RELEASE: Gottheimer, Local Leaders Dedicate Tenafly Street in Honor of Edan Alexander

Above: Gottheimer joins local leaders and the Alexander family in Tenafly to dedicate a street named "Edan Alexander Way."

TENAFLY, NJ - Today, September 29, 2025, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) joined local community leaders, Edan Alexander, and the Alexander family in Tenafly for an official street renaming to honor the freed hostage. The street formally known as River Edge Road will now be named "Edan Alexander Way."

Edan, a 21-year-old Tenafly native, was kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 terrorist attacks. He was released on May 12, 2025, after 584 days in captivity.

Video of Gottheimer's announcement can be found here.

"Today, we name this street Edan Alexander Way, to remind parents to tell their children the story of a young man from Tenafly who overcame all odds. May it teach the lesson we must never forget, 'Let us not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good,'" said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). "May 'Edan Alexander Way' stand as a reminder - of courage in captivity, of the power of a community, and of the unshakable belief that good will prevail when decent people refuse to look away."

Gottheimer was joined at Tenafly Borough Hall by New Jersey Senator Gordon Johnson, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain, Mayor Mark Zinna, Bergen County Commissioner Tracy Zur, Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton, Bergen County Clerk John Hogan, Demarest Mayor Brian Bernstein, Tenafly and Englewood council members, Edan, and the Alexander Family.

Below: Gottheimer helps rename street in honor of Tenafly resident Edan Alexander.

Gottheimer's remarks as prepared for delivery:

If you remember, in Scripture, Joseph was sold by his brothers, cast into prison, and forgotten by many. Through it all, he never surrendered his dignity or his faith - and Joseph never lost hope. As Scripture tells us: 'You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.' (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph's life teaches us that even in the darkest of places, courage, perseverance, and the love of a people can turn suffering into a saving strength - from betrayal and captivity to ultimate vindication.

It's a biblical story that could have been written about Edan Alexander, the young man we are proudly honoring today. A son of Tenafly, a graduate of Tenafly High School, who swam on the swim team, and biked on these streets - a Jersey boy through and through. Edan Alexander not only answered a call to serve to keep others alive, but never surrendered his dignity and faith.

On October 7, Edan was captured by barbaric Hamas terrorists and held in captivity for 584 anguished days. For nearly two years, while Edan endured the unimaginable, his parents and siblings never - for a single moment - surrendered hope. They rallied and inspired our Jersey community, they called for action, and they would not be quieted until their son came home.

That fight was not theirs alone. Parents in Tenafly, friends across New Jersey, and people across this nation stood with them. Personally, as their Congressman, I've spoken with the Alexander family often. They have become like my own family. They pressed me - as they pressed so many others - for action and for answers. Adi and his wife dispatched me to the Middle East time and again to fight for Edan and all the hostages, from Qatar to Egypt, from Israel to the UAE. I was proud to go, carrying the courage and conviction they gave me, both there and into the halls of Congress. For the Alexanders, nothing would ever get in the way of bringing their boy home.

And nothing - nothing - made me happier than Adi's call with the news that Edan was coming home, and then getting to stand with all of you in Tenafly's Huyler Park watching his release. There wasn't a dry eye. I was brought to tears again when I got to move his photograph from the hostage wall outside my office to the side where the freed are honored. That moment said what words cannot: we must bring every hostage home, alive or deceased. I will not rest until that happens. I know Edan would not want me to. Because for him, it's about them. It's about protecting freedom and democracy.

I will never forget the moment I first met Edan after his release - his humility, poise, and self-assurance stopped me in my tracks, making it clear that he was not a hero. The real heroes, he said, are the ones still there, and those who gave their lives. And then he later said something that will echo in my heart forever: 'My story doesn't end with survival - it continues with service.'

Edan is home, but he hasn't chosen a path of well-deserved comfort. His remarkable courage continues. He is returning to serve in the Israel Defense Forces because he refuses to let evil triumph. As General Dwight D. Eisenhower reminded us: "Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men, and so it must be daily earned and refreshed."

So, today, we name this street Edan Alexander Way, to remind parents to tell their children the story of a young man from Tenafly who overcame all odds, and then, uncowed, rushed back to continue the fight against terror. May it teach the lesson we must never forget, as it's been said, "Let us not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." That's why Hamas must be crushed. The forty-eight hostages who remain in captivity must be freed now. The international community - and especially the United Nations - must do everything possible to ensure lifesaving aid reaches civilians in Gaza, not the hands of Hamas terrorists.

To Edan's siblings and parents: your love, your persistence, and your refusal to accept 'no' changed history for your son. To Edan: your bravery humbles and inspires us. To our community: your solidarity showed what a town can do when it stands together. To our nation and to the world: we owe it to every hostage, and to the memory of those we lost, to keep fighting for justice and for peace.

May "Edan Alexander Way" stand as a reminder - of courage in captivity, of the power of a community, and of the unshakable belief that good will prevail when decent people refuse to look away. May God bless Edan, protect him and his family, and all those who serve to protect the innocent. And may God continue to bless and watch over the United States of America.

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