Hudson River Waterfront Could Soon Be Entirely Walkable After Historic Land Sale

HOBOKEN, NJ — Almost all of the Hudson County, NJ waterfront can be traveled via public walkway — with a few exceptions. Now, the city of Hoboken will nab a long-coveted 5-acre piece of private land on its central waterfront to use as a public park, Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced Wednesday.

Local waterfront activists cheered this piece of the Hudson River waterfront puzzle on Wednesday.

By state law adopted in 1988, all 18 miles of the Hudson River waterfront from Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge must be accessible to the public, but this area has been inaccessible for more than 25 years.

“Make no mistake about it, the Union Dry Dock property is now in the hands of the city of Hoboken,” said Bhalla on Wednesday. "This is truly a historic day for our residents, and I’m beyond thrilled that the entirety of our waterfront is now in our control and that we can once and for all plan for public open space and connect our treasured waterfront."

The New York Waterway commuter ferry company, which had purchased the property from Dry Dock, will continue to temporarily occupy the property with the support of the administration, the city said. The city said that the two entities "ae working to finalize a temporary lease agreement at the Union Dry Dock property. The lease will assist in the docking of a portion of New York Waterway’s fleet while they redevelop and expand their current ferry operations at an alternate location."

In accordance with a Hudson County judge’s order, the city deposited the appraised amount of the Union Dry Dock property, $13.36 million, into court in order to acquire the 5 acres. However, the city and Waterway continue discussing a final price in court.

“The fact that the city of Hoboken has acquired Union Dry Dock is an historic turn of events,” said Ron Hine, executive director of the non-profit Fund for a Better Waterfront, on Wednesday.

“This site, inaccessible to the public for more than a century, will add more than 3 acres to Hoboken’s waterfront park and complete one of the final missing gaps in a continuous park at the water’s edge firstproposed by FBW in 1990. Kudos to Mayor Bhalla and his administration, and all the many community advocates who helped make this happen.”

The Bhalla administration will initiate a public planning process to determine public amenities at the park. The City Council will vote on matters related to the planning at the public meeting this evening. Find out more about the meeting, and how to watch it, here.