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surge and rainfall are 2 COMPLETELY different conditions. No amount of sewer work will abate a surge. But a variety of solutions from pumps to holding tanks can solve the rainfall issues, as they have in low lying cities around the country and world. And you are wrong about all being well elsewhere in the city, even in the Heights there are localized flooding problems due to bad sewer design or maintenance.

Brewster, you are correct about our old sewers but these sewers also exist in other parts of the town and it doesn't flood. Downtown JC was composed of several different lands formation including islands. Mill Creek ran through this area, you can find Mill Creek in a painting at the downtown Provident Bank. Early settlers would take boats to Paulus Hook to reach the ferry and travel to Manhattan. During the construction of now Metropolis, then called the Gregory Apartments, parts of a boat was found. Parts of downtown is landfill. Van Vorst received more damage than Paulus Hook because some of Van Vorst is landfill. I am referring to the impact of Sandy.

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I'm so tired of this mantra of using flooding as an excuse to attack development. Guess what happens in undeveloped natural areas when it rains heavily? They either flood or form rivers. We have rivers, they're man made and called sewers, but unfortunately they're over a century old and either broken, undersized or both. They're perfectly adequate for sanitary needs, but not for stormwater. And all of this is completely irrelevant to a storm surge like Sandy raising the level of the river. Undeveloped land would not affect it one bit. Except for surges, we don't have a development problem or a flood problem. We have a sewer problem, due to decades of high sewer taxes vanishing without a trace and not being reinvested in our infrastructure.

I will agree that administration after administration has failed us in the planning of our city. When DeGise was 1st running for Executive I asked him and his opponents at a debate what they were intending for this once in a lifetime opportunity to plan the development of Hudson County. The Dems responded with evasive "we plan to plan" banalities, and the sacrificial GOP kid, Ira Jersey if I recall, was actually thoughtful. One of the few times in my life I voted for a Republican.

Agree that our water front, albeit having better views than our northern neighbors (we have Statue of Liberty AND Manhattan!), we don't utilize the coast as well as we could. What I would have loved to have seen is more waterfront restaurants/bars/rooftop bars (again, compete with our Northern neighbors) and create a little bit of tourism.

Check out San Antonio river walk. Again, I hope our sleepy town doesn't turn into this exactly, but it would be nice have a nice row of water front restaurants and bars to enjoy the view (other than the 2 in LSP).

The development of downtown was done under the Schundler Administration. I have suggested to Council President DeGise, the land that floods downtown but not develop on, should be considered for open space. Unfortunately, the government then gave the city away to developers and buildings are on those sites today. Parts of the Mocco's property should have been opened space especially near the lite rail. 18th Street always had flooding problems, which should have been open space. During the McCann Administration there were public hearings on the Medical Center new location. I said that area floods but a politician owned that land, so that site became the new Medical Center. It was devastated by Sandy, 8 ft of water entered the hospital. Open space is needed for drainage, there is too much concrete.

I think the point about poor quality waterfront public space is well taken, especially when compared to our northern neighbor. We have nothing comparable to either Sinatra or Pier A parks. Newport just built it's 1st park after 25 years, and the area is still far below standards for park space per capita. Liberty North is similar in it's planning a paltry 4 acre park (HP sized) for over 10k planned units.

This is as good a place as any to relate this anecdote of what happened to me on the J.C. waterfront ?gold coast?. I?m an artist, I paint landscapes and I happened to notice some lovely cherry trees in bloom along the pedestrian walkway North of the marina closest to Newport, the condo complex with the fake lighthouse.
I have a folding easel and a backpack which holds my paints and stuff. I set up on the sidewalk and worked for several hours painting the cherry trees. Late in the day a security vehicle pulls up and two uniformed security guys get out and ask me what I am doing, and do I have a permit, and why do I have so much equipment, ect. They tell me I can?t paint there, that its private property. When asked, they refuse to tell me what management company they work for, but it?s clearly the only security company in the area and they all have identical vehicles.
I?m amazed this sort of thing happens anywhere at all but I?m even more amazed it could happen in a park opppen to the public. Sure its privately managed but do they have the right to stop you from making a painting? How about if I was writing a poem, would they be able to prevent me from doing that?
The larger questions are about what exactly IS a park for, don?t cultural pursuit play a roll? I will point out that there was no sort of ?this painting is for sale? vibe, I was only painting a picture not trying to sell it.
?How would you have planned the JC Waterfront? For starters I would allow the freedoms granted under the constitution and I would want art and culture to be ENCOURAGED not prohibited.

