Dear Editor:
For as long as most of us can remember the city of Hoboken has
encouraged rapid and, in many cases, ill-conceived, poorly-built,
residential development at the expense of all else. While Jersey City and
other towns have sought commercial and retail clients, the powers that be in
Hoboken have relentlessly put up shoddy buildings filled with one and two
bedroom apartments instead of quality houses for families. As evidenced by
the dozens of ‘For Sale’ and ‘For Rent’ signs around town, just because you
build it does not mean that they will come. The New York area is currently
in a bad slump, but will the voracious demand for this type of housing in
Hoboken return when the economy recovers? The answer to that question is
most likely – “No”. Here’s why.
Hoboken has long enjoyed the fruits of being a quick ride across the
river from Manhattan. This proximity made it a desirable town for New York
professionals and sustained a very pricey real estate market. Many, if not
most, of these new residents work for the financial services industry. I
work for a large investment bank and have seen, first hand, the changes
going on in this business.
The SEC just released their report about redundant trading
facilities in the case of another attack on New York. Their recommendations
state that the second, back-up, stock exchange be located at least 100 to
300 miles from Wall Street so that operations can continue there in case of
a catastrophe. This is great news for Buffalo or Boston. It’s a bad omen for
Hoboken. Many jobs, the type of jobs filled by our neighbors, will be
relocated because of this.
In addition, tele-commuting technology have matured enough so that
over 20 percent of the people in my Jersey City office no longer have to come our
building to do their jobs. These people work from home, and most of their
homes are far away. This option is obviously very desirable for my
co-workers because they make Big Apple money, but now, because of this
advancing technology, they can pay South Jersey or Upstate New York prices
to live. Besides saving money, these people enjoy the public parks and
recreation areas that their communities have had the foresight and political
will to fund and build.
What does Hoboken offer?
Unless we, the citizens and property owners of Hoboken, stand up and
demand the large parks, outdoor pools, ice rinks, playgrounds, and
commercial space throughout town that people expect in any civilized city we
will have no one to blame but ourselves when we can’t rent our apartments or
have to sell our homes for less than we paid for them. We must have these
public amenities to protect our property values. It is that simple. A town
jammed with transitory, single people in dormitory style housing, with no
stake in the community, and no open space will simply not be able to compete
in the future.
It can barely compete now.
Scott Gibson
Member Hoboken CommonSense