Thursday night, the North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA) passed a resolution that allows the builder of the 17-story Gateway Towers at 101 Marshall St. to hook up to the city’s sewer system.
The board passed the resolution by a vote of 8-0-1, with only Commissioner Frank Raia abstaining.
In March, the developers took a significant hit when they were denied sewer hook-ups to the large-scale 326-unit project slated for the southwest section of town. Without NHSA’s approval, the developer of the property cannot get the final construction permits necessary to build the two towers.
The 77,500 square foot property is located in the shadows of the Palisade Hills, adjacent to where the tracks for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system are being laid.
The towers will each rise 158 feet and four inches. They gained approval from the Zoning Board in 1998 to contain two restaurants, a 25,384 square foot health club, 5,240 square feet of retail space, and an enclosed parking garage that will rise seven stories, with 431 spaces.
On Oct. 24, 2000, Zoning officer Joel Mestre signed off on the towers, confirming that all of Gateway’s zoning approvals were in order and the developers could approach the city’s construction officer to receive permits. The city’s construction office then issued permits allowing Weiss’ company to lay the foundation of the building, but would not issue him the actual construction permits until NHSA signed off on sewer hook-ups.
At the time, NHSA denied the connections based on a report from the Authority’s engineer that said the site could be prone to flooding during mild to heavy rains. Several of the commissioners raised concerns that if the area were to flood, emergency vehicles would have an exceedingly difficult time getting to injured or sick persons in the building.
The March denial prompted the builder of the project, Stanford Weiss of the Manhattan Building Company, to sue the NHSA and the city of Hoboken. The suit was an attempt to compel the NHSA and the city to grant approval. Several times Superior Court Judge Arthur D’Italia postponed ruling on the matter so that the two sides could work out an acceptable settlement.
Thursday night, the NHSA and Weiss came to an agreement. According to the resolution, Weiss will pay for several improvements to the surrounding properties. Those improvements include raising the grade of the streets around the project so that cars and emergency vehicles can access the site even if there is flooding. Other improvements include building catch basins and installing several small pumps on a few of the adjoining properties.
“This is really the last hurdle that we had to clear,” said Weiss after the meeting. “We have over 60 union carpenters and workers that will be very relived that we can now get these final permits so that they can begin working.”
All said, the project, from start to completion, will employ over 300 union workers, according to Weiss.
Weiss also reiterated that once built, the project will inject a total of approximately $1.2 million each year into the city, school, and county’s tax coffers.
Before the vote, NHSA attorney Frank Leanza advised the board on the matter, “My advice is that there is no legal way or reason to deny this application.”
He added that any resolution is subject to satisfactory completion of the required improvements, as specified in the agreement.
The NHSA will collect $495,000 in fees from the developers of the sewer hook-ups.
Commissioner Sergio Panunzio, who voted to deny the hook-ups in March, said Thursday that the agreement is a good compromise. “I think it’s a good agreement,” he said. “We were able to work together towards and acceptable solution.”
Also, since the developer was suing the NHSA, Thursday’s resolution essentially ends any current litigation involving that project as it relates to sewer issues.
Angry residents pack City Council meeting
For almost an hour Wednesday, the City Council and the public engaged in a discussion about the large-scale residential development. Both Hoboken and Jersey City Heights residents were on hand to state their objections. Many of the residents feel that the project is too big and dense and could cause parking and traffic problems.
Before members of the public came to the microphone, the council called attorney Barry Sarkisian of the law firm Sarkisian, Florio and Kenny to speak. Sarkisian was hired by the city as special counsel regarding issues surrounding 101 Marshall St., especially the sewer issue.
Sarkisian discussed what future action could be taken by the city against the developer or the Zoning Board that issued the approvals. Sarkisian said that it is unlikely that the city acting alone could take any further legal action in the matter. “The courts look at it as if there is a continuance of government,” said Sarkisian. That basically means that judges and the legal system do not differentiate between different administrations. The prior mayoral administration granted the approvals for the project, but the new one is more leery of big development.
City Council president Tony Soares said that it would be difficult for the city to sue. “It’s basically like suing ourselves,” he said. On Thursday, he suggested that residents might have to take a different approach. “I think we are going to change our strategy and get together a group of taxpayers to file suit the next time [the developer] pulls permits,” he said.
Community resident and activist Elizabeth Markevitch said Sarkisian was clearly alluding that residents could sue. “Basically what he [Sarkisian] is saying is that [residents] have to get together and hire a lawyer.”
Another topic of discussion in reference to 101 Marshall was last week’s federal indictment of Hudson County developer Rene Abreu. Abreu was the owner of the property in 1998 when it got its zoning approvals. Since that time, the property has been sold. But some in the audience wondered if Abreu’s past dealings could in any way impact the future of the development.
As stated in last week’s Reporter, while 101 Marshall was not listed in the indictment, there were checks deposited into the accounts for “Gateway 1 LLC,” which is the name of Abreu’s company that was developing 101 Marshall. However, the indictment notes that properties involved in the activity under investigation can only be confiscated by the U.S. government if Abreu still owns them. (For last week’s story, click on www.hobokenreporter.com.)
Fourth Ward Councilman Christopher Campos instructed Sarkisian follow up on the investigation. “On the public record, I want to ask you to make a call the prosecutor’s office to see what you can find out,” said Campos. Sarkisian said that he would make the call, but getting an answer could be “extremely problematic” because the investigation is being handled by the normally tight-lipped FBI.