Jersey City Reporter, May 21, 2000

Dear Editor:

On Wednesday, May 24, the City Council of Jersey City will attempt to introduce amendments to the Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan (JARP) that will permit developers to build a controversial hi-rise project consisting of two 43-story towers below the Palisade cliffs, known as Millennium Towers (MT). The planning board voted to recommend these amendments after a contentious meeting on May 9 despite public opposition to the project.

The MT project (specifically two 37-story towers atop a six-story pedestal) will create approximately 550 luxury rental units, 844 parking spaces and 181,000 square feet of commercial retail space. The 3.1 acre site is located off 18th Street between Jersey Avenue and Grove Street on the Jersey City-Hoboken border. It is bordered on the north by the New Jersey Transit trestle embankment into Hoboken and on the south by a parcel of land owned by Lefrak Development.

A coalition of 11 community and civic groups of Jersey City and Hoboken has formed in opposition to this project, including Chapter 80 Block Association, Coalition For A Better Waterfront, Heights Hope Neighborhood Association, Hilltop Neighborhood Association, Hudson Alliance for Rational Transportation, Nelson Avenue Block Association, Palisade Avenue Coalition, Quality of Life Coalition, Riverview Neighborhood Association, Sgt. Anthony Neighborhood Association, Waverly Street Block Association. The coalition has lobbied against this ill-conceived project because of its many problems including height, density and traffic congestion. In addition, the developers have publicly admitted that they owe approximately $1.2 million in back taxes on the property and they intend to apply for a 20 year tax abatement for the project. Despite the community's opposition, the city administration, including the mayor, the council president and the planning division continue to strongly support this project.

The coalition's position is that this site and the area surrounding it, which is currently industrial buildings and trucking lots, should be developed with human-scale, low-rise projects that will complement the surrounding communities of the Holland Gardens Housing Project, the residential enclave of St. Lucy's neighboring Hoboken, the historic Hamilton Park district and the various communities of the Heights. The city should revise the JARP's overall density and height requirements to stop this MT project and future ones like it from being proposed. Especially now, with the city currently revising its master zoning plan, it is the perfect opportunity to draft a rational urban design plan for this whole area below the Palisades.

RNA is opposed to this project for the following reasons: It will create a bad precedent for both height and density for future development in the surrounding area; it will increase the traffic congestion and pollution on the local streets in both Jersey City and Hoboken; it will destroy the views of the Hudson River, New York City skyline and the Palisade cliffs themselves; it will create a gated community that will be isolated from the surrounding communities; it will worsen the already overwhelmed PATH system with increased ridership and it will force another tax-abated development upon the citizens of Jersey City.

RNA urges all its members, neighbors and friends to call your local councilperson and demand that they vote against introduction of these current amendments to the JARP at the May 24 City Council meeting. Interested people can also speak out against this project by calling the city clerk's office, 547-5152, to sign up to make a public comment at the May 24 meeting or simply attend the meeting to show your support to the growing opposition to this project.

Vito Brunetti
Jersey City