Paterson mayoral candidates lay out economic development plans ahead of May election

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories looking at how Paterson’s mayoral candidates plan to address the city’s issues. Other installments have looked at crime rates and the future of Westside Park.

PATERSON — The federal government’s unemployment statistics for New Jersey cities reveal a good news-bad news scenario for Paterson.

The good: Paterson’s jobless rate in February dropped into single digits for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The bad: The local unemployment rate of 8.8% for February, the most recent month available, was higher than that for every other major city in the state. Camden came in at 8.4%, Jersey City at 4.5% and Newark at 7.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The five candidates for mayor in Paterson’s May 10 election often talk of the importance of boosting economic development in New Jersey’s third most populous city. Announcements about construction projects routinely include estimates of the jobs to be created.

Mayor Andre Sayegh’s administration says it attracted $800 million in development projects during the past four years and substantially reduced vacant and abandoned properties in the city.

Paterson Press asked the five men running for mayor for their economic development plans for the next four years, including how they would encourage investment, what types of projects they would pursue and what areas of the city they would they focus on.

Here’s what they had to say:

Councilman Michael Jackson

If elected, Jackson said, he would end Paterson’s use of private contractors for services that he says can be handled by city government, such as garbage collection.

By stopping all outsourcing, Jackson said he would shift the jobs from out-of-towners working for private companies from elsewhere and give the work to Paterson residents who would be hired by city government.

That change would have an economic ripple effect, he said, because city residents then would be more likely to spend the money they earn within Paterson.

“If Paterson will ever have a chance to recover, it must invest in itself and stop allowing poor development deals to take advantage of its residents,” the councilman said.

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Jackson said city government currently spends more than $12 million per year on service contracts with businesses from outside Paterson. “If we could keep a third of that in the city, that would be an extra $4 million for Paterson,” Jackson said.

The councilman said the city also should find ways to keep lucrative road resurfacing contracts from going to outside companies. “Keep millions of dollars from leaving the city. That’s the path to economic recovery,” he said.

Councilman Alex Mendez

Mendez said Paterson ought to seek the return of well-paying manufacturing jobs to the city, while increasing employment in technology and construction through infrastructure improvements.

The councilman said he would try to tap into the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to improve public transportation with an upgraded commuter rail system. Paterson’s current train station has one of the lowest per capita ridership rates in NJ Transit’s system, according to the mass transit agency’s data.

Mendez also said he would work to improve bus services and create low-cost parking options in developing areas of the city. The councilman said improved infrastructure will attract new business investments, including housing.

Mendez said he would attract investors without offering them long-term tax abatements by emphasizing Paterson’s “uniquely advantageous location for shipping, warehousing and manufacturing businesses.”

“A Mendez administration will seek to cooperate with new employers looking to take advantage of our location by entering into agreements where a reasonable percentage of both labor and management employees will live in the city,” Mendez said.

Mayor Andre Sayegh

The mayor said if reelected, he would continue his emphasis on development in the area around the Great Falls, with a goal of tripling the number of visitors to the national park, asserting that the tourism will boost Paterson’s economy.

Sayegh called the area around Paterson’s train station “an underutilized diamond in the rough that I hope to polish in my next term.” In particular, the mayor cited long-delayed plans for a new parking garage across from the station, along with a housing and commercial development that is supposed to include 160 apartments.

He plans to focus on “Amazon-like warehousing” as a way of generating long-term jobs in the city, citing a recent announcement about a massive Getty Avenue warehouse project. Sayegh said he will bring a similar development to Paterson’s Bunker Hill area.

The first-term mayor said his administration has dramatically reduced the number of abandoned properties in Paterson and wants to “return those remaining 400 properties to productive use” over the next four years.

Finally, the mayor said he would strive to double the fees developers must pay city government for sewer connections.

Councilman Luis Velez

Velez said as mayor he would find a way to address both the city’s economic needs and those of investors. “Striking this balance is not easy, but it will be achievable,” the councilman said. He said he would achieve that balance by making sure the city handles development projects fairly, without favoritism.

Velez said an important part of his economic development plan would involve reducing crime and addressing Paterson’s many quality-of-life problems, like noise and vagrancy.

The councilman also said that holding developers accountable would be a major priority.

“The developers have to make sure the community of Paterson gets some benefit out of what they’re doing,” he said. “They have to get more community input. They have to fit into our community. They are the ones moving in.”

When asked if a hard-line approach would scare away investors, Velez said he would mainly impose the tougher requirements on developers seeking government assistance for their projects, like tax abatements or grants. “We can’t dictate to the developers what they do with their money,” the councilman said.

Former councilman Aslan Goow

Goow said he would prioritize redeveloping Paterson’s dilapidated properties, especially because of the city’s lack of open spaces. The former councilman said he would try to “redevelop these structures for purposes that will benefit Paterson, such as community centers, businesses, affordable housing, or mixed-use buildings.”

Goow said he would stop what he called a tendency to steer projects to “certain developers” who he said have not benefited the city.

“I will make sure we have an affirmative action officer who will enforce our development agreement for our citizens,” the former councilman said.

Goow said his economic redevelopment efforts would emphasize Paterson’s history, its downtown business district and its neighborhood issues.

“Affordable housing for senior citizens will play a big part in my economic and redevelopment plan for our city, along with the homeless situation that is facing us as well as address the city’s homeless problem,” he said.

Goow also emphasized the need to improve public safety in Paterson in order to generate economic growth.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ mayor election: Business and economic development plans