WEEHAWKEN or HARRISON

[Guest RonHine@aol.com]

Story #2 from Garden State EnviroNews 990710

WEEHAWKEN CIVIC GROUP FAULTS WATERFRONT PROPOSAL

Date: 9 Jul 1999

From: RonHine@aol.com

July 9, 1999

The Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront have condemned a new project

proposed by developer Carl Goldberg of Roseland Properties. According

to the group's spokesperson, Doug Harmon, "This new scheme is

excessive, blocking views to the Hudson River, adding to our traffic

woes and thwarting our goal of a continuous public waterfront." The

Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront reviewed this new plan with the

assistance of professional urban planners.

On Thursday, June 10, Goldberg unveiled his ambitious waterfront

proposal for 3.9 million square feet of development covering 92.4

acres of the land along the Hudson River. This project, designed by

architect, Laura Staines of the Martin Architectural Group, would

consist of 1,643 residential units and a massive commercial center

surrounding a new ferry terminal and a station of the Hudson-Bergen

Light Rail Transit System. Seven of the buildings are 10 to 12 stories

tall.

Harmon explained that views to the Hudson River are highly cherished

by Weehawken Residents, most of whom live atop the palisades and

regularly walk along Boulevard East with its spectacular views of the

river and New York City skyline. "The proposed towers are in violation

of the state coastal zone management regulations which protect views

to the river," according to Harmon. An administrative law judge

recently upheld these regulations in another case further south in

Weehawken overlooking the Lincoln Harbor project where Hartz Mountain

Industries has unsuccessfully sought to build two 16 story towers.

Much of the Roseland project will keep the river's edge private,

according to the Friends of Weehawken Waterfront. Harmon said, "much

of the Roseland project is typical of projects already built along the

Hudson River where the water's edge is, in effect, private. This is

the result of poor planning where no clear demarcation has been made

between what is supposed to be a public waterfront and the adjacent

private development." The Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront point to

the West New York project, a private enclave, also developed by

Roseland, as an example of a waterfront that does not feel public.

Daily traffic backups along Port Imperial Boulevard during rush hour

are a harbinger of things to come, say the Friends of the Weehawken

Waterfront. According to Harmon, "the Townships of West New York and

Weehawken have promulgated waterfront development without a clear idea

of how to move traffic in and out of this site." There are only three

access points to the 200 acres of Weehawken-West New York waterfront:

Pershing Road which climbs to Boulevard East, Baldwin Avenue at the

south and Port Imperial Boulevard at the north which merges with River

Road. Robert Kotch, the Chairman of the Friends of the Weehawken

Waterfront, noted that Goldberg's new plan showed a marked improvement

from what had originally been proposed. "The developer has been

listening to the complaints of those of us who live in Weehawken. The

new plan has been changed for the better but nevertheless, is

seriously flawed."

The Weehawken Planning Board approved phase one of this development

on January 5, 1999. The Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront,

represented by attorney James Segreto, has challenged this approval in

court, arguing that the Board was illegally constituted. Phase one

consists of 58 townhouses, a 12-story, 300-unit high-rise, a 4-story

condominium and the conversion of an old industrial warehouse to a

catering hall, office facility and health club.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Robert Kotch 212-219-8500

Chairman

Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront

www.weehawkenwaterfront.com

Doug Harmon 201-863-3523

Friends of the Weehawken Waterfront

http://www.gsenet.org/library/11gsn/1999/gs90710-.2.html