the Embankment is a municipal and state landmark. unlike at the local level, the national register affords little protection. given local listings, it likely would meet the standards at the national level.

why do people here and in the press continue to refer to the owner/applicant as a developer? have they developed anything? can anyone point to a project that they have built? perhaps, a better label would be investor or speculator.

yes, the city passed on opportunities in the past to acquire the property, but there are numerous public policy positions that change. given the tens of thousands, approved and planned residential housing units in the downtown area, there is little need for more residential housing at this site.

from what I have read, the city has tried time and time again to come to a fair settlement to acquire the property. failing that, I would like to see the city move forward with eminent domain. the taking would not involved residences, nor an actively used commercial property or giving it over for profit development.

keeping and reusing the embankment, preserves the historic texture of the adjacent historic districts, would provide sorely needed open space and would be a spectacular gateway connection to the East Coast Greenway. there is woefully little benefit by tearing it down and we are finally waking up to the idea that tax abated subsidized market rate residential housing brings greater cost than benefits.




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There will be national grants available to turn The Embankment into a park.

Spend some time here: http://embankment.org

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I don't see the embankment on the national register of historic places. Some parts of it may be in historic districts, but that doesn't mean the embankment itself is protected. Can you show me where the embankment is listed as a protected historic structure?

Sorry I may be late to the conversation, but what is worth saving about the embankment? I understand why it is a part of the history of JC, but it's just that....history. We don't preserve every old building in JC just because it's old.

What options are there when it comes to the embankment? The developer can sell the land back to the city, so the the city can knock it down and build parks, or build the parks on top. I doubt the city has the money to demolish the structures let alone make them sound enough to build parks on top. Plus I doubt the developer would sell the property back without making a nice profit. Or the residents of JC let the developer go ahead with his plans to add more housing. The developer pays all costs, and the city gets to reap the tax benefits.

Somebody tell me why you want to save this thing???

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Thanks for the suggestion, but how about YOU put on some gloves, grab a bag and go to those spots. Let us know how it goes.

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While the current glut of that "desperately needed" new construction housing is another debate, at no time has Hyman proposed low density R1 zoned "beautiful single family homes or townhouses" for those properties. At one point he proposed a density that would have required at least 10 story full lot construction.

The embankment sucks and really does nothing for me. I am one of these people of Jersey City.

Take down the embankment, replace everyone in the building department, hire more cops and start cracking down on quality of life crimes.

If anyone runs on that platform, they win!

There are plenty of other places in this city that in more need of having weeds pulled and litter picked up than along the 6th St. embankment. These people should have gone to those spots instead.

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That's where this gets interesting.... for those lots, is there technically a portion that would normally be a public right-of-way (sidewalk), and thus open to the public?

I have a sidewalk in front of my house. And while it is my responsibility to clean and maintain it, and while I am liable for any slip & fall lawsuits that could arise, I cannot, for example, erect a 6 foot high fence out to the curb line in front of my house, effectively closing my portion of the sidewalk to the public.

So the question becomes, that while Hyman is correct in saying he would be liable for any injuries, I don't see where he can specifically stop people from picking up litter and pulling weeds on that public right-of-way.

The Embankment is a protected historic structure and transportation corridor that belongs to the people of Jersey City. It has great value to the history and future of Jersey City.

It will not be torn down.

Hyman's just a temporary caretaker but he is not taking care of it.

It's not the developers fault that its sitting and being over grown. Its "we the people of jersey city" getting in the way. Stop crying and let the man expand our city.

1. Knock it down!!!!

2. Build beautiful single family homes or townhouses. These homes are desperately needed in Downtown JC for families with more than 1 child.

3. Maybe the developer can compromise and donate 1 block back to the city for a park.

4. Collect millions in tax dollars.

THIS IS A NO BRAINER!!!!!

So basically... what the owner said was, "Keep those damn kids off my lawn!"

City should send a fine to owners of the land for liter and overgrowth.

To be clear, the group didn't want to get onto The Embankment, rather only to clean-up litter and cut back the overgrowth in the area next to The Embankment where a sidewalk would otherwise be.

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Unfortunately that never seemed to be an option. Why a 1 block strip between 2 historic districts shouldn't be rezoned for similar construction has never been explained adequately. But Hyman wants to pack those block as densely as he's allowed, which seems to have no limit that's I've heard.

Owner of property kicks unwanted people off his land. Film at 11

What I find most entertaining is whenever a builder/developer is in a litigation situation they go beyond taking the low road. They show their true colors, green for greed or pond scum, whichever you prefer. I've witnessed neighbors work through mediation with losers playing below the belt with seedy methods and close to illegal strategies for making issues go away. Hyman likes his weeds? Wow, how very pre-school of an insult sir. Don't you have better things to do?

I know not all builders are the same as I think the community members of the Hamilton Square Park development have shown - but it's a shame I have witnessed so many with this entitlement behavior. How are people like this raised? There is a deep down insecurity that goes beyond this issue. Go to therapy, don't wreck other families over your Napoleon complex. And why do so many set up shop in downtown Jersey City? What friends do these scums like this have? Something tells me friends are few and far between for these people. Lucky Hyman has a spouse to hang with. They are winning no points with the community and they should know - word spreads fast in this town. People know who those grifters are.

