The Hoboken City Council voted 5-3 for the Garage B Redevelopment Plan at last night’s meeting, going against the planning board’s determination that it is inconsistent with the Master Plan.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I appreciate all the communications about this proposal, but I must say, like many, I am deeply disappointed in the Garage B plan. I urge you city council members to vote no,” resident Terry Pranses stated during the start of public comment.
“Why is this one large lot being reviewed out of context when there are many nearby, city-owned properties included the police headquarters and parking area, the other two Hudson Street garages, and the former Bank of America lot. It should’ve been done as one plan, I hope we get there.”
While the proposal passed 5-3 on first reading without much of a public reaction at the council’s March 3rd meeting, a surprise came when the planning board rejected the proposal by a 7-1 vote during a consistency review on Monday, as HCV first reported.
Afterwards, two mayoral candidates, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher and 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos explained why they’d be voting no and yes again, respectively.
Additionally, five labor unions came out in support of the project hours before the meeting began.
Cheryl Fallick, an affordable housing advocate, said Hoboken has become “a gated enclave for the affluent” and continued that “I despise that I’m supporting a 25-story project,” but added that she felt she had to due to the workforce and affordable housing components.
“Some of you claim that your support for the Garage B plan is to address Hoboken’s housing crisis, but you have not put forth a comprehensive plan. Obviously, the issue cannot be sufficiently addressed by one block,” stated Fund for a Better Waterfront Executive Director Ron Hine.
“How will this project provide workforce and affordable housing? This question has not been answered. In fact, developers responding to an RFP that would go out for this project would likely come back with proposals to build market-rate housing to cover the cost of 20 percent affordable units. We took a poll: 80 percent of respondents agreed that building heights should be 14 stories or less.”
Several representatives of the labor unions who support the project also spoke, including Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative (ELEC 825) Deputy Director Kate Gibbs.
“This project is so important as it will help provide opportunities for working class men and women like those that we represent in our union, but also teachers and firemen, other members of the working class, that help our cities and communities run,” she asserted.
“They don’t just deserve to work here, they deserve to live in great places like Hoboken and we know that a huge part of the affordability crisis and housing here in New Jersey is because of our severely constrained land. Right? Supply and demand, if there’s a small supply, prices are gonna be high.”
Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 253 President Tom Hurley took umbrage with the notion that they were called on to come to the meeting.
“A gentleman came up here and the said ‘the unions were invited.’ We were not invited, we are a park of the community, okay, so although you may not realize that,” he said as he was interrupted by applause.
“I’m not looking for applause, the reality is that the working class are not recognized unless they have an opinion on strife or struggle. The unions have not been very successful in partaking in a lot of projects in Hoboken because of the scale of the work: All I ask is that … if this project does get passed, that we please consider responsible development – that means having it done, built right the first time like another resident had said.”
After about an hour of public comment, the council spent about another hour explaining why they’d be voting yes or no.
1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano, who represents the area where Garage B is located, said he was not against the project, but instead the lack of a public process, noting that there were only two public meetings, one of which was virtual, which was only a cumulative three of four hours.
Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour, another candidate for mayor, said she was maintaining her support for the project due to a commitment to social justice.
“Leadership is about making decisions about things that you believe in. My background professionally is in social work and one of the tenants that I brought to this role is a belief in social justice and representing people that often don’t have the ability to be at the table,” she began.
“That’s important to me, I’ve spent my entire career, for 18 years working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services … in supporting vulnerable populations. So I believe that this project is about ensuring housing for people who have not had access to homes in Hoboken.”
Fisher reiterated points she made earlier in the week, that the project was rushed and put politics before policy, noting that it wouldn’t be built for years even if it was approved Wednesday evening.
“If we allow a developer to build on a site, and we don’t extract material economics from that site, we are economically giving the value of that property away, right? So we are potentially giving away a piece of city property without having a bigger conversation just about all of the things that we need within our community,” she argued.
“I’m voting no tonight, not because I don’t support affordable housing here, but the difference between tonight and 60 or 90 more days to actually have a conversation about the needs in our community is not going to make any difference at all.”
3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo, another mayoral hopeful, said he was going to support an effort to keep Hoboken residents in the Mile Square City.
“Overall, this project is a direct response to an issue in this city that I’ve been crying out for years about and that is affordable housing, workforce housing, middle-income housing in the City of Hoboken,” he said.
“You heard it from almost everyone who spoke out, people are being priced out of Hoboken. Some of those people have just moved here a few years ago. Some of those people lived here for 30 years before that. That’s consistent: There are people being priced out of Hoboken every single day.”
Russo also noted that he addressed many of these issues when he released his citywide housing plan in September.
“Every time we have a conversation about affordable housing, it’s like deja vu. People say it’s out of scale, this isn’t the right location for it. All types of things on how it isn’t the right size, the right scale, poor location, every single time,” emphasized Ramos.
“If this were luxury housing, this wouldn’t even be on the agenda tonight. If this was luxury, we wouldn’t even be having a conversation about it. But because, as the planning board said, ‘it’s a laudable goal,’ right? And that indeed it is. A goal that we have to try and make a reality.”
Ultimately, the measure was approved on second reading by the same 5-3 vote as first reading, with Presinzano, Fisher, and Council President Jim Doyle voting no.
“Thank you to the City Council members who voted in support of adopting the Garage B Redevelopment Plan, which is a critical step in providing much-needed affordable and workforce housing in Hoboken,” Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in a statement.
“This plan will help us create a more inclusive, affordable community for all Hoboken residents, and I am proud that we are taking bold, necessary action to ensure that essential workers – including teachers, firefighters, police officers, and city employees – can continue to live in the city they serve.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a comment from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla.