The Hoboken City Council approved a resolution creating a redevelopment zone by the PATH station/bus terminal at Hudson Place and River Street in a narrow 5-4 vote at last night’s meeting.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“Conditions of deterioration have to be addressed. That’s what is the purpose of this redevelopment law. It’s an extraordinary power that allows for things like eminent domain,” Councilman-at-Large Jim Doyle explained.
He noted that a study deemed the area in need of redevelopment back in 2021, however, he did not think it was worthwhile for the city.
“The planning board said we do not recommend that this be considered designated as an area in need of rehabilitation,” he added, noting that he wasn’t sure why this was before the governing body outside of rumors of a 23-story skyscraper being proposed.
“If there are members of this body who feel a 23-story residential tower is the way to go here, all we have to do is amend the zoning law. I would urge my colleagues to vote no tonight.”
2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, as she said in her newsletter yesterday, also said she would not support the initiative.
“The area around the PATH is the most valuable in the State of New Jersey. There’s no reason for us to give any incentives. We gave incentives to LCOR because they’re building on top of live tracks. There’s really no reason.”
She further stated that if it is included in a redevelopment zone, “the mayor can do whatever he wants, stressing that the maximum number of stories could increase from five to 23.
“We don’t need to do this right now. We should be allowing LCOR to progress. Once we see that progress, we can come back and revisit,” Fisher exclaimed, claiming Mayor Ravi Bhalla was seeking to do a favor for a friend.
Nonetheless, 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, a co-sponsor of the measure along with Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour, said there are already many small redevelopment zones in the area.
“All done in isolation as opposed to doing in a more holistic fashion: We made a huge mistake not looking at all these blocks together. I’m not in favor of residential development on that site either. I don’t want to live in a permanent construction zone either,” he expressed.
“I also believe in taking the holistic approach. I think we do need more residential in the city from an affordability perspective. This town is getting increasingly expensive for renters and homeowners alike. We can’t ignore market forces,” chimed in Councilman-at-Large Joe Quintero.
He also mentioned that he isn’t in support of a 23-story building going there, as well as that the council retains control if the new zone is approved and that he’d like to get feedback from neighbors before committing to anything.
“Everyone on this dais has voted for a redevelopment zone at varying heights. We do need to look at it holistically. There are massive needs in this city of Hoboken when it comes to our housing crisis,” exclaimed 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo.
He continued that there were 9,000 applicants seeking homes in one of 600 affordable housing units recently.
“There are people in our housing authority who can afford a middle-income type housing unit. We need to start to shift what our housing looks like… so we can house all our residents. I am 100 percent in favor of passing this.”
1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano said he was skeptical of the project, which sits in his ward.
“We need to think about a general approach. I’m a fan of more residential in some ways because of the need for additional housing. It is not a vote on a specific project,” Jabbour said, noting she had not heard of a 23-story project coming to the area.
“How much did we spend on the Master Plan?” Presinzano asked, to which there was no answer.
“When I do my homework, do I look at the Master Plan or just throw that out the window?” he pressed forward
“It’s a guidance document that set forth the planning board’s aspirations. We regularly ignore the recommendations of the Master Plan, which we’re allowed to do: It’s not the law,” replied Doyle.
Still, Presinzano was sticking to his guns.
“The 1st Ward is going to be ripped up left and right for the next 10, 15 years. I just want to know if I should ignore it,” Presinzano remarked.
“There will be another one in a couple years,” Doyle noted.
“The needs change every day,” Russo noted.
“We’re coming up another re-examine in two years,” Doyle stated.
“They identified multiple zone designations around this site. I’m pretty sure I voted against every single one of them. This is yet again another situation where we’re looking at one set of properties,” Fisher interjected.
Hoboken Council President Jen Giattino said there was an unexplained urgency behind the resolution and expressed concerns about a sub committee meeting on this subject that wasn’t open to the public.
The resolution passed 5-4, with 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen, Jabbour, Quintero, Ramos, and Russo voting yes, while Doyle, Fisher, Presinzano, and Giattino voted no.
Sadly the Bhalla Administration has again withheld important information from both the City Council and the people of Hoboken. The overriding question is why would the do that ?
Hoboken already has one of the highest population densities in the United States.
When Councilman Russo says we need more housing he is really saying he wants more subsidized housing .
All of which does not generate enough revenue to support the municipal and school expenses they would generate. Understandably he and many of his family has always lived in subsidized housing in Hoboken.
Hoboken is already scheduled to build many of thousands of additional housing units. When you allow greed to
destroy the very reason Hoboken is a an attractive place to live it will be impossible restore it.
Oh there she goes again. Tiffany in a tiff – still bruised from losing her Democratic Party position and hating “Unelectables”
She had no problem with redevelopment and condemning a functioning municipal garage to relocate the Monarch from in front of her house…. Now she is against redevelopment when she learns who the developer donated to…
She’s right More Voices ARE Better- and More of them are going to vote her out
Maybe it’s just another example of her issues with the Director Mr. Brown and Mayor Bhalla?
Things that make ya go hummmm….
More personal and misogynistic attacks against Councilwoman Fisher … and illusions to racism
Things that make everyone go eww..