In a letter to the editor, the Fund for a Better Waterfront Executive Director Ron Hine explains why he believes the sculpture proposed for Pier C in Hoboken should find a new location.
Dear Editor,
The landscape architects who designed the parks at Hoboken’s South Waterfront were both world-renowned. In the 1990s, Henry Arnold executed the landscape plan for Pier A Park and the waterfront promenade from Newark Street to Fourth.
After David Roberts became mayor, the City hired Michael Van Valkenburg to design Pier C Park. These parks are some of the best you will find anywhere and, from the waterfront walkway, feature unobstructed views of the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline.
At the end of the piers you can look north to the George Washington Bridge and south to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
To design Pier C Park, Michael Van Valkenburgh worked with the artist James Carpenter of James Carpenter Design Associates, a firm merging fine art, engineering, architecture & environment.
There is a sculptural quality to the landscape, simulating a barrier beach. An osprey nesting platform connects people with shoreline wildlife.
People are able to enjoy the stunning views from the waterfront walkway as well as the sloping lawn and the ample seating at the eastern edge.
Additional seating is provided along the fishing pier extending further eastward over the Hudson River.
The subtle lighting within the railing at the perimeter of Pier C, called the “luminous edge,” provides for dramatic evening enjoyment of the natural environment as well as a lit-up Manhattan skyline.
The City of Hoboken has proposed a sculpture consisting of two staggered steel arches with decorative glass that would span nearly the entire 164-foot length of the Pier C Park fishing pier.
This proposal is in conflict with the original, well-conceived design for this park. From the lawn area and seating at the eastern edge, views to the north would be interrupted by this massive artwork.
The enjoyment of the natural environment would be diminished. The scale and placement of this piece are discordant with the setting. The sculpture is billed as “instagram-worthy” and a “tourist attraction.” For area residents, these are unpopular ideas.
It is not surprising that this piece is inappropriate for this site. The following parties were not consulted as part of the vetting process: landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh, former mayor David Roberts, the Hudson River Waterfront Conservancy, the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Nor was the Fund for a Better Waterfront consulted, despite our 34-year history advocating for Hoboken’s waterfront.
FBW reached out to local sculptors and area residents – many who have managed public arts programs – and without exception they provided persuasive arguments against locating this artwork in Pier C Park.
The $500,000 price tag could be better spent on several sculptures built to a more human scale. A piece that children could relate to or climb on would be especially welcome.
The many letters submitted to the City of Hoboken regarding this proposed sculpture include the following quotes:
The Hudson River Fishermen’s Association states the proposed sculpture is “totally inappropriate for a fishing pier.”
Hoboken resident and sculptor Jenny Lee wrote, “Without adding value, the proposed sculpture detracts from, and even collides with, the purpose and design of the park.”
Hoboken resident Nancy Green added, “I can always depend on Hoboken’s majestic slice of the Hudson for respite, for renewal, for her awesome beauty. She needs no adornment or enhancement or distraction. She needs no explanation.”
Sincerely,
Ron Hine
FBW Executive Director
Another location? Scrap it. So many better things someone can spend the money on.
The funds for Public Art have been approved, collected and must be spent on public art in Hoboken.
That said the huge piece on Pier C should not be either re-homed re-thought.
Yes better public art, and more of it. This is a waste.
Send that garbage to Elizabeth or Edison. Let them have it.
What has become SOP for the Bhalla Adminitration the planning was limited to him and his appointees. The public and the City Council were notified by press release of what Mayor Bhalla had approved with no alternatives given.
There is so much space on the river front and other parts of Hoboken where public art could and should be placed the pier blocking the view is not one of them.