City Files Law Suit Against Uptown Development

The city of Hoboken filed a law suit against Shipyard Associates on Wednesday in order to convince the developer to add " three tennis courts, a tennis pavilion, a waterfront walkway and parking on a pier in the Hudson River east of the Hudson Tea Building," according to a release from the city. 

The developer—to move ahead with the project, but was —first entered into an agreement with the city in 1997, to construct 1,160 residential units, according to the city's release on the matter. The proposed project would also include "commercial and retail use (63,200 square feet), approximately 1,460 parking spaces, open space, recreational use and various streets as part of a Planned Unit Development," according to the city. 

That previous proposal included tennis facilities and walkway be constructed. The new plan, which includes two eleven-story towers on an uptown pier, does not. 

Besides persuading the Shipyard to construct the earlier promised amenities, according to the city, the law suit is also supposed to stop the developer from building the two eleven-story towers. as well as the city council  

"In the past, developers have often made promises of givebacks to our City that have not been delivered," Zimmer said. 

The city is also looking to overturn the DEP's premit approval. 

"The City is challenging the DEP approval because it contradicts the original Permit issued by DEP in 1997 for the multi-building residential and commercial project," according to Zimmer. 

Councilwoman Beth Mason, in whose ward the project Monarch Project would be built, has also strongly opposed the project, saying it will change the neighborhood feel of uptown Hoboken and the entire community. 

"I support the mayor on this," Mason, usually a staunch critic of Zimmer, said on Wednesday afternoon. "I have from day one." 

Mason said this law suit will show developers that they will be held accountable.

She added that she would be in favor of passing a resolution to pay for the legal costs related to this case, but that she doesn't support all the current legislation in which the city is involved.   

At a previous council meeting, the city council (Mason was absent at that meeting) voted to continue the lawsuit on this matter, but the appropriations that are supposed to pay for the lawyer cost haven't been approved yet. In order to pay the lawyers the city is hiring for this case—the Short Hills based firm of Marazitti, Falcon and Healy—the appropriations will have to pass, Zimmer said.