A quick reminder for an event tonight and then a few updates...
Please join me tonight to raise a glass in celebration of Flag Day and our veterans and active service members at the Post 107 Bar. The Hoboken Auxiliary which is the local unit of the American Legion Auxiliary, is hosting an open house and our annual meeting from 630 - 830.
The Auxiliary is forum to help support our veterans and active service members. Membership is just $25 per year, with all funds going to primarily help support our American Legion Post 107 and the building of another 18 residential units for homeless veterans. As you may remember, we hosted an author and book signing earlier this year that raised almost $500 for our veterans! Members can be anyone who has a family member who currently serves or has served in the past (even if that person is now deceased). My father was in the Air Force, and both Grandfathers were in the Army. Friends of the Auxiliary can be anyone! Email [email protected] to learn more!
STREET / PEDESTRIAN SAFETY UPDATES GALORE!
- 14th and Hudson: the delay has been due to COVID related supply chain issues relating to the new traffic lights. The current expectation is the lights will be in by month end and the County has committed to installing this intersection first. Regarding the plantings, I asked the County if these could be done sooner than later and they confirmed today they will be planted in the next couple of weeks.
- 16th Street Pier Walkway – the project is taking longer to complete than expected. Current estimated completion date is before July 4th.
- 14th Street and Bloomfield Traffic light – I have heard suddenly from three neighbors in the past week that the timing of the traffic light seems to have changed and that the pedestrian crossing light no longer turns white without pushing the button. I have raised this with both the city and the county so this should be taken care of soon.
- Willow Ave North of 11th – as you may have seen, the City has announced that it and the County were allocated $1.4 M in state grant funding to upgrade this section of Willow. This is long overdue as we have been raising safety concerns about every intersection in this stretch for years. Notwithstanding this is one of our main thorofares and access points in Hoboken, crossing willow, whether to attend an elementary school, a pre-school, an outdoor market or a restaurant / shop – shouldn’t be as dangerous as it currently is. There will be a planning process where the public will be able to give feedback. More to come.
- 13th Between Hudson and Park – We just approved at this last meeting for the city to apply for funding to restore 13th between Hudson and Willow which has treacherous road conditions.
- Sinatra Drive North Redesign – The redesign project will not commence until 2024 so I have asked the administration to do some temporary repairs on the upper portion of the roadway which, like 13th street, is treacherous and bumpy by car, and difficult to traverse by bike.
NYWW / UDD PLANNING BOARD APPLICATION
Approved – several members of the public joined me at the planning board hearing last week where we were able to raise safety and quality of life concerns, many that were incorporated into the approval as conditions to the approval including, among others:
- NYWW agreed to having 2 meetings per year with the Boathouse / Watersport groups.
- Mirrors will be added to the drive exits to improve visibility where the access road crosses the bike / running path.
- There will be a suggestion box located on the site for members of the public to share concerns. Also, NYWW will provide a point of contact.
- NYWW will notify the city if / when they will need to do any refueling on site.
These would not have been included had the public not come out and shared their views. Again #morevoicesarealwaysbetter.
Additionally, although not a condition because it relates to a maritime law requirement, NYWW have committed to trying to minimize the sound of the horns when the boats leave the terminal in the mornings. They can do this by turning the horns away from the buildings.
I came away from the meeting more optimistic than I have been. The presentation showed a lot of effort to construct a temporary site that contemplates moving back to Weehawken. And the NYWW representative committed to working with our community to be a good neighbor. A commitment I plan to hold them to. Some specific operational info he provided:
- Only about 5 boats will be active at any time, the remaining 15 will be stored on site and rotated in as necessary. This is primarily the result of lower traffic.
- They will be replacing their entire fleet with electric boats, funded by significant grants, with the first 3-4 being operational in the next couple of years.
- They will not at any time operate on the north side of the northernmost pier.
- They are constructing all of their lighting to be low level, downward focusing to provide sufficient lighting for workers to walk around the site – not lit up like a big shopping mall.
This all said, I am still not convinced that they will leave. I confirmed that they are moving their floating work docks to Hoboken from Weehawken within 6-7 months and will be doing so before they have approvals in Weehawken for the new facility. I asked in a way that kind of caught them off guard. They represented they are applying to Weehawken now, but said something along the lines of “anything can happen” in Weehawken. I will keep an eye on the progress there and keep everyone posted.
URBAN MARKET / 1425 WASHINGTON
Approved – This project was also approved on the same night. There was a lot of discussion about trash, loading and deliveries (outbound). Here are some of the takeaways:
- They will be unloading inventory on Hudson Street, using the loading zone on the West side of the block and the back entrance to bring the supplies inside. They expect this to happen about 10 times / week, for about 20-30 minutes each time. They are not allowed to block the sidewalk at any time.
- A condition to their approval was their using composting to minimize waste which they said they do in other stores.
- They will be looking to add a bike rack near the front entrance.
- They committed to doing the shopping for any Instacart type deliveries themselves (instead of the delivery drivers) to minimize parking concerns and will only doing these types of deliveries on off peak hours.
I personally expressed concerns about what additional pedestrian and bike traffic will do to what is already a dangerous intersection. And as I have mentioned before, separately, I have already started discussions with the administration about making safety improvements – including a traffic light – at the corner of 15th and Washington. I do not believe this new market will open before early 2024, so I will be working on a plan for this intersection in parallel.
I will be passing along the updates from our district schools when I receive them so here are the three I received two days ago.
- The Herald: https://www.smore.com/qgera-the-herald
As always, please share this with everyone you know who may be interested and reach out any time on any issue important to you: 201-208-1764 or [email protected].
Tiffanie Fisher
Hoboken City Council, 2nd Ward
Engage. Inform. Advocate.
“More Voices are Better”
Do you like this post?
Showing 1 reaction
Sign in with
Facebook Twitter