UPDATE: Removing 'Zone-X' from the City's Flood Ordinance (MAP)

This address is in 'Zone X'  which is being removed Hoboken's Flood Ordinance. 

Oh, the humanity!

This photo of 105 Bloomfield was sent by a reader- apparently it's the same building Readen Reply referred in his/her comment:

"Too late for Bloomfield btw 1st and 2nd. One of the last handful of unrenovated brownstones on the block has been undergoing a gutt reno for months; and a 4th floor appeared last week. Word is under the flood ordinance that if the "garden apt" is not used for housing, you can go up one floor and that appears to be the case here."

Ugh. Which of these things is not like the other...  

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Life in the 5-Minute Zone (GA's post-Sandy renovations)

It's nice to be back on the distribution of Councilwoman Jen Giattino. In spite of recent political differences, she's still my councilwoman.  So, GA was interested to find out:

"The DEP reviewed and approved the amendment removing the X and shaded X zones from Hoboken's Flood Ordinance. However, they have made two changes to the original ordinance that will bring the ordinance back to first reading. Removing the X and shaded X zones from enforcement under Hoboken's Flood Ordinance will help to preserve Hoboken's character and scale in those areas."

Hey, that sounds like good news. What is "Zone X" exactly?  

Zone X areas on the DEP map have a 0.2% or 1 in 500 chance of flooding in any given year. This is also referred to as the "500-year zone". 

Admittedly, GA hasn't followed this issue closely because I live in a 5-Minute Zone, not a 500-Year  Zone. But, it is a great thing to liberate areas of Hoboken from Draconian design requirements (relative to their 500-year zone status) that disrupt the unique visual fabric and charm of those areas. 

Yes! Emancipation for the residents of the Hoboken flood district formerly known as Zone- X! 

The obvious questions are: Where is Zone X?  And, do I live there? 

Well people, take a look at the map below, made user-friendly by GA ( original map here). 

There you go, people.  

Lovely, pristine Hudson Street and the Castle Point neighborhood have been liberated from Hoboken's Flood Zone Ordinance.

What about the rest of us? 

Let's get rolling on Rebuild By Design for folks in the 5-Minute and 5-Second Zones!

See below the Ordinance to amend the City's Chapter 104, "Flood Damage Prevention", up for First Reading tomorrow.