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Congrats. In this case, the developer sounds especially shiesty so they do need to be more honest with the community and planning board as to what they are doing and render buildings to scale! that isnt very hard to do. Fight for good integration of the building into the neighborhood, hidden parking if any and see if they will throw in some trees along the sidewalks. They should at least contribute to the neighborhood they are trying to join. Good Luck!

huge appreciation for everyone who came out last night! the size of the crowd was definitely noted.

the 5th Street presentation definitely had several problems - including a rendering showing the proposed 7-story building looking identical in height to the 5 story next to it. When questioned by one of the Board of Adjustment members, they had to admit that it was "not to scale"

Because they had changed the design of the building on Monday - bigger setbacks around the existing windows of the next-door building, removing a bedroom and bathroom from a 7th floor apartment among other tweaks - the Board stopped the presentation and said that they hadn't had a chance to study the final design - and neither had the community.

It was a very fair move by the Board - but a bit of a bummer, because I think if it had come to a vote that the proposal would have been defeated.

So they will be back with their presentation on Thursday, May 21st. And I'll be there - hope everyone else can make it as well.

as far as parking is concerned, the city should tell the developer/s, no parking platforms and city parking permits for residents of their developments. if parking is needed, put it underground.

I heard the application was tabled again. The developers made a presentation but presented no rationale why a variance should be granted.

The proposal was rejected and the developer has to go back to the drawing board and come up with something else.

Sorry that we can't make this, please report back if you did go! Thanks!

You don't want the Village to become the waterfront or even Journal Square. This is the reason the Hilltop is upset about the Robin Hood Development which will put a 42 storied building in an area of one to two family homes.

Hi nafco

I agree with a lot of your points - I am in favor of a prosperous Jersey City with people and companies making a real investment in the place.

But this isn't a few dozen apartments - according to one developer who is very active in The Village, this tiny neighborhood (Merseles to Coles, Columbus to 5th) has about 1000 new apartments in the development pipeline. That's likely more than 600 extra cars, and many more children to squeeze into PS 5, and even more people packing onto the PATH at Grove St.

Obviously development is coming - but zoning should be considered a rule, not a suggestion, otherwise we become Houston.

Also, often when developers ask the community for more space in order to make more money - and on 5th Street he is asking for virtually all of the lot coverage as well as 4 extra stories - they should offer some benefit to the community. As far as I can tell, the only benefit being offered is a future with 19 (potentially lovely) new neighbors instead of 2 or 4.

PLEASE come to the Board of Adjustment meeting at City Hall tonight - 6:30pm, second floor! We can make a difference!

I have mixed feelings about this whole topic. Jersey City is a hodge-podge of 3 story houses adjacent to 50 story high-rises which I agree looks funny and should be managed more responsibly. But on the other hand it is a prosperous city which can and will grow throughout, so a 5-7 story building beside a set of 3-4 story buildings doesnt seem like that much of a stretch to me. If parking is a concern, maybe that can be mentioned to the developer to integrate on site parking within the building so its not an eyesore, but I dont think a few dozen new apartments will negatively affect the area all too much. More neighbors typically means more investment in new businesses and quality of life. If we are talking about gentrification raising the cost of rentals, well yes, that is the downside to development and its a pain, but the height of the new buildings wont stop that train from rolling.

As much of the proposed development in the Village is geared to condos instead of rentals, these buildings won't add any rental stock to help with pricing.

Also, when an R1 zoning (1 or 2-family, 3 stories) is treated by developers as a minor obstacle to a 7-story building, all that does is drive up prices - the land is worth a lot more if you can build a high rise on it instead of a small building.

And, Jersey City is a great and diverse city - diverse in its population as well as its architecture. Although it might be financially nice if there were tens of thousands of high rises on every block, filled with cheap rental apartments, I think it would turn this place into an ant-hill instead of a vibrant city.

Also - I think bodhipooh is right if we were trying to fight a 95 story building on the waterfront - but this is just a 7-story building in a tiny neighborhood of small homes and low rise multi-families. I think if even several dozen people show up and defeat this tonight, then developers will have to come up with a new strategy (and they probably will!)

Just wondering if the same people calling for limits on growth are going to gripe about how expensive rents are?

