Dear City of Passaic Residents & Friends,

I hope you and your family have enjoyed Summer. Welcome to the City of Passaic’s updated web page. We have been busy working for the community, and we want to use our web space to communicate with residents.

We have faced our share of challenges, but as we move forward, I will continue to seek the support of our clergy, community leaders and local, state and federal officials. I will continue to improve access to recreation, helping to keep our children away from the streets and interested in arts, sports and community. We recently re-opened Columbia Park, after over a year of being closed because of vandalism. I will continue to work toward the rehabilitation of our parks and ball fields, and thinking of new programs to support our children.

I understand that a clean community is important to the people of Passaic, and I will continue to support of our public safety and public works professionals to keep our roads and streets clean, and safe. This past Spring, my administration announced the hiring of eight new firefighters in the City of Passaic. The addition of eight fire fighters improves the City’s ability to protect residents and business owners. I am confident that our fire chief and new fire fighters will help maintain the Passaic Fire Department as a leader in fire protection.

And while there is no denying that these are tough economic times, it is also clear that job creation and economic development are important to the future of our City, and it is also something that takes years of careful planning and implementation. My administration will continue to take advantage of any opportunity to upgrade our community, create good jobs and reclaim our neighborhoods. My redevelopment goals will continue to involve private entrepreneurs and government partnering together to benefit our community, our residents and our families. In the beginning of the year, I affirmed my commitment to the redevelopment of Downtown Passaic. In a meeting with City officials and local businessmen, we made plans to rehabilitate Sterling Tower located at 663 Main Avenue, a former gem within our City that has been left to decay for too long.

I hope to make Passaic a model for redevelopment throughout New Jersey. The City’s diversity provides a basis for opening doors that are not available to other cities that may not embrace cultural diversity so openly. In late April, I participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony at a new medical campus in the City of Passaic, Xanadu Adult Medical Day Care. The investment by Med Realty exceeded $9 million, and the medical facility will result in the creation of 30 to 40 permanent jobs within Passaic, and even more when considering the facility’s food service and other contractual arrangements. In addition, more than 60 people were employed during the construction of the facility.

Recreation, clean streets, public safety and economic development are the cornerstone of my commitment to residents in our great City. In order to meet our objectives and move Passaic forward, we need to learn to put differences aside. We need to embrace our diversity as our greatest strength.

As we continue our work for the residents of the City of Passaic, you will be hearing from me again. And I hope to hear from each of you too. Let us know how we are doing to make Passaic a better place for our children and families.

Thank you & God Bless

Dr. Alex Blanco
Mayor