CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT OF THERESA CASTELLANO

THERESA CASTELLANO FILES  AS INDEPENDENT FOR HOBOKEN FIRST WARD COUNCIL SEAT

HOBOKEN, NJ – May 27, 2003 --   Incumbent Councilwoman, Theresa Castellano is seeking re-election to the City Council representing Hoboken’s First Ward.  Running as an independent Castellano is a local businesswoman and entrepreneur.   She’s run City Discount House at 207 Washington Street for the past 34 years and has represented the First Ward for two-terms.

In announcing, Councilwoman Castellano stated:   “ I am running for re-election because I believe that securing the best future for Hoboken is going to come from independent voices mobilizing Hoboken’s smart people to make smart plans.    The Hoboken I know and love (and want to preserve)  has a history of smart people prevailing.      Our waterfront is probably our best example. Always a vital resource, it’s through community action and citizen input that we’ve made the successful transition from a working waterfront to the acres of parkland and walkways we enjoy today.     It’s through future vigilance and strong, independent leadership that we will remain the vibrant, historically intact, family oriented city we have fought so hard to become.”

While in office,  Castellano has worked in a bi-partisan way to get legislation passed, traveled to Trenton and Washington, DC on behalf of constituents, secured millions in appropriations and built a strong and effective constituent service operation. Councilwoman Castellano has served on the Public Safety, the Parking and Transportation and Education committees and has chaired the Quality of Life, Administration and Environment committees.

During her tenure, Councilwoman Castellano has worked to stop over development by limiting the height and density of buildings and joining with citizens groups to bring stop actions against developers flouting Hoboken’s Zoning Laws.  She worked tirelessly to ensure that Hoboken’s Waterfront plans included as much open space as possible, resulting in a gain to Hoboken’s First Ward of over 7 acres of Waterfront Parkland, already built with an additional 5 acres of recreation planned.

She has worked to combat Hoboken’s twin parking and traffic problems and helped to create over 2000 new parking spaces, change the traffic patterns around Hoboken’s transportation hub to make it safer and saner, worked with the State, the County, the Port Authority and PSE&G to improve stop light performance and traffic patterns and battled the Hoboken Parking Authority and the state of New Jersey over parking rate increases.  Councilwoman Castellano was also instrumental in creating numerous commercial loading zones in Hoboken’s First Ward to relieve the double-parking on our streets.    Most recently Councilwoman Castellano was the sole vote on the City Council against appropriating the Hoboken Parking Authorities $10 million surplus into the Hoboken City Budget to as a one-time revenue enhancement.

As a life-long Hoboken resident and Councilwoman representing a ward containing a number of affordable and senior housing projects, Councilwoman Castellano is acutely aware of the needs for affordable and safe housing for her neighbors.   She has been a constant presence in Trenton battling against management’s unreasonable demands for increases and was a sponsor of legislation extending rent control protection to current residents of “subsidized” housing.

As an independent businesswoman and entrepreneur, Councilwoman Castellano owns the clothing store, City Discount House at 207 Washington Street and is a past President of Hoboken’s Business and Industry Association.   She has brought a small-businessperson’s pragmatism to her seat on the Council and is proud to have delivered 8 balanced budgets to the citizen’s of Hoboken and to never having voted for a tax increase.

An advocate for families and children, Councilwoman Castellano’s legislative initiatives have encompassed statewide issues that also affect our mile square city.  Councilwoman Castellano was a primary advocate of the State’s Safe Havens program to protect newborn babies who might have otherwise simply been abandoned by their birth mothers.    When the State passed new OTB legislation opening Hoboken as a potential site of off track betting, Councilwoman sponsored legislation to prohibit this type of business in Hoboken.

A former member of the Council’s Public Safety Committee, Councilwoman Castellano was a driving force behind the City’s cell phone ban; laws restricting use of motorized scooters; children’s helmet laws and the expansion of the Amber Alert system to Hoboken, NJ.

As past chair of the Quality of Life Committee Councilwoman Castellano took an active role in Hoboken’s “one-way door” policy; the “No-Ads” legislation limiting distribution of handbills door to door in Hoboken; the “We Card” program further curbing the sale of tobacco products to minors; and effecting changes in the City’s Noise legislation creating more stringent time and decibel limits on noise created by business and construction.

Born in Hoboken, New Jersey on March 3, 1949 Councilwoman Castellano is the daughter of the late Clare Ferrante Prezioso and the late Sergio (Sam) Prezioso.   She grew up in Hoboken and graduated from Hoboken High School in 1967.       She attended Fairleigh Dickerson University and earned her degree in Dental Hygiene from the College of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark, NJ.   She has run City Discount House for the past 34 years.

Councilwoman Castellano is married to Hoboken Police Officer Robert Castellano and they have two sons, John James Castellano and Jesse Robert Castellano.

The Councilwoman has been the recipient of numerous awards including Who’s Who (1998); National Register of Who’s Who for Women (2000); and a Historic Preservation Commission Award for Dedication to Historic Preservation; and an award from the Hoboken Business and Industry Association for past service.

To reach Councilwoman Castellano please visit her at www.castellano2003.org, or email her at terry@castellano2003.org.  She can be reached by telephone during the day at 201.656.9449, or in the evening at 201.798.1962.