stani wrote:
2) The JC Historic Preservation Comission disagrees

3) So does most likely all of downtown JC

4) It hasn't decayed much in almost 100 years, and it probably won't in another 100

5) The blight on the area is caused by other factors. There are hundreds of threads on this list about those issues. The embankment is not one of them.

7) Any public park requires money to maintain. There is money in the city budget for parks.

8) The only motive is to preserve the embankment and turn it into a park

9) The park renovation budget would be relatively small part of the city's expenditures

10) There are plenty of elevated public spaces (have you heard of the High Line in New York?)

I believe that the embankment should be demolished and hope you agree. In its place, I believe affordable (middle-class) housing should be built. This housing, built to the style of the surrounding brownstone neighborhood, would do so much more for the community and help stabilize declining property values. A derelict eyesore does nothing to help home values and its time has come. The embankment needs to go.

FGJCNJ1970 wrote:
There are many reasons why this demolition should take place.
1) The embankment is no longer in use by any sort of railroad.
2) The sections of the embankment that are left have absolutely no historical value
3) Most certainly the embankment contains harmful toxic byproducts from its years of use as a railroad tressel
4) The embankment is a major safety issue in that it suffers from decay and portions of either stone or masonry have fallen off the tops of the structures.
5) The embankment is a blight on the downtown community, encouraging urban vandalism and graffiti
6) At night, the embankment is poorly lit, or not lit at all, and creates an UNSAFE environment for criminals to mug and rob citizens.
7) Pro embankment liberals have concocted an unfeasable plan to establish an elevated "park" without any financial plans for real viability. Meanwhile existing real parks such as Hamilton park just TWO blocks away desperately need major restoration.
8) Pro embankment persons are against change for the common good and have ulterior motives (like not loosing parking space access behind the embankment)
9) Even if a park could be funded and built, it would require significant investment and would increase already extremely high local property taxes
10) The embankment proposal has huge insurance implications. Unlike a traditional ground park, this is an elevated train tressel and because of the height, the insurance costs to the city would be enormously expensive. Also, very expensive safety measures would have to be incorporated to prevent someone from falling off.
11) The ground area abutting the embankment frequently becomes a dumping area for trash, rubbish, discarded shopping carts, etc.
12) certain portions of the embankment are listed on the internet as cruising grounds for inappropriate activity ranging from drug dealing to sexual misconduct - again presenting a danger to the community.

FG

FGJCNJ1970 wrote:
Blue Dog Democrat. Liberally social

BrightMoment wrote: TOMORROW Before 4PM!! Tuesday, April 7th BrightMoment wrote: Action Alert! 3-Day Countdown: Get 1000 Comments to STB by April 7 Deadline is 4PM! The federal Surface Transportation Board needs to hear from you that you want a full environmental study of the Harsimus Branch before Conrail is allowed to walk away. Here's How to File in a Few Easy Steps 1. Go to the STB web site. 2. Enter, in the first four boxes, AB 167 1189 X 3. Enter your contact information, your comment, and Submit. Guidelines for Comments Guidelines for comments are at the Coalition web site. If you have only a minute, just write: I want a full environmental study of the entire Harsimus Branch. If you can, spend a few more moments and describe, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, what environmental impacts Conrail's abandonment and demolition will have on our neighborhoods. Please Note: The Harsimus Branch is not just the Embankment on Sixth Street; the right of way that Conrail is abandoning extends from the Hudson River waterfront to the Embankment and from the western end of the Embankment into the Village area and along an edge of the Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery. The Cemetery is a Revolutionary War and War of 1812 historic site as well as a historic burial place for Jersey City families. A full environmental impact study for the whole right of way should help decisionmakers make good choices about this important corridor. If you need more help, call Jenny Meyer at 917-379-3455.

MargieHague wrote:
Please do this everyone. It only takes a couple of minutes and your comment could help save the Embankment.

r_pinkowitz wrote:
Quote:

BrightMoment wrote:
SEA Issues Inadequate Report; Ask STB for Environmental Impact Statement

Help Us Get 1000 Comments to STB by April 7

The Section on Environmental Analysis (SEA) of the Surface Transportation Board just issued its preliminary Environmental Assessment (EA). It unfortunately accepts Conrail\'s version of Embankment environmental status hook, line, and sinker, despite evidence we previously submitted. It rejects the calls of the State Historic Preservation Office and many organizations for a full Environmental Impact Statement that will look at the wide spectrum of issues raised by abandonment. The public has until April 7 to convince SEA that its assessment is off-base and that a full Environmental Impact Statement is needed.

