Dear Editor:
In an editorial to the Weehawken Reporter last week, Doug Harmon, the president of Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront (FWW), lauds his group’s good faith efforts to create an accessible waterfront community. He states “There is no reason to settle for a poorly planned, partially privatized waterfront development.”
As a group which for years has been integrally involved in efforts to improve the quality of life in Weehawken, the Weehawken Environment Committee (WEC) wholeheartedly agrees. Over the past three years, we have encouraged Roseland Property Company, the developer, to improve upon its original plan. In fact, through a process of negotiation and compromise, involving the WEC, FWW, the Town government and the developer, the plan has gotten better. As we have stated so many times, we will continue to encourage an even better plan. The fact is: The full build out of the development, as currently envisioned, will take 10 years and there will be many more opportunities for input and hopefully, resultant improvements.
But right now we are at a crossroads. The developer, due to a new legal challenge by FWW, is being forced to revert to the old plan, already approved by the Weehawken Planning Board and immune from further legal challenges. In a rare showing of unanimity, everyone agrees that this older plan is inferior to the newer one, whose central components have been promoted for so long and for so hard by FWW. At the risk of being redundant, the town, the developer the WEC and FWW believe that the new plan, with (1) its additional waterfront footage, (2) its added road which will provide better separation between the townhome owners and the public utilizing the walkway, and (3) the reorientation of the townhomes with their front door facing the waterfront, is a better one. Is it perfect? No! Did everyone get everything they wanted? No! Does it make everyone happy? No!
Will everyone be worse off if the old, inferior plan is implemented. Yes! Definitely! The FWW must immediately reconsider the wisdom of its new and clearly shortsighted legal action before it is too late. Otherwise, I fear, their place in Weehawken history will be dubious at best.
Sarah Crew
President
Weehawken Environment Committee