Even though most New Jerseyans think East Newark is a part of that big city in Essex County, Mayor-elect Dina Grilo wouldn’t consider changing its name. But she intends to change plenty of other things.

Living in town since she was 9 and having traveled to many other parts of the world, Grilo feels East Newark will always be “home” and believes most residents feel the same way about the tiny Hudson County town on the east bank of the Passaic River, its 2,735 residents crammed into less than a mile.

Grilo intends to make the community more vibrant, with more engaged citizens, more services and a comfortable small-town feel in this metro area. She walks every street, speaks to every interested resident, and believes she knows what they want.

Outgoing Mayor Joe Smith ran unopposed for 16 years, so perhaps he and his council members became a little lethargic and residents didn’t clamor for change. But two years ago, some neighbors began begging Grilo to run and use skills honed as a vice president of JP Morgan Chase to modernize and improve things.

She said there’s virtually nothing for youngsters to do after school, few recreational activities for adults after work, and senior services have been in decline.

“Kids want sports, adults want things like yoga, and seniors want to play bingo,” she said.

Nothing complicated, nothing expensive, so she’s confident she’ll be able to make them happy.

Not only did she displace a long-time leader, but she’ll be the only female among Hudson County’s mayors, so I asked her how she intends to interact with the guys.

Some, like Harrison Mayor Jim Fife, who was principal when she attended Harrison High School, she knows better than others. But she’s met them all and feels they will welcome her.

“We think alike,” she said. “We talk ideas, challenges, goals. We focus on agendas, not gender. I will be learning best practices from all of them.”

She calls herself a visionary, but a practical one. She wants input and collaboration and admits she’ll start by grabbing low-hanging fruit but intends to reach the very top of the tree. Aided, she hopes, by some grants from county and state.

The six-member council didn’t run with her but they’ve pledged support, she said, and she hopes to get them on board with her new ideas after her swearing-in Jan. 3.

She’s changing council meetings from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to prompt more public participation and will be upgrading the town website.

Grilo likes shared services, is proud of the police, wants to expand the fire department where she once volunteered and is considering an EMT service, which is needed as the town’s population increases.

While the town can’t exceed its borders, she says there’s plenty of room to grow. There’s some new construction but chiefly on old homesites. She’s looking forward to development of the old Clark Thread Company, where 616 apartments are planned.

If I came back to talk with you in five years, I asked, what would I find?

In answering, she talked for a minute or so about the things we’d already covered, then her eyes lit up as she said, “And a wonderful waterfront.”

Grilo thinks about several old factory sites along the Passaic and dreams of state open space funds being used to create a “high-line type” path from the river to West Hudson Park in Harrison. East Newark has no parks of its own, so that’s where everyone goes, she says.

Meanwhile, she’s working to put together several committees to plan a big celebration of East Newark’s 125th anniversary next summer.

A former assemblywoman from Jersey City, Joan Quigley is the president and CEO of North Hudson Community Action Corp.

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