Mayor Bhalla Thanks Assistant Corporation Counsel John Allen For His Service To Hoboken

Press release from the City of Hoboken:

December 7, 2022

Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla today announced that John Allen will be stepping down from his role as Assistant Corporation Counsel to pursue other opportunities.

Allen, who has worked for the City since 2017, will serve his last day on Dec. 31, 2022.

“It’s a bittersweet day for Hoboken as John Allen has been a tremendous asset to the City and someone I’ve counted on for the past five years,” said Mayor Bhalla. “His work speaks for itself, as he played a major role in the acquisition of Union Dry Dock, worked with stakeholders to secure vaccine and testing resources for residents and businesses during the height of the pandemic, and saved the City tens of thousands of dollars through his work in the legal department. I wish John the best in his future endeavors and I know that he has a great future ahead of him.”

During his tenure with the City of Hoboken, Allen served in the capacities of Chief of Staff and Assistant Corporation Counsel, working with the administration to settle outstanding municipal union contracts and assisting with the successful negotiations for the acquisition of the former Monarch property and former Union Dry Dock property, both of which will be transformed into public open space in future years.

Allen also helped negotiate the Direct Hire Agreement that stipulates that certain City public works projects utilize union labor to supplement the City’s existing workforce, drafted ordinances adopted by the Hoboken City Council through the comprehensive COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Strategy, and worked with Corporation Counsel to craft the parameters of the Project Labor Agreement Ordinance, which ensures that certain new developments must hire union labor, among others.

Additionally, Allen served as a municipal prosecutor and defended the City in multiple lawsuits, including a victory for Hoboken in the Appellate Division, saving the City thousands of dollars in outside counsel fees.

This press release was produced by the City of Hoboken. The views expressed here are the author’s own.