GREEN ACRES: Hoboken Awarded $1.8M Grant to Aid With Park Projects, Dog Runs

The City of Hoboken has a pretty voracious appetite for park space, with multiple projects currently underway or in the pipeline. In an effort to help cover the tab, the City has announced that was awarded $1,819,132 in grant funding from the State of New Jersey and Hudson County for open space and park projects.

“I’m incredibly thrilled Hoboken has been selected for these major sources of funding for our open space initiatives,” said Mayor Ravi Bhalla. “There are no two more important park projects currently underway in Hoboken than our Northwest and Cove resiliency parks, which will become models for the State and region for including above and below ground infrastructure to address flooding. Thank you to Governor Phil Murphy, County Executive Tom DeGise, and Freeholder Anthony Romano for the generous grant awards, which will also help provide much needed upgrades to our existing dog runs.”

Hoboken received $1,069,132 in Green Acres funding through the State for the creation of Cove Park as part of the City’s Rebuild by Design project, as well as the restoration of a portion of the waterfront walkway in Hoboken at Weehawken Cove. The park will serve the dual purpose of providing both open space amenities, and including above ground infrastructure to protect Hoboken from storm surge.

Hudson County awarded the City $500,000 for the construction of the Northwest Resiliency Park, which is being built on a previously encapsulated 5-acre industrial site near 12th & Adams Streets. In addition to open space amenities, the park includes above ground green infrastructure to absorb and manage up to one million gallons of water during rain events, and an underground tank and filtration system to store an additional one million gallons of rainwater. The park will become New Jersey’s largest resiliency park when complete. Hoboken purchased the land from BASF for $30 million in 2016. Overall budget for this project is speculated to be in the vicinity of $90 million.

The County has also provided $250,000 for the renovation of dog runs at Stevens Park and Church Square Park. These dog run renovations include new, modern canine synthetic turf surfaces to replace the gravel surfaces, and  will also upgrade the water fountains at both parks while improving shade at the large dog run in Church Square Park

“We are pleased to continue to assist Hoboken in its efforts to expand and improve open space through the Hudson County Open Space Trust,” said Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise. “Hoboken has so much to offer, helping them construct parks and recreation space for everyone (including pets!) is crucial to the city’s growth and quality of life.”

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