Weehawken Reporter, September 10, 2000

Dear Editor:

My husband and I have lived in Weehawken for nine years. After living in New York, it's been a pleasure to live in such a beautiful, well-run town.

I'm a filmmaker, and at night, I always stop to look out at that ravishing view of New York from the GWB down to the Verrazano glittering like an emerald necklace. And I ask myself, how could I film this? Would I do a time-lapse shot showing the sunset washing the buildings with glitter and gold? Or a slow tracking shot? The truth is, no film can capture the grandeur and feelings of peace and openness that come from being able to see from bridge to bridge and shore to shore the way we can in Weehawken.

This view doesn't just belong to us: It belongs to the world. When people come here on tour buses snapping pictures, they're taking those photos back to their children in Tokyo and Buenos Aires and Madrid, saying, "Look at what a beautiful country the US is. And beautiful as these shots are, they don't begin to show how beautiful it was to be there."

What is the legacy we're leaving when we consider how to best develop this precious resource? When the Native Americans made a decision, they'd ask themselves how it would affect not only their children but down to the 7th generation. Does the current proposed waterfront plan live up to those standards? Much as the Planning Board's Conditions of Approval improve on that plan, I would have to respectfully say, we can still do better.

If a world-class waterfront was created in Weehawken, film and tv crews would pay the city large fees to film here. A Hudson cultural museum could draw tourists out on every ferry. With a well-designed waterfront, Weehawken could bring in more income, protect the view, prevent traffic jams and guarantee greater profits to developers in the process.

If, like me, you think Weehawken deserves a better plan, please send your comments to the Planning Board before September 15th. Let's leave a legacy we can all be proud of.

Mimi Plevin-Foust
Weehawken