Dear Editor:
Once again I find myself grateful for and humbled by the years of work contributed by dedicated citizen volunteers of Weehawken to create a world-class public amenity on our waterfront. The goal of these efforts is a new waterfront neighborhood where all Weehawken residents will have easy access to use the new waterfront park and walkway, ferries, trolleys, cafes and other recreational activities to be located there.
To realize this vision, the Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront (FWW) has made prolonged, good faith attempts to negotiate with the developer, Roseland Properties. In response, Roseland has repeatedly walked away from the table when the discussion turned to designs that would create a public waterfront. This private development company acts as though it owns Weehawken.
All of the Weehawken residents who have contributed and will in the future contribute their time and money to make this vision for a better waterfront a reality can continue to count on FWW to hold our town’s waterfront development to the highest of standards. There is no reason to settle for a poorly planned, partially privatized waterfront development.
FWW has gone to considerable expense and effort to hold waterfront development proposals up to such standards. Hiring an urban planner and lawyer, inviting and achieving public participation in a design process that produced constructive solutions, and carefully monitoring the details of Roseland’s schemes have all contributed toward improving the future of our town.
Even now, news of state and federal funding for an enlarged ferry terminal, with its predicted doubling of ridership, has many in Weehawken thinking about how we will cope with the huge traffic increase these extra cars will bring to our town each day (long before the Light Rail connection will be completed to Bergen County.)
FWW will continue to look for solutions that protect the interests of all of the residents of Weehawken.
Doug Harmon, President
Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront