08/06/2006
Mayor Roberts has his facts wrong

Dear Hoboken Reporter:

Mayor Roberts, last week, in a published advertisement stated "we have identified seven acres of land in the southwest section of Hoboken as the next park site." As usual, the Mayor appears to be getting his facts wrong. The truth is, at the special council meeting, dated 28th June 2006, it was the presentation of the Southwest Parks Coalition's revised resolution that persuaded the Hoboken council members to "study" several blocks in the southwest area for park land, equaling seven acres. The original resolution only included two blocks, equaling four acres of land. However, this does not guarantee an actual park or one of a size mentioned in the City's Master Plan.

Furthermore, the city's website is advertising jobs for planners to develop the land in the southwest redevelopment area. This person is not even required to have park development experience, just urban planning. Hence the odds that the Mayor is envisioning the same park as Hoboken residents or the Master Plan, is extremely unlikely. The mayor is ensuring he gets a lot of press about his "park plans", which we all know means "condominiums with a strip of landscape."
 
Sincerely,
Nishant Amin
Rashila Amin