November 14th, 2006

HOBOKEN PARKS.ORG CREATED TO FIGHT FOR NEW PARKS

According to park standards, for every 1000 persons, ther should be 2.5 acres of active receational park space. Under this nationally recognized recognized NYC park standard, Hoboken’s 40,000 residents should have over 100 acres of park land. Hoboken has only about 38 acres of park land including the soon to be opened Pier C park. This extreme park land deficit is causing some residents to leave town and many other to compete for use of the existing park land.

Residents struggle to find suitable playgrounds, athletic fields, basketball courts, swimming pools, or just space to stop and reflect. This shortfall is constrantly increasing and becoming extreme as thousands of new condos are built without creating new park space and overburding existing parks.

1. 1500 children must use Church Square park everyday because the City does not have enough school playgrounds
2. Sports teams young and old must leave town to find field space
3. Young children must play late in the evening on school nights for field time

In 2004, HobokenParks.org was created to bring voice to the public’s need for parks. HPO’s mission is to identify land for public park space, acquire those lands, and foster a public park design process. This all volunteer, community-based project has gained momentum as residents learn about opportunities for more open space as well as the disturbing potential that any land left for new parks may be lost forever to new development.

The circles (above left) on the Hoboken map represent the sites identified in the City’s Master Plan as locations for new parks. However, the City is currently taking steps to designate both the Westside and Southwest proposed park areas as redevelopment zones with the intent of allowing them to be developed with condos and lost as potential park land.

HPO RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING:

ALL parcels recommended to be park land in the Hoboken Master Plan’s Open Space Plan must be zoned and eventually acquired for public parks, with an emphasis on creating active recreational facilities.

1. The Zoning Board must cease granting any variances for development of properties identified for parks in the Master Plan.
2. The City must not designate redevelopment zones which include properties identified for parks in the Master Plan.
3. The City must aggressively seek all federal, State, County, local and foundation funding for park acquisition and construction.
4. The City must engage the community in the park planning and design effort.

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