Comment EI-17410
Received or sent (printed as 4/8/2009)
The Harsimus Stem Embankment (6th Street Embankment) is a half-mile long abandoned raised railroad bed that runs south of 6th Street and creates the border of Harsimus Cove, The Village and Hamilton Park in Historic Downtown. It is registered as a city historic landmark and state historic site. Here is a picture from the top of it looking east towards the waterfront, when there were fewer skyscrapers that way. http://www.embankment.org/3935_blk1faceastweb.jpg If it were saved, the segments would be connected by new bridges to create a linear park connecting with the Hudson Waterfront Walkway in Newport (it'd be part of the ECG and something like the future High Line in NY). The city and the Embankment Preservation Coalition have been in and out of court for years struggling to preserve it. Conrail, CSX and Norfolk Southern abandoned it, but were supposed to jointly file an application to the Surface Transportation Board http://law.justia.com/us/codes/title49/49usc10903.html. This is so the STB can determine whether it should be left for the public use. None of them did so and when a local developer found out it was being considered for open-space in 2003, he bought the right-of-way. This sale was overturned since the three did not file with the STB, but the companies recently filed for abandonment exempt from the original conditions because now they are meeting new terms (ex it hasn't been used in over two years). Once this abandonment is approved, it can be legally sold to this developer. It can still be given to the city as public space under this condition of the exempted abandonment: (5) A notice or decision to all parties will be issued if use of the exemption is made subject to environmental, energy, historic preservation, public use and/or interim trail use and rail banking conditions.
Submitted by: Miranda Helck · Cranbury, NJ
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-17410 · back to the docket sheet