Tiffany Burress, the wife of former New York Giants star Plaxico Burress, announced a Republican bid Tuesday for a North Jersey congressional seat long held by Democrats.

Tiffany Burress announced her run Tuesday, contrasting her work in the private sector to Rep. Nellie Pou’s public office resume. Her husband memorably caught the 2008 Super Bowl’s game-winning touchdown to snuff out the New England Patriots’ 2007 undefeated regular season and finished his Giants career with 4,086 receiving yards.

Tiffany Burress, a Pittsburgh native, serves on the Workers’ Comp committee of the New Jersey State Bar Association, has been recognized as one of Bergen County’s “top attorneys” and was a collegiate athlete at Penn State University in Centre County, Pennsylvania.

In her announcement, she criticized Pou, who won the seat of Bill Pascrell Jr. in 2024 after the Democrat died in office at 87, just months before the election, for the series of “doors” that have “been opened” for her.

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“Congresswoman Nellie Pou has a charmed life. Fifty years on the government dime, never had a private sector job: In 1997, doors started opening. The party bosses gave Nellie two jobs, a city administrator and a state assembly seat,” Burress said, before pivoting to comparing Pou’s voting record to that of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Burress, running as a Republican, said that instead of having doors opened for her, she “busted through them,” and that, unlike Democrats, is willing to “bust out doors” to tell the GOP they’re wrong when they are.

“Let’s try something different,” Burress, of Totowa, said.

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Burress’ race could potentially be one of the more interesting contests in the Garden State, regardless of who her wide receiver husband is.

The seat, which includes the MetLife/Giants Stadium complex in East Rutherford, has not elected a Republican since Rep. Harold Hollenbeck’s re-election in 1981.

Since then, the seat has been held by a who’s who of prominent North Jersey Democrats, including Robert “The Torch” Torricelli, from 1983 to 1997, and Pascrell from 2013 until his death in August 2024.

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The hourglass-shaped district runs from Pompton Lakes along the northern end of Interstate 287, diagonally following the similarly-shaped confines of Passaic County, including the heavily Democratic and heavily minority city of Paterson and into diverse southern Bergen County suburbs of New York City like Moonachie, Carlstadt and wealthy Edgewater.

While expected to win handily over GOP challenger Billy Prempeh in 2024, Pou eked out a four-point win as President Donald Trump flipped the district — and Passaic County — entirely.

At the time, the surprise was chalked up to Passaic’s heavily Hispanic and Jewish population. And while Paterson swung more than 20 points in his direction, according to the New Jersey Globe, Trump and Republicans may have an uphill battle there with its Muslim population outraged at the administration.

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That dynamic most recently made news after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard warned at AmericaFest of alleged efforts in Paterson to “implement Islamic principles,” which drew local ire.

In 2025’s gubernatorial contest, the district again sided with the top-of-the-ticket Democrat, Mikie Sherrill.

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While Fox News Digital reached out to Pou’s office and an individual listed on her FEC filings for comment, her campaign page touted her working-class roots in Paterson and neighboring Haledon.

“Throughout her career, Nellie has been committed to improving the lives of New Jerseyans. From fighting for better schools for our kids to more affordable health care, to criminal justice reform, Nellie has been at the forefront of some of New Jersey’s and America’s toughest fights,” a statement on her campaign page said.

Clifton official Rosie Pino is also in the race on the Republican side.

Pino’s campaign sent Fox News Digital a statement after publication laying out their reservations with Burress entering the race.

Campaign spokesman Kennith Gonzalez told Fox News Digital that New Jersey’s 9th District has become one of the most competitive in the country, and that Pino is the “only proven winner in this race.”

“Supporting an unknown, untested, out-of-touch candidate who does not reside in the district and changed her party affiliation a few weeks ago just to run for office, would be the political equivalent of shooting ourselves in the leg — dividing the Republican Party and forfeiting the opportunity to hold the critical House Majority,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez said Pino has won tough elections in a “blue city” – Clifton – and can relate “on a personal level with working-class voters and is running to unite our party and continue her work delivering for our communities.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Pino campaign after publication.

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A playground popular with many children was held up by red tape for months in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood. 

It’s a story at the confluence of disappointed children, a landslide, bureaucratic molasses, and a once vibrant playground in shambles. 

Early last year, the playground at Little Village Learning Center on McNeilly Road was in a state of disrepair due to the fact that the land behind the fence was slowly but surely eroding – and did it ever. 

“It was becoming questionable and felt a little unsafe,” said Ashley Landy, owner and director of Little Village Learning Center. 

Now, it’s been going on 10 months since the kids at the learning center have been able to use the playground, and Landy said she knows what is needed. 

“Right now, we need to build a retaining wall so that we can rebuild our playground,” she said. 

As the kids go about their daily routines, confined to the building, Little Village secured funding and a contractor – then last March, they reached out to the city, and that’s where things got messy. 

“[We were told] that it could take around 30 days, so our contractor was all-in and ready to go,” Landy recalled. 

So, it got fixed, right? Well, the 30 days came and went. 

“Every time we ask them about the permitting issues, they come back with another piece of paperwork that we need to submit, which takes another 45 days,” she said. 

On Wednesday morning, we reached out to the city to try to get an understanding of what was going on, and just over three hours after we reached out, Little Village Learning Center was contacted by the city and told the permit was in the final stages of processing. We also got a lengthy email explaining the process. 

For Landy, she just wants her 58 kids back on the playground. 

“It’s crucial, they love to go outside and play and run around,” she said. “For them to just get a break from the building alone and get that fresh air, it’s definitely necessary. 

Also, late on Tuesday, the center was notified that what was once an issue with the planned playground probably isn’t anymore, and more conversations on Grant Street will happen on Thursday. Landy said she hopes and would like to get the playground up and usable by early summer. 

Finally, the question is, is what happened at Little Village the exception or the rule? 

While you don’t want to call it the rule, but it is an issue. So much so that Mayor Corey O’Connor issued an executive order to take a look at and speed up the city’s permitting processes so that small businesses aren’t forced to wait months. He’s also setting up a development public liaison to serve as a point person for people who hit permitting road blocks.