Dear Editor:
Frankly, the phraseology of the zealous and talented architect who described the new project that Stevens Institute is pandering to construct on the corner of 8th and Hudson Street terrifies me!
Eighth and Hudson is a church oriented neighborhood with a quiet river vista view and an historic past. A real antique church steeple stands guard over Dutch Colonial mansions and filigree fences laced with flowers. It remains aesthetically appealing.
The area is already slightly corrupted by a parking lot that looks down on our town and a spiraling hill that spews traffic onto Hudson Street. Somehow a plan to expand the parking lot magically became “three multi-storied buildings” and an imitation “antique steeple” to be constructed, which would “serve no useful purpose” other than being historically painted to “look like the neighborhood.”
Much of the project will be built on solid rock and will require blasting. Blasting? “Field expansion” to bring more people to “the games!” (sober, I hope!) An “oversized, but quiet” air conditioning system joins a “multi-storied office complex” which will be adjacent to the Davidson Laboratory on Hudson Street. This is to be joined by a “hidden storage area behind one of the buildings!”
Is this presumably where they’ll keep the dynamite? Stevens has an entire campus which extends all the way to the Hudson, which they managed to keep to themselves all these years; why develop our Hudson Street?
There were many avid speakers at the past planning board meeting on February 6. Most were told to “address their concerns to the engineers” who will be available at the next planning board meeting, which is scheduled for March 6 at the City Hall Conference Room.
Come and listen to dynamite and talented architects and engineers explain how they wish to “expand”! See the artistic plans and the faux historic steeple!
Margaret O’Brien