April 1999

Court Protects Cherished Views of the Hudson River

An administrative law judge has ruled that the sixteen-story towers proposed by Hartz Mountain Industries at Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken are prohibited by the state's Coastal Zone Management Regulations. The regulations state that high rise structures must not block the views of skylines, rivers, beaches, etc. that are currently enjoyed from existing residential structures, public roads or pathways. This decision, handed down last month, upholds a 1990 ruling by a New Jersey Appellate Court and a subsequent order by the Commissioner of the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection. This decision calls into question a series of 12-story buildings proposed by Roseland Properties at the Weehawken Waterfront that would block the cherished views of the Hudson River enjoyed by countless people who come to the walk at the top of the palisades along Boulevard East.