Working to complete a contiguous public park along the Hudson River and promote development that meets the highest standards of urban design.
UNION DRY DOCK
Sign the Petition! Tell Gov. Murphy to save Hoboken’s public waterfront park
In order to move it’s ferry refueling depot to the Union Dry Dock site, in the middle of Hoboken’s much beloved waterfront park, NY Waterway & its lobbyists have fed Gov. Murphy a false narrative. Show the Governor that we the people overwhelmingly want to preserve this site as public open space. This industrial use must go elsewhere. Two studies, one by NJ Transit and the other by the City of Hoboken, rank the Hoboken Terminal, owned by NJ Transit & designated for transportation purposes, as the optimal site for this facility. Tell the Governor to save this unique spot for kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing, skateboarding, running, strolling and other public uses.
Making up Hoboken's open space deficit at the waterfront & how to fund it
Among NY Waterway’s bogus talking points is that a park at Union Dry Dock would be a burden on Hoboken taxpayers and that Hoboken doesn’t need any more parks. The concept of a linear park at Hoboken’s riverfront began in 1990 when the city had one of the lowest per capita open space ratios in the state of New Jersey. Over the past 30 years, the land for this park has been secured and the park has been built one segment at a time. Both the City of Hoboken and private developers have procured the necessary funds, totaling tens of million of dollars, to make this concept a reality for much of the mile and a half fronting the Hudson River. Very few municipal tax levy dollars have been used to construct this park.
A prophetic vision for successful and failed waterfronts
The first evening that Craig Whitaker came to Hoboken, we took a walking tour of the waterfront joined by several architects who lived in town. This was in 1990 before any development had taken place along Hoboken’s riverfront. We climbed over giant hunks of concrete and viewed the dilapidated piers and crumbling structures of Hoboken’s maritime past. The Maxwell House Coffee Plant and Union Dry Dock were still in operation. But the Port Authority piers, Bethlehem Shipyards and Todd Shipyards were all deteriorating relics of Hoboken’s once thriving industrial and maritime waterfront. It was difficult for me to envision what this waterfront could become. Mr. Whitaker, however, had spent his entire professional career as an architect and planner understanding urban design and what made cities work.
FBW will be there on Newark Street east of Washington. Drop by to say hello, sign the petition and learn more about our 30-year old effort to connect the waterfront. The street fair runs from 11 am to 6 pm.
We believe that successful waterfronts begin with sound planning, time-tested urban design and an understanding that the water's edge belongs to the public.
Copyright 2019 Fund for a Better Waterfront, All rights reserved.
