LETTER: Hoboken needs to take a stand against Rebuild by Design seawalls, resident says

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In a letter to the editor, a Hoboken resident is speaking out against the Concept A Rebuild by Design plan, which calls for the construction of seawalls from Garden Street to 12th Street. Rebuild by Design Concept Screening

Dear editor,

I am writing in regards to my opposition to Option A for the Rebuild by Design Project funding in Hoboken, specifically Option A’s specifications for a seawall down Garden Street from Weehawken Cove to 12th Street.

The proposed location of the seawall is several city blocks west of the riverfront on a street, which is not in a flood zone, and which was not impacted by Hurricane Sandy or any other prior flood events.

The stated purpose of the seawall is to stop a westward moving flood surge (originating in Weehawken Cove and/or the riverfront) from flooding the low lying areas In the northwest section of Hoboken.

However, locating a seawall on a block near the center of town to protect one section of town west of the wall from flooding at the expense of large sections of the town and thousands of residents East of the wall makes no sense whatsoever.

Aside from destroying historic neighborhoods in upper Hoboken, the wall would likely have the effect of diverting floodwaters into many homes and businesses east of the wall which were not previously affected by flooding, making the proposed seawall in Option A a completely unacceptable solution.

It is inconceivable that the proposed seawall in Option A is the best solution Dewberry Engineering, the firm commissioned by the state, could come up with after having been awarded millions of dollars in federal funds to develop viable options for protecting ALL residents of Hoboken.

Dewberry clearly did not consider the obvious fact that the historic single family homes on Garden Street are built literally wall to wall, forming “walls of homes” on both sides of the street which run continuously from 14th street several blocks south of the proposed seawall.

These “walls of homes” make it impossible for any surge to flow westward from the Weehawken Cove and/or riverfront into the low lying areas of Northwest Hoboken through Garden Street except at the street intersections.

A seawall in between these already existing “walls of homes” would be completely redundant and ridiculous and would not stop any flooding in northwest Hoboken.

The seawall would serve no purpose except to divert floodwater into areas previously not affected by flooding.This is an ill conceived plan which would not help anyone and which would only divide and destroy Hoboken.

If the seawall in Option A were to move forward, it would achieve nothing except years of litigation and national ridicule as another colossus example of wasted millions in taxpayer funding akin to other tragic examples like Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere.”

I urge the mayor, city council, and Dewberry to hear this feedback and revise their plans to include viable options that protect ALL of Hoboken’s residents.

Sincerely,

Brian M. Moloney


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3 COMMENTS

  1. How about a poll to see whether NBC JOURNALIST Natalie Morales’ defamatory comments citing a criminal conspiracy between Dawn Zimmer and the big developers who hate her guts gets covered by any media or Morales just gets away with it like media bullies usually do.

    https://www.change.org/p/new-jersey-dep-mayor-dawn-zimmer-say-no-to-option-a-stop-hoboken-from-building-a-wall-that-doesn-t-protect-all-residents/c/357119190

    “This is corruption at its finest! We all know the intent of this “Berlin Wall” is to protect the areas (Applied, Toll Brothers, Rockefeller group) that the Mayor and county officials have ties with. This is a kickback scheme at the highest level.”

    A kickback scheme. This is a journalist? In what sense?

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