North Bergen, New Jersey

7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 square-foot facility, right next to their old one. They’re a great partner with the town.” North Bergen is proud of its local businesses. In 2020, during the initial onset of the pandemic, residents couldn’t dine or shop at local establishments. As a result, businesses began to suffer. The local government came up with the creative Eat & Shop Local Program, which involved more than 40 local retail shops and restaurants. On certain planned days, major streets would be closed to the traffic and the stores would be able to conduct their business safely outside. Schwartz recalls, “The residents and businesses loved it. It was a very successful operation. We just wanted to try and benefit businesses when they were hurting.” The town has a ‘Shop Local’ tab on its website, listing many of the local businesses. Business owners have also been contacted to participate in surveys about how North Bergen can better assist them. Based on their feedback, the Business Smarts Program was created to provide advice and in- person sessions at the North Bergen Free Public Library should be reinstated later this year. Residents are also able to conveniently pay for their bills and taxes online through the website. The township is also serious about its 10 schools, including purchasing the former Hudson County Technical High School. As Castro reports, “In September 2018, the Tech High School moved, so we bought it with the goal to transform it into a junior high school to alleviate overcrowding in other schools. We will be able to upgrade infrastructure and provide a better student-to-teacher ratio. Our target date is September 2023. We are just looking to improve student and teacher quality of life.” This is a big focus for Castro as her previous position was North Bergen’s Health Director and Health Officer. In that role she oversaw the provision of public health services to five additional municipalities, with North Bergen