western edge redevelopment meeting on wed 7pm sharp!

Click the below image to enlarge!


Do you like to give your opinion? Yes, of course you do! Well stop by City Council Chambers at 94 Washington Street at 7pm this Wednesday to discuss the future of the Western Edge Redevelopment plan. Now's your chance to have your voice heard.

Do you want good restaurants? Quality retail? Open space covered with real grass? Perhaps a bicycle fast lane along Monroe Street? Community pool? Do you want to make sure that future retail spaces are larger than what's currently zoned in our Upper Grand buildings, which sit empty because they are not large enough for businesses other than nail salons and dry cleaners? Thought so. Come and hang out on Wednesday evening!

Afterwards, we can do a conga line together back to our neighborhood.

small print, large opinions

No, you are not reading the above flyer all the way from the moon, nor are you a 95 year old who forgot their glasses. This itty bitty super tiny teensy weensy pretty much unreadable listing (taken directly from the official Hoboken website) is actually a public meeting announcement to invite local citizens and people with strong opinions to come to the next City Council Meeting and discuss the future redevelopment plan for the western edge of Hoboken. Clearly they do not want any of us showing up. Why don't we prove them wrong and show up en mass? Bring your noise groggers and megaphones and confetti and make tell 'em what you want in your neighborhood.

For example, if I was there I'd say - any future retail spaces must be at least twice as large as the ones currently existing in the Upper Grand buildings - because those retail spaces are so small no businesses can actually use them - other than nail salons and dry cleaners. This is a problem that should be corrected on all future developments. Why keep making the same mistake? Have you noticed how many unrented retail spots there are in the Upper Grand buildings? It's because the square footage of the spaces availalbe are TOO SMALL. Kind of the like the flyer above.

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 @ 7pm
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CITY HALL
94 Washington Street

Unfortunately HH is not in town tomorrow night - so if any diligent and caring NW Hobokeners would like to file an official report with HH on what went down at the meeting, I will publish your report and make you a local honorary junior celebrity. You may not be as popular as Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, but you'll feel good about being one of the few who care enough to improve your own community. Please email me by clicking here.


Thanks Eddie, for the tip!

neighborhood rendering

Here's what the Upper Grand developement will look like in a year or two. 1000 Jefferson is getting its finishing touches this spring, and the plot of land where 800 Madison is to be built has just been cleared to get ready for the foundation!


Here's a link to rendering on Upper Grand's website:

interactive map of the area

This image is also very exciting because it shows the proposed park necklace that will run along the Light Rail. Terrible nickname for a park system, I know, but that's what people are calling it. I can't wait to see some green space in our new neighborhood. We definitely need it.

Rendering courtesy of Tarragon Corporation.