Thank you to Jersey City Times Editorial Board for their editorial of April 29, 2024, in which they advocated for the building of neighborhood recreation centers in Jersey City instead of expensive projects such as the Centre Pompidou. In February 2024, I advocated that the Pompidou satellite location in Jersey City should be abandoned given its extraordinarily high cost and the need to address other pressing issues in our City. The Pompidou museum will incur substantial costs at every stage of development from the purchase of the Pathside Building, the issuing of debt to cover the cost of purchasing the Pathside Building, interest accruing from the issuing of debt, the renovation of the building, payments to the Centre Pompidou (including a yearly fee to merely use the name “Centre Pompidou”), and the operation of the museum itself. As I explained in February, and as the Jersey City Times Editorial Board echoes in its editorial, instead of burdening Jersey City taxpayers with the cost of the Pompidou museum, the City would be substantially benefited by the reconstruction of the Charlie Heger Ice Rink at Pershing Field and the expansion of recreational opportunities in Jersey City. Providing recreation to our residents is something a city the size of Jersey City should already be doing. When I was mayor of Woodbridge, one of my foremost accomplishments was the creation of the Woodbridge Community Center to provide residents with the same opportunity and access to recreational opportunities and facilities, which is one of the basic services a municipality should provide. I fully agree with the Jersey City Times, its assessment of the Pompidou museum, and its recommendation to create neighborhood recreation centers. Residents should not have to travel to neighborhoods towns and cities to gain access to recreational facilities. Indeed, instead of embarking upon projects which pose unnecessary costs to Jersey City residents and taxpayers, the City ought to refocus its efforts on issues that directly affect its residents and working families, including the expansion of recreation opportunities. The post Op-Ed: I Agree, Build Neighborhood Recreation Centers, Not Pompidou appeared first on Jersey City Times.