The Sixth Street railroad embankment still stands… for now.
Recently, developer Steve Hyman asked for permission to demolish this historic group of sandstone and granite walls spanning Sixth Street downtown, from Marin Boulevard to Brunswick Street. From 1902 to the 1970s, a section of the Pennsylvania Railroad freight line ran over the blocks.
Hyman bought the embankment land from Conrail in 2005 for $3 million, hoping to build houses. To suit park activists, Hyman has since modified his plans to include open space, but still has had little success getting city approval.
Last spring, he applied the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) to get “certificates of economic hardship” so he could demolish some of the Embankment and start to build.
But Thursday, the commission on Thursday voted to deny the applications, saving the structure from demolition for the time being.
Activists seeking to preserve the Embankment hailed the decision, but the owner’s lawyer vowed to appeal.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Harsimus Stem Embankment Preservation Coalition, formed in 1998, has sought over the years to preserve the Embankment for development as a park and for light rail. The coalition, working with the city of Jersey City, fought the sale of the Embankment on the federal level.
Members of the Embankment Coalition applauded the ruling.
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Hyman has proposed to demolish the embankment and build two-family homes. After protests from the members of the Embankment Preservation Coalition, he has come up with various plans to leave large amounts of the 5.6-acre, six-block structure as open space, so he can get the go-ahead to develop the rest.
Hardship? Commission says hardly
In previous HPC meetings, lawyers for Hyman and his various consultants and planners presented new plans for multi-family townhouses, a total of 32 units. These homes would be placed on top of four of the six blocks and would preserve 98 percent of the Embankment walls, which Hyman attorney Michelle Donato has called a “minimally intrusive” alternative. Hyman’s consultants have also presented renderings of million dollar mansion-type homes, 12 of which Hyman has suggested he would consider building on top of the Embankment if he can’t demolish it.
At the same time, Hyman’s representatives have offered an alternate argument in favor of demolition, saying the townhouse plan would cost the developer over $40 million to stabilize the walls and another $15 million in “extraordinary costs” such as preliminary work before construction.
But that argument only hurt Hyman’s case, as the HPC commissioners pointed out in their denial of the economic hardship applications. Some of the commissioners criticized Hyman’s representatives for not providing enough information showing hardship and for not listing a breakdown of the extraordinary costs, and said the presentations shown of the various housing plans actually provided evidence that the owner will see a profit if he builds on top of the Embankment without demolition.
After the commissioners’ ruling, members of the Embankment Coalition applauded.
Maureen Crowley, one of the founders of the Embankment Preservation Coalition, said the coalition was “gratified” by the commission’s decision, and commended them for asking “very intelligent questions” of the expert witnesses who testified.
Hyman left with his wife and other supporters before the commissioners finished issuing their denial of the economic hardship. But his attorney Donato was defiant, lashing out at the commission.
“This decision will be appealed to court, and this decision was expected,” Donato said. “I don’t think this Commission will find anything acceptable for the Embankment.”
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.