HOBOKEN — The City Council is scheduled for a final vote Wednesday night authorizing Mayor Dawn Zimmer to acquire nearly an acre of vacant land owned by Academy Bus, by eminent domain if necessary, to double the size of Southwest Park.
The vote is on the agenda for the council’s regular 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, two weeks after an 8-0 preliminary vote authorizing the acquisition.
The use of eminent domain to acquire the property could become necessary for the administration, whose last known offer was $4.5 million, while Academy insists the land is worth $13 million. Academy has expressed a willingness to trade the property for the right to develop an additional 2.7 acres of adjacent property at a higher density, but Zimmer opposes any such deal.
“The City has attempted to negotiate in good faith with Academy Bus and has in fact increased its initial offer,” Zimmer said in a statement Tuesday night. “Unfortunately, Academy has simply repeated its outrageous $13 million asking price while pressuring the City to link the park acquisition to their development demands.”
“It is our hope that the authorization of eminent domain will lead to more fruitful negotiations,” Zimmer added.
Academy has accused Zimmer of refusing to negotiate and then falsely insisting that she had been engaged in talks.
In a letter to the City Council this week, Academy President Francis Tedesco cited a memo Zimmer had written to property owners regarding the parkland acquisition and the broader Southwest Rehabilitation Area plan being drafted to guide development of the neighborhood.
“In the letter, the administration states that it is engaged in confidential negotiations with Academy concerning the Southwest Park and/or Southwest Redevelopment,” Tedesco wrote to council