The Gold Coast Renaissance: Driving Self-Sufficiency In The Garden State

Whether she is finding innovative ways to enhance our public safety efforts, working to better help our new officers learn about their communities, or empowering women through local programs, Councilwoman Joyce Watterman has worked everyday to prove her dedication to the residents of Jersey City, and I am proud to have her on our team. Joyce E. Watterman was born, raised and educated in Jersey City. She graduated from William L. Dickinson High School and worked at the former Family Health Center for over 13 years.Joyce is married over 40 years and the mother of three and a loving grandmother. Joyce attended Somerset Christian College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership and Associate of Arts in Biblical Studies. She then went on to obtain her Master of Arts Degree in Ministry Leadership from Pillar College. Joyce is the founder of the H.O.P.E Summer program for children which presented a safe, caring and educational environment. She is the founder of Women Working Together for change; a program which empowers women, physically, emotionally, economically and politically. Joyce has been a volunteer Chaplin for over 30 years at Eastern State Prison and 8 years at Clinton State Prison. Joyce and her husband are the founders and Pastors of Continuous Flow Christian Center, where they bring life changing words of strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Joyce currently serves as the first African-American woman Council President for the City of Jersey City. She serves as a Planning Commissioner, Chairs the Disable Parking committee, serves as a member of the Affordable Housing Trust Funds, the Budget Committee, Dissolution of Parking Authority, the Exchange Place SID, Chairs the Street Naming and Re-naming committee, Chaplin for the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department, member of NAACP, Co-Chairperson of the Inclusionary Zoning Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Board, she is the former President of the Women Political Caucus of Hudson County, and oversees the Ad Hoc Committee to review the Jersey City Police Department’s policies and procedures on enforcement and discrimination.

Joel Bergstein is the President of Lincoln Equities Group (LEG), one of the Northeast's leading full-service real estate companies. Bergstein joined the company more than 32 years ago, spearheading the organization’s acquisition and development initiatives. He currently leads the firm’s large scale development platform, orchestrating major residential and industrial land development projects in the New York / New Jersey metro area. Bergstein developed LEG’s current operating partner platform, leveraging domestic and international opportunities with private equity and pension funds. Bergstein is a founding partner and active participant in LEG’s $700M European property investment platform. Some of his standout development projects include Halletts Point in Astoria, NY, where LEG transformed a seven acre waterfront site into 2,400 residential apartment units; 5 Giralda in Madison, NJ, a 431,000 square-foot property, that was modernized to become Allergan’s U.S. headquarters; and in early 2018, LEG closed on a 152 acre waterfront site in Bayonne, NJ, where 1.4M square-feet of e-commerce logistics warehousing will be developed to bolster trade with the Port of New York and New Jersey. Lincoln has formed a partnership with Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company to develop a mixed-income residential complex in Crown Heights, NY. It will be a 50/50 market and workforce development project to bring hundreds of needed housing units for middle and working class families in New York City. Bergstein is also leading the development and approval process for 1,500 new residential units in Jersey City including the construction of a light rail station. Bergstein serves on numerous real estate advisory boards and is a speaker and frequent commentator in real estate trade and business media in addition to his philanthropic work.

Taryn Byron is a top broker at nest seekers New Jersey where she serves as Sales Director at One Park Condominiums and leads the NJ new development division. Ms. Bryon has over seventeen years of hands-on experience in real estate sales and mentorship and plays an integral part in the ongoing development of the firm.

Mr. Wolfe is the Managing Partner in the Property Tax Department at Skoloff & Wolfe, PC, where he focuses his practice on representing taxpayers in significant real estate tax appeals and property tax related matters. He has extensive experience in all types of property tax appeals, including hotel, multi-family, retail, office, and industrial properties. Mr. Wolfe frequently counsels clients on the property tax implications of the development, acquisition, and disposition of significant assets. He also counsels clients with respect to property tax exemptions and PILOT agreements. Mr. Wolfe serves on the Board of the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys (NAPTA) and as the Co-Chair of the Real Property Tax Practice Committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Mr. Wolfe has been featured or quoted in a wide variety of local and national publications, including Forbes.com, GlobeSt.com, Marketwatch.com, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Law.com, Law360.com, The New York Law Journal, and Commerce Magazine. Mr. Wolfe has a track record of obtaining significant assessment reductions on behalf of his clients. Examples of those assessment reductions include: • Reduced hotel assessment from $188 million to $131million; • Reduced multi-family assessment from $116 million to $67 million; • Reduced office assessment from $115.5 million to $90million; • Reduced supermarket anchored center from $66.9 million to $46 million; • Reduced nursing home assessment from $36 million to $10.1million; • Reduced big box retail assessment from $21.3 million to $13.4 million; • Reduced office assessment from $27.8 million to $6.5million. Mr. Wolfe began his career as an associate at the law firm of Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York. While at Davis Polk, he focused his practice on regulatory investigations, securities litigation and banking disputes. Mr. Wolfe is a member of the American Bar Association House of Delegates and is the Co-Chair of the ABA’s Diversity & Inclusion 360 Presidential Commission. As a young lawyer, Mr. Wolfe served as the Chair of the ABA Young Lawyers Division, the ABA’s largest entity with more than 130,000 members. Mr. Wolfe received his J.D. from New York University School of Law, and graduated from Cornell University with distinction in all subjects.