Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla, Councilman Ruben Ramos, Councilwoman Emily Jabbour, and children from the Boys and Girls Club of Hoboken and Hoboken Dual Language Charter School today celebrated the grand opening of Jefferson Park in Southwest Hoboken. Jefferson Park, located on Jefferson Street between 1st and 2nd Streets, was recently renovated to maximize park space with brand new playground equipment for children of different ages, two climbing structures, and a new turf safety surface. The features of the new park were decided upon thanks to feedback earlier this year from parents, children and educators who frequently utilize the park.
“Thanks to our collaboration with the community, Hoboken was able to renovate Jefferson Park with brand new playground equipment and modern features that benefit the entire neighborhood,” said Mayor Bhalla. “Now, more than ever, it’s critical to continue with quality of life upgrades in our outdoor public spaces, and I know this new park will be well utilized by our youngest residents. I’m appreciative to all of the parents and children, especially everyone from the Boys and Girls Club and HoLa, who helped come up with the final design.”
“I’m extremely excited to see the new play equipment and safety surface at Jefferson Street Park,” said Councilman Ruben Ramos. “It was truly a collaborative effort with all community stakeholders and the final design is reflective of ideas from neighborhood residents, the Boys and Girls Club, and HoLa communities. This is another positive park project for Southwest Hoboken and I thank all those who helped make it possible.”
“It is wonderful to see this playground open and share in this event with a number of the residents who actively participated in the community engagement process during the planning phase,” said Councilwoman Emily Jabbour. “I am grateful for the leadership of Director Jennifer Gonzalez in making this project so successful - she worked with many stakeholders to come up with a plan that was responsive to the needs of HoLa, the Boys and Girls Club, and families in this neighborhood. My thanks go to Mayor Bhalla as well for prioritizing this project. Now more than ever, we are realizing the importance of public spaces to allow our children to run, play, and feel some normalcy.”
Mayor Bhalla also thanks the members of the Friends of Jefferson Park who also contributed to the design process. The group is actively seeking new members. If interested, please email Director Jennifer Gonzalez at jgonzalez@hobokennj.gov.
Since 2018, Hoboken has undertaken a number of projects to improve public spaces, including the complete renovation of Madison Park, the renovation of dog parks with modern turf surface in Church Square and Stevens Parks, created a brand new dog park at 2nd and Hudson Streets, and the opening of a new resiliency park and public plaza at 7th and Jackson. The City is also currently renovating the Maxwell Park dog run, installing a new safety surface at Elysian Park, rehabilitating the South Waterfront from Pier A to Pier C, and building the 5-acre Northwest Resiliency Park.
Jefferson Park is open to the public from 8 am until dusk.
