Emma Wallace 
Hoboken residents may soon see their favorite pizzeria or local boutique advertised across the city. The Hoboken City Council recently approved a resolution that would allow ads on public spaces such as municipal buses, freestanding signs, and other city-owned assets. According to officials, this initiative will generate $150,000 in revenue that will fund transportation and parking programs. Read on for more about the proposal and what it means.
What to Know
The initiative was unanimously passed during the June 17 regular meeting. “This is a direct result of the conversations we have been having during the [budget] process. We are all committed to looking for revenues and efficiencies and such,” stated Councilman at-Large Joe Quintero during the meeting. “The day after that … I sent a note to the business administrator, the mayor, and council president saying ‘hey, let’s start tackling this low-hanging fruit, gave some ideas, this was one of them.”
As per the resolution, the city plans to hire a company that will be responsible for selling, installing, managing, and maintaining advertising space. Interested companies will be able to apply through a request for proposals (RFP) process, where the city will evaluate if they meet the criteria. The program would not cost the city any money, but it would share any revenue with the advertising company.
These advertisements are currently limited to ad panels and public transit, such as the Hoboken HOP buses. The proposal originally included naming rights for garages, but council members decided to be cautious before opening the advertising to different branches of government.
“This RFP we are just amending, proposing to amend to just tighten it. This is very specifically only supposed to be for the Hop and for ad panels. Things that if we get it wrong, we’re not gonna get it too wrong. If we leave money on the table, we’ll get some money; it won’t be all the money,” 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said during the meeting.
The resolution was put into effect immediately following the approval. Team HG has reached out to the mayor’s office for more information and will update this article as it is received.
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