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| https://hudsoncountyview.com/defusco-says-hes-secured-500k-commitment-from-developer-to-revitalize-pocket-park/ |
It's mid-August, a lazy time in Hoboken. No one's really paying attention to the bleating of a wanna-be mayor or the regurgitation of his old "pocket park" renderings. Yes, they're back.
Remember last September, First Ward Councilman Micheal Defusco rolled out these same vibrant renderings; his "pocket park" a veritable tree massacre. Magnificent old trees destroyed for want of a coffee kiosk and movable furniture. But what is most interesting about the revival of this scheme is to see the Councilman's old vision in the context of a deadly pandemic and post-George Floyd, Black Lives Matter social revolution.
CLOROX PARK?
And in that new context, the very first thing that came to mind when seeing DeFusco's renderings was where are the black people? Do you see any? I couldn't find even one. So, if these renderings depict the Councilman's Utopian vision, then it's White-topia he's after. Not a hint of Hoboken's lovely diversity. But we know that our city's residents are not homogeneous. On my little block alone lives a veritable United Nations of races, countries of origin, skin color.
Hence, this Councilman's homogeneous vision is staggeringly cruel. Imagine a person of color looking at these renderings of idealized public spaces that exclude them. How do you think a person of color would feel? It is as though the Councilman sending a message about who is welcome.
CORONA IS NOT JUST A BEER
Moreover, rolling out pre-pandemic #oldEnergy #staleIdeas in a pandemic world is strangely out-of-touch. We don't live like that anymore. And we don't know if and when we'll see normal. Americans may have to live with masks, social-distancing and more restrictions guided by future scientific discoveries. Sadly, DeFusco's marketing has not changed with the times. His dreamy panoramas of people clumped together in public spaces sans masks is ridiculous- and potentially deadly, if practiced.
To put it simply, these renderings depict one councilman's personal fantasy: a bleached world without coronavirus.
Looks like one of those artists renderings of the cross-section of a rodent habitat. Hudson County prairie dog town.
ReplyDeleteDeFuckup is too stupid to remember that just a few months back, a judge determined that the community give-backs from the developers of the new hotel behind the post office, also in his under-served ward, are required to co-locate those amenities. That is the law. They may not place them at other addresses in town. 83 Willow is not the same address as the intersection of Garden and Newark Streets. Guess his handlers are slipping.
ReplyDeleteIf Ironstate is the developer, is his cozy relationship with the new HHA board member the reason for the half mil? Also, if the project's architect generated this rendering, as he's been doing for others on other boards, how soon before almost everyone is recused from hearing his applications? He seems to be the favorite wunderkind of certain folks at City Hall. It's like the bad old days all over again.
The City really got screwed on the deal for 83 Willow, and The Monarch is going forward uptown anyway, blocking the views from someone's rabbit hutch. The same someone who couldn't vote on the project. 2nd warders need to recall her.
The park has always been open to the public, a fact maskless, moronic Mike leaves out. It could stand improvement, starting with removing the gates and fencing, which deter entry, which is the point of them. The depiction of the dough they'll throw on Kovid-free, Kaucasians-only Kioskland doesn't seem like money well spent. All they need to do is remove the gates, or at least prop them open during the day time, and encourage people to use the space. A couple of vendors with pushcarts would be enough to draw families in without destroying what's there. Maybe they can sell BLM T-shirts and masks too.
When are we going to stop providing payment and benefits to these part-time elected idiots?
Anon 3:09 what is going on with Monarch that makes you think it's going up anyway? Also is the 83 Willow up-zone in some way part of getting the monarch deal done or is it a separate unrelated project?
DeleteI agree. Why is Defusco making deals with developers? His job is legislating, not wheeling and dealing for Hoboken. He should stay in his lane. What's in it for him, anyway? Moreover, his plan sucks. The existing park is a lovely green oasis that needs minimal upgrades. I'd improve lighting and add a few benches, and take down most of the fence. A food kiosk in that small area is a terrible idea. Let folks purchase food and drinks from local businesses and carry them in. This is what a First Ward resident said about this idea last year:
Delete"A retail kiosk in the park selling what; food and drinks? Only takes business away from brick and mortar restaurants and retailers within easy walking distance. Having a kiosk that sells (and stores) food and drinks in the park will add to the RAT, raccoon, and pigeon problem that's already an issue around that and the other large buildings across the street. The property owners would have to be responsible for policing it and daily clean-up (likely?). A retail kiosk there would not benefit the city financially, only the property owner."
Fact is that Hoboken City Hall has already reached an agreement with the property owners to increase accessibility.
DeleteLike so many of these press releases from MDF they are all self-aggrandizing hype and very little substance.
numberscruncher - the City lost its case against Applied / Ironstate in trying to prevent the Monarch. 83 Willow was proposed as a swap, but once the bad guys won, there was no need for a swap, so it's widely held that 83 Willow was sold - very short of its true value to Ironstate, not sure why, but Hoboken sucks at negotiating, and we still have to relocate the municipal garage. What genius cut that deal?
