Dear Editor:
I was awakened to the sound of heavy construction equipment on Jackson Street.
In Hoboken this shouldn’t be a big surprise. The big surprise was that after stopping at Hoboken Town Hall, a search of the zoning board records showed that not one, but three buildings that would not meet the current zoning laws in height or construction materials have been OK’d for construction on Jackson Street without notification because the builder had applied for a zoning change in 1997.
These buildings would tower six stories above the proposed park on Jackson Street.
At the same time I tried to look at plans of the vacant city block bordered by First, Second, Harrison, Marshal Streets. The only plans available to review at the zoning board office were of six and nine story buildings. However, I was told the "Gateway" project had the approval to build two 16-17 story buildings on the property. The zoning board clerk could find no plans to show me, yet construction is in progress.
I ask Mayor Roberts, Tony Soares, Chris Campos and the other representatives of the City of Hoboken to look into why all the rhetoric about zoning changes, master plans, traffic and environmental systems, etc., why the city is allowing this to happen.
Is it enough to say this was done by a previous administration?
I respectfully say no. Let’s get some daylight on these projects. Maybe in the light of public scrutiny the projects can be modified to benefit the people of Hoboken as well as the developers.
John Gregorio