Dear Editor: With regard to the proposed 1600 Park Avenue construction, nobody’s asked the most important question, “What has this project to do with the people of Hoboken.” Sizing the project with the Park and Willow Avenue vehicle bridges as a reference for scale resulted in an 18-story monolith that has nothing to do with the people of Hoboken. The scale that must be observed is the human scale. The proposed project blocks the view of the river and of the New York skyline. When we, the Hoboken residents, enter or leave town by the vehicle bridges, the sight of the river and city reminds us: This is who we are; this is why we came here and why we stay here. This view is an irreplaceable part of the lives of the people of Hoboken. The proposed project does not address the needs of the people of Hoboken. With all due respect, Hoboken does not need another 20 senior housing units. Hoboken does not need another 300 luxury apartments that cater to a transient population. Hoboken’s teens, the most under-served part of the community, are left out unless they’re football players, and that omits all of the girls and most of the boys. Hoboken’s adults have no resources for indoor recreational sports. Hoboken’s people, its teens and adults, need a bowling alley. They need a roller rink, an ice skating rink, a couple of indoor tennis courts, basketball courts. All of these recreation facilities could be provided in a three-story building with a roof area that is used in good weather for outdoor volleyball and basketball games, with a cafe for river watching. Do you know that Hoboken once had bowling alleys? Did you grow up with bowling alleys to go to as a teenager? I did. The developer speaks of Hoboken’s northernmost waterfront in the context of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, a business district that has always been on the waterfront. Hoboken’s business district is not on the northern waterfront. The cove can and should be made accessible to the people of Hoboken on their scale, not on the scale of concrete structures that happen to be there. A three-story building, with walkways and street extensions, can bring the cove to life: a marina, a fishing area, houseboat restaurants like Baltimore’s. This is the place to plan Hoboken’s municipal pool, in keeping with the recreational sports theme of the new construction. Nobody denies a developer’s right to make a profit. If he wants to build his monolith, we need new buildings on the west side. It will still have great views of the river and the city. Light rail will stop there. The wealthy young from New York and the suburbs will come there. But do not attempt to take from the people of Hoboken that which defines them, our view of the river and skyline that energizes us when we go to work in the morning and welcomes us when we come home at night. This is who we are. Shelley Miller