Carteret Mayor Daniel J. Reiman begins
record sixth consecutive term
Councilmember AJ Johal named
Borough’s first Asian-American council president
CARTERET – Mayor Daniel J. Reiman, 46, began his sixth consecutive four-year term on Jan. 6, as he was sworn in by New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin at the 118th Borough Council Reorganization Ceremony.
Also sworn in during the ceremony at URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center were councilmembers Vincent Bellino and Jorge Diaz, who also was named council vice president. Councilmember AJ Johal was named the Borough’s first-ever Asian-American council president.
Mayor Reiman is the first person in the history of the Borough to be elected to six consecutive four-year Mayoral terms. Originally elected to the borough council in 2000 at the age of 24, Mayor Reiman went onto become the youngest person ever elected mayor in Carteret at 26 in 2002.
“For 118 years, since the time we left Woodbridge Township, the residents of our Borough have come together to reflect on our shared past and chart our course for a successful future,” Mayor Reiman said. “And today is no different. We stand on the shoulders of over a century of councilmembers, mayors and volunteers who swore an oath to faithfully perform the duties of their office. We stand in the shoes of countless civic-minded residents who willingly accepted thankless appointments to serve their community on various boards, in agencies, as police officers, firefighters, OEM or any other position in our Borough. Today we stand as part of Carteret’s rich and storied history, and today we make a history of our own as we become the first administration to stand in the doorway of a third decade of service to the residents of our community.”
Mayor Reiman highlighted a few of the additions and improvements his administration has overseen during his tenure, many of which will be completed during his next term. They include:
- Possession of its first 149-passenger ferry boat, the Theodore Roosevelt, and the construction of a second 149-passenger ferry boat in partnership with NJ TRANSIT utilizing a $6 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration and a $1.060 million grant from the state Department of Transportation
- Initiation of a ferry service, its landing, and a state-of-the-art Carteret Intermodal Transportation Building, which will feature a ferry terminal, restaurants, retail, a banquet center, and office space
- Expansion of the Downtown Cultural Arts & Business District, as well as an increase of world-class shows and community programming at the state-of-the-art URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center
- Park improvements with county and municipal Open Space and state Green Acres funds to expand passive and active recreational opportunities for all residents, including those with special needs, particularly on the waterfront with an expanding Riverwalk, dining opportunities along Veteran’s Pier, and enhanced live performances in Waterfront Park
- Major investments in municipal infrastructure, such as repaved streets and repaired sewers and storm-water systems.
“These initiatives will continue to attract commercial development and union construction jobs, as well as long-term good-paying jobs for residents within our town,” Mayor Reiman said. “One such development is the proposed film studio project on the former DuPont chemical site. Once completed, this $1 billion union project will not only feature a film production facility, but also hotels, dining, shopping, with many other opportunities for our residents.
“These developments and so many others will, in addition to bringing jobs, allow us to continue to hold the line on municipal taxes,” the Mayor continued. “We are in one of the strongest financial positions of any municipality throughout the State of New Jersey. Not only have our taxes gone from one of the highest in the area to one of the lowest, but I’m also proud to announce that this year, we will have the largest surplus in the history of the Borough, allowing us to move into the years ahead and move into the future on a solid financial footing that will benefit our residents for many years to come.”
Under Mayor Reiman’s administration, Carteret has pursued and received hundreds of millions in grant funding, as well as more than $1 billion in private investment. The administration also has won landmark awards and settlements against past chemical operators who polluted and abandoned parcels of property in the Carteret Industrial and Waterfront zones.
Carteret, which was voted “The Best Town in Central Jersey” in a 2018 Home News Tribune Readers’ Poll, has a thriving economy with Fortune 500 companies, such as Amazon, FedEx, NASDAQ, Equinix, Graybar Electric, and Union Carbide calling it home.
Speaker Coughlin thanked Mayor Reiman for all that he has done for Carteret.
“All of us who have watched the arc of Dan Reiman’s career realize that he has from the outset been somebody who is remarkably gifted and incredibly dedicated and committed,” he said. “You need only to take a ride around this town to see the impact that he and his efforts have made. I love to talk about Carteret and its renaissance, but what is central to that is the leadership of Dan Reiman, who, we all know is driven … but the truth of the matter is, his determination, doggedness and unwillingness to accept anything less than what is best and right for the Borough of Carteret is what has made him so successful and the town so fortunate and prosperous.”
Other dignitaries who attended the reorganization ceremony were Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, County Commissioner Director Ronald G. Rios, County Commissioner Charles Kenny, and former Gov. Jim McGreevy. Mayor Reiman thanked them for their unwavering support.
The Mayor also challenged the community and administration to continue to work together and as a team to build a better Carteret and create a solid foundation upon which generations of future residents can build.
“Decades from now, future leaders and residents will be able to look back and say that they stand upon the shoulders of those of us who were gathered here today at this time, at this place during what will be known as the Renaissance of Carteret,” he said.
