Dear Editor:
Hoboken CommonSense was founded in 2000 to support effective initiatives to make our city better. As a founding member of Hoboken CommonSense, I, along with other members of this group, have supported Mayor Roberts when his administration has shown leadership and creativity, such as his efforts on the new Stevens’ / public school collaboration and his wise choice to dismantle the Hoboken Parking Authority.
After trying to work with him for almost two years, however, we must admit to a deepening sense of frustration. The Stevens partnership seems dead, and his lack of follow-through gives credence to the rumors that all this idea ever was was an effort to get headlines. The vote to dismantle the HPA is long past, but there has been no evidence of a real restructuring and where is the new, professional parking director – one from outside the usual circle of appointees, someone with new ideas and real world knowledge of innovative parking solutions?
We recognize that the mayor is being pulled by conflicting constituencies – developers, big contributors, local politicians and intrusive county officials versus concerned local residents, but he did run on a platform saying he would represent all of us.
So now we ask:
1. Why, in the last year, was the ‘Northwest Redevelopment Zone’ quietly parceled out to well-connected local developers for residential development without large concessions for commercial and open space?
2. Where are the finalized, definitive plans for large parks, outdoor swimming pools, an ice rink and new children’s playgrounds?
3. Where are the promised perimeter parking lots and extensive electric shuttle bus system that will service ALL areas of Hoboken so that people will park away from the central business areas and use this new free public transportation network instead of their cars for local travel?
4. Where are the ‘Stop’ signs, speed bumps, extended corner sidewalks and consistent police enforcement which would signal to motorists that pedestrian safety, not driver speed and convenience, is Hoboken’s primary concern?
5. Why haven’t the Zoning and Planning Boards received the help and support personnel to prepare and pass the many new laws we need to insure that developers can’t get away with building the out-of-scale, low-quality housing that Hoboken is quickly becoming famous for?
These are just a few of the issues that Mayor Roberts was elected to effectively and quickly address. What has been done on any one of these critical problems during the present administration’s term? Given that he came to City Hall promising to do things differently, why is the mayor posturing to retain many of the failed Board and Council people of the previous administration?
Hoboken CommonSense and many, many other residents want to work with the mayor on this agenda – one that he proposed during his election campaign. We want concrete and decisive measures not simply more concrete.
Where is the action, and what happened to the promises?
Hoboken CommonSense
Scott Gibson
Liz Markevitch
Joe Bergstein