Dear Editor:
Now that River Road is slowly turning into a canyon, with its Eastern view of Manhattan blocked by a wall of luxury buildings, isn’t anyone concerned that its Western view is also being destroyed?
I’ve been appalled to see that the formerly magnificent rocky cliffs of the southern end of the Palisades in Weehawken are being sand blasted away. Go look for yourself. The multi-million-year-old geological formation known as “King’s Bluff” has been buffed.
No more are the dark craggy cliffs, with their angular outcroppings and tectonic architecture. In its frenzy to pump even more suburban commuters through Weehawken on the new light rail, New Jersey Transit has blasted this rock face to an entirely unnatural, smooth, creamy, light-gray surface.
In Hoboken, asbestos was detected in the waterfront rocks blasted by Stevens Institute. Should we also have had protective measures in Weehawken to prevent the wind from blowing the rock dust all over the place? Will there now be new environmental risks added to the dangers of exhaust from the Tunnel vents and the thousands of tons of chromium-contaminated soils that were once under the site of Weehawken’s proposed waterfront park (plans for which remain as tightly held secret as the sand blasting)?
Why were there no public hearings of front-page stories saying: “Palisades to be Sand Blasted, Public Comment Sought”?! Why didn’t the Town of Weehawken stop this defacement?
NJT looks poised to blast away next at the rock under Memorial Park and above the 48th Street Tunnel. Will the Town let them do this too without notifying the public? And what about the new ferry terminal slated to begin construction in the fall, paid for with millions and millions of our tax-payer dollars? We’ve just been told a hearing has been scheduled in a few weeks. Will the public have time to consider these massive plans while we’re all on vacation? Will there be hearings with sufficient time for the public to affect what will be the contents of the proposed waterfront park? Are they now going to put a privately-owned performance center that won=t pay municipal taxes on that public land instead?
I=ve kept my mouth shut for months after all of our efforts to change businesses as usual in Weehawken seem to have fallen on so many deaf ears. But I just can=t stay silent as I see irreversible damage to our Town=s most significant natural heritage, as our elected officials sit back and quietly allow it to happen.
Ben Goldman