Hackensack Council to Vote on Ending GOAT Building Tax Break, Weigh Lien Sale for Overdue PILOT Payments

HACKENSACK, N.J. — The Hackensack City Council is scheduled Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, to take a final vote on ending the tax break for 77 River St., the building that houses GOAT Climbing Gym, and to consider a separate resolution authorizing an accelerated tax lien sale for developers who are behind on their payments in lieu of taxes, according to the council’s draft docket.

The lien-sale measure, Resolution 316-26, would authorize the city’s tax collector to hold an accelerated tax lien sale during 2026 for “delinquent Annual Service Charge payments together with any interest accruing thereupon.” Annual service charges are the yearly payments developers make under PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreements instead of regular property taxes. The resolution does not name any property or list any amount owed.

The draft docket is dated Oct. 16, 2026, and items can change before the meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 65 Central Ave.

What’s on Tuesday’s docket

• Resolution 297-26 — adoption of Ordinance 20-2026, which would terminate the long-term tax exemption and financial agreement for Hecker Holdings Urban Renewal LLC and return Block 203, Lots 4-7 and 10-16 to the regular tax rolls. The ordinance was introduced Oct. 6.
• Resolution 316-26 — accelerated tax lien sale for delinquent annual service charges. It is listed on the regular agenda, not the consent agenda. The resolution cites the state Long-Term Tax Exemption Law and the Tax Sale Law, N.J.S.A. 54:5-19, and says the city’s financial agreements with urban renewal entities give it the right to place municipal liens on properties with delinquent annual service charges.

A tax lien is a claim against a property for unpaid charges; at a tax sale, a municipality sells those liens to collect what it is owed.

Why the city wants to end the 77 River St. deal

According to Ordinance 20-2026, the council under the prior administration approved Hecker Holdings’ tax exemption by Ordinance 15-2019, adopted April 19, 2019, and the financial agreement is dated May 1, 2020. The agreement required the company to submit annual auditor’s reports confirming its actual revenue, which the city uses to calculate the annual service charge. The ordinance says the company “failed and refused” to submit those reports for tax years 2023, 2024 and 2025, despite a Notice to Cure dated June 25, 2026, and a Final Written Notice dated Aug. 6, 2026.

In an Oct. 7 release, the city said Hecker Holdings submitted financial documents on Aug. 27, the day before the city’s final compliance deadline, but that they were internal bookkeeping statements without the required independent audits. City officials estimated the property owes at least $25,000 in arrears and statutory interest, based on preliminary figures the company provided. If the termination is finalized, the city estimated the property’s annual payment would rise from about $56,000 under the PILOT to about $88,000 in regular property taxes.

“We have tremendous respect for Liz Hecker and the energy GOAT brings to Hackensack,” Mayor Caseen Gaines said in the release. “But receiving a tax break from the public is a privilege, not an entitlement.”

The bigger PILOT picture

The city has said an audit commissioned by the current governing body found $5.4 million in back PILOT payments from the previous administration’s tenure, a figure that grew to $6.7 million by August with interest. In its Oct. 7 release, the city said it had recovered about $3.6 million, up from $1.7 million in August, that five commercial developments had paid in full, and that it was still working with “several other developers.” The city said remedies “such as municipal liens or contract terminations remain available.” It did not name the five developments that paid or the ones still in talks.

First reported by Jersey Intel: On Oct. 16, Jersey Intel reported that people and companies tied to four developers on the city’s August list of overdue PILOT accounts gave a combined $52,250 to former Mayor John Labrosse’s council slates in the 2017, 2021 and 2025 elections, based on its review of state Election Law Enforcement Commission records. Jersey Intel also reported that Gaines’ own 2025 slate received money from developers and vendors, that the donations are legal, and that nothing in the records shows they affected how the deals were approved or enforced. Labrosse did not respond to Jersey Intel by its deadline, the outlet reported. In a statement to Jersey Intel, Gaines said the city would take “whatever enforcement steps are necessary,” including termination of PILOT agreements, “property tax liens, and/or litigation.” Bergen TV has not independently re-run the ELEC figures. Read Jersey Intel’s report.

What fits — and what still doesn’t

• Liens are now on paper. Gaines named property tax liens as a possible tool in his Oct. 14 statement to Jersey Intel. Resolution 316-26 would put that tool to a council vote for overdue PILOT charges.
• No list attached. The resolution does not say which developers or properties would be affected, how much is delinquent, or when the sale would be held — only that it would happen in 2026 at the tax collector’s discretion.
• Small dollars at 77 River St. The city’s own estimate for Hecker Holdings is at least $25,000 owed — a small share of the $6.7 million the city cited in August. The city’s case against Hecker rests on missing audits, not on the size of the balance.
• Balances not public. The city has not published a current, property-by-property balance list in the releases Bergen TV reviewed. Jersey Intel reported that its Oct. 9 public-records request for the city’s default notices and balances is pending.
• Draft docket. Items on a draft docket can be changed, pulled or tabled before or at the meeting.

Open questions

• Which properties would be included in an accelerated lien sale, and for how much?
• When would the sale be held?
• Which five developments have paid in full, and which are still in talks?
• Will Hecker Holdings or GOAT Climbing Gym address the council Tuesday?
• Will the city release the auditor’s balance schedule and default notices?

Sources: Hackensack City Council draft docket, Oct. 20, 2026 (dated Oct. 16); Ordinance 20-2026 notice and text; City of Hackensack release, Oct. 7, 2026; Jersey Intel, Oct. 16, 2026.