Photo Courtesy of Hudson County Executive.
Hudson County Executive Craig Guy delivered a State of the County Address on Thursday, Feb. 26, thanking elected officials and the community for their efforts in the last year and how to move forward in the face of the Trump administration and its lingering effects on the county.
“Our residents are hurting, they’re struggling to pay rent, purchasing groceries and living in fear as the federal administration tramples our rights as Americans—let’s be honest, times are tough. But that does not mean we should back down,” Guy marked the beginning of the address.
After thanking a number of elected officials like Jersey City Mayor James Solomon, Union City Mayor Brian Stack, Assemblywoman Katie Brennan, Assemblyman Larry Wainstein and State Gov. Mikie Sherill, Guy addressed critical topics in the county.
“We are doing everything we can to improve everyone’s everyday lives, for the 100,000 people that call Hudson County home,” Guy said.
Affordable Housing: ‘More To Do, More To Come’
Guy began by saying one of the first goals in office was to create more affordable housing, and thanked his “good friend” Bill Matsikoudis for leading the county’s Affordable Housing Task Force.
Started in 2024, the Hudson County Affordable Housing Task Force was the first of its kind in the county, chaired by Matsikoudis with 11 additional members of housing advocates and experts across the state.
The force has released an “ambitious” plan to develop Jersey City housing in light of securing $52.5 million for the Bayfront Affordable Housing Project with the Hudson County Improvement Authority.
“I look forward to the collaboration with our assembly delegation with Brennan and [Assemblyman Ravi] Bhalla,” said Guy.
Brennan made affordable housing a top priority in her 2025 campaign for her seat in the Assembly, citing her work in state and local housing agencies and community advocacy work.
Guy also announced that there are additional redevelopment projects in Jersey City, including one to redevelop 13 acres of surface lots in County Plaza, which will have “at least 200 homes for Hudson County families.”
Despite talking about progress in affordable housing development, no projects for other municipalities in North Hudson like Union City, North Bergen or West New York—to name a few—nor West Hudson like Harrison and East Newark were mentioned.
‘Focused’ On Food Security
“After housing affordability, we hear most about food insecurity,” said Guy.
He cited 2025 as a difficult year for residents to put food on the table, as a result of the recent federal government shutdown from Oct. 1 to Nov. 25, which was the longest in United States history.
This threatened 58,000 Hudson County residents who received SNAP benefit cuts, according to Guy. In response to the “devastating” cuts, the county’s twelve municipalities joined together to notify residents of changes to their programs, promoting local organizations and churches with food pantries and hosting food distributions.
The county previously secured a $1.8 million federal grant for the Hoboken Community Center, and plans to start a food pantry in Bayonne to bring “good, wholesome food” to the city; Hunger Free Unity In The Community (UIC) serves free food for those who need it in the town, but there’s still a gap to bridge. Bayonne is considered to be a food dessert, meaning that residents have limited access to healthy foods, like fresh produce and whole grains, according to the National Library of Medicine.
This term can also apply to towns or cities with a poverty rate of over 20%. Under this second definition by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, four out of 12 municipalities are considered to be or close to be a food desert:
- West New York: 19.4%
- Guttenberg: 19.2%
- Union City: 23.9%
- East Newark: 40.6%
No projects specific to these towns and cities were introduced, but Guy closed this section of the address by saying:
“From holding additional food distribution events, to providing additional funding to non-profits that help feed the community, to delivering food to families in Hudson County’s housing assistance program, we helped many families put food on the table during this time.”
ICE In Hudson County: ‘Extremely Concerning’
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has become a prominent topic in Hudson County as more communities report interactions with agents; Slice of Culture reported on two arrests in Jersey City by the 9th street light rail on Feb. 2.
More recently, two individuals were arrested near a Union City church and multiple Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents went after an unarmed man on 62nd Street and Bergenline Avenue in West New York, as reported by Estamos Unidos New Jersey.
The Hudson County executive called these recent events “extremely concerning” and made his stance on ICE activity clear.
“It is NOT okay for the Trump Administration to threaten Hudson County’s economy, hurt our hard-working families, kill good-paying union jobs, or deny vital infrastructure upgrades to our region. Nor is it okay for them to sow fear and create discord in our community with aggressive immigration enforcement tactics,” he said in the address.
On Jan. 29, Guy signed an executive order banning ICE agents from county-owned property. This also instructs county employees and contractors against sharing information with the authorities.
Similarly, Solomon, the mayor of Jersey City, also signed an executive order in January mandating the following:
- Providing city employees with training and protocol for interactions with immigration enforcement officials
- Banning the use of city property (including parking lots, vacant areas and garages) for immigration enforcement purposes
- Working with non-profit organizations to provide legal support and education for residents
Guy signed an additional executive order this February creating the Safe Communities Committee to develop further policy with residents, advocates like Spirit of Liberation and Estamos Unidos, and municipality officials.
“Protecting our community from this awful, unprecedented federal overreach is a team effort,” Guy said.
“We are partnering with our municipalities, local law enforcement, residents, and advocates to ensure Hudson County is a safe, welcoming community for all who come here in peace, seeking a better way of life.”
The rest of the 2026 State of the County Address can be viewed on Instagram.
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