At 3pm, Tuesday July 19, 2016, Mayor Steven Fulop hosted a ground breaking ceremony on the site of the new City Hall Annex on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.

In attendance were city officials, community members, and residents. Assemblyman Raj Mukherji gave a few minutes of his time to describe what an investment like this into the community would deliver.

Mukherji stated, “This groundbreaking is incredibly important because it shows the community the cities commitment to what has historically been an economically distressed neighborhood. By bringing the city annex here with an investment of 250 jobs plus mayor’s office and a chief’s office, it will catalyze more investment into this neighborhood.”

Before we could further our conversation, Mayor Fulop took the mic to begin ceremonies. Fulop began to thank officials who took part in such a momentous occasion as well as partnering development team Brandywine.

Fulop began to break down the benefits of developing and moving over 300 municipal jobs over to this neighborhood. Fulop stated, “This move is going to lead to business and economic activity which is going to benefit everybody.” Continuing, “This will lead to new businesses popping up in the area such as coffee shops, a post office, pizzerias, and that will benefit the community tremendously.”

Shortly after Fulop introduced and thanked everyone involved, Councilwoman for Ward F, Diane Coleman gave an energetic speech. Her appreciation for the revitalization of the community definitely showed and she promised to have that appreciation continue in her efforts to better the community.

Coleman gleamed with passion, “I am very excited, this is the anchor that will be the statute that we need here in Ward F. I can’t wait to put that shovel in the ground and throw that dirt in the air, and I will be here watching that building go up brick by brick.”

Coleman got her wish shortly after, the ground breaking ceremony was only moments away. Officials and representatives from Brandwine geared up in their white construction helmets and grabbed a shovel.

After a few photo opportunities city officials and community members alike were ready for the breaking of the ground. Lead by Mayor Fulop and those heavily involved in making Jersey City a better community, ground on the new city hall annex was finally broken.