Phil Cohen is the Fifth Ward Councilman on Hoboken's City Council.
Phil has lived in Hoboken for 36 years, moving to town after graduating from Tufts University to attend Rutgers Law School. Phil and his wife Rebecca Kramnick are proud to have raised their daughters, Madeline 26 and Anna 22, here in Hoboken.
For nearly two decades, Phil has been an engaged volunteer in Hoboken’s civic life. Phil is a member of the Citizens Advisory Board, for our transformative $230 million federal infrastructure program, working on the plan to implement protections for our City from rising tides and strengthening storms like Superstorm Sandy. Phil is a member of the Hoboken Library’s Space Search Committee, working on identifying an uptown branch location to better serve our community. Phil is a 5th Ward Democratic Committee person who has been elected to serve the 5th Ward for more than a decade. In 2018, Phil was elected by the Committee’s members to serve as Chair of the Hoboken Democratic Party.
Phil served eight years as a commissioner on the Hoboken Zoning Board, where he supported the adaptive reuse of abandoned industrial structures including the Pilsener Haus project. Phil also supported the introduction of new uses in the industrial northwest such as the Gravity Vault and the buildings that include the current and future homes of the Mile Square Theatre. He enthusiastically supported the reconstruction of the American Legion Post, including housing for 6 homeless veterans. Phil has also served on the Hoboken Planning Board.
Phil served six years on the Board of Trustees of Stevens Cooperative School and served as the school’s Board Chair. Phil also served as a trustee on the Board of the United Synagogue of Hoboken. Phil served as a trustee of the Liberty Humane Society and volunteers for the 11th Street Island Association and for the Hoboken Historical Museum. Phil also volunteers with the New York City Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program, and provides pro bono legal consultations to unrepresented parties in New York Family Court.
Phil served 7 years on the Board of Family Legal Care (formerly known as LIFT), a not-for profit organization which each year provides free legal information and legal advice to tens of thousands of unrepresented families navigating New York’s Family Court system. Phil is the recipient of the Corporate Leadership Award from the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation, a Bronx-based anti-poverty non-profit organization. Phil is a practicing attorney in the New York office of an international law firm where he is a shareholder in the firm’s litigation practice
Committees
- Community Development and Housing (Chair)
- Public & Transportation
- Rebuild By Design Ad Hoc Committee
- Trustee, Hoboken Business Alliance
