Hoboken Reporter, August 13, 2000

Dear Editor:

Although the role of open, public space in urban life is elusive and sometimes under-appreciated by less enlightened developers, its desired effect was certainly felt by the many who gathered on Hoboken's waterfront to witness Op-Sail and the July 4th fireworks.

Thousands came to see the spectacle--and could--because no view was obstructed. On the newly opened promenade, a neighbor's child learned to ride a bike--and could--because no cars were coming across his path.

The spirit of the law granting all New Jersey citizens free and easy access and use of the Hudson River waterfront, is being ignored if development is allowed to occur on the waters edge as is currently being proposed by two developers who wish to build on our piers. Unprecedented in Hoboken, this type of development in other Hudson River communities has failed in carrying out the intended purpose of state mandated public waterfront access.

These intimidating projects rob all of us of the main attraction of the waterfront--the 180 degree view. We are told that we will have access to the developed piers. When was the last time you felt like climbing the steps and walking to the end of the pier, that monument of bad design known as Riva Pointe? Did you even know it was your right? Of course not, because the developer has used every trick to make you believe you are on private property--steps, gates, guards, etc. Similar tactics are used in Edgewater where guards demand to know where you are going, whom you are visiting. Many uninformed people retreat. This is the developer's goal. They create private enclaves for the few, subsidized by the many.

Hoboken has a few gatekeepers of its own: our planning and zoning boards. It is incumbent upon the people who sit on these boards to carry out their duties on behalf of all of Hoboken's citizens and resist the pressures of any developers to satisfy their own greedy goals. As citizens, it is incumbent upon us to let our elected and appointed officials know that we expect better stewardship of our most precious resource: our waterfront.

Paul J. Somerville
Hoboken