident that you will ably serve New Providence in the months ahead.   

Once again, we start this new year facing great economic challenges.  And yet New Providence remains vibrant and robust.  Even while too many people and businesses in our Borough and in our state have been deeply impacted by a struggling economy, so too have we witnessed an unyielding determination, and unfettered resilience, that has put our community on a slow, but steady course toward better and brighter days.    

As manifested in the policies and actions of our Borough Council, the course we are on has been determined by the people of New Providence, as expressed through elections, referendums, and public comment here in these chambers, and through email, letters, phone calls, and face-to-face conversations.   

This is a responsive Borough government.   And our course reflects the values and vision we share as a community. The people of New Providence have chosen commercial redevelopment, rather than irresponsible over development of condominiums on commercial properties.  And that is the course we on.   

They chose to retain ownership of our parks, and find local solutions to improve our athletic fields to meet ever increasing demand and address overuse.  And that is the course we are on.   

They chose a government that is more transparent in its deliberations, more open to differing views, and that arrives at public policy decisions, not through controversy, but through consensus.    And that is the course we are on.   

As always, the strength and vitality of New Providence comes from the people who serve it.  Time and again, over the past year, our employees and volunteers put forth an extraordinary effort in their dedication to our town.    

Most notably, a hurricane and a winter storm strained our municipal resources, and left too many people without power for far too long.  And through it all, those who serve New Providence performed with exceptional professionalism.   

Nearly every resource of the Borough was impacted and utilized.  From our police, firefighters, and rescue squad, to our public works department and the staff in our construction, engineering and administration offices, we should all be extremely proud of our employees and volunteers who answered hundreds of calls, responded to emergencies, and cleaned up an enormous amount of debris left from these storms.   

This past year, the dedication of our employees and volunteers was also made abundantly clear in the expansion of our 9/11 memorial to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our nation.  Over great obstacles, including a hurricane, an artifact from the World Trade Center was acquired and placed in a newly designed Centennial Park, giving the people of New Providence a very moving day of remembrance, and an ever-enduring tribute to the memory of those who were lost.   

Even beyond these specific accomplishments, we should also recognize that there is so much hard work, dedication and success that often go unnoticed.  That on a daily basis, our employees and volunteers put forth an amazing effort to make New Providence safe, to make it prosperous, and to make it a great place to live and work and run a business. 

I want every employee and every volunteer to know, that you are appreciated.  And that because of your collective effort, New Providence is, today, poised to realize its full potential as a thriving community.   

Indeed, in the November elections, the voters gave this governing body two important and powerful tools that promise to transform New Providence in very substantial and positive ways.  By nearly 2-1, voters approved a public question to expand the permitted use of the open space trust fund to permit the maintenance and improvement of our parks and fields.  And an ordinance doing just that was passed into law last month.   

The voters also gave their overwhelming support to a referendum which will, for the first time in our history, permit consumption liquor licenses to be issued to restaurants in New Providence.  Even as the Council moves carefully and prudently to enact new ordinances to regulate the type of businesses that can operate with these licenses, highly successful and desirable restaurateurs are preparing to enter the bidding process for the first, of up to four licenses, that will be issued later this year.   

Thriving restaurants will attract more consumers to our downtown, will increase visibility for all of our local stores, and will lift our business district to new levels of success and prosperity.    

The vitality of our downtown is of paramount importance to this Council and to this mayor.  Since I began my term as mayor a year ago, we've been working hard to attract new businesses to New Providence.  And in the months ahead, we're going to continue our efforts to strengthen our local economy.      

Today, in New Providence, there is already great momentum building in our commercial and retail zones.  Occupancy rates are higher than they have been in years.   

A new office building is under construction on South Street.  New stores are opening all over town, on Central Avenue, on Springfield Avenue, and on South Street.  Existing stores are investing in their infrastructure and facilities.  And this year promises to include announcements from significant businesses that will open new stores in the coming months.   

Even while the national economy continues to struggle, New Providence is turning the corner.  And the success we have experienced so far is the result of a collective effort of so many people who care deeply about this town.   

From the members of this Borough Council, who have dedicated themselves to sound public policy, to the hard working men and women who deliver outstanding municipal services by continually doing more with less; and from the scores of dedicated volunteers that I will appoint tonight to serve on important Borough committees, to people who serve in community organizations or simply participate in an informed public discussion and vote on election day; the quality of our life is a reflection of the commitment of our people.    

I believe that our best days lie ahead.  And I ask each of you to join with me, and this Council, to make New Providence even better than it is today. 

Thank you.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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