An Interview With the Rail Yards Task Force: Locals Call for Preservation of Hoboken's Personality

The Hoboken Rail Yards Redevelopment, the city’s largest construction plan since the 1880s, is bringing out the voices of concerned citizens and groups, including the Hoboken Rail Yards Task Force. The Task Force was eager to express their concerns about the city’s current plans to Patch before tonight’s council meeting.

The Hoboken Rail Yards Task Force has been tracking the progress of the city’s redevelopment plans since 2008. They formed the task force because of shared concerns over the original plans, which were “out of size and out of character” with the rest of Hoboken, according to Terry Pranses, a member of the Task Force.

“Our preferred objective would be to extend the feeling of Hoboken,” Pranses said. “The first plan we saw from NJ Transit was an epic foul -- a piece of New York, Hong Kong, or Dubai grafted on the Hoboken Waterfront.”

Although the Task Force found many improvements in the city’s most recent plan, they still have quite a few concerns.

“A Giant Wall of Buildings”

The Task Force’s largest concerns regards the largest buildings: several of the proposed buildings are around 280 feet high, which Pranses fears could make a “giant wall of buildings.”

“The W Hotel is more 275 feet tall, but we shouldn’t go back there in terms of height,” Pranses said. “The hotel was a one time deal.”

Rather than trying to maximize real estate dollars by stacking up on commercial and office space, the Task Force hopes that Hoboken will plan for more residential housing. Although this would create less revenue for the city than commercial enterprises, Pranses points out that Hoboken is a densely populated city, with twice the population density of New York City.

“We don’t think more is better in that regard, but we understand it needs to be profitable,” Pranses said.

The Task Force also lists possible traffic congestion, LEED certifications for buildings, and shadow diagramming, among their chief concerns.

“If either demand is not there or the commuting patterns are unwieldy, the other buildings shouldn’t just move forward,” Pranses said. “We need to take a careful, measured, audited approach.”

Current plans need more revision before being put to a vote, according to the Task Force.

Challenges from the Outside

While Mayor Zimmer and other public officials have welcomed input from groups like the Task Force and the Fund for a Better Waterfront, NJ Transit has not asked for input.

“We welcome the fact that other organizations are looking at this plan,” Pranses said. “The Fund for a Better Waterfront has specific points of view. They favor the grid and a more linear approach. We always wanted to respect the grid.”

The biggest problem facing concerned citizens? Unconcerned citizens.

Hoboken has a lot of temporary residents, who are often young and may not have a nostalgic commitment to preserve community identity.

“This meeting occurs at a busy time, after the election and after the Monarch hearings. ,” Pranses expressed. However, he noted that all opinions are welcome, and all participation is valuable.

Check Patch.com after Wednesday’s council meeting to find out more about the Rail Yards Redevelopment plans.

Photo courtesy of realtransit.org.