STATE OF THE BOROUGH ADDRESS

MAYOR JOHN V. LANE

JANUARY 7, 2026

Good evening family, friends, residents, and neighbors. Happy New Year.

Thank you for your support and for your support of the Borough Council. We are excited about serving an additional four years, and as always, we welcome your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and concerns, because working together we can continue to accomplish great things, building upon what we began in 2022.

Tonight I will be swearing in our new Borough Administrator, Vincent Caruso. Vinnie is a welcome addition to the Borough Family, and I am looking forward to working with him. He brings many years of experience as an administrator, police chief, and corporate security. Vinnie will be an asset to the Borough.

WATER CAPITAL PROJECTS AND RATES

The cost of the PFAS project was $6.8 million. We were able to cover some of the project cost to date. We received almost $4 million dollars from 3-M and DuPont. To be exact - we received $3,345,000. and we received $1 million in forgiveness from the New Jersey Infrastucture Bank.

When we collect all the monies, we will have received over 80% of the cost.

GALVANIZED PIPE REPLACEMENT

We are going out for bid for Phase 4 in the Spring; Phase 5 in the Fall. We will be on track to meet the 10-year deadline.

Our other state-mandated water project is also progressing.

Three of the ten phases are now complete.

A contract was awarded for the 4th; for the 5th, we have an application of a low-interest loan in review by New Jersey Infrastructure Bank.

Due to the PFAS money and the Ridgewood Water Agreement, the anticipated water rate increase of 9% for 2026 has been reduced to 5%.

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Our DPW Director, Bill Haffler, has many contacts with other directors, and because of that we were able to borrow a garbage truck to collect leaves. This year our leaf pick-up was completed quicker than in previous years. This truck worked out so well that we are in the process of purchasing a used truck in very good shape to add to our DPW fleet.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Our entire website has been upgraded. This was worked on for over an eight-month period. I suggest you have a look at it and familiarize yourself with our website.

Again, as a reminder, Borough information is readily available on our Website, our Facebook page, our Borough Calendar, and notifications sent out via Nixle, which I encourage you to sign up for, as I send out a Friday Newsletter and it’s posted on line.

RECREATIONAL FACILITIES

We continue to upgrade our recreational facilities.

The hockey rink was completed; the Franklin Field football/lacrosse bleachers and Wag 2 and 3 bleachers were completed and are ADA compliant; there is a new press box at the Franklin Field, and a security camera will be in place. We went out to bid for new bleachers and an ADA walkway at Wag 1.

NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION PROGRAM - NPP

Last year the Neighborhood Preservation Program made significant progress in storefront revitalization and beautification.

Fifteen storefront facades were completed by year-end. Seasonal beautification efforts were expanded throughout the Gateway District, with enhancements to the pocket park, and new lamp-post decorations throughout the year.

In 2026, which is the final year of the grant, focus will be on completing the Signage & Façade Program, continuing district-wide beautification initiatives, and enhancing our existing Gateway greenspace.

EMERGENCY AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Our Police, Fire, and Ambulance Corps saw a significant increase in the total volume of calls for our emergency services.

Our Police Department reported the following for 2025:

There were 49,694 CAD entries

Officers responded to 36,724 calls for service

There were 7,638 9 –1 -1 calls

7,544 Summonses were issued

There were 2,237 Warnings Issued

They responded to 445 Motor Vehicle Crashes

They made 382 arrests

The Fire Department responded to 655 calls.

The Volunteer Ambulance Corps answered 1,186 calls.

Our dedicated police officers, firemen and women, and first responders keep us safe every day, and there aren’t enough words to convey my thanks, and to convey the thanks of all of the residents.

The Police Department had an increase of 39 officers to effectively serve the members of the community.

Our Traffic Bureau is key to ensuring road safety and accessibility, benefiting both residents and visitors. Traffic Officers have increased from three to six, and this reflects a unified effort to meet the Borough’s safety needs and concerns.

The Traffic Bureau received Grants totaling $14,885.14 for Distracted Driving and Drunk Driving Enforcement from the New Jersey Department of Highway Traffic Safety, and Pedestrian Safety Grants from AAA.

In calendar year 2024, the Hawthorne Police Department conducted a comprehensive assessment of its vehicle fleet in response to the rising costs associated with purchasing and maintaining police vehicles. As a result of that assessment, in 2025 the Department entered into a partnership with Enterprise Fleet Services to transition to a vehicle leasing model. This change is projected to generate approximately $1 million in cost savings over a 10-year period, while maintaining operational readiness and fleet reliability.

ZONING

We continue to encourage commercial growth. We hired a Zoning Officer. Glen Turi is here to answer any questions you may have regarding your home or business. Together with the Code Enforcers, they keep Hawthorne safe and compliant.

