1. Steven Michael Fulop was born on February 28,1977 and is an American politician serving as the 49th mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey.
46 Facts About Steven Fulop
1. 2.
Steven Fulop was widely considered likely to run for governor in 2017, but ended this speculation by announcing his intention to run for re-election as mayor.
3.
Steven Fulop was again re-elected in 2021, becoming the first Jersey City mayor to win a third term since Frank Hague.
4.
On January 3,2023, Steven Fulop announced that he will not seek reelection in 2025.
5.
Steven Fulop was born in Edison, New Jersey, to Jewish parents, Carmen and Arthur Steven Fulop.
6.
Steven Fulop's father grew up in Israel and was a sniper in the Golani Brigade during the Six-Day War.
7.
Steven Fulop's father owned a delicatessen in Newark, New Jersey, where Fulop often worked, and his mother Carmen, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, worked in an immigration services office helping others gain citizenship.
8.
Steven Fulop went to Harpur College at Binghamton University where he graduated in 1999.
9.
Shortly after completion of Marine Corps boot camp, on January 14,2003, his reserve unit was activated, and Steven Fulop was deployed to Iraq, where he served as part of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion for six months.
10.
Steven Fulop traveled into Baghdad in the early weeks of the war.
11.
Steven Fulop's unit was written about in numerous periodicals during the war, which highlighted the company's movements, their contributions to the war, and the challenges that they encountered.
12.
In May 2005, Steven Fulop was the winner against an incumbent councilman in Jersey City's Ward E, representing the downtown area.
13.
When Steven Fulop was sworn into office at 28 years old, he was the youngest member of the city council by more than 17 years and the third youngest in the nearly 200-year existence of the city.
14.
Steven Fulop was outspent by more than 2-to-1 during the campaign but several tactical innovations that were highlighted in The Star-Ledger, The New York Times, and The Jersey Journal contributed to Steven Fulop's win against stiff opposition.
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Steven Fulop then proposed that Jersey City voters have the opportunity to institute new ethics reform measures by voting on two referendums.
16.
In 2010 a Steven Fulop-backed slate won all three open seats on the Board of Education.
17.
In September 2016 Steven Fulop endorsed former rival Phil Murphy for governor, opting to run for his second mayoral term.
18.
Steven Fulop took office on July 1,2013, with a vision to make Jersey City the "best mid-sized city in the country".
19.
Steven Fulop set out to make Jersey City the destination of choice, in lieu of the suburbs, for the young urbanites and new families moving from Manhattan.
20.
Steven Fulop's newly created department was charged with increasing diversity in both the police and fire department by revising its recruitment and retention efforts, emphasizing that members on the force should be representative of the city they serve.
21.
Steven Fulop increased the size of the police force from 778 uniformed officers upon assuming office to a projected 840 by June 2014.
22.
Steven Fulop's administration expanded the use of technology and social media for easier access and connectivity to constituent services.
23.
Steven Fulop initiated plans to invest nearly $6 million in city parks in 2014 alone, which tripled the annual number of parks projects by renovating 13 parks throughout Jersey City and provided funding for the accelerated construction of Berry Lane Park, an ambitious project that will ultimately transform more than 17 acres of property in to a recreational amenity in the heart of the Bergen-Lafayette community.
24.
Steven Fulop launched a branding campaign with the goal of making Jersey City a premier destination for work and play.
25.
Steven Fulop launched a Jersey City Mural Arts Program, which has facilitated the painting of dozens of murals throughout Jersey City that reflect the diverse communities found within the city.
26.
Steven Fulop launched a new prisoner re-entry program within the expanded Jersey City Employment and Training Program under the leadership of former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey.
27.
In September 2013, Steven Fulop signed a bill requiring paid sick leave for employees in Jersey City.
28.
Steven Fulop aggressively advocated for this policy and worked with the municipal council for its passage citing it as a basic human dignity issue that builds upon the principle that a healthy employee is a more productive employee.
29.
Steven Fulop has been a proponent of using data to make government more transparent and accountable, launching a data portal in October 2015 making available a wide range of information about Jersey City and utilizing data mapping and visualization tools to make the information meaningful.
30.
Steven Fulop has been a strong supporter of LGBT rights, officiating at a historic midnight wedding ceremony the night it was officially legalized in New Jersey.
31.
In February 2016, Steven Fulop signed an executive order making Jersey City the first city in New Jersey to provide a $15 minimum wage for all city employees.
32.
In May 2018, Steven Fulop opposed subsidies for a troubled real estate project run by the Kushner family.
33.
On March 16,2020, Steven Fulop issued an order requiring that the Jersey City Newport Centre and Hudson Mall shopping centers be closed for an indeterminate period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
34.
On January 3,2023, Steven Fulop announced that he will not seek reelection for a fourth term in 2025.
35.
In January 2025, Steven Fulop proposed implementing a congestion toll for New York drivers entering New Jersey, aiming to reduce traffic and fund local transportation projects.
36.
In May 2018, Steven Fulop planned to remove the Katyn Massacre Memorial monument located at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey.
37.
Steven Fulop subsequently reached an agreement with Poland's consul general to move the statue to a location approximately 200 feet away.
38.
Steven Fulop subsequently cancelled property value reassessments that threatened to raise taxes on Dixon Advisory-owned properties.
39.
Dixon remodeled Steven Fulop-owned properties at a discounted rate and, in a separate deal between the two, Steven Fulop arranged to purchase a "trophy" property from Dixon Advisory for his personal use that was never advertised to the public.
40.
In October 2020, Steven Fulop backed an Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance in Jersey City, New Jersey.
41.
The bill was approved in September 2020, the same year Steven Fulop touted no tax increases.
42.
In October 2023, Steven Fulop announced a plan to address affordable housing in New Jersey, saying, "As governor, I will make solving New Jersey's housing crisis my top priority by doubling the current rate of affordable housing production, modernizing the state's affordable housing system, reforming the tax credit programs and much more".
43.
Steven Fulop owns a second house in Narragansett, Rhode Island, where he claims that he and his family have been "longtime residents".
44.
Steven Fulop unsuccessfully lobbied the town council to have public parking banned on the street where his house is located.
45.
Steven Fulop is an avid endurance athlete completing several marathons as well as a full Ironman Championship in 2012 finishing in a time of 11 hours and 58 minutes.
46.
Steven Fulop has served on the boards of the Columbia University Alumni Association and the Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City.