Dear Editor: Wake up Weehawken! We’re being sold a bill of goods. Think about the crawling traffic during rush hour this winter. Now imagine doubling the population coming into and out of town. That’s exactly what Roseland Properties is proposing with its waterfront development and what the Township seems hell bent on approving: 3,500 new residents and 8,000 new workers for a total of 11,500 new commuters (12,500 residents live in Weehawken currently). The developer’s own traffic report indicates a three-fold increase in congestion. Add to that another 8,000 commuters headed for the new Hartz Mountain complex slated for east of the Lincoln Tunnel helix, and it’s clear why the traffic expert now admits on the record to a six-fold increase by 2010. What are they thinking? Why on earth would our elected officials allow so much over-development? We’ve heard one argument: ratables. But the developer’s own fiscal consultant projects less than 2 percent profit for the Township after 10 years of construction. If any of their optimistic assumptions are wrong, this projection will easily turn negative. Each Thursday evening Planning Board hearing is like another nightmare. When the environmental consultant testified, we found out about a mountain of toxic wastes along our waterfront. The proposed cleanup: just 18 inches of soil and a plastic cap between us and thousands of tons of chemicals suspected of causing cancer, birth defects, mental retardation, and other health hazards. When the developer’s engineering expert testified, we heard that the riverside development infrastructure will only withstand a 25-year flood. Just last year, a larger flood occurred. When the developer’s planner testified, we learned that protected views from the top of the Palisades will be seen only from private backyards, that the planners were ignorant of basic mass-transit impacts that are critical to the project’s success, and were unaware that the entire application was before the wrong board (the Zoning Board of Adjustment rather than the Planning Board). When the developer’s fiscal experts testified, we were shocked by secret meetings to solicit information from the very Planning Board officials who decide on the application. The experts made no other effort–and have no licenses–to verify developer real estate estimates that determine project tax impacts. This proposal and this process are nothing short of outrageous. It’s time to ask why is a development that is clearly against the interest of Weehawken residents being rushed through? It’s time for our elected officials to show courage and say no. No to over-development. No to poor planning. No to arbitrary decisions about the fate of our town. It’s time to demand a much smaller scale development that is appropriate for the site, with low-rise buildings that reflect the town’s existing character and preserve our views, and with a continuous waterfront walkway park that has ample access and on-street parking for existing residents. It is clear to me that the proposed development will undermine the quality of life in Weehawken. It is simply unacceptable. Let’s reject the Roseland application and start work on a more acceptable community plan. If you agree, please tell the mayor, the Planning Board and your Council member! Benjamin A. Goldman, Ph.D. Member, Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront Member, Weehawken Environment Committee