Rumors have run rampant about the city’s possible plans for a redevelopment district from 19th Street to 22nd Street and Broadway and Avenue E. Several residents have handed out literature saying the city will condemn the land, using the right of eminent domain to take over residential and business property in order to resell the area to developers.
Eminent domain is a power given to the government to purchase private property when it serves a greater purpose. The issue has become very controversial throughout the state because it has been used elsewhere to give private developers access to property not available or at a reduced cost.
Councilman John Halecky, however, said last week that the city has no such intention, and sought to dispel the fears that the city is seeking to take homes or businesses in the area.
“It’s just not true,” he said.
The Planning Board has scheduled a Sept. 14 meeting to look over a redevelopment plan, but city officials said eminent domain is not a route the city wants to take.
Both Council President Vincent Lo Re and Councilman Ted Connolly said the threat of using redevelopment on the Texaco property earlier this year was a tactic to encourage the company to do something with the more than 60 acres of vacant land.
“Taking people’s property is not something the city wants to get involved in,” Connolly said. “We nudged Texaco into doing something to develop that land, and it appears that it worked.”
The area the Planning Board will examine for possible redevelopment at the Sept. 14 meeting has several underutilized properties, and the plans, according to officials, will set up some level of minimum zoning requirements for development. The Planning Board will examine more than 40 properties for possible redevelopment.
The proposed redevelopment plan would allow construction up to seven stories as part of a high density mixed use district that could take advantage of the light rail station located at 22nd Street and Avenue E.
One former property owner wants his land back
Barely ahead of these plans, Joseph J. Wigdor has resurfaced saying he wants to reclaim his family’s land. Wigdor Diamond Jewelers operated a business on the corner of 21st and Broadway from 1889.
“I am anxious to restore and improve the property and rebuild a new building to its original grandeur and better – the crown jewel of Bayonne,” he told members of the council at the Aug. 18 meeting.
The Wigdor building was proposed for New Jersey landmark status in 1992. It was originally built in 1859 as White’s Hotel, a popular stagecoach and hitching post stop. In 1868, it became a roller-skating rink, and then a bar in 1884.
Isaac Wigdor, who was the official watch inspector of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, converted it to storefronts in 1894, establishing a watchmaker and jeweler there.
The story was remodeled in 1937 with an Art Deco style storefront, consisting of navy blue and grey Carrar glass, curved glass display windows, and a larger projecting neon sign reading “Wigdor’s Jewelers” with a diamond shaped out of neon lighting as well.
Property lost
Wigdor lost control of the property in 1997 in a sale to a private developer he claimed he never intended to make. Although he litigated the issue for years, he eventually had to withdraw from his effort to get back the property through the courts because of strained finances.
Because the building was neglected, the city eventually condemned it and knocked it down. The site was to become a movie theater, but that deal also fell through.
Now, Wigdor said he has the financing to rebuild on the site and said he intends to construct something that can be the pride of Bayonne.
“I am now asking to buy back the original Wigdor property and adjoining land,” he said, proposing to rebuild a “substantial commercial showcase building” at that site.
Al Sullivan can be contacted at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com