Activist Group Responds To Meeting About New Hoboken Waterfront Park

HOBOKEN, NJ — What should go on Hoboken's proposed Maritime Park on the central waterfront? The city is encouraging residents to fill out a survey (linked below) by April 18.

A local activist group, the Fund for a Better Waterfront, is also encouraging residents to fill out the survey. They released an update Saturday in response to the planning process.

They wrote, "The city is calling it Maritime Park in response to appeals from Jim Perry, who grew up in Hoboken, to recognize the maritime industries that dominated Hoboken’s waterfront for more than a century, and were the major source of employment for local residents during that era. One idea is to create a maritime museum on a barge that could be docked at one of the piers."

The city of Hoboken had reached a compromise in February with NY Waterway that will allow the city to someday build a park on the central waterfront, which was, until recently, owned by the commuter ferry company.

After a public meeting was held last Tuesday about the project, the city has launched the survey to gather public input for the concept design.

To take the online survey, go to hobokennj.gov/maritimeparksurvey.

Paper copies of the survey are available at the Office of Constituent Services in Hoboken City Hall, 94 Washington St. The survey is scheduled to close on Tuesday, April 18, at 6 p.m.

Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher said Monday that a related Planning Board hearing will be held via Zoom on Tuesday.

New York Waterway, the ferry company, has submitted their application to the Hoboken Planning Board who will be having a Site Plan Review hearing on it to determine if the

application is complete, she said. It's watchable by Zoom at 6 p.m. Tuesday: https://zoom.us/j/96414361825.

"The public can attend this meeting, but practice has been that the public cannot speak at a completeness review hearing," Fisher wrote. "The NYWW application will be the second one to be heard. I plan to attend if anyone wants to join me."

They city said in a press release last week:

“As always, we are including a robust public process to determine the amenities of our open spaces, and nowhere is this more important than the design of Maritime Park,” said Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla.

“We have worked incredibly hard to acquire this site and we will work even harder to ensure that it is a design that our community wants and needs. I look forward to working with everyone on this in the weeks and months ahead!”

The design team will use feedback from the survey, community meeting, and future public engagement to create concept designs for Maritime Park that include features and amenities reflective of the community’s needs.

Maritime Park will be constructed on the Hudson River waterfront at the former Union Dry Dock site. The park is the last remaining section of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway yet to be connected. Once a finalconcept design is created and the park is erected, the City will have a completely publicly accessible waterfront from Weehawken Cove to Pier A Park.

For more information on the project, go to hobokennj.gov/maritimepark.