DeleteAnother thought is that since Applied is not providing the amenities where The Monarch will be built, they should be required to take off the top three levels of their shitty shipyard buildings, which was the tradeoff.
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DeleteThe property in question is already open to the public under a decade old part of an easement agreement with the developer of the adjacent high rise rental building (77 Park Avenue). The gate to the open space has never been locked and is often propped wide open. So what does Hoboken gain from this deal ?
ReplyDeleteA different developer who wants to build an eleven story, 42 unit rental building on the corner of Newark and Willow Streets has been in negotiations directly with the City of Hoboken as part of a redevelopment plan for over a year. The public meeting I attended the residents Willow Street were not happy with another high rise across the street as were the residents of the adjacent Jefferson Trust building . While many residents attended the meeting the First Ward City Councilman did not attend.
Willow Street will also see large scale development with the Newman Leather complex and the Hoboken Municipal Garage site which will be substatialy enlarged to accommodate a deal with the developers the Monarch pier uptown.
It seems to me the real story about this proposed up-zone is not DeFusco interfering improperly with the Administration's negotiations to try to claim credit for a $500,000 coffee kiosk.
ReplyDeleteThe far more important issue is the overall wisdom of this development proposal in the context of the large-scale development already planned in the 1st Ward within just a few blocks.
There is a valid case to be made for locating ala higher councentration of large scale development close to the PATH and ferry terminals rather than on the Western side of the City where public transportation is less accessible. That means northeast Hoboken too not just southeast. But it's a balancing act because those neighborhoods are already pretty densely populated, and most of the City's undeveloped land is on the Western side of town.
Councilman Doyle requested a development build out study years ago and my understanding is that it was completed. IMHO it's time for that study to get widely shared with the public so it can inform a robust public discussion about the City's development choices, and the trade offs involved, going forward.
DeFusco tries to steal the spotlight no matter what's going on. That's not likely to change.
DeleteThere's no rational reason to build more residential units in Hoboken. Our archaic infrastructure can't handle what we have now. Two inches of rainwater and the combined storm / sewer system is overtaxed and we're slogging through human feces in the street. The runoff is released directly into the Hudson, where it caused the algae bloom which consumed all the oxygen in the river, killing all those fish a few weeks ago. When and if the schools re-open, they can't handle the growing enrollment.
The illegal LCOR project will have few tenants, if it's built, post COVID-19. I guess that's one benefit of this pandemic.
My understanding is that thebthe out study I referred to analyzes what Hoboken would look like in 10 years if Hoboken fully developed as permitted under current zoning andexisting ZBA approvals and redevelopment plans, including the impact that level and location of development would have on the city's infrastructure and the quality of life of its residents.
DeleteAll new development over and above that should be evaluated by reference to that baseline.
I have never had the opportunity to see that study and I don't know if it's ever been publicly released. But it certainly should be.
It probably needs significant updating - a process which could and should be done expeditiously, but the existing study should be front and center of the discussion of every proposed development project that goes beyond the existing baseline.
numbers- on your point re: DeFusco.
DeleteSure, the merits of new high density development in the First Ward is the fundamental issue. But IMO, political corruption is the main tributary feeding Hoboken's reckless, greed-based overdevelopment. DeFusco's "coffee kiosk" may be a shiny object, but the fact that he's playing footsie with Ironstate Developers, allowing them to do him a political favor, is a red flag. The DeFusco council cabal, which includes Tiffanie Fisher and Jen Giattino, have been stacking the boards with pro-development allies, such as the recent appointment of an Ironstate Executive VP to the HHA! IMO, plucking at low hanging fruit often reveals the tree is rotten.
As sure you know, I'm not defending DeFusco (or criticizing you for calling him out on his BS. But his self serving antics are toxic for many reasons. Perhaps the biggest damage he causes is by distracting people from debating the real issues that face Hoboken.
DeleteInstead of an important discussion of the merits of the development itself, informed by the identity of the developer and the City's reasons for considering this (is it needed to make the monarch deal work?) people are discussing the merits of Mike DeFusco and a coffee Kiosk.
Both discussions need to be had, since DeFusco's interference and grandstanding has made his antics part of the picture. But folks shouldn't let DeFusco serve the interest of big developers by changing the story to a discussion about the crumbs he claims to have "negotiated" instead of the development plans themselves.
As one civic activist pointed out on numerous occasions at public meetings, Hoboken "zones by variance" because our zoning code is such a bad fit. The code, most of the ZBA members and the zoning officer all need to go.
DeleteUnless the ZBA has gone back to it's old ways since DeFusco, Ramos and Co. gained influence over ZBA appointments with the collaboration of Fisher and Giattino in 2017, Hoboken hasn't zoned by variance in 10 years, so your comment reflects badly dated information.
DeleteThe large projects that have been approved have all been through redevelopment, meaning the decisions were made by the Mayor and City Council not the ZBA or the zoning officer and theywthey wererwere made independently of Hoboken's zoning code (which I agree is in need of some serious updating).