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You are joking, right? If that was the case, nothing would ever get done, or passed. I very much doubt that a contingent of "concerned citizens" will give any sort of pause to a determined developer.

dear VillageIdiot (boy, does that phrase feel weird to type!), just being there at the meeting will do a lot.

Seeing concerned citizens and voters take the time to show up to object to this project will give pause to both the developers and the zoning board.

The meeting starts at 6:30 tonight - it is on the second floor of City Hall at 280 Grove Street.

Hope to see you (and a lot of your neighbors!) there tonight.

I moved to the Village because it was a funky, interesting neighborhood, with a great mix of people who actually talk to each other, not the kind of alienating existence that people lead in huge tall buildings -- and I used to be one of them.

The one thing I don't really like is that it can be tough to find a parking space, and if a whole lot more people move in, I hope they don't bring too many cars with them.

I am happy to show up at the meeting tomorrow -- where exactly is it? -- though I am not sure what I can bring to the discussion other than an antipathy towards the idea of this building.

Developers AND city officials must be held accountable! I can
attest that shyster developers and corrupted city officials HAVE INDEED
snookered Village residents previously.

Back in 2002 or 2003, developer plans to rehab two adjoining
buildings on 2nd Street (between Brunswick and Colgate)
were somehow approved and somehow passed whatever
check points existed at the time. The resulting "condos"
were so poorly insulated that one could literally hear
the conversations in units above and below, as if in the
same room. I know because I purchased one. Buildings like this
blight the neighborhood and bring neighboring values down.

Indeed with these two buildings, ten years later, the lipstick has
long since worn off.

This, I agree with. I believe this is the lot adjacent to the "Burke Bros Garage" building. There's no need to 7 stories there, but I can see giving them the same height as the the building next door.

Here is the agenda:
http://www.jerseycitynj.gov/uploadedF ... rmation/zb0411615.agn.pdf

Developers are planning several aggressive assaults on Village zoning this year ? but we may be able nip it in the bud tomorrow (Thursday). An owner of a property on 5th Street which is zoned R1 (3-story, 1 or 2 family) wants to build a 7-story, 19 apartment, no-parking building. He is applying for multiple variances at the Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting this Thursday, April 16, 6:30pm at City Council Chambers, 280 Grove Street. (it was originally on the March calendar but was adjourned a few hours prior - possibly to discourage the neighborhood from coming out to object)

Several of us are planning to go to Thursday night?s meeting to speak against the 5th Street proposal.
If you are concerned about the imminent change in building heights in the Village, I encourage you to join us and show the Board that the community wants to be consulted and heard on this issue.

Right now developers are buying up land all over the Village, and if this 7-story building gets approved it will open the floodgates for other buildings. Right behind the 5th street building is a large empty lot on the Newark and Brunswick, an 8-story commercial/residential building with 57 apartments has been proposed (5 stories are currently allowed on Newark). The intersection of Newark and Brunswick could see a lot of new buildings in the next couple of years, and if one of them gets approved for 8 stories, it is unlikely that the others will settle for just five.

When a developer asks the community for a variance, there should be a good reason for it, beyond the added profitability to the enterprise. A developer naturally wants to make the most money possible, and wants to offer attractive features, like sunlight and views, which are increased the higher the building rises.

Major concessions in zoning are being sought from the community, but how does the community benefit? Are 1000 possibly wonderful new neighbors worth the loss of parking and sunlight and the gain of congestion and crowded schools? Maybe, but if so, it should be our decision, not that of the developers.

I am not anti-development, and as someone who has lived here just two years, not against new people coming to the neighborhood, but I don?t see why the Village can?t be developed within the zoning regulations. There are plenty of places in this city to build large apartment buildings.

There are numerous examples in the past of Jersey City developers getting their way, even against community opposition, but the Village neighborhood has also had success. Last year a developer wanted to convert a lot zoned for 3-story 2-family buildings on 4th Street into a 5-story, 24-apartment building. A couple of dozen people, including children, from the neighborhood came to the Board of Adjustment meeting to voice their objections to the proposal ? so many that the Board because of time, asked that not everyone speak. And in the end, the Board voted 7-0 to deny the developer?s variance requests.

We can do it again ? I hope you?ll let your neighbors know what?s going on, and that you?ll join us.

-- Robinson Holloway