BUILDING

In 2025 we hired a full-time Building Official; Harry Moscatiello is here to answer any questions and to assist you.

PLANNING BOARD

41 new businesses were approved by the Planning Board in 2025.

BUDGET AND FINANCE

We continue to govern and be fiscally responsible. We will have a challenge this year with our budget, as the 36% rate increase in State Health benefits will affect our 2026 budget.

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The development and redevelopment of property in our Borough remains a priority of my Administration. Some of that development, however, has been forced upon us by laws that in theory are designed to create affordable housing but in reality result in over-development of land and high profit for developers. We have fought hard to try to make these developments work in the Borough and will continue to do so. We do not oppose affordable housing. Again, we oppose over-development of land.

We saw to the completion of a major redevelopment on Wagaraw Road, resulting in the creation of 117 units of housing, with 17 of those being affordable, a gym, a public storage facility and some specialty shops. This is far, far better than the over 300 units of housing the developer originally wanted to build on this site. The result of our efforts is the creation of a project that is a $42 million dollar ratable, generating over $1.3 million dollars annually in taxes, without undue tax on our community. We are also witnessing the development of a project on Goffle Road that will create 117 units of housing, again with 17 of those being affordable. While none of us are happy to see this beautiful open space disappear, we will do all we can do to ensure that this development fits into our community and is constructed with the least impact on our residents.

NORTH 8th STREET

As you know, during the last four years I have been working diligently with the County in making North 8th Street a one-way street into Prospect Park.

The County approved our plan, and now they are waiting for Prospect Park to get their traffic study completed.

Prospect Park would like to continue the one-way from Prescott Avenue to Haledon Avenue, and they are working on this now to see if this is feasible due to truck and bus traffic. We will wait to see what the traffic study says, and I hope that we can continue the one-way to Haledon Avenue.

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS:

• I have been working with PSE&G to have our street lights changed to LED vs. High Pressure Sodium. This change is saving us money.

• I worked with the County for the last 2 ½ years to prohibit a left-hand turn when traveling down Rea Avenue Extension to North Watchung Drive on specific morning hours and evening hours; we also have a lead-green on Rea Avenue Extension at Goffle Road when turning north on Goffle Road.

• In 2026 we will be working on new upgrades to our Municipal Pool to make it a more pleasing experience for our residents. We are working on a program to electronically sign-up and pay by credit card for pool membership and badges. We will be doing renovations to the interior with new lighting and new bathroom facilities. The outside will see the addition of large umbrellas on the patio area outside of the deep end.

• We continue to work on our streetscape using grant monies; we installed new ADA ramps at numerous intersections in town. Phase 3 of the Streetscape is nearly complete.

• The combined 2024/2025 road program is nearly complete.

• In November the Borough was recognized for achieving Silver Level Certification for the 5th time by Sustainable Jersey. We are a Sustainability Leader in New Jersey. Councilwoman Laiosa, Chair of the Environmental Commission, led the efforts in the development of the Sustainable Jersey submittal.

As you know, I am in my office full-time every weekday, and I welcome your input, suggestions, and ideas, as well as concerns. Please don’t hesitate to call my office. Let’s work together to make Hawthorne the best that it can be.

Thank you to our Borough Attorney, Michael Pasquale, and my administrative staff, Ellen Brogno and Jennifer Scully, for the great job that they do each and every day for our Borough and all its residents.

Thank you to the Borough Council, Borough Clerk, and Deputy Clerk, for all of your hard work and commitment to our residents.

To Chief Knepper and the members of the Police Department, Chief Speranza and the members of the Fire Department, and Chief O’Brien and the members of the Ambulance Corps, thank you for your commitment to our town and for keeping it safe; you are all the best of the best.

To our outstanding DPW: thank you to our Director Bill Haffler and the DPW crew for all you do, especially behind the scenes, to make the Borough work well each and every day 24-7. Your hard work and dedication are very much appreciated.

To the very dedicated and professional employees in Borough Hall, thank you for the great job that you do each and every day to make Hawthorne run smoothly. Your dedication to the residents is exceptional.

Thank you, too, to the members and volunteers who selflessly give their time all year long serving on boards, commissions, and committees, and to residents who just step up when asked to provide their expertise on projects to support and serve the Borough. You are all the heart of this community, and I am especially grateful that you volunteer to serve.

To you, the residents and our businesses, I want to thank you for caring so much about one another and your investment in Hawthorne. Hawthorne has a reputation of caring about one another; we take action when needed. Because of you, Hawthorne is a very special place to live and work.

To my wife, Margo, and my family, thank you for your unwavering support as I serve.

It is an honor to be your Mayor, and I am looking forward to 2026.

Best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year.