The City Council has unanimously approved a resolution to authorize an increase in funds for the engineer working on 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove, two uptown parks near the Hoboken/Weehawken border.
The resolution, passed Wednesday, authorized a $114,630 increase over the existing $195,810 contract with Remington and Vernick Engineers. The increase will pay for several new changes to the proposed parks, including a reduction in the elevation of the field, as well as the addition of a dog run, restroom facility, and more. An additional update is needed for traffic control measures on Willow Avenue.
The final design proposal, which can be found on hobokennj.org, has plans for various facilities, such as a pavilion, a play area, a lawn knoll, a parking facility, a bocce court, a soccer field, and more. The park will be largely funded through a Green Acres grant.
Due to complications, plans for the 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove parks have been in limbo since 2009. Much of the problems that caused delay were due to the high volume of traffic in the area.
Last August, Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced that she will not open the park until a traffic light is installed at the intersection of 16th Street and Park Avenue. The council had previously passed a resolution urging the administration to open the field by the fall.
During the meeting, Hoboken Parking Director Ian Sacs said that Hudson County will fund the installation of a traffic light.
Councilman Tim Occhipinti, a frequent critic of Zimmer, said that he had once been accused of slowing down the park’s opening by refusing to vote for a bond ordinance authorizing the roughly $300,000 purchase of a traffic light.
“That [accusation] is completely untrue,” said Occhipinti, adding: “The real reason the park wasn’t open is [because] you have a change of scope in the project. To say that we were the ones that kept the park from opening is completely false.”
Councilwoman Theresa Castellano, another frequent critic of Zimmer, suggested that the council majority, which consists of Zimmer allies Peter Cunningham, Ravi Bhalla, Jennifer Giattino, Carol Marsh, and David Mello, delayed the opening by voting no to the original park concept.
“The council majority voted against [the original concept], which led to this delay,” said Castellano, adding that she and the rest of the minority were willing to approve it. “We were willing to move forward as quickly as possible to get those children on the field.”
“I did not vote for this in the previous incarnation because I felt there were a number of problems with the project that were pointed out to council members,” said Mello. “I stand by that. I’m glad that a better plan has been developed.”
“If it took a little more time, so be it,” Mello continued. “It’s a park that’s going to be with us for decades and centuries and we should do it right.”
“I know there have been delays and it’s been frustrating,” said Bhalla, “but the silver lining is, at the end of the day we’re going to have a better facility for the entire community. This is the gateway of Hoboken on the northern end of town, so it is of critical importance.”
Residents Leah Healey and Scott Siegel were also pleased with the resolution.
“In the last six or seven months there has been an enormous turnaround,” said Healey. “I thoroughly support this next round of funding because it’s very important.”
“If we want to get qualified people [Remington and Vernick Engineers] to represent us we have to pay them,” said Siegel. “I want to see the city move forward with these improvements.”
When asked for a timeline on construction, Community Development Director Brandy Forbes replied that it would “absolutely” begin by fall.
“It’s a park that’s going to be with us for decades and centuries and we should do it right.” – Councilman David Mello
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Controversial appointment
Former Councilman Michael Lenz was appointed to the rent leveling and stabilization board. He will become one of seven members on the board.
Lenz is a controversial figure in Hoboken politics, having clashed with Zimmer opponents such as Councilwoman Beth Mason (see our Nov. 17, 2009 story). He lost his council seat for Hoboken’s 4th Ward in 2010 to Occhipinti.
Through his political tenure, Lenz has also served as Board of Education president, as well as a CFO under former Mayor David Roberts, a position in which he ultimately won a six-figure settlement for being unfairly terminated.
Resident Patricia Waiters said that she was confused by the appointment.
“I know he’s capable of doing a wonderful job with his background and his experience,” said Waiters, “but it’s kind of mind-blogging to members of the public when they see this.”
“As long as we move our city forward,” Waiters later added.
“My hope is that no matter who is appointed to the rent control board, that they simply be objective in realizing their duty is not to represent one [party] or another, whether it be a landlord or tenant,” said Bhalla, later adding, “hopefully Mr. Lenz will take that under advisement.”
Occhipinti said that he would like to know if Lenz’s appointment would maintain a proper balance between the amount of property owners and tenants currently serving the board.
“I want to make sure we have a balanced rent control board,” said Occhipinti. “Mr. Lenz is a property owner. I’d like to see consistency. I would make a motion to table this until we know.”
Giattino responded that she spoke to several tenants about the appointment and that they all seemed to be pleased.
“If you don’t want to table it, I have one vote,” said Occhipinti. “I can vote against.”
Lenz was appointed in a 6-3 vote, with Mason, Occhipinti, and Michael Russo voting no.
Appropriations and transportation
A resolution for the transfer of reserve budget appropriations in the amount of $450,000 received five of the required six votes. Each vote in favor came from a council member allied with Zimmer. The resolution, which would help pay current legal bills, would have transferred from budget line items with a current surplus.
“This would not raise taxes or total appropriations, but would simply move funds between several line items,” said Zimmer in a letter to the council before the meeting. “We have an obligation to pay the people who work for us, so I hope you will approve of this routine transfer. The reserve budget of $5.3 million would fully cover these costs.”
The council introduced an ordinance on a 5-4 vote to issue a bond to acquire five Hop/Senior shuttle buses and a bucket truck for the city parking utility department in the amount of $497,000.
“Ridership on the Senior Shuttle is higher than it has ever been,” wrote Zimmer in the letter to the council. “Unfortunately, the vehicles are very old and constantly in need of mechanical repairs, which disrupts service and inconveniences residents.”
A second ordinance was introduced on a 5-4 vote to issue a bond to complete various street and sidewalk improvements as well as acquire additional parking utility equipment in the sum of $1,830,550.
According to Zimmer’s letter, the bond would fund a pilot program to create six safe street segments by resurrecting the historic Belgian block (which can be found on Grand Street between 10th and 11th Street). According to Zimmer, the historic streets benefit in that they cause vehicles to drive at a safer speed, cause rainwater to enter the ground faster, and last ten times longer than asphalt, which reduces long-term maintenance costs.
Stephen LaMarca may be reached at slamarca@hudsonreporter.com.