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| STB Extends Public Comment Period on
Harsimus Branch Abandonment to May 7
Hundreds File Comments
April 8.
Hundreds of Embankment preservation supporters let the Surface
Transportation Board (STB) know this week that they want a full
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Harsimus Branch before
Conrail is allowed to walk away from it. At the Coalition's
request, the STB extended the deadline for public comment thirty days, to May 7, 2009, at 5 p.m.
An
average of sixty comments per day poured in since March 30,
when the local public started to learn about this comment
opportunity. If the per-day average holds up, STB will
receive more than 2000 comments by the new May 7 deadline.
Let's meet that challenge!
Public input is extremely important at this stage. The STB is a
federal regulatory agency with a duty to enforce federal laws that
protect the environment and historic and cultural resources - in short,
the public interest. The volume and quality of our comments show not
only STB but our local and state decisionmakers that our community
cares deeply about what happens here.
See the Action Alert below on how to file. |
File Your Comment at STB
Take Two Minutes to Protect Our Local Environment
If
you have not yet lodged an environmental comment with the Surface
Transportation Board, please do so now. Urge your friends and
neighbors who may not have heard about this opportunity to join our
chorus.
How To File
2. Choose E-FILING
3. From column at right, choose Environmental Comments
4. A form will appear. In the four boxes for Docket No., enter the following: AB 167 1189 X
5. Enter your contact information and comment and click Submit.
Guidelines for Comments
Your own words are always best, but if you have only a few moments to spare, here is a suggested comment:
"I
want a fact-based study that looks at the effects, direct and
indirect, immediate and cumulative, of abandonment, demolition,
and reuse alternatives."
Alternative to Filing on the Web
Look
for forms at businesses around the Downtown. You may fill
these out and deposit in the mailbox at 263 Fifth Street (southeast
corner of Jersey Ave.). We will mail them for you. |
Testify at Hardship Hearing Apr 14, 6:30 pm
Location Change to 30 Montgomery St, 14th Floor
The
Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission resumes hearings
April 14 for hardship applications by six LLCs that claim
ownership of the six stone Embankment segments between Marin
Boulevard and Brunswick Street. If approved, the exemptions
would allow the LLCs to demolish the six blocks. The hearing location has changed from City Hall to the Planning Division Conference Room, 14th Floor, 30 Montgomery Street, near the Exchange Place PATH station.
At
an April 1 hearing, the Commission denied, by a vote of 5-0,
Certificates of Appropriateness for demolition. Our City
ordinance, however, allows owners of historic property who have been
denied these permits to apply for an exemption if they cannot
realize a return of 12 percent on "current value." The ordinance
does not define "current value," but an expert witness for the LLCs
opined at the April 1 hearing that it was "assessed value."
We expect
that applicant presentations will take up a good part of the
hearing. Public comment may be taken, or carried over
to another meeting. The Commission is under a court order to
decide by April 20th, however, so there is incentive to
complete the hearings on April 14th.
If you plan to testify, come prepared. See our guidelines,
which include links to materials the applicants supplied before the
last hearing. Note also that the applicants introduced more
materials at the April 1 hearing; these are available at the Planning
office, 30 Montgomery, 14th Floor. | |
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