There is also liability issues. What if someone got hurt while cleaning up the place? The owner could be liable. Speaking as someone who went through my own five year legal battle over a nuisance slip and fall... defending yourself is expensive and time consuming.


I don't understand what all the fuss is about. If the owner does not want these people on "his" land then why does this group keep persisting ? It was different with the reservoir that was city owned property. Is the group urging the city to use eminent domain to seize the land out from under the property owner ?

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Actually it belonged to Conrail and was sold to a developer. It would be nice to see that ugly pile of rocks turned into un-abated rateables in the form of 1 to 2 family homes.


If you want to turn that into a park, you are going to have to raise enough money to make it worth for the owner to sell it. The city is over $800 mil in debt, is on the road to a Chapter 9 bankruptcy, and is in no position to bond even more (eminent domain seizures costs money). In particular a park that wouldn't be able to support even a pee-wee league ball field. All its going to be is a big pile of bluestone with a trail lined by a few trees. Its just not worth it.

The Embankment belongs to the people of Jersey City.

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I don't understand what all the fuss is about. If the owner does not want these people on "his" land then why does this group keep persisting ? It was different with the reservoir that was city owned property. Is the group urging the city to use eminent domain to seize the land out from under the property owner ?

Developer prohibits volunteers from cleaning up contested Sixth Street Embankment site in Jersey City

Published: Saturday, October 23, 2010
Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal

More then two dozen volunteers from the Embankment Preservation Coalition, the Harsimus Cove Association, the Village Neighborhood Association and El Shaddai Assembly Christian Church, 322 5th St., came to clean the areaaround the Sixth Street Embankment but were turned away after the site's owner refused to let them on his property.

About two dozen people showed up at Jersey City's Sixth Street Embankment this afternoon ready to pull weeds and pick up litter.

But the site's owner -- who is in a legal battle with the group who organized the cleanup -- barred the volunteers from the site.

"We received a text message and we responded respectfully," said Steve Gucciardo, president of the Embankment Preservation Coalition, one of the organizers of the event.

Instead, the volunteers pulled weeds and swept up trash on the other side of the street. The clean-up was one of 18 Jersey City volunteer projects connected to "National Make a Difference Day."


Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal
Elna Mukaida pulls weeds from a crack in the sidewalk across the street from the Embankment while Joanne Gucciardo rakes leaves.


"We wanted to participate, but we want to be respectful of the property's owner, so we'll participate on other blocks. ... We don't want to be confrontational," said Gucciardo.

The move is just the latest in a continuing struggle between developer Steve Hyman, the Embankment Preservation Coalition and Jersey City. Hyman has been trying to build housing on the defunct railroad turnaround since his wife Victoria purchased the elevated six-block stretch from Conrail for $3 million in 2005.

But the Embankment Preservation Coalition and Jersey City want to turn the land into a park. The city and Hyman have been in a legal battle over the land since 2006. Last month a judge ruled in favor of Hyman, but yesterday, the Embankment Preservation Coalition appealed the ruling, Hyman said.

"They've been fighting me tooth-and-nail for years when I just want to develop the site and make a little money and provide ratables for a city that desperately needs them," said Hyman. He said he contacted one of the group's organizers by text message after she said she couldn't hear him on her cell phone.

Hyman added that he thought it would be dangerous for children to be picking up glass on the site and he didn't want to be liable for injuries. (Children did participate in a cleanup earlier this month, though only one showed up today.)

In a comment on a blog post announcing the cleanup, Hyman also turned ironic, taking a jab at those trying to preserve the Embankment's stone walls, citing their aesthetic value. The walls have been listed on the state register of historic sites.

"I think that the walls are ugly and are blight on the neighborhood but I think that the weeds are beautiful. ... please do not let anyone remove the weeds from the Embankment properties because they have AESTHETIC VALUE to me," he wrote.


Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal
The area next to the Sixth Street Embankment that volunteers had hoped to clean up.
While the grassy area along the walls did have weeds, there was not much litter visible. Volunteers who worked on the cleanup earlier this month, however, said that they found glass, litter and even an old tire hidden in the weeds in some areas around the Embankment.

Ryuji Noda, who owns a townhouse across the street from the Embankment said he was sorry that the cleanup was canceled.

"The owner of the embankment should keep a clean and safe environment. The fact that he rejected it means that he's not concerned about us (area residents)," he said.

Hyman said he's "not maintaining it in perfect order," but does pay to have the site mowed and litter removed several times a year.

"I've spent about $20,000 in maintenance over the years. If there's a big snowfall I remove the snow. I'm trying to be a good neighbor, but I don't want to be a good neighbor to people who try to take property that doesn't belong to them," he said.

As volunteers milled around a snack table across the street after learning the cleanup was canceled, some tried to look at the bright side.

"It's sad that we had to stop (the cleanup) but we still got the community together and I think that's what is important," said Jim Ayers, vice president of The Village Neighborhood Association.

But others were less upbeat.

"I'm very disappointed," said volunteer Jan Nordland. "All these people came out, and it certainly needs the cleaning."