Comment EI-17027
Received or sent (printed as 4/6/2009)
Jersey City is in need of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Harsimus Stem Embankment Project. As a resident of New Jersey, I am writing out of concern for the health of this Landmarked Structure, as well as the health of the people who live in proximity to the Embankment. The six elevated blocks that make up the old railroad stone walls are a marvelous opportunity to make a walking trail in the middle of a city, which desperately needs more parks. The Amount of new development in Jersey City is immense and although some of the growth is beneficial, much also remains uninhabited and yet the building continues. What scares me is the lack of parks for such a huge amount of anticipated residences. Some of the open spaces that developers are claiming, are in fact, only for their fenced in “Private Communities”. I feel that this is an outrage! I am also worried for those who live in the area of the Embankment, if demolition is allowed to take place. What about the contaminants that have settled deep in to the soil over the past 100 years? Won’t those particles then be airborne and putting the neighbors at risk? It seems this would be a tragic mistake. Why not allow the walls to stay and instead use the space as a garden, allowing the plant growth to naturally take out many of the toxins and simultaneously produce oxygen so desperately needed in the city environment. Please consider and respect the opinions of those who live in the Historic District of Jersey City where the development is happening. The destruction of this railroad corridor is not one that can be taken back.
Submitted by: Mr. Robert Meyer · Fort Lee, 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-17027 · back to the docket sheet