Mayor Bill Ziegler’s Leonia Status Report: December 2025:

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. As we turn the corner into December and head toward what will be a very busy 2026, there’s a great deal happening across Leonia: from budget-driven service changes and redevelopment milestones to homeowner opportunities, public safety updates, and even the arrival of our very own T-Rex.

As always, thank you for your engagement and for helping make Leonia the vibrant, resilient, and close-knit community we all cherish.

Bulk Trash Pickup Pilot:

We are embarking on a pilot which will cut bulk trash pickups by our DPW from twice a month to once a month beginning in January 2026.  We are doing this to increase efficiency and cut costs, part of our continuing efforts to save taxpayer dollars and align our current services with our available financial coffers.  

Contrary to what your community calendars indicate, the bulk trash pickup for everyone in town will fall on one day each month and one day only–the second Thursday of every month.  Therefore, the DPW will pick up bulk trash for the pilot period on: 

1.  Thursday, January 8, 2026 

2.  Thursday, February 12, 2026 

3.  Thursday, March 12, 2026

4.  Thursday, April 9, 2026

5.  Thursday, May 14, 2026

6.  Thursday, June 11, 2026

Please make a note of it.   The community calendar was printed and distributed before we decided on this pilot so the dates indicated are not all correct.  

To determine whether this pilot is successful, we’ll be tracking several key metrics. Moving to one monthly pickup will free up DPW personnel, allowing us to redeploy crews to other high-priority tasks. We will also monitor total tonnage to see whether consolidating pickups reduces disposal costs—particularly by curbing past abuses such as improper contractor dumping. Finally, we will evaluate on-time completion of routes, crew hours saved and reassigned, changes in monthly tonnage and tipping fees, and resident feedback on convenience, cleanliness, and compliance.

Short Term Rental Ordinance:

Leonia’s new Short Term Rental Ordinance is now in effect thanks to the hard work of our Laws and Ordinances Committee led by Councilmember Joanne Terrell.   HERE is a link to a previous update.  

What to expect is this: A homeowner will now have the option to rent out their home on a short term basis.  We are introducing this to take advantage of what is expected to be incredibly high demand for short term housing coinciding with the 2026 World Cup Finals in the Meadowlands.  This initiative will allow Leonia homeowners to rent their house, earn a few bucks and ease any affordability challenges they may be facing.  

The rules are straightforward but, admittedly cumbersome: 

1. You must be the owner of your home during any rental period.  

2. A home cannot be rented for more than 30 consecutive days to the same tenant, you cannot rent more than 90 days maximum per year over the course of no more than 15 separate rentals.  

3. Your home must be properly insured and re-inspected by borough officials to ensure safety.  A $500 annual registration fee is required for home inspection and record keeping which is paid to the borough.  

4. Bad behavior or inconsiderate neighborhood activities can result in the immediate suspension of short term rental privileges.  

Yes, these are a lot of rules but these rules reflect community concerns raised by Leonians that are legitimate.  With these rules in place, we will give short term rentals a try.  If it works, great.  The World Cup guarantees substantial demand for short term housing so now seems as good a time to give this a try as any.  

Redevelopment:

We continue to make substantial progress as a community with our redevelopment efforts.  HERE is a link to a Press Release prepared by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Redevelopment and Revitalization with all the latest developments.  Any questions or comments, please send them to info@leonianj.gov.  

Leonia’s T-Rex is now in its new Station Parkway location:

Thanks to Guy Gsell, Executive Director at the recently closed Field Station: Dinosaurs who said ‘yes’ to my request to donate a dinosaur to Leonia, we now have our very own T-Rex.  

It was moved to its new location opposite the bottom of Maple Street last week.  

Many eagle eye observers may have noticed that our new friend has not yet been fully re-assembled.  Because of his size, the experts with Field Station: Dinosaurs had to dismantle him in order to make the move across Fort Lee Road safely.  Remember, they also donated free delivery as part of the deal but not delivery any further than where the dinosaur wound up.  In other words, we were constrained as to location by practical considerations and what was free vs delivery at a high cost.  Those same experts will be back to re-attach everything shortly as part of their overall donation to the town.

