All Aboard? Council Approves Hoboken Rail Yard Redevelopment

Viewing it as a positive move that will include indoor public space and affordable housing, the City Council voted 8-1 last night to approve the existing plan for the Hoboken Rail Yard Redevelopment.

While some council members were enthusiastic, others felt pressured by NJ Transit to adopt the current plan or see it taken off the table altogether. Said Councilman Dave Mello, “Shame on NJ Transit for taking their eye off what they are supposed to do and putting their eye on a money grab.”

Ardent preservationists like Paul Somerville, former chairman of the Hoboken Historic Preservation Commission, said in a letter to City Council, “Whether it’s NJ Transit’s design or the City’s or some iteration thereof, the nature of what’s being considered would irrevocably and harmfully alter the relationship between the City of Hoboken and Hoboken Terminal and largely ignore the historic fabric at and near the terminal and rail yards.”

Councilman Ravi Bhalla took a more optimistic view, stating, “This is literally a beginning. It’s not an end.”