FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

October 3, 2025

Governor Murphy Joins the Pascrell Family to Designate Route 19 as the “William J. Pascrell Jr. Highway”

PATERSON – Governor Phil Murphy today unveiled new highway signage designating Route 19 as the “William J. Pascrell Jr. Highway,” honoring the public service career of the 9th District’s long-serving Congressman, Bill Pascrell Jr. The Governor was joined by the Pascrell family, Congresswoman Nellie Pou, and Senator Benjie Wimberly, as well as local, county, and state officials at the New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC) in Paterson.

I’m proud to cement the legacy of a giant of New Jersey today. New Jerseyans who drive down the William J. Pascrell Jr. Highway will have a chance to reflect on everything he accomplished as Assemblyman, Mayor of Paterson, and especially as our hero in the United States Congress,” said Governor Murphy. “When future generations see his name on Route 19 for the first time, perhaps they will be inspired to look him up and discover that they’re living in a state that was made so much stronger and fairer thanks to Bill Pascrell Jr.”

Governor Murphy signed legislation in 2020 to designate the highway in honor of the Congressman. The bill provides that State or other public funds are not to be used for producing, purchasing, or erecting signs bearing the designation.

“I was proud in the State Senate to sponsor the bill to name this road for Congressman Pascrell, who dedicated his entire life to serving others,” said Congresswoman Nellie Pou. “This Gateway to Paterson must be named for a man that Patersonians sent to represent them in Congress and around the world. Bill would have welcomed this renaming more than if we named the New Jersey Turnpike after him. Because for 27 years, Route 19 was the highway he traveled that signified that, after a tough week in our nation’s capital, he was finally home.”

“It is only fitting that Route 19, a highway Congressman Bill Pascrell took frequently, whether it was to go to Trenton when he was an Assemblyman or on his way to Newark Penn Station to go to Washington, DC as a Congressman, would be named after him,” said Senator Benjie Wimberly. “Having worked alongside the late Congressman Bill Pascrell for over a decade in a fight for a better Paterson, he surely deserves this honor, and I am glad to have been the prime sponsor of the legislation renaming Route 19 William J. Pascrell Jr. Highway.”

“Congressman Bill Pascrell was a tireless champion for transportation projects that improved safety across the United States – but most importantly, right here in his home district,” said Department of Transportation Commissioner Fran O’Connor. “As a member of the House Transportation Committee, he was instrumental in securing funding for New Jersey transportation projects to improve the safety of our roads and bridges, as well NJ TRANSIT. As someone who was born in Paterson and served his hometown as Mayor, Assemblyman, and Congressman, I can think of no better way to honor his legacy than to name Route 19 the William J. Pascrell Jr. Highway.”

“Route 19 is more than a highway. It connects neighborhoods, schools, jobs, and — right up the hill — the Paterson Great Falls,” said New Jersey Community Development Corporation Founder and CEO Robert Guarasci. “It’s fitting that this road will now carry the name of someone who spent his life connecting people to opportunity. Congressman Pascrell championed Paterson with an energy that matched the Falls themselves — whether fighting for working families, standing up for public safety, or securing investments that helped revitalize this community.”