Hoboken Mayor Talks About Monarch, Monroe Development and Lawsuits

HOBOKEN, NJ — As Hoboken officials near a possible legal settlement with real estate company Shipyard Associates over development on the waterfront and in the western section of the city, some Mile Square City residents are expressing concern about what the deal might mean for the community.

On Wednesday, Mayor Dawn Zimmer released a statement addressing some of these concerns and reiterating her support for the potential settlement, which if approved, would put an end to a legal battle that has cost the city more than $1 million and counting.

• See related article: Hoboken Spends $1M Fighting Developer, Nears Settlement With Shipyard

“Hoboken has the only nearly completed waterfront in New Jersey that offers the chance to stroll from one end of our city to the other without being cut off by development,” Zimmer wrote. “Even though I live on the western side of the city, I often walk my dog, run, or bike on our waterfront. I entered into this agreement because I consider our waterfront to be a shared resource for all of us. It is something special that belongs to all of us, and I am trying to preserve it for generations to come.”

According to Zimmer, the outcome of the litigation if the city continues to pursue it is “uncertain.”

“If we lose we block our community’s waterfront,” Zimmer stated. “We still have 186 units and up to 14 floors of development at 800 Monroe and we will have spent about $2 million in litigation costs with nothing but development to show for it.”

DENSITY AND DEVELOPMENT

Zimmer said that she “understands residents’ concerns about density,” but added that there is already a preexisting redevelopment plan - known as the Northwest Redevelopment Plan - for 186 units and up to 14 floors of development at 800 Monroe.

This redevelopment plan, which was approved by then-Mayor Anthony Russo in 1998, is the plan under which Metro Stop and several other buildings were constructed, and it is not possible to disregard the remaining elements of that plan, Zimmer stated.

Zimmer said that it may be possible to work with the community to reduce the impact of any potential development on the existing neighborhood, such as attempting to “preserve as much of the rooftop views as possible through a well-designed layout of the buildings on the site.”

“Unfortunately, however, due to the preexisting redevelopment plan, it is not possible to say that there will be no development at 800 Monroe,” Zimmer cautioned. “Also given the existing redevelopment plan, the acquisition cost to purchase this and build a park would be astronomical. Residents should understand that whether we fight on with this litigation or not, a development on the scale of 186 units will be built at that site based on the existing approved plan.”

WESTERN HOBOKEN

Zimmer stated that some residents have contacted her with concerns that she is not “prioritizing western Hoboken,” a charge that she repudiated.

“As a resident of western Hoboken, I actually have been very committed to expanding park space and making our west side neighborhoods more livable and flood resilient,” Zimmer said. “My administration is the first to build a flood pump to alleviate flooding in western Hoboken, create three new major parks west of Jefferson Street, and plan our first municipal parking garage in western Hoboken.”

Zimmer said that the city has focused “tens of millions of dollars in investment” and almost all of its major projects towards improving western Hoboken.

“We have begun construction on a one-acre Southwest Park and we are investing $30 million to buy six acres of land so we can build the largest park possible in our city along with western Hoboken’s first municipal parking garage,” the mayor stated. “We also prioritized a new gym and two-acre park at 7th and Jackson that will soon be under construction which will include 250,000 gallons of storm water storage to help alleviate localized flooding. The new BASF resiliency park is proposed to be built with a million-gallon detention system to help reduce the impact of flooding.”

Zimmer offered the recently completed, $11.2 million H-5 flood pump as an example of flood control efforts in western Hoboken.

• See related article: Hoboken Readies H-5 Pump Station: Will Help Alleviate ‘Chronic Flooding’

WHAT’S NEXT?

Zimmer stated that a litigation settlement negotiation cannot be conducted as a public process.

“However, because of the importance of this settlement to Hoboken residents, we took the highly unusual step of publicly releasing the proposed agreement so the public will be fully informed and have an opportunity to have your views fully considered as the City Council makes its decision,” the mayor stated.

Zimmer emphasized that it’s important for residents to know that the settlement is the first step.

“If this settlement is approved, a redevelopment agreement with more details about the design and layout of the buildings would have to be introduced to the City Council, reviewed by the Planning Board, and then return to the City Council for a public hearing,” Zimmer wrote. “The public will have a chance to ask questions and provide input through every step of this process.”

But if the settlement isn’t approved, city officials plan to proceed with the litigation in court in December, Zimmer said.

The agreement is scheduled to be considered at the City Council’s public meeting on Nov. 14 after being dropped from the Nov. 2 meeting agenda in order to "provide the council and the public with additional time to understand all the facts prior to the council voting on the matter."

Dawn Zimmer: Patch file photo

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com