It’s never ending… I feel you.  

Tomorrow morning (Monday) there will be another major uptown traffic closure.

Starting Monday March 30th, 14th St. at Washington between SoulCycle and The Madison will be closed from 9 am to 6 pm daily for the better part of the next two weeks for the Rebuild By Design Project.

Read that again.

This is a significant closure in one of the busiest parts of uptown and it will impact both traffic and bus service. If you are commuting, I encourage you to do so before 9 am and after 6 pm if possible.  

Bus routes will be adjusted as follows:

• Northbound buses will go to 15th and Washington, turn left on 15th, and head toward Willow before resuming their routes. The stop on 14th between Garden and Park will not be in service.
• Southbound buses will remain on Willow to 11th, turn left on 11th, then right on Washington to resume their routes. The stops on 14th and at 12th and Washington will not be in service.
• IMPORTANTLY:  Officers will be onsite, and specifically at 15th and Washington, to direct traffic and ensure safe passage for pedestrians.

Regular traffic will have to find alternative routes.  

And yes, Bloomfield Street just north of 14th remains closed.  And sidewalk access at the northwest corner of 14th and Washington continues to be disrupted.  

The work being done now is expanded test pits and larger openings that is intended to minimize the timeline when the actual installation of the gate occurs.  By spending more time now, with all of the utility providers onsite, and getting a clear understanding of what is underground, the goal is to avoid the kinds of surprises that have delayed other intersections.

The larger Rebuild by Design flood gate installation will occur at this location in the coming months - but a date has not yet been established.  When it happens, that closure is expected to last approximately four months, 24/7, similar to what we have seen at other intersections. And I estimate that it will be worse than the closing of 15th and Garden. We learned during that closure that over 80% of the traffic coming into the 14th between Willow & Park area in the morning, goes eastbound across 14th towards Washington.  All that traffic will be rerouted. Some to 15th, some to Garden, and some to Willow.  

Repeatedly for the past two years, and as recently as two weeks ago with Mayor Jabbour, I have been asking the City and the DEP team to think carefully about this exact scenario. Because if traffic is rerouted to 15th and Washington in the middle of one of the most densely populated residential areas in Hoboken, along with Garden St., with constant pedestrian activity, especially kids and seniors, then safety has to come first.

****I have specifically asked for a temporary traffic light to be installed at 15th and Washington before this part of the project begins.  

15th Street already functions as a main entry and exit route in the north end, even though it was never designed to handle that level of traffic.  And as we learned with the 15th and Garden closure, 15th absorbs a significant amount of traffic from the northern entry points.  Combined with the residential density, 15th and Washington - currently only an all-way stop - is already one of the more dangerous intersections in the city.  Cars ignoring stop signs multiple times per hour.   Adding buses, trucks, and rerouted traffic for months only increases that risk.

If 15th and Washington is going to carry this kind of load during the longer closure, it needs a traffic light.  A permanent one was called for as part of the original Hudson Tea development plan with Toll Brothers, and it never happened. But if this intersection is going to function as a primary detour route for months at a time, it needs to happen before it starts.

The one positive is this is Spring Break for many this week.  So traffic should be lighter at least the first week.  

Speaking of Spring Break…

For all those families who are staying in town, the City is offering free open gym Monday through Thursday this week.

Open gym is for Hoboken children and teens under 18 for recreational basketball in a safe, supportive, and fun environment.   Registration is not required. All participants must bring their own basketballs, as the City will not be providing equipment. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 18. 

Upcoming Repaving

Just a quick note on this for now.  The City announced resurfacing of 50 blocks in Hoboken this summer.  Including work done by the city’s utility partners like NHSA and PSEG.  You can read more about it HERE.  Overall great news.  This is the map of all the streets involved.

Two streets that are notably missing from that list are 13th St. east of Willow and Castle Point Terrace.

I reached out to Mayor Jabbour and Parking & Transportation Director Sharp about both and was told that because they are more complex projects, they were not included alongside standard paving. That said, both remain active and are expected to move forward this year.

13th Street:

A full reconstruction between Hudson and Willow, including ADA upgrades, funded through an NJDOT grant. The challenge is that the grant requirements may involve removing several otherwise healthy, 100-year-old street trees. These blocks are narrow, with tight sidewalks already constrained by those trees. This project was identified as a top priority four years ago.  After receiving the grant to fund it, over the past year I worked with the prior administration and neighbors to explore a path forward.

While I understand the complexity, I would argue that 13th Street could still be approached more like a standard paving project. I am looking forward to continuing those conversations with Mayor Jabbour and Director Sharp to find a solution. It is not easy.

Castle Point Terrace:

Under discussion for nearly eight years. Over the past year, similar to 13th Street, I worked closely with neighbors, Stevens and the prior administration to move toward a plan to repair and restore one of Hoboken’s oldest and most historic streets. This two-block road, paved with yellow bricks, has never been upgraded in its 100+ year history and has deteriorated to the point of being unsafe.

This project has three components: restoring the roadway itself, upgrading street lighting, and preserving the historic character of the street. The first two are consistent with other roadway projects. But because these blocks have likely not been reconstructed in close to 100 years, the underlying road bed will require a more extensive rebuild than what we see on more recently improved streets, increasing both cost and complexity.  

The third component is supporting the historic nature of the road including its brick surface.  This adds complexity and incremental cost that typical paving projects do not have.  Where we left off was developing cost estimates to fully understand that incremental investment and how best to move forward.  Councilwoman Imus will join me in helping to move this project forward.

As Chair of the Parking and Transportation Subcommittee, both of these projects will remain a top priority for 2026.

It is amazing that only three topics can take up so much space on a page… 😆 #Inform #DetailsMatter

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to discuss this or anything else important to you — by email or by phone at 201-208-1674.  #InItTogether

Tiffanie Fisher

Hoboken City Councilwoman

Engage. Inform. Deliver.

“More Voices are Better”

• to subscribe to my newsletter

• to learn more:  www.Hoboken2ndWard.com or www.tiffanieforhoboken.com