Hoboken Council Approves ‘Small Business Expansion’ Plan

HOBOKEN, NJ — Several Hoboken neighborhoods are set to get more elbow room for local businesses after the City Council approved a new zoning plan for the Mile Square.

Last week, the council gave final approval to a Small Business Expansion District Plan that will make policy tweaks to the city’s zoning code. The plan works by allowing new businesses to occupy previously prohibited spaces.

Hopefully, this will encourage a fresh crop of small businesses to sprout in parts of the city that have long desired more local shopping, dining and entertainment options, the plan’s supporters say.

Councilman Mike DeFusco, who spearheaded the plan, said it makes the first major changes to the city’s zoning laws since the Reagan administration.

“Small businesses play a vital role in our community, making it critical that we find ways to help mom and pop shops succeed in Hoboken,” DeFusco stated in a news release. “The Small Business Expansion District Plan does exactly this by enacting a proactive policy that will encourage makers, creators and innovators to invest in our city.”

DeFusco said that when small businesses thrive, local neighborhoods become more vibrant, new jobs are created and the burden is lowered for residential taxpayers.

“I am proud to have worked with the City Council and [Mayor Ravi Bhalla] to expand neighborhood business districts, and look forward to bringing new and exciting business concepts into our community,” the councilman said.

According to a statement from DeFusco, the Small Business Expansion District Plan includes:

• Expanding neighborhood retail the entire length of First Street, which will create a new business corridor between the Waterfront and Southwest Park
• Expanding neighborhood retail along 14th Street from the Waterfront to Willow Avenue
• Expanding the Central Business District from Fourth Street to Seventh Street along Washington Street
• Expanding retail on Washington from Seventh Street to 14th Street, with the exception of certain blocks on the eastern side
• Creating a neighborhood retail district on Jackson Street between First and Fourth Streets to serve the west side of Hoboken

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