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Mayor Zena outlines 2026 priorities: roads and pedestrian safety, parks and recreation, downtown revitalization
Summary
In his State of the Borough address Mayor Zena highlighted three priorities for 2026—roads and pedestrian safety, parks and recreation, and downtown revitalization—reported a federal grant for stream cleanup and cited falling traffic accidents.
Mayor Zena delivered Tenafly’s State of the Borough at the Jan. 6 reorganization meeting, laying out three council priorities for 2026: (1) roads and pedestrian safety, (2) parks and recreation, and (3) downtown revitalization.
On transportation, the mayor reported that the new traffic signal at East Clinton and Dean Drive is “almost complete” and expected to be operational “by approximately March 1.” He also cited a reduction in annual traffic accidents from 484 in 2021 to 356 in 2025, a decline he described as a 27% drop. "Now even one accident is too much," the mayor said, and added the borough would continue investing in pedestrian safety.
The mayor reviewed parks and recreation accomplishments, including the new Grove Street Park with a dog area and gardens, replacement and construction of public tennis courts, and the borough’s acquisition and reopening of a formerly private pool club that produced a small operating surplus in 2025. He said planning is under way for designs of a potential new library and recreation center and that the borough will share concepts with residents in 2026.
Zena also announced a $1,600,000 federal grant to begin cleaning Tennequil Brook and Overpeck Creek, citing collaboration with federal, state and county legislators on the award. He credited the Police Department and external law-enforcement partners with a sharp reduction in car thefts and burglaries in 2025.