File Comments Now; and No Later Than April 7
Here\'s how:
1. Go to www.stb.dot.gov
2. Choose E-FILING from the menu at top.
3. On the web page that comes up, in the column at right, click on Environmental Comments.
4. A form will appear. In the four boxes for Docket No., enter the following: AB 167 1189 X
5. Then enter your contact information and comment and Submit.

Guidelines for comments are on our web site. Don\'t let the complexity of the issues stop you from filing a comment. If you are not steeped in the details, simply write something like:

\"Please authorize a full Environmental Impact Statement. It is wrong to allow Conrail to abandon the right of way when demolition and development plans will have severe adverse effects on our environment. I want a full and impartial study of direct and indirect effects of abandonment on our neighborhoods and families.\"

Please Tell Friends and Neighbors to Send Comments
Public input is extremely important at this stage. The STB is a federal regulatory agency that has a duty to enforce federal laws that protect the public interest. We have only until April 7 to urge the agency to do its job.

Alternative to Filing on the Web
If you are attending the HPC hearing April 1 (and we hope you are), Coalition members can give you forms on which you can enter your comments. We will then scan them into pdf files and submit them to the STB for you.

The Coalition has requested that public comment be carried over to a third hearing, so that the public has time to consider the presentations, and public comment will not be cut short. We cannot guarantee that this request will be granted, so if you plan to testify, come prepared. See our
guidelines.

Action Alert!

3-Day Countdown:

Get 1000 Comments to STB by April 7

The federal Surface Transportation Board needs to hear from you that you want a full environmental study of the Harsimus Branch before Conrail is allowed to walk away.

Here's How to File in a Few Easy Steps

1. Go to the STB web site.
2. Enter, in the first four boxes, AB 167 1189 X
3. Enter your contact information, your comment, and Submit.

Guidelines for Comments

Guidelines for comments are at the Coalition web site. If you have only a minute, just write: I want a full environmental study of the entire Harsimus Branch.

If you can, spend a few more moments and describe, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, what environmental impacts Conrail's abandonment and demolition will have on our neighborhoods.

Please Note: The Harsimus Branch is not just the Embankment on Sixth Street; the right of way that Conrail is abandoning extends from the Hudson River waterfront to the Embankment and from the western end of the Embankment into the Village area and along an edge of the Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery. The Cemetery is a Revolutionary War and War of 1812 historic site as well as a historic burial place for Jersey City families. A full environmental impact study for the whole right of way should help decision makers make good choices about this important corridor.

FGJCNJ1970 wrote:

the whole ground is most likely VERY very contaminated. Would you want your young son or daughter playing in toxic soil? And trying to make it into any sort of park would be VERY very expensive.

Frankly, we have Van Vorst park, we have Hamilton Park... and I'd rather see my tax paying money going to finally renovate Hamilton Park. I mean renovations have been on the table for years... but have gone nowhere.

And what else is funny is... these embankment people tried planting trees between Erie and Jersey several years ago... and they ALL died.

And the insurance costs to the city would be crazy to make an elevated park where someone could fall off.

I'd rather see the money put into new cops to stop crime in JC which is on the rise.

I grew up in a rural area next to active freight rail tracks. Kids used to hang out on them all the time(well, not when the trains were on them) They were no more toxic than the surrounding areas, and probably hadn't been cleaned or renovated for more than 50 years.

Quote:

And the insurance costs to the city would be crazy to make an elevated park where someone could fall off.


Yes. If only mankind could devise some means of preventing people from falling from high places! Then we could have elevated parks, and maybe even multi-story buildings!

FGJCNJ1970 wrote:

Between Erie and Manila... you still have cha cha land... despite the low income being turned into "Luxury" condos.

as this is a former rail site, the whole ground is most likely VERY very contaminated. Would you want your young son or daughter playing in toxic soil?

And the insurance costs to the city would be crazy to make an elevated park where someone could fall off.