SOUTH AMBOY – Mayor Fred Henry addressed the future of South Amboy during a public gathering on May 23.
The address was made at the South Amboy Senior Center with various township officials in attendance, including City Council President Mickey Gross and City Council members Christine Noble and Brian McLaughlin.
Henry began by addressing various events the township has held to date this year, such as the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Irish Heritage and Seafood Festival, and then mentioning future events such as the annual Halloween parade and the annual tree lighting and trolley tour.
Other upcoming events are the South Amboy Street Fair, with various vendors and a city-wide yard sale on June 23, that showcases the downtown business district; and the annual Independence Day fireworks event on July 3 in association with Perth Amboy.
Henry said programs for senior citizens have expanded to include chair yoga and additional trips to the shore, and he announced the city will be getting a new senior bus in July to transport seniors to anywhere they need.
Henry took a moment to discuss the cancellation of the Memorial Day Parade due to inclement weather.
“Unfortunately, one event that needed to be cancelled was our Memorial Day Parade,” Henry said. “Let’s not forget our veterans. Even though the rain stopped our celebration, it did not stop our veterans as they fought in all sorts of weather.”
Henry addressed the return of the co-op program with South Amboy Public Schools, where students from the high school work with city employees as well as second grade classes being able to tour City Hall and the police department.
The city announced it has almost completed their law enforcement accreditation program by the Rodgers Group, which Henry said “allows them to have the most proactive procedures that a modern-day police department needs. It enhances our training component and updates our rules and through the best practice standards it allows up to apply for certain grants for our department.”
The police department also hired four new officers after they completed their in-house training, received a new fleet of police vehicles, and will be participating in National Night Out in August, an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer.
Henry announced the city has rejoined the Municipal Alliance, which engages local government, schools, police, civic, religious, business organizations and parents to prevent alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse.
Henry addressed road improvements the city is undertaking.
“We are now in the process of paving Bordentown Avenue with the help of a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation,” Henry said. “These grants must be evaluated and applied for years in advanced. Stevens Avenue and Pine Avenue will also be done with such grants in the coming years. Recently we received a grant to pave O’Leary Boulevard for $580,000. We will continue to seek these types of grants to ease the burden on our taxpayers.”
Henry touched on the growth of local businesses in the city, particularly in the downtown district.
“We are seeing great growth on Broadway with the opening of a barbershop, a juice bar, the coming of a cake bakery and a pizza store,” Henry said. “The city will continue to do what it can to ensure the success of our downtown district and our businesses and we encourage all residents to patronize all businesses in our city. If we don’t support them, they end up closing and we don’t want that to happen.”
Henry discussed the progress the city has made in regards to the ferry project.
“One of the most arduous projects we have is the ongoing negotiations dealing with the commuter ferry service,” Henry said. “The five-year remediation aspect of this project was completed last year. We have satisfied environmental requirements, wetland regulations and the archaeological requirements. We have moved onto the design phase of the parking lot and the terminals. It has been and it continues to be a long road, but we are committed to making the project a reality for the citizens of South Amboy.”
Henry closed his address by thanking city officials for their help, as well as his family.
“To quote Henry Ford, ‘If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself,’” Henry said. “South Amboy has been very successful and we are on the cusp of even more success.”
Contact Peter Elacqua at [email protected].