Hoboken City Council passes funding for Northwest Resiliency Park

On March 6, 2019, the Hoboken City Council voted unanimously 9-0 on the first reading for an ordinance to fund the construction of the Northwest Resiliency Park. Upon projected completion in 2022, it will become Hoboken’s largest park. With the support of Jennifer Gonzalez, Hoboken Environmental Service Department Director, the representatives of Engineering & Land Planning Associates and landscape architects from OLIN presented the concept design to the council and addressed their concerns. The approved sum for the park was over $54.5 million and will cost a total of approximately $90 million, which is equivalent to 1.5 years of taxpayer dollars.

A total of five acres of former industrial land surrounded by Madison Street, Adams Street, 12th Street, and 13th Street will be converted into a recreational and public space. The site was originally marshland and was filled with new soil for a chemical plant in 1922. The site then became vacant in 2004 and was zoned as potential new park land. After Hurricane Sandy in 2011, the site was flooded and created concern of flood damage that could potentially damage any potential infrastructure placed on the site. In 2014, the site became part of the Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan to implement sustainable flood management and green infrastructure in Hoboken.

Facilities for the new Northwest Resiliency Park include a mixture of athletic facilities, a playground, cultural engagement, and nature. A multipurpose athletic field will meet the increasing demands for field space and organized youth sports in Hoboken. The field will be used for little league baseball, youth lacrosse, and soccer. The playground and outdoor fitness equipment will also encourage an active life for a wide range of ages. The center of the proposed park design includes a space created for cultural engagement, seating, and bathrooms. The centralized terrace will act as a café seating area with a fountain, which will be a water feature during the summer and an ice rink with a capacity of 160 during the winter. The terraced pavilion will provide an indoor community room and space for a either a large café or art exhibitions.

Although this park has many features and has the potential to be a major gathering and active space for the city of Hoboken, the park will also be a vital part of Hoboken storm water management. Rainwater will be collected from elevated surfaces and roofs into cisterns, to then be recycled and reused for toilet flushing for the bathroom facilities in the park and for irrigation of the gardens. In addition to the integrated green infrastructure, the Northwest Resiliency Park is designed to have the capacity to collect approximately 200,000 gallons of storm water. In total, the park will manage approximately 1 million gallons of storm water via cisterns, storm water infrastructure, and gardens. The goal of the green infrastructure and collection capacity of the park is to collect the rainwater from large storm events and drain the excess water within 24 hours of the event. By collecting the storm water, the park will reduce the localized flooding in the flood-prone portion of Hoboken, while also educating park visitors about the different methods of storm water management.

In response to the approval, Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla stated, “Hoboken is one stop closer to building our five-acre Northwest Park, which will provide much needed open space amenities and flood resiliency to our City. This park will become a model for the rest of the State with modern park features.” The second bond ordinance for the park will occur at the next City Council meeting on March 20, 2019 at Hoboken City Hall.