Why An At-Large Voice Can Unite City Hall with Kristen Zadroga-Hart
Wed Oct 29 2025
Local change starts where we live, and today’s conversation dives into the messy, human, and fixable parts of city life. We sit down with Kristen, a lifelong Jersey City educator and athletic director running at-large, to talk about trust, safety, and housing—three pressure points that shape daily life more than any national headline. She shares why she spoke up when the community was hurting, how empathy builds social glue, and what it takes to turn schools into neighborhood hubs after the last bell rings.
We unpack a broken relationship between City Hall and the Board of Education, then get specific about coordination that actually helps families: opening school gyms and arts rooms for evening programming, building better bridges for funding, and acknowledging the state aid gap that leaves districts like ours scrambling. Safety isn’t abstract either. A high school went 18 months without a crossing guard, and we explore simple fixes—smarter recruiting, retention, and full-time cross-training—that respect both budgets and lives. Parks and green spaces also get their due; in a dense city, they are essential infrastructure for health, youth opportunity, and community.
Housing anchors the back half of the conversation. Kristen favors incentives over hard mandates to bring more affordable and workforce units online without chilling development. We discuss how supply and demand influence rent, why a 2,700-unit deficit calls for urgency, and how to align public goals with private capital to put keys in doors faster. Running at-large lets her connect ward-level needs to citywide decisions, acting as a bridge for residents who don’t feel heard. And yes, we talk turnout: early voting is open, runoffs are likely, and every ballot counts more than you think. If you care about schools, safe streets, and a fair shot at staying in your neighborhood, this one’s for you.
If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share with a neighbor, and leave a quick review—it helps more Jersey City voters find their way to the polls.
Your hosts: @lynnhazan_ and @tonydoesknow
follow us on social @ltkpod!
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Local change starts where we live, and today’s conversation dives into the messy, human, and fixable parts of city life. We sit down with Kristen, a lifelong Jersey City educator and athletic director running at-large, to talk about trust, safety, and housing—three pressure points that shape daily life more than any national headline. She shares why she spoke up when the community was hurting, how empathy builds social glue, and what it takes to turn schools into neighborhood hubs after the last bell rings. We unpack a broken relationship between City Hall and the Board of Education, then get specific about coordination that actually helps families: opening school gyms and arts rooms for evening programming, building better bridges for funding, and acknowledging the state aid gap that leaves districts like ours scrambling. Safety isn’t abstract either. A high school went 18 months without a crossing guard, and we explore simple fixes—smarter recruiting, retention, and full-time cross-training—that respect both budgets and lives. Parks and green spaces also get their due; in a dense city, they are essential infrastructure for health, youth opportunity, and community. Housing anchors the back half of the conversation. Kristen favors incentives over hard mandates to bring more affordable and workforce units online without chilling development. We discuss how supply and demand influence rent, why a 2,700-unit deficit calls for urgency, and how to align public goals with private capital to put keys in doors faster. Running at-large lets her connect ward-level needs to citywide decisions, acting as a bridge for residents who don’t feel heard. And yes, we talk turnout: early voting is open, runoffs are likely, and every ballot counts more than you think. If you care about schools, safe streets, and a fair shot at staying in your neighborhood, this one’s for you. If this conversation resonates, subscribe, share with a neighbor, and leave a quick review—it helps more Jersey City voters find their way to the polls. Your hosts: @lynnhazan_ and @tonydoesknow follow us on social @ltkpod!