Dear Editor:
On November 18, most of Hoboken’s residents received a glossy flyer in the mail heralding the City’s Open Space Initiative. The flyer, presumably produced and mailed at the taxpayers’ expense, was revealing.
On the first page, there is a “shared vision” for Southwest Redevelopment. It includes a green shaded triangular box overlaid on an aerial photo of the City’s southwest, apparently to represent where open space – or a public park – will be. The green triangle occupies a 6-7 acre area, which is consistent in size and location with the City’s Master Plan concept for a park in that area. It also happens to be what the public has vocally urged the City to do, repeatedly. However, this past Tuesday, the City’s consultant revealed that the green triangle of open space would be shrunk to 3.45 acres, about half of the Master Plan’s seven acre size. Notably, the rest of the proposed acreage would be devoted to 12-story high rise buildings. This 50 percent reduction is unacceptable, and I urge you to communicate this to the City.
As for the rest of the flyer, inside there are many photos of past achievements and those that are “in the works.” The past achievements generally are improvements and changes to existing open space or privately donated open space, such as the resurfacing of existing fields or courts or reprogramming of space in an existing park (e.g., the toddler area in Church Square Park) and donations of areas which also serve as amenities for residents of private condominium developments (e.g., such as the Maxwell Place and Hoboken Cove properties). These are all well and good.
The “in the works” portion of the initiative flyer raises the following questions. At 1600 Park, we learn that the design is underway. The public has repeatedly requested to be included in this process. Will that ever happen? More time-critical, however, is why has the City abandoned the Master Plan’s west side park? The City’s “vision” reveals a linear green circuit around a residential development composed of five 12-story buildings. The Master Plan calls for a six acre park there. It appears the City’s vision does not include working for all three large parks proposed in its own Master Plan. Residents of the west side must mobilize quickly and advocate for the large park they deserve, or it will be lost to development forever. The north got its park, and the southwest is fighting for its. Don’t lose out.
The City must move beyond its “vision” that our open space shortage can be solved through public/private partnerships. Such deals involving donations of private land inherently include aspects where the City grants developers use and height variances. Public leadership and action is required to implement the ambitious open space goals of the Master Plan, which the public overwhelmingly wants. It does not require the shortsighted and tired strategy of creating redevelopment zones and accepting pilot payments.
Jim Doyle