If you’ve driven down Route 3 lately, you’ve seen the cranes. Clifton is changing, fast. But beneath the surface of new luxury apartments and shiny lab spaces, there’s a lot of noise about where this city is actually headed. Honestly, keeping up with news in Clifton NJ feels like a full-time job these days. One minute we’re talking about world-class medical schools, and the next, we’re staring down a budget crisis that could make your property tax bill do a double-take.
It’s a weird time to live in the City of Mustangs. We’re caught between being a quiet suburban enclave and a massive "new urbanist" hub.
The $10 Million Question: Is Clifton Broke?
Let’s talk about the elephant in the City Hall. Recently, the City Council has been getting some pretty grim warnings from the experts. Interim CFO Joe Monzo hasn't been sugarcoating it. The city’s fund balance—basically our rainy-day savings—is expected to drop to about $10 million.
That sounds like a lot, right? It’s not.
Last year, it was $15 million. We’ve burned through $5 million in a single year. The professional advice was simple: issue debt to cover the cost of the property revaluation. Instead, the council decided to dip into the savings. It’s kinda like paying for a car repair with your emergency fund instead of taking a low-interest loan; it feels better today, but you’re in trouble when the roof starts leaking tomorrow.
The consequence? About $3.3 million of that remaining balance will be "restricted" in 2026. That leaves us with only $6.7 million to balance a budget that is already looking stressed. Councilwoman Mary Sadrakula has been one of the loudest voices objecting to these moves, and for good reason. If the city can't balance the books, guess whose door the tax collector knocks on? Yours.
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The Lowdown on Lowry Park and the Murals
To try and scrape some cash together, there’s been talk of selling off city assets.
- Lowry Park: Some say it’s not even a "real" park. There’s a plan to maybe split the land for low-density housing.
- The Louis Bouche Murals: We own these historic paintings, but they’re currently sitting in a warehouse. We pay nearly $275 a month just to store them.
- The City Well: Even the well at the Municipal Complex is closed for repairs as of January 2026.
It’s a bit of a mess. The council spent $10,000 on a redevelopment attorney just to figure out what we can even do with the Lowry land. Some call it due diligence; others call it more spending we can’t afford.
ON3: The Future (and the Traffic) is Here
While the budget looks shaky, the ON3 campus is basically the polar opposite. Prism Capital Partners just secured three huge approvals that are going to change the Clifton-Nutley border forever. We’re talking over 1,000 new multifamily units and 90,000 square feet of retail space.
If you’ve lived here a while, you remember the old Roche site. It was a fortress. Now, it’s becoming a "live-work-play" destination. Hackensack Meridian Health just opened its new Health & Wellness Center there in late 2025, and now Chase and Chipotle are moving in.
But here’s the thing: more people means more cars. Prism is working on new Route 3 access to handle the load, but anyone who has tried to get onto the Garden State Parkway at 5:00 PM knows that "improved access" is often just a fancy way of saying "new place to sit in traffic."
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What’s actually coming to ON3 in 2026?
- Multifamily Housing: Hundreds of apartments along Route 3 East.
- A Major Data Center: Nutley approved an 11-acre parcel for this.
- The "New Urbanist" Vibe: Expect more walkways, bike trails, and "lush roundabouts." Basically, they want it to feel like a city within a suburb.
School’s In (and Out)
For the parents, the news in Clifton NJ usually starts and ends with the school calendar. We’re currently in the thick of the 2025-2026 school year. If you’re already looking ahead to the beach, take a breath. The last day for students—and the big graduation day for the Mustangs at CHS—is set for June 25, 2026.
The district has been pushing its 182-day schedule, and while it seems like a long way off, those single-session days and "half-days" always seem to sneak up on working parents. The Clifton Early Learner Academy and the various high school academies (shoutout to the Mustang Academy for freshmen) are continuing to see high enrollment. It keeps the city young, but it also puts more pressure on that stressed budget we talked about earlier.
The "Small Town" Security Reality
Safety is always on the mind, and the end of 2025 saw some high-profile incidents that had everyone checking their Ring cameras. There was a carjacking in late December that led to a high-speed chase through Fort Lee and Edgewater. It ended with a "person of interest" in custody, but it definitely rattled the neighborhood.
Also, the police department has been pushing its new 2026 parking permits. If you haven't renewed yours at the Records Office, do it now. Enforcement starts Sunday, February 1, 2026. They’ve even extended hours on Tuesdays (until 7:00 PM) to make it easier for people who work late.
Making Sense of It All
Clifton is at a crossroads. We’re trying to be a hub for biotech and high-end living at ON3 while struggling to pay the bills at City Hall. It’s a bit of a "Tale of Two Cities" situation.
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So, what should you actually do with all this information?
First, keep an eye on the Green Acres survey. The city is looking for input on how to use grant money for recreational facilities. The survey stays open until January 30, 2026. If you want a better park or more green space, that’s your chance to speak up before the money gets funneled elsewhere.
Second, if you’re a small business owner, check out the new state law (A4928) championed by Robert Clifton. It expands the pool for small businesses to win state contracts. It changes how you calculate revenue (using 5 years instead of 3), which might make it easier for your shop to compete for big NJ contracts.
Basically, Clifton is growing up, whether we like it or not. The best thing you can do is stay vocal at the council meetings—or at least read the minutes—because the decisions made in the next six months are going to dictate what our tax bills look like for the next six years.
Actionable Next Steps for Clifton Residents:
- Check your Recycling Section: A big chunk of Section 3 moved to Section 8 starting January 1st to "improve consistency." Check your street name against the city’s new guide so your bins don’t sit on the curb for three days.
- Submit the Green Acres Survey: You have until January 30th to tell the city what kind of outdoor recreation you actually want.
- Renew your Parking Permit: Avoid the ticket. Get to City Hall before the February 1st deadline.
- Monitor the Budget Hearings: February and March are typically when the real "pain" of the budget starts to get codified. If you’re worried about property taxes, that’s the time to pay attention.