This is a press release sent yesterday from Daniel Bryan, confidential aide to Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer on a temporary halt to State legislation that would have taken away autonomy from the City of Hoboken on redevelopment plans for the NJ Transit Railyard....
ACTING MAYOR DAWN ZIMMER WINS HALT TO STATE LEGISLATION WHICH WOULD HAVE GIVEN NJ TRANSIT AUTONOMY OVER HOBOKEN TERMINAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced today that she has won an agreement to halt state legislation that would have allowed NJ Transit to go forward with their plan to build skyscrapers over the rail yards in South Hoboken over any objections raised by the City and its residents. Senator Paul Sarlo (D-36), the sponsor of this legislation, S-2972 has agreed that the bill will not go forward unless and until Hoboken is satisfied with its content.
This agreement was reached at a recent meeting between Senator Sarlo and Mayor Zimmer. Governor Jon Corzine arranged the meeting at Mayor Zimmer's request.
NJ Transit's proposed $1 billion Hoboken and Terminal Yard Redevelopment Plan includes residential buildings as high as 45- stories and a 70-story commercial tower. It envisions 3,200 new condo units. It is a proposal that would drastically change the character of Hoboken.
"I thank Governor Corzine and Senator Sarlo for recognizing that Hoboken residents must have a say in decisions that will have a profound impact on the shape of our City's future," Mayor Zimmer said.
Zimmer went on to say, "I believe in a different approach to development-one that begins with what the community wants. Our over-emphasis on adding new condos has given us more flooding, more taxes and a costly stepped-up demand for city services. We must make sure that the NJ Transit project is at the appropriate scale for Hoboken."
“I believe it is important that the concerns of Hoboken be addressed,” Senator Sarlo said. “I pledge to consult with Mayor Zimmer and ensure that she is satisfied before proceeding with legislation in this area."
The state legislation in its current form would have given NJ Transit nearly unfettered authority to redevelop any property they own throughout New Jersey adjacent to bus stations, rail stations or rail yards in any way they see fit without regard to local zoning requirements or the wishes of host communities.
My Comments:
I put my observations and insight to this as succinctly as I can...
1) Dawn was not the only person behind this halting of the legislation. The City Council, Governor Corzine and others were involved to put this on hold for now. Corzine should be given credit for ensuring this was put on hold even if the Senate did not have their version ready for this bill as has been reported on another website.
2) This is just one victory or one battle. The war will be won when a balanced development plan is put in place and completed based on community input of Hoboken residents. Whoever the Mayor is after November will have to remain vigilant to fight for Hoboken's right to have a say and stand up to developers. Now, who of the available candidates do you trust to do that? Is it the one the insinuated that we "develop or die"? I hope not.
3) This stopping of legislation was influenced by Jon Corzine and it is of course politically motivated. At least here we do have a concrete example of the Governor looking out for Hoboken's interests. I can assure you that from a fiscal perspective a Christie Gubernatorial win will mean less State funding for Husdon County and ultimately Hoboken. Hey, that is politics.
4) The anti-Zimmer naysayers are already putting their spin on this. They can't stand to see Dawn make progress but I think this time around many can see through this smokescreen. The power of the incumbency (even in this case if it is temporary) has always been used since the "Dawn of Politics" (pun intended) to re-enforce the candidate's strengths come election time. ◦
