May 19th Letter to the Jersey City Reporter

PLANNING BOARD CONDITIONS APPROVAL OF NEWPORT SITE PLAN ON MEETINGS WITH NNA AND NWA

In the news article, "45 Story Newport Building Approved for Pier" in the April 29th issue, Mr. Kaulessar mistakenly overlooked the fact that the Planning Board had acknowledged that Robert Vivien is the President of the Newport Neighborhood Association ("NNA"). In this regard, during their questions of Mr. Vivien after his public comments, Board members asked how many members NNA has as well as when we first established ourselves in the community. Mr. Vivien made it clear that NNA was initiated in December, 2004 and that his formal leadership of the group and the group's active involvement with the Newport community began with the NNA survey conducted in November and December of 2006. As a consequence of this, Board members made it a condition for their support of the site plan for the pier that a representative of the LeFrak Development Associates company meet with Mr. Vivien of the NNA.

Mr. Vivien's arguments for tabling the pier initiative were predicated on 4 considerations. First, the LeFrak Redevelopment plan clearly calls for a number of amenities not included in the site plan for the pier, including waterfront restaurants, a public library, more parkspace, a theatre/cultural center and a museum. However, the site plan only includes a cultural center at a time when their simply is no park in Newport. Second, Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the State, which explains why both the Hudson County Master Plan and Jersey City Master Plan call for additional parks here. However, while the site plan is innovative, it does not provide a park and therefore, does not address either of these master plans for park development. Third, that the NNA survey results indicate widespread support among Newport residents for a legitimate park, a public library, and other amenities in Newport. And fourth, the site plan calls for building the tallest building in Newport right on the waterfront which will needlessly block the existing views of many of the residents in the development's 12 buildings. NNA believes this is particularly onerous at a time when the developer has generously received several 20 and 30 year tax abatements/cuts, when residents are hit with annual rent increases ranging from 10% to 15% with no renter's property tax relief in sight, unlike other renters in the State. Under such circumstances, building a 45 story building on the waterfront makes no sense whatsoever.

The Board of Trustees
Newport Neighborhood Association Inc.