Dear Editor:
We are one fortunate city, to be the lucky recipients of federal largesse in the form of the Rebuild By Design grant money awarded because a Dutch design firm chose Hoboken as their case study in how to protect people and property from rising flood waters. Soon a final concept will be chosen and hopefully this decision will be made by experts who grasp the complexities of the many diverse issues involved and not by the 0.5 percent of the city who has been making noise and writing most of the letters protesting what they see. Since 80 percent of Hoboken was flooded in Sandy (40,000 people), the highest priority of this project is not only to protect us from the next Sandy, but all the other big storms we’ll see until then. I love the waterfront views as much as the next person and would also prefer to not have sea walls and berms reminding me of the risks of where we live.
Unfortunately that is not an option for anyone choosing to live or work here in the long term. If one is concerned about their short term property values and views, perhaps they should get out now before the floods come (and they will come) and not selfishly jeopardize the grant money or sabotage the process for the rest of us. For this reason, Alternative 1 (formerly Option B) of the latest options is the best since it offers the highest protection (98 percent of population). We must do all we can for as many as possible and not screw this up.
Hank Forrest