The Pennsylvania Railroad Harsimus Stem Embankment Preservation Coalition formed in 1998 as a working group that evolved from meetings of more than a hundred neighbors concerned about plans to demolish the Embankment and develop the site, which is located in Downtown Jersey City between two National Historic Districts. The Coalition spent months researching the historic, environmental, aesthetic, and cultural aspects of this structure. Our findings led to a consensus that the Embankment is an important and irreplaceable historic and environmental resource that must be preserved.
Our Achievements
-Withdrawal of a City redevelopment plan to demolish the historic structure
-Documentation of the history and present contribution of the structure to the integrity of two National Historic Districts
-Nomination of the site for historic status at the state, federal, and city levels. This nomination was reviewed and approved by the State Review Board for Historic Places, the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission, the Jersey City Planning Board, the Jersey City Council, and Mayor Glenn L. Cunningham. The Embankment was listed on the State Register of Historic Places in 1999, is eligible for listing on the National Register, and was declared a Municipal Landmark in January 2003.
Endorsements from community, citywide, regional, and national organizations and elected officials at all levels of government
-Site cleanups, tree plantings, tours, and talks, with the participation of hundreds of adults and students
-Draft designs for a street-level promenade along the base of the Embankment on Sixth Street to link up with the Hudson Waterfront Walkway.
-Coordination with Newport Associates and Avalon Cove developers on design for public access to the Hudson Walterfront Walkway at the eastern end of Sixth Street
-Embankment designation by the East Coast Greenway Alliance as part of the envisioned East Coast Greenway main route through Hudson County. The East Coast Greenway is a 2600-mile National Millenium Trail extending from Florida to Maine; it is 50 percent complete in New Jersey.
Identification of historic site, open space, and transportation funds available from the state or federal governments or from private sources for acquisition, improvement, and maintenance of the site