Comment EI-16727
Received or sent (printed as 4/3/2009)
Demolition of the Embankment poses huge environmental and health hazards to many Jersey City residents. The Embankment has become an oasis for birds and other wildlife as well as the countless species of trees and other plants that grow on it. We are particularly concerned that if the Embankment were to be demolished an already flood-prone neighborhood would be even more apt to flood. The prospect of demolition in terms of health and quality of life is devastating: we would experience horrendous noise, vibration (potentially inflicting damage on our fragile historic homes), and dust (exacerbating asthma and other health problems). I am further concerned about the potential release of contaminants that demolition of the Embankment would present. As someone who lives along the Embankment I can attest that we often find scrap metal from the railroad and trains, coal, and glass in our yard that are clearly waste from the abandoned train trestle. I cannot imagine the level of unsafe and contaminated debris that would be released in the event of demolition. In addition the Embankment is a beautiful reminder of the rich industrial history that is part of the fundamental cultural fabric of Jersey City. To lose the Embankment would be to lose one of the last vestiges of old Jersey City. In terms of proposed construction of more high-rises in Jersey City I cannot think of a greater waste of space and resources. In the past several years there have been many new high-rise residential buildings constructed in Jersey City, are any of these even at ½ capacity at this point? It would seem grossly wasteful to build more apartments, particularly in this economy, that would most like lie fallow, especially when we have a dearth of open space in Jersey City – the Embankment would serve as much needed additional open space available to every resident of Jersey City.
Submitted by: Karen Lorentz · Jersey City, New JErsey
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/AB-167/sub/1189X/comment/EI-16727 · back to the docket sheet