Hoboken awarded $11.7M loan for second flood pump
Hoboken will receive an $11.7 million state loan to build a second wet weather pump station, the city announced Tuesday. The station will be built beneath the roadbed near 11th and Hudson Streets and will house two 40 million gallon per day pumps.
The loan was part of a $1.28 billion funding bill for “waste and drinking water infrastructure projects” approved yesterday by Gov. Chris Christie, according to NJ.com. The loan will come from the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust.
The city’s first flood pump, finished in early 2012, drains the city’s southwest. The second will help drain the northwestern neighborhood around ShopRite. The low elevation of Hoboken’s western edge, once a tidal marsh zone, makes it prone to flooding after both rain and storm surges.
“We expect the new H-5 WWPS to operate as effectively and efficiently as the Authority’s H-1 WWPS that has significantly alleviated flooding in the southwestern sections of the City,” said Dr. Richard J. Wolff, Executive Director of the North Hudson Sewerage Authority (NHSA).
The pump will be designed, built, and operated by the NHSA in conjunction with the city.
“We are very pleased that our application for this critical flood pump was approved by the State,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “The latest National Climate Assessment confirms what we have all been experiencing first-hand—heavy rain events in the Northeast have increased more than 70% in the last 50 years, and when those downpours occur near high tide, we flood.”
The city will go out to bid for contractors in the fall if all the necessary paperwork is approved. Construction is expected to take around two years.
Increasing Hoboken’s pump capacity is part of the comprehensive “Resist, Delay, Store, Discharge” flood prevention plan for the Lower Hudson developed for the Rebuild by Design competition. The project was one of the winners of the federally sponsored contest, earning a $230 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
That money has not yet been disbursed to the state of New Jersey. Last month, Zimmer said either the pump or a new southwest park with water retention features would be the first infrastructure project called for in the plan to be completed.
The new state loan will also cover a pilot project demonstrating ways the city can be redesigned to absorb more water (the city’s surface is currently 94 percent impervious to rainwater). City Hall will be retrofitted with community gardens, porous pavers, shade tree pits, a large cistern and other elements designed to absorb water before it reaches the sewer system. The city hopes the new features can collect an average of 13,122 gallons of rainfall per month and reduce the amount of stormwater entering the sewers through City Hall by half.
Ten school board candidates declare for November elections
Three seats on the Hoboken Board of Education are up for election this November, and 10 people have declared themselves as candidates for the posts, according to an unofficial master list released three weeks ago by the Office of the Hudson County Clerk. The seats in question this year are currently held by Peter Biancamano, Frances Rhodes Kearns and Monica Stromwall, who are all running again as incumbents.
Sharyn Angley, Lynn Danzker, Jackie Dowd Prince, Antonio Gray, Britney Montgomery, Brian Murray, and Patricia Waiters are also running.
The majority of the current board is associated with the Kids First slate, which is allied with Mayor Dawn Zimmer. Because the only two school board members not associated with Kids First, Biancamano and Rhodes Kearns, must both defend their seats, there is no chance this year’s elections will change who controls the board.
Watch for a story in a future edition.
Watch a game with Antrel Rolle and JPP
On Sept. 15, those bored of the typical Monday Night Football crowd can spend a night watching football with New York Giants stars Antrel Rolle and Jason Pierre-Paul in Hoboken. The appearance, which is organized by the team along with Rise Talent Management, is part of the Monday Night Football Experience charity event.
It will take place from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Tilted Kilt bar at 800 Jackson St. in Hoboken. The featured game that night is between the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts.
Two levels of tickets are available for the game. The gold package is $125 and will include “a buffet dinner, one hour open bar, free raffle, and meet and greet with each athlete,” according to NJ.com.
The VIP package is $250 and will include all of the gold-level privileges, plus another hour of open bar, and the opportunity to take a photo with Rolle and Pierre-Paul and get two objects signed by them.
The event will raise money for the Cristian Rivera Foundation, which is dedicated to finding a cure for pontine glioma brain stem tumors.
Tickets can be purchased at www.risetmg.com/rollejpp.html.
Stevens picked out for $10M Homeland Security grant
Stevens Institute of Technology will lead a new Center of Excellence for Maritime, Island and Port Security funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to a Stevens press release. The university will receive $2 million a year for five years to conduct multidisciplinary research with the goal of protecting assets and people on islands controlled by the United States.
Stevens is one of 11 universities selected by DHS to conduct research aimed at breaking new ground in key homeland security issues, according to a NJ Biz report. It will lead its Center of Excellence along with the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, though its particular focus will be on port security.
The Center will also include MIT, University of Miami, Rutgers University, University of Puerto Rico and Elizabeth City State University.
Dr. Michael Bruno, Dean of The Schaefer School of Engineering and Science at Stevens, said the new federal grant presented a unique opportunity to use the engineering expertise Stevens is known for to help ensure America’s safety.
“Together with our partners,” said Bruno in a statement, “we will break new ground in the integrated use of multi-scale sensors and computer simulation and forecasting models to equip our port security and first-responder communities with the technologies and processes needed to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the MTS, which is responsible for the vast majority of the nation’s international commerce.”
In addition, Bruno said the program would be a boon to Stevens’ research efforts in general.
“The funding is a significant boost to Stevens’ R&D efforts in maritime security and ocean observations,” said Bruno. “Importantly, the center designation affords us the ability to secure additional funding through DHS member agencies to pursue new but related research.”