Dear Editor:
This is an open letter to the many concerned residents of Hoboken that have written to us with regard to pier development.
When we three councilmen ran for office, we promised to act in the best interests of our community. In keeping with our promise, we opposed plans to build the Devils’s Arena over the Hoboken Terminal and the “Twin Towers” development at 1600 Park Avenue.
In confirmation of our commitment to preserve historic Hoboken and promote access to a great natural resource, the Hudson River, we stand together with the vast majority of Hoboken residents against massive pier developments and support the renewed activism by residents who understand and appreciate the things that make Hoboken such a special community.
For the past seven years, Hoboken’s quality of life has been jeopardized by overdevelopment, runaway variances, traffic, blocked views and even the closing of a children’s playground. To preserve our quality of life and guarantee public access to our waterfront, we propose the following:
1) An amendment to our current zoning code that will prevent residential pier development and set limits on commercial development of piers.
2) Submitting an application for Green Acres funding to develop the Hoboken cove waterfront at 16th Street and along Park Avenue to the Weehawken border.
3) Supporting community groups’ efforts to purchase the piers and place them in a public trust for open space.
As a three member Council minority, we urge the Russo administration’s Council majority members Del Boccio, Cricco, Hudock, Moyeno, Castellano and Andreula to support us in the above items in order to guarantee a truly public waterfront for Hoboken today and for us to pass on to the next generation.
Councilmen Dave Roberts, Ruben Ramos and Tony Soares
Editor’s Note: This letter was submitted before the Council met and discussed this issue Wednesday.