Dear Council Members, and Residents of Hoboken 

I am writing to you today to implore you to vote yes to approve the proposed 800 Monroe Settlement,  RESOLUTION CD2. There is no question that this is a win-win-win for Hoboken overall.   

The waterfront will no longer have the Monarch towers built onto the waterfront, blocking the views of the Hudson Tea building and putting first responders at risk should we find ourselves faced with another super storm -- and will instead have that space available for a  public park/amenity.  I'm sure there is no dispute on this. 

The Western Edge along with the settlement at the Shipyard balances density while adding much needed green space for all of Hoboken to enjoy.

As you know, Hoboken is one of the most densely populated cities in the country, and Hoboken already has one of the worst ratios of open/park space per capita. In particular, our neighborhood (Jackson Street/ Monroe) has added 700+ units in the past couple of years --with the tallest buildings in all of Hoboken -  just onto this one block --and the city will be adding THOUSANDS more from the western edge and northwest redevelopment plans.  

Please, there is no question that this park would future-proof our city to provide enough open and recreational space for the population growth on our north/west side.

This is a one time opportunity for Hoboken, which needs to be acted on swiftly. The decision should not be politicized in any way, as we will never again have a chance to capture an amenity like this.  

As you know, this particular block, both intersections at 9th and Monroe, have notoriously bad flooding issues. (The police barricade the intersection when storms are forecasted and ShopRite and the surrounding building ground floors have to place sandbags to protect from flooding.    Another  building footprint removing open land will increase this problem tremendously.  To that end, a park will be an opportunity to install a large flood resilience system similar to what is being installed on 12th and Jefferson.    

--You can see for yourself the huge amount of water that is retained in the form of a pond anytime it rains on that land today.   

In addition, the infrastructure currently in place cannot support the amount of people here. We are adding a light rail stop at 14th street, which will have a significant impact on us as well. The light rail and path trains (pre COVID, obviously)  cannot support the commuters today.

Jackson and Monroe street cannot afford to add yet another huge monolith tower.  The neighborhood has already been eclipsed on all sides.  Four buildings and hundreds of residents will be left in shadows. Not to mention the additional traffic. As you know,  we are already dealing with a significant influx of traffic as a result of the road easement provided for the  Amazon warehouse  located behind 900 Monroe.  

I implore all of you to do the right thing and vote yes on the Resolution CD2.

--Lisa