Mayor Steven Fulop and Jersey City Together appear to be back on the same page as both have expressed great optimism about the request for proposals for the Bayfront project, one month after the group had attacked the mayor for the way the endeavor was being handled.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
The seven-member Bayfront Community Advisory Committee voted unanimously to have the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency release a request for proposals for the $170 million Bayfront project, which are due on August 21st, 2019.
The board includes Fulop, Councilwomen Denise Ridley and Mira Prinz-Arey, Jersey City Together member Uche Akpa, a representative from Society Hill and two community members.
“This is a big win for our community and I’m thankful to the committee for their dedication,†Ridley, who will oversee the project in her ward, said in a statement.
“All of us on the advisory board worked together with the overall goal of achieving what is best for Jersey City and its residents. I’m pleased we are able to get to this point, remaining in step with the administration’s goal of expanding affordable housing citywide.â€
Fulop added that this is the next big step in making the Bayfront the “centerpiece of the revitalization of the City’s West Side” by making it the largest mixed-income community in the Northeast.
A month ago, Jersey City Together called on Fulop to show the “political courage” to ensure that the Bayfront project has at least 35 percent affordable housing.
At the time, the mayor’s office pointed out that the resolution approved by the council in June called for “a minimum of 20% and a goal of 35% affordable units.â€
In the RFP, the Jersey City says the city has “an aggregate goal of 35 percent affordable housing,” noting that proposals that meet or exceed this threshold “will be given greater preference.”
Furthermore, proposals that include fewer than 20 percent affordable housing will not be considered, the RFP states.
Based on a separate statement released by Akpa, Jersey City Together is pleased by this outcome.
“Jersey City Together is glad to see the RFP going out to bid. The final version includes much stronger language around affordability and prioritizes applications that submit proposals with more affordable units,” he said.
“We are optimistic that developers will step up to the plate, but we also know that all of us – elected officials, organizations, and the community at large – will have to work together if we are going to maximize affordability on the site and ensure at least 35% of the units are affordable for people at a range of incomes.”
