When Joyce and Eugene Flinn, the owners of Amanda’s Restaurant, approached the Zoning Board on May 23, they had the vision of bringing an upscale, luxury eight-room bed and breakfast to their property located on Washington Street between Ninth and Tenth streets.
Those dreams where abruptly put on hold when a contingent of neighbors and Hoboken residents showed up at the Zoning Board meeting and expressed their concerns about the proposed project.
To get approval, the Flinns would need a major variance to allow the space to be used as a hotel/bed and breakfast. The pubic opposition as well as the board’s apprehension reached a level where Flinn eventually had to withdraw his application without prejudice, meaning that he can resubmit it but must wait at least one year.
Currently there are no hotels or bed and breakfasts in Hoboken, although there is a 300 room hotel planned for the waterfront.
Eugene Flinn said Wednesday that an upscale bed and breakfast would be a welcome new service in Hoboken. “Right now Hoboken is the hottest city in the entire state, but we don’t have any place for visitors, guests or friends to stay,” said Flinn, whose Amanda’s Restaurant was recently rated by Zagat as the 17th best restaurant in the state. He purchased the restaurant six years ago from then-Councilman David Roberts. Flinn is also currently managing Roberts’ East L.A. restaurant.
“This is a service that the city desperately needs,” Flinn said. “A bed and breakfast wouldn’t impact the city in a negative way.” He added that the city has a blossoming cultural scene that attracts people from around the state and county, but they have to stay and spend their money in Jersey City or Weehawken.
But not all of Flinn’s neighbors agree that that such a venture is appropriate for the location.
Gail Torres, whose Bloomfield Street property looks directly at Amanda’s, said that she has several reasons for opposing the project.
“It’s just not the appropriate location,” said Torres. “The area is zoned residential and it’s not suitable to have a transient population coming into a residential neighborhood.” Torres added that even though Flinn is a respected businessman, a variance is granted to the property and not the person. According to her, granting the property a variance would establish a precedent that could lead to hotels and bed and breakfasts popping up all over the city.
Flinn contended Wednesday that he was taken aback by people calling the guests of the Bed and Breakfast “transients.” “They used the word ‘transient’ like we are bringing a leper colony to Washington Street,” he said. “It’s a case of fear run amuck.” He added that he would be spending between $500,000 to $700,000 to renovate the rooms, and that the anticipated guest would be affluent.
John Parchinsky, the president of the Hoboken Chamber of Commerce, said that bed and breakfast would be a welcome addition to the city of Hoboken.
“It’s a bit disappointing [that the project was not approved],” said Parchinsky. “We have no guest facilities and we get several calls a week at the Chamber and have to turn them away to properties in other cities.” He added that Flinn’s bed and breakfast would allow visitors to spend money in Hoboken’s stores. “It would bring nice people to the city who would enjoy the sites and shop in our stores,” he said.
Hoboken resident Alice Crozier, who was at the May 23 meeting, said the Zoning Board should be applauded for doing its job. She said that that because the project does not conform to the city’s zoning codes, the board had no choice but to question the project. “This is good government,” said Crozier. “This is a model of how I would like to things go in the future.” She added that in the past, these types of variances were passed without any opposition at all.
City Council President Tony Soares said Wednesday that he is in favor of opening a bed and breakfast in Hoboken, but did say that proper planning is needed. “It’s a concept and industry that that would be wonderful for Hoboken,” said Soares. “It would give people that come to Hoboken the alternative to stay in Hoboken.” He added while this application may need some “tweaking,” there is a definite future for a bed and breakfast in Hoboken. “It is issues like this that the re-writing of the city’s master plan is all about,” he said.
In the next year, the city will pay a planning firm $270,000 to review and re-write the city’s master plan. A master plan dictates density, and the use of development that is allowed in the city. Soares said the issue of a bed and breakfast should be addressed in the master plan process.
Flinn did add Wednesday that it is not the end of the road for his dreams of a bed and breakfast on Washington Street. “This isn’t the end of the line,” said Flinn. “We have a year to sway public opinion and change people’s perception of the project.”