A series of water main breaks in Hoboken has raised concerns about the city’s infrastructure and its ability to handle daily demands. Assemblyman Ruben Ramos (D-33), who is challenging Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer for her seat, told NJ Today Senior Correspondent Desirée Taylor that he is calling for action to be taken to improve services in the city.
Ramos said he believes the recent problems were caused by a combination of issues. “First of all, we had Hurricane Irene the prior year. We had Hurricane Sandy, which really was taxing our infrastructure. But we didn’t address those concerns in our infrastructure,” he said. “I know Hoboken has an agreement with United Water to provide infrastructure for up to $300,000 a year but the city of Hoboken itself hasn’t come up with a plan, or any spending plan, to come up with more infrastructure improvements.”
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According to Ramos, water main breaks happen almost every spring when the pipes thaw, but he added that the impact of the two hurricanes made problems worse by washing away gravel and asphalt from the area. “So we expect this to be a daily occurrence this coming spring unfortunately,” he said.
Flooding is a chronic problem in Hoboken and according to FEMA’s new flood maps, 80 percent of the city falls in a flood zone. Ramos said the classification concerns him. “Down the shore the structures are separated somewhat, more separated than Hoboken is obviously. All our homes are interconnected,” he said. “It’s impossible for people to raise their homes in Hoboken — a five-story building to raise it in the middle of the street, it’s impossible.”
Ramos said officials are investigating other mediation measures such as moving utilities from basements into upper floors. “It’s not realistic enough to just say Hoboken residents you either have to raise your homes — which is virtually impossible — or face detrimental insurance rates. Flood insurance rates would be up to $30,000,” he said. “It potentially could make Hoboken a ghost town at that rate.”
Ramos said he is giving up his Assembly seat to run for mayor of Hoboken because he and his parents grew up in the city and love it. He also plans to make it a better place.
“We feel right now that Hoboken is not reaching its maximum potential,” Ramos said. “And I feel myself as mayor, I think I have a vision that could bring Hoboken to maximize its potential for not just the region but for the state of New Jersey as well.”