After opting not to seek a fourth term, he ran for governor and lost in the Democratic primary<\/a>. Instead, he accepted a job offer across the Hudson River to become president and CEO of the nonprofit Partnership for New York City<\/a>.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the organization said he starts on Jan. 20. That\u2019s the same day Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill will be sworn in as governor, an oath that Fulop had hoped to take.<\/p>\n An inauguration ceremony will be held Thursday in Jersey City for Mayor-elect James Solomon, who defeated former Gov. Jim McGreevey<\/a> in a Dec. 2 runoff election. Solomon was one of seven candidates entered the race for mayor after Fulop announced in 2023 he would not seek re-election.<\/p>\n Fulop said he is moving to New York for his job with the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group for policy and economic development. It consists of around 300 companies that support nearly one million jobs and deliver approximately $236 billion in economic output, according to the group\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Fulop acknowledged \u201cmixed feelings\u201d on not being in elected office for the first time since 2005, when he began a nine year term on the Jersey City Council.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited about the job. I think it\u2019s literally the best job in New York City, so I\u2019m thankful on that, but I\u2019ve had stability in my life for 21 years,\u201d Fulop said Friday morning while meeting with NJ Advance Media at Jersey City Hall.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the most part, I knew that if I did a good job, I\u2019d get re-elected. I made a choice not to run, so here we are,\u201d Fulop said.<\/p>\n By many accounts, Jersey City has changed dramatically since Fulop took office in July 2013. At that time, the city still held its nonpartisan elections in the spring.<\/p>\n Seton Hall University associate professor of political science Matthew Hale described the perception of Jersey City as unofficially New York City\u2019s sixth borough, particularly in wealthier sections along the waterfront.<\/p>\n Hale said Jersey City has evolved into more of a standalone draw rather than a backup option.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople used to come to Jersey City because they couldn\u2019t afford New York. That may not be the case anymore,\u201d Hale said.<\/p>\n However, Jersey City\u2019s rising prominence has raised concerns about affordability<\/a>, which was a key issue in last year\u2019s mayoral race.<\/p>\n Solomon said during his campaign that Jersey City\u2019s average rent had increased 50% during the past decade and that some residents were having a hard time staying in their homes due to property tax increases.<\/p>\n Fulop said last week that affordability is a challenge for \u201cthe entire region.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPart of the reason for that is because New York City has not built over the last decade at the rate that it needs to and that\u2019s put pressure on everybody in the surrounding areas,\u201d Fulop said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at rents in comparison to Hoboken or, obviously New York, you would see that we have increased at a slower rate because we\u2019ve increased supply, and we\u2019ve actually stabilized in the past year,\u201d Fulop said.<\/p>\n When asked about his legacy, Fulop pointed to housing development, infrastructure improvements, parks and cultural initiatives. He brought up the Bayfront Redevelopment Project <\/a>that broke ground in 2025 and will result in an 8,000-unit, mixed-income complex along the Hackensack River.<\/p>\n Jersey City\u2019s largest city-owned park, Berry Lane Park<\/a>, opened in 2016 between Garfield Avenue and Woodward Street. The City Hall annex <\/a>opened in 2017 and includes departments for health, planning, zoning and landlord-tenant relations.<\/p>\n Fulop said the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra <\/a>is moving after 29 years from Newark to a new 550-seat theater in Jersey City\u2019s downtown Powerhouse Arts District. <\/p>\n A $130 million renovation of the 97-year-old Loew\u2019s Jersey Theatre <\/a>is expected to finish by the fall, which plans to host more than 100 productions annually.<\/p>\n Fulop also cited his support for launching the annual Jersey City Marathon<\/a> and Half Marathon in 2023. It drew around 7,000 runners from 15 nations last year.<\/p>\n \u201cA city that\u2019s desirable has to have arts, culture and nightlife, and while people push for everything to be local, the reality is that you need a mixture between local, national and international to really become a national and international-type model city,\u201d Fulop said.<\/p>\n However, Fulop\u2019s effort to bring a branch of the French Centre Pompidou modern art museum<\/a> to Jersey City stalled in 2024, though it has not been withdrawn yet.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably made a mistake in framing it as a museum, ultimately, because in hindsight, that\u2019s really not what it is,\u201d Fulop said.<\/p>\n Pompidou branches in Shanghai and Belgium serve as a \u201ccultural institution that is a convener of prominent people, of thought-provoking discussions,\u201d Fulop said. <\/p>\n He said he hopes that the project will still move forward under Solomon.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hope is that he approaches it with an objective set of eyes and if it is something that can work in his views \u2014 which I think it can, when he actually sees the numbers \u2014 he\u2019ll recognize that we\u2019re so far down the road that it will cost tens of millions of dollars to reverse what we\u2019ve put in place already, but it\u2019s going to be his decision,\u201d Fulop said.<\/p>\n Solomon\u2019s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.<\/p>\n The day after Fulop\u2019s term ends, the State House Commission will hold a public hearing on a proposed storage warehouse with room for up to 500 boats at the Liberty State Park, a plan that would disrupt nearly five acres of undeveloped land.<\/p>\n Fulop drew an analogy to other privatization efforts that would have impacted the New Jersey-owned park and failed. He said his hope is that Sherrill \u201callocates money towards the interior becoming more accessible\u201d through ongoing renovation efforts.<\/p>\n His new job in New York City is, in some ways, a homecoming. Fulop was working in lower Manhattan at Goldman Sachs on Sept. 11, 2001, when he saw the first hijacked plane strike the World Trade Center. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines weeks later and in 2003 was deployed to Iraq.<\/p>\n His salary at the Partnership for New York City has not been disclosed but the CEO he will be succeeding was being paid more than $1.5 million annually, according to the Partnership for New York City\u2019s 2023 tax filing.<\/p>\n Fulop\u2019s salary as Jersey City\u2019s mayor was above $234,000 in 2023<\/a>, boosted by longevity pay.<\/p>\n For his new job, Fulop posted to X that he will \u201dbe a partner\u201d to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who like Solomon emphasized affordability in his campaign.<\/p>\n![\"Fulop\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Z6G73EM7MZDWZNPAZLDXYEXHNY.JPG\")
Steven Fulop thanking his supporters at Zeppelin Hall upon winning his first term as mayor of Jersey City in 2013.EJA<\/p>\n![\"Centre](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ICKT6MSCXZHUJMVYPVE5PTAWPQ.JPG\")
Mayor Steve Fulop announcing plans in 2021 to build a branch of the Centre Pompidou in Jersey City.<\/p>\n