After 17 speakers voiced their concerns to the Hoboken City Council at a packed meeting last night, the board passed the second reading of the Neuman Leathers Rehabilitation Plan.Â
It was a divided room, though most of the speakers were against the proposed height and density of the building.
“I organized a neighborhood coalition, so it’s not just my voice anymore that came to this meeting, it’s not just my voice that came to the planning board, we have 150 people in the neighborhood that has signed a petition that says yes we disagree with this height,†stated Hoboken resident David Nayar.
Monica Girota also addressed her concerns regarding the figure diagrams in the Neumann Leathers draft.
“The largest building in the area is 79 units, I mean that this is 210 to 230 units. This is a very different building, and we are just asking to keep figures in the draft. (Its) seems to say that the building will be capped, the highest building at 110ft that figures 11 – 12 (states) but if you read the text it allows it to up to 145 feet!â€
On the other hand, Peter Martinez, who currently runs a business in Neumann Leathers, told the council, “it seems to me that you really want to do this right way and we are all very proud to see this move forward.â€
Hoboken 1st Ward Councilman-Elect Mike DeFusco called the project “a good project,†but also asked the council “to consider the sincere the concerns of 415 Newark Street.â€
Joseph Maraziti of Maraziti Falcon, LLP, a firm that specializes in redevelopment law, was asked to address the council and the public regarding where the ordinance is in the process before the council voted.
Hoboken City Council President Ravi Bhalla called it a “difficult decision†and reminded the Hoboken residents to stay proactive because the process is not done yet.
According to Maraziti, the next step for the project will be to “call for a submission of a pre-submission form” in which redevelopers will submit their Neumann Leathers proposal to city council.
The City Council passed the second reading of Neumann Leathers Rehabilitation Project with 8 votes, with Councilman-at-Large David Mello abstaining.