Dear Editor:
The Historic Paulus Hook Association (HPHA), the neighborhood group that represents the oldest downtown waterfront community in Jersey City, strongly opposes the NJDEP’s amendments to the Public Access rules, which would remove all reference to the tidal waterfronts in Hudson County and the entire Northern New Jersey area. It would be a mistake to reverse years of effort that ensure the protection and maintenance of all New Jersey’s tidal areas for the use and enjoyment of all residents of the State.
In a densely populated urban area the single best opportunity to improve community ties to the environment and provide respite from a congested urban lifestyle is to provide public access to piers and ports and create public open space and walkways along our waterfronts. Waterfront access has helped transform Hudson County into the growing urban center it is today. The opportunity to provide a means for access to tidal waterways must be maintained as a constant that will give people real and tangible benefits years into the future. Jersey City’s Hudson River waterfront has morphed into a vibrant economic engine that provides jobs and an attractive location to which businesses and residents flock due to waterfront access on the Governor’s Waterfront Walkway.
Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the state. For those who don’t have access to beach houses or Caribbean vacations, a reduction of public access to the waterfront means summers in hot city apartments. It means children playing on asphalt. The proposed amendment penalizes the urban population as a whole for the short-term economic benefit of a few.
The HPHA strongly encourages the NJDEP to reconsider the decisions made in the proposed alterations to the Public Access rules.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Daniels
Historic Paulus Hook Association
Parks Committee Chairperson