We were advised NOT to activate any of the animatronic features as they are likely not to work and may damage our new friend in the process.  If, at some point in the future, we find ourselves flush with cash, we might consider fixing these features but that is certainly not in the cards today given our current budgetary woes.  

I stopped by the new location the day before Thanksgiving and took a few photos HERE. While I was there, another three people stopped to take selfies with our T-Rex.  

Finally, I’m wondering if anyone can make a large Santa hat which we could put on the T-Rex for the upcoming holidays.  HERE is what I have in mind.  If you can and want to volunteer to make this Santa hat, please let me know by dropping a line at info@leonianj.gov.  

Security Camera update:

You may recall from an earlier update (HERE) that I have been advocating for the installation of several security cameras along Broad Avenue. That remains a priority, and we are working hard to determine whether we can fund 2–3 cameras in the 2026 budget.

The need has become even more evident. Our Police Chief recently informed me that Leonia has experienced 16 hit-and-run incidents so far this year—nine of which involved pedestrians. That statistic should give all of us pause. While this is part of a broader regional and national trend, it has affected Leonia far more than I realized.

Properly placed security cameras on Broad Avenue would serve both as a deterrent and as a valuable investigative tool for our police department. The cameras recommended by the department have far greater range and clarity than the traffic-flow cameras mounted on our signal poles. These are purpose-built for public safety, and could make a meaningful difference.

Leonia Trivia:

What is the most frequently struck sign in the borough?  

Answer: The “State Law: Stop for Pedestrian” road signs placed at crosswalks throughout town.  

Aside from the irony, this reinforces the need to do something to get people to pay better attention to driving (and less attention on their mobile devices).  

A New Legal Challenge:

I’m going to chalk this one up under “unpleasant surprises.” While Leonia has zoning immunity as part of our affordable housing compliance efforts, it turns out we also need something called a “Judgment of Compliance”—a separate, additional hurdle created under the State’s new affordable housing laws. Our Judgment of Compliance is forthcoming, but in the interim, a developer named High Jump Realty has seized upon the temporary absence of this technical certification as their entrée to try to force Leonia to rezone a parcel for high-density housing that is inconsistent with our planning principles.

We can certainly debate whether the laws enabling this kind of maneuver were as well conceived as they should have been. These laws were rushed through the State Legislature with minimal debate and no meaningful input from mayors or municipal officials—the very people tasked with implementing them. And judging from the statewide reaction to their rollout, most municipalities share the view that the new framework is deeply flawed. HERE are some of my earlier reflections on this issue.

High Jump Realty has proposed a six-story, 64-unit apartment building on two lots at Christie Heights Street and Grand Avenue. Sixty-four units on 0.8 acres effectively translates to a density of 80 units per acre—ten times the density permitted under the current single-family zoning (8 units per acre). 

The developer claims, in their objection to our Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, that Leonia cannot meet its affordable housing obligations unless their high-density proposal is approved. They are incorrect. Our Redevelopment Plan more than covers all four rounds of obligations and will address much of the inevitable fifth round as well.

But developers such as High Jump Realty will use every tool available to push for high-density projects—because of the higher profit margins—and have not hesitated to wield affordable housing requirements as leverage to get what they want. Unfortunately, this is yet another example of how poorly designed the State’s new affordable housing laws are.

I will keep you advised as this situation unfolds…

Apartment Fire on Lakeview Avenue:

Just as I’m putting the finishing touches on this latest update, we had a serious apartment fire at the bottom of Lakeview Avenue.  Once again, our Leonia volunteer fire fighters in conjunction with other area towns including Fort Lee, Englewood, and Cliffside Park did an excellent job quickly containing and putting out the fire without it spreading to any adjoining units.  I commend the men and women of our volunteer fire department for their fast response and selfless actions on behalf of our community.   

In Closing:

We will be lighting the holiday tree behind the Recreation Center in Wood Park on Saturday, December 7th at 7:00 pm sharp. I had hoped to join you at the tree lighting, but I am also scheduled to attend a Kulite function in Pearl River at that time. As you know, Kulite is Leonia’s largest taxpayer and employer. Their success is our success, and I will be speaking to their 800 employees about that very relationship.

Please be sure to bring the kids to the tree lighting. It’s a wonderful community tradition and always a highlight of the season, complete with a visit from Santa.

Happy holidays,

Bill Ziegler
Leonia Mayor