NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ - Trumpeting a long list of development and new programs in the city, Mayor James Cahill on Tuesday was sworn into office for his eighth term and proclaimed much had been accomplished in strengthening the city but there was much still to be done.

In ceremonies at city hall, Cahill's State of The City address capped off a New Year's Day celebration that saw city council members Kevin Egan and Rebecca Escobar each take their oaths of office for new four-year terms on the governing body.

T.K. Shamy, the attorney for the city and the chairman of the New Brunswick Democratic Committee, served as master of ceremonies for the program. The audience in the packed council chambers included Middlesex County freeholders, Kevin McCabe, chairman of the Middlesex County Democratic Committee and other officials along with relatives of Cahill, Egan and Escobar.

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Cahill, who is starting his 29th year as the city's top elected office, started off his speeches with words of thanks to his family and to city council members for their support. He also thanked city residents who once again voted for him.

"It is a great honor to once again take the oath of office as Mayor of the City of New Brunswick and I am truly grateful to the residents of our City for the opportunity to continue to serve," he said.

In one significant announcement, Cahill revealed his appointment of that longtime city clerk Daniel Torrisi to be the next city business administrator, succeeding Thomas Loughlin who retired last month.

Cahill recited a list of companies and agencies that have worked with the city, including the New Brunswick Development Corp, Johnson & Johnson, Rutgers University, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Saint Peter’s University Hospital, all of which he credited with corporate responsibility and community stewardship.

The mayor also thanked social services agencies, specifically naming New Brunswick Tomorrow, PRAB, the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick, Elijah’s Promise, Catholic Charities and Holy Family Parish for supporting the people who "who live, work and raise their families here."





Among the accomplishments he listed were the expansions in city schools and the reopening of the Paul Robeson Community School for the Arts, the reduction in the city crime rate, improvements in city parks and the senior citizen resource center, and the millions of dollars spent on the city water utility. Cahill repeatedly noted this was accomplished while the city maintained the second lowest tax rate in Middlesex County.

Pointing to other areas, the mayor said there are 1,100 housing units either under construction or approved for construction. He added that dozens of identified vacant houses that have been renovated and are being occupied - though dozens more remain on the city register of vacant homes - and the municipality is acquiring nine abandoned properties for rehabilitation. Cahill said the New Brunswick is building housing for all income levels, even people with no income.

Separately, Cahill noted that the $172 million performing arts center and office and residential tower open this summer. The structure will be home of George Street Playhouse, American Repertory Ballet, Crossroads Theatre Company, and Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts Opera and Musical Theater Programs.

The mayor said that nearly 600,000 people come into the city to see theater, ballet and modern dance, popular music, lectures, community-theater, and visual and performing arts annually.

He noted that planning is continuing for the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub, a 4 million-square-foot area near the train station intended for development of technology and innovation ventures together, corporate office space, academic and corporate research facilities, ground floor retail, and residential components.

"So it is clear," Cahill said, "that while much has been accomplished, there is still much to do."