A copy of Mayor Remain’s comments is attached
Updates about Mayor Reiman and the Administration will be available at Carteret.net or by following @MyCarteret on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
COMMENTS FROM CARTERET MAYOR DANIEL J. REIMAN
“Reverend Clergy, distinguished guests, to our municipal employees and volunteer board members and most importantly, to my fellow residents of Carteret, welcome to the URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Event Center and thank you for joining us as we celebrate the 118th reorganization meeting of the Borough’s governing body.
“For 118 years, since the time we left Woodbridge Township, the residents of our Borough have come together to reflect on our shared past and chart our course for a successful future. And today is no different. We stand on the shoulders of over a century of councilmembers, mayors and volunteers who swore an oath to faithfully perform the duties of their office. We stand in the shoes of countless civic-minded residents who willingly accepted thankless appointments to serve their community on various boards, in agencies, as police officers, firefighters, OEM or any other position in our Borough. Today we stand as part of Carteret’s rich and storied history, and today we make a history of our own as we become the first administration to stand in the doorway of a third decade of service to the residents of our community.
“It’s hard to imagine, as I begin my 25th year in public service and start my 21st year as the mayor of my hometown, that I would be standing here today if not for the unwavering support and tireless work of so many people in this room and watching from home and because of the trust, faith and confidence placed in me from the borough council on the dais behind me and by the residents and voters of our community. And for that, I’m eternally grateful, and I thank you for your support.
“For the recapturing and repurposing of our once abandoned waterfront to the revitalization of our forgotten neighborhoods throughout the community, to the restructuring and repairing of borough finances, so much has been accomplished during this administration with all of us working together for a better Carteret. Yet as always, there’s so much more to be done, and it’s those things I want to focus on for a brief few moments today as we chart our course for the next four years and beyond.
“During this new term, we will continue to build a thriving arts district and revitalized Washington Avenue neighborhood. We will attract world-class performances to this state-of-the-art Performing Arts & Events Center. We will expand our offerings of arts and community performing and programming at Blazing Star Arts Center.
“We will make major investments in our municipal infrastructure as we repave additional streets and fix sewers and storm-water systems this year. We will use our Open Space grants. I see the county is here: Commissioner Director Rios and Commissioner Kenny. I want to thank them for all their support over the years. We’ll use our Open Space grants from the county, Green Acres from the state, and our own local Open Space Fund to improve municipal parks and expand recreational opportunities for all of our residents, including those with special needs. I am proud to share with you that we will install the infrastructure needed to allow for dining along the pier and enhanced live performances at our ever-improving Waterfront Park.
“We will continue our efforts to turn the entire waterfront along the channel to use by our residents. In the coming months, we will open a 1.5-mile southern walkway and pier that takes you from Veteran’s Pier to the border of Woodbridge. Construction has recently been completed. Soon we will break ground on a northern walkway, which will reach from the mouth of Noes Creek to our Veteran’s Pier at Carteret Waterfront Park. Residents soon will have access to 2.5 miles of coastland for both passive and active recreation.
“But we do not intend to stop there. It’s our goal to create a Rails-to-Trails program that will expand the walkway farther with over 5 miles of recreational trails for residents and visitors.
“We also will continue to develop our ferry and intermodal terminal building to provide services to New York City so that our residents and the residents of Central New Jersey have quick access to high-paying jobs in Manhattan’s financial district. I’m excited to announce that in coming months, we’ll take possession of our first ferry boat, the Theodore Roosevelt, named after President Roosevelt, for whom the Borough was named after we left Woodbridge Township so many years ago. And we’ll soon begin construction on a second ferry in partnership with NJ TRANSIT and the State of New Jersey, funded in part with a $6 million grant from the United States Department of Transportation.
“Simultaneously, we’ve begun in-water construction of our ferry terminal infrastructure, allowing me to state with confidence that we soon will realize this long-anticipated goal of ferry service to Manhattan. Let me thank our legislative delegation Sen. Joe Vitale, Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, and, of course, Speaker Craig Coughlin for helping secure $8 million in funding for our ferry terminal building. The Speaker fought tirelessly to ensure that these funds were earmarked for Carteret, and we applaud him and our delegation. Speaker, thank you.
“These initiatives will continue to attract commercial development and union construction jobs, as well as long-term good-paying jobs for residents within our town. One such development is the proposed film studio project on the former DuPont chemical site. Once completed, this $1 billion union project will not only feature a film production facility, but also hotels, dining, shopping, with many other opportunities for our residents.
“These developments and so many others will, in addition to bringing jobs, allow us to continue to hold the line on municipal taxes. We are in one of the strongest financial positions of any municipality throughout the State of New Jersey. Not only have our taxes gone from one of the highest in the area to one of the lowest, but I’m also proud to announce that this year, we will have the largest surplus in the history of the Borough, allowing us to move into the years ahead and move into the future on a solid financial footing that will benefit our residents for many years to come. These are just a few of the many great things we’ve planned for the next term.
“Today, I challenge you to continue to dedicate yourself to working together as a team to build a better Carteret, to work with us — your governing body, the members of the boards and agencies — to create a solid foundation upon which generations of future residents can build so that decades from now, future leaders and residents will be able to look back and say that they stand upon the shoulders of those of us who were gathered here today at this time, at this place during what will be known as the Renaissance of Carteret.
“May God bless you, may God bless the men and women in uniform today, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.”
