Dear Editor:
The Hudson Reporter and its staff deserve a wealth of praise for the “Anniversary Journal” celebrating 150 years of Hoboken. The last time I saw anything so beautifully done was the nostalgic calendar celebrating Union City’s history under Mayor Rudy Garcia in which many vintage postcards were featured and old photographs.
How ironic that in order to satisfy my love for local history, I am compelled to go to Hoboken rather than my own city of Union City. It’s in Hoboken that there’s a historic commission, not Union City. It’s in Hoboken that there a historical museum, not in Union City. It’s in Hoboken that there’s historic walking tours, not Union City. It’s in Hoboken that there are landmarks of historic significance while in Union City there’s just one – the old monastery.
In Hoboken preservationists battle against the sprawl of redevelopment and likewise in Union City. It was not always thus. Thanks to a former Mayor, the late Bruce Walter, old City Hall was preserved, hopefully for all time sake. Now that Mayor’s former corner house on Mountain Avenue is to be demolished to pave the way for gentrification.
My thanks to The Hudson Reporter for doing its part to perpetuate Hoboken’s rich history. And thanks to those preservationists who want to save our open space and wild places from unbridled and rapacious redevelopers not only in Hoboken but throughout New Jersey.
Tony Squire