Hoboken Mayor Pushes For New Light Rail Stop Uptown

(ABOVE: Craig Wallace Dale photo)

As more and more residents and businesses see the light that is the end of the Lincoln Tunnel near Uptown Hoboken, the more it makes sense to put in a Light Rail stop up there.

That’s what Mayor Ravi Bhalla has reportedly proposed, following a meeting with NJ Transit last week. At a ribbon cutting for the new bwè Kafe / Little City Books / Park & Bloom venture in the Bijou Properties-designed Edge Adams (1405 Adams Street), Caren Lissner of Hoboken Patch reports that Bhalla confirmed the meeting over the new Light Rail stop, indicating that, “the city is ’99 percent’ done with a proposed plan for the North End Redevelopment Zone, a 16-block area north of 14th Street and east of the Palisade hills. The next step is for the plan to be introduced by the Hoboken City Council,” reports Lissner.

image via Cahn Communications

“Congratulations to Little City Books, Park & Bloom and bwé Kafe on cutting the ribbon on a second location in Hoboken today,” said Bhalla, as he ceremoniously greeted the new venue. “These small businesses will further revitalize our growing north end and improve the quality of life for all residents. I encourage residents to visit their new locations and shop local for a new book and cup of coffee!”

The coffee shop joins trailblazer Carpe Diem Bar & Restaurant, which is among the longest running establishments north of the viaduct, as well as Pilsener Haus & Biergarten, Gravity Vault and a number of other businesses that call that have found a passionate customer base in this ever-evolving area of town.

“We are thrilled to welcome bwé Kafe and Little City Books to the North End,” says Larry Bijou, managing partner of Bijou Properties.  “Not only is our company based in Hoboken, but this is where many of us live and raise our families. We take the needs of the community seriously and go to great lengths to bring retail and services that enhance the neighborhood – and Edge Adams is no exception. From Gravity Vault to Hudson Table to this one-of-a-kind coffee shop/bookstore, every project we’ve built in the North End has helped transform the way people think about living, shopping and dining in this area.”

RELATED: Hoboken’s NoVia (North of the Viaduct)—Not Just Viable, Vivacious (February 2016)

“We’re incredibly excited to open our doors to the North End community,” says bwe’s owner, Dale Mori-Ryan.  “When the opportunity of the North End location was presented to us, the aspects that excited us the most were the location of the space, the relatively uncontested market space of the surrounding area and the beautiful Platinum LEED Certified building. This fit all the metrics in terms of creativity, innovation and impact that we felt was right to level up bwè kafe.  We believed the concept of a coffee shop and bookstore would be a perfect fit in the long term vision for the entire Hoboken North End.”

“The North End neighborhood is on the move,”  adds Little City Books co-owner Kate Jacobs.  “bwé invited us to collaborate and it seemed like a great chance to meld two established community hubs, and create a new one. bwé, like us, has a tendency to use their space for all kinds of interesting gatherings. We can imagine serendipitous collaborations occurring, blending their coffee crowd with our bookish crowd which are really in many instances, the same! And we love being up by Mile Square Theatre—theatres and bookshops make excellent neighbors.”

Mayor Bhalla will be back uptown next week to deliver his State of the City address on stage at Mile Square Theatre, a deviation from the traditional venue at Stevens Institute of Technology.

“The Mayor thought it would be a nice opportunity to highlight the great work Mile Square Theatre does on a regular basis and showcase their facility to residents that may not be aware,” said Hoboken Spokesman Vijay Chaudhuri, “as well as highlight investments in the western part of the City, like the Northwest Park.”

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