November 14th, 2006

A NEW 10 ACRE PARK FOR NORTHERN HOBOKEN!

In February, 2006, Hoboken acquired 6 acres of land to be included in a new park in the northeastern tip of Hoboken. The site, known as “1600 Park”, wraps around the existing cove of the Hudson River on the City’s border with Weehawken.Thanks to eight years of grassroots efforts by residents and HPO, Hoboken will have a new park. This park site is one of the few areas on the waterfront where vacant land exists to create a park with protected water access. This is a perfect spot to provide multiple recreational uses for all ages in a single location.

RESIDENTS’ “GRASSROOTS” MADE PARK HAPPEN

In 1998, a developer repeatedly sought numerous zoning variances to build high-rise condos on the commercially zoned 1600 Park site. Fortunately, Hoboken residents united and successfully opposed the development variances by hiring a lawyer to oppose the zoning board application and by filing litigation. It was out of this effort that HPO was created.With no support from City Hall, HPO hired a landscape architect and designed a park for the site to show the public the site’s park potential (see HPO Park design above left). When City Hall said the cost of acquisition was an obstacle, HPO wouldn’t take no for an answer. HPO contacted the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national land trust in the business of financing public park land. In August, 2004, HPO invited TPL to visit the site, and TPL immediately saw the site’s potential.Thanks to the persistence of the residents (like you!), the vision and coaxing of HPO, and the work and funding of TPL, the City has come around. With over five million dollars in grants identified by TPL, the City agreed to acquire the 1600 Park property for public park in February, 2006.

HPO PARK DESIGN

The most important work is ahead. HPO’s park design is just a concept that can be a starting point for a meaningful public park design process. HPO believes the 1600 park site and the land adjacent to the Cove should be designed to provide sorely needed active-recreational field spaces. Unfortunately, a park design depicted in the mayoral campaign literature provides nothing but passive space and a large sculpture (see Mayor Robert ‘s Open Space design).

Little known is the fact that the City has issued a “Request for Proposals” for landscape architect services for 1600 Park with no indication of how they will include the public in the park design process.

HPO FIGHTS ‘DEVELOPER CONTROLLED’ PARK DESIGN AT 1600

Developers such Toll Brothers, which controls the land adjacent to the 1600 Park, prefer to buffer their condos with passive parks rather than active field space. This results in a park that seems more like an amenity of the condos than public land open to all. Already the City has made a concession to Toll Brothers, to deed restrict the City-owned property next to the Toll Brother condos now under construction to prohibit active field uses. The City has also failed to protect a parcel immediately west of 1600 Park identified in the Master Plan for a park.The residents must have on a meaningful role in the design process. Contact your councilperson and insist that the public be allowed to participate in designing the park at 1600 Park.

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