Carteret, NJ – Mayor Daniel J. Reiman proudly presented the State of the Borough of Carteret Tuesday night. The speech, delivered to a room of over 200 residents, professionals, and Borough employees, outlined Carteret’s growth and optimistic future, made possible because of the groundwork and tough decisions Mayor Reiman’s administration made through their tenure.
“Together we have planted many seeds and have watched those seeds develop into many great improvements,” said Mayor Reiman. “Now, more than any other time in the history of our community, we are beginning to enjoy the fruits of that labor.”
Mayor Reiman highlighted the Borough’s upcoming ferry terminal, with service to Manhattan, which just last week received approval to enter the engineering phase.
“Last month our team of professionals attended a meeting in Trenton with representatives of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The purpose of the meeting was a review of the Borough’s Ferry Concept Plan with the goal of securing the release of almost 3 million dollars in federal funding, specifically earmarked by congress for this project,” said Mayor Reiman. “It was our obligation to demonstrate the viability of our Ferry service to Manhattan from Carteret. Today, I am happy to report that the Borough has been advised that this Inter-governmental Review Committee has agreed to advance our Ferry Project that seeks to reestablish service from Carteret to Manhattan and Just last week we received approval to finally begin preliminary design work.” He added “But just like our marina project, ferry service between Carteret and Manhattan is an idea whose time has come and there is no amount of bureaucratic red tape and no way we will allow out of control federal agencies to stop us from reaching this important goal. We will persevere, and we will win the fight.”
The marina project the Mayor was referring to – 200 slips at the Borough’s Waterfront Park – is slated to open this summer with a waterfront events center at the park also set for construction in the near future. A $13.25 million grant from the Department of Environmental Protection will enable the Borough to construct a boardwalk and river walk along the Arthur Kill Channel.
“Today, I can report to you that permit applications will soon been submitted, and we will be breaking ground on our boardwalk and river walk by the end of this year,” announced Mayor Reiman. “Once complete we will have provided nearly 2 miles of public access along our eastern shoreline, a remarkable fete for a community that for over 100 years had no public access to the waterfront.”
The Carteret Performing Arts Center, which the Borough will begin construction on in the coming weeks, will soon be the centerpiece of the new arts district, according to Mayor Reiman.
“When the borough acquired the former Ritz Theater, the hope was to restore it to its original state to bring in high quality, live performances to the central jersey region. Ultimately, engineers and construction professionals assigned to the project determined that preserving the building for use as a functioning theater was not feasible, and so we decided to construct, a new state of the art venue that could attract national acts, Broadway type shows, sporting events, conventions and receptions.”
The long awaited Marriot hotel on Roosevelt Avenue, funded by a $12 million private investment, will begin construction by the end of 2018. The Borough’s roadways, which have been affected by winter storms that stretch through March, will also receive improvements.
“Over the past decade we have paved more than 100 roads and this year we will pave over a dozen more,” said Mayor Reiman. “We will partner with the state and county in investing over 7.5 million dollars on road improvements and infrastructure work borough wide.”
Mayor Reiman discussed a recent report which identifies that unemployment rates in Carteret are at an all -time low and considerably lower than federal, state, and regional rates. The Mayor attributes this statistic to the fact that companies like Amazon, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Fedex, and P.C. Richards call Carteret home.
“They have chosen Carteret over neighboring communities because they know that we commit ourselves to providing our residents with the skills needed to thrive in today’s economy,” said Mayor Reiman. “We can provide a stable and expanding workforce whose employees and residents continue to enhance their skills.”
The Mayor highlighted the fact that since 2009, Carteret has seen a significant increase in in property values, with a budget surplus that has increased by 58% and a tax rate that has been significantly reduced. In fact, taxes on average are $1,300 lower than Woodbridge, $700 lower than Perth Amboy, over $2,200 less than Rahway and $2,500 less than Linden.
“Carteret taxpayers on average pay $2,300 less than comparable homes in comparable communities,” said Mayor Reiman. “That’s a testament to the over $1 billion in growth we have had in Carteret over the past 15 years”
The Mayor declared “in many regards we have revitalized our Borough, protected our environment, grown the local economy, improved our infrastructure, enhanced public safety and provided opportunities to our residents that are unmatched anywhere in the state,” said Mayor Reiman.
You may view Mayor Reiman’s speech on TV36 in Carteret throughout the month of May. To learn more about the thriving Borough of Carteret, visit www.Carteret.net.