Liberty State Park and Morris Canal Park are both under control of the State.

There are, in fact, several ferry landings in JC. I'd guess it is up to the National Park Service to decide ferry routes for Ellis Island.

We don't need Exchange Place-sized plazas every 200 yards. There are also a few nice resources on the waterfront, such as Newport Green Park and several marinas.

I have no idea what sort of planning was bandied about in the 1980s. I'm pretty sure there was something, because it's not like they opened a planning department 2 weeks ago.

I think you're looking at the situation with hindsight and personal preferences. Anyone who suggested in the early 1980s that "tourists will flock to Jersey City!" would have been laughed out of the room.

All you need to learn about Jersey City's waterfront (from just north of the Colgate clock to Newport) you can learn by going there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, then taking a walk to Sinatra Park in Hoboken. Whereas Hoboken's waterfront is bustling with people taking advantage of ample green space, a tree-lined separated bike lane, restaurants and beautiful parks, JC's waterfront is a sterile, corporate ghost town with maybe a few tourists taking pictures of the skyline.

The JC waterfront is one of the casualties of the giveaways to the financial businesses and high rises in the area. They give the area the feel of Wall Street, which is fine for going to work, but the last place on earth you want to spend your free time. The entire area lacks retail space, green space or any other amenities. It has tremendous untapped potential.

Grundy Pier, which should be a centerpiece of cultural events in the area, is a particularly under-utilized asset.

Not sure what can be done to remedy that area, but the renovated Colgate park (which looks beautiful) is a nice start.

On the topic of ferries, I don't know why NY waterway doesn't have one from LSP to governor's island and/or brooklyn. They do the governor's island thing like once a year for the city of water day. Getting to Brooklyn from JC via public transport is a pain in the ass requiring train transfers to lines that run infrequently like the G (stands for "get another train"). I usually drive in because sadly it's easier.

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Plazas to link? The ones that weren't built. If every cross street terminated at the riverfront with a plaza, JC would have at least a dozen plazas instead of simply one echo-chamber at Exchange Place. JC mightn't own the walkway itself, but it could have shaped the development of everything alongside it with retail and public space. And instead of the dog piles at Morris canal and the Belgian road paving to the garish 9/11 memorial in LSP itself - how about a tasteful walkway with smaller monuments to US history and culture along the way. Heck even inscribed paving stones would be better that what we have got.

And ferries already run from LSP to the Statue of Liberty. Tourists might have wanted to walk there from Newport and Exchange Place if there was stuff to see and do along the way...

Of course that would have taken a plan, and it's probably too late to rip it down and start again. Oh well.

My understanding is that the Hudson River Walkway and Liberty State Park are under state control, so JC has very little influence on those facilities.

I believe, but am not sure, that the same is true for Morris Canal Park.

My understanding is that the Colgate Clock is on private property. Maybe JC could have bought it, but I don't think they could run ferries to Ellis Island without federal permission. I believe the feds also own the bridge to Ellis Island.

I'm not really sure what other sections you have in mind, or which plazas you want to link.

Some of the threads on abatements and the give-away of JC's waterfront over the past decade, set me thinking on how the waterfront might look if the City actually had a plan...

Me, I'd have loved to have seen the walkway designated as the "Liberty mile" ending in LSP boats/bridge to the Statue of Liberty, that celebrated the rich cultural history, diversity and waves of immigration the US has seen over the years. The walkway could have had ethnically themed plazas and public spaces along it. Consistent signature lighting - red, white and blue on the walkway connecting to flags at the plazas. A yearly competition to design a tribute monument in each plaza. The Exchange Place weekly parades that would have more than one venue. And nothing better for NYC tourists than finding a piece of home on their visit - it would be on most people's to-do list. That would have cost the developers very little in terms of public and retail space.

Instead, what has JC's waterfront got after all the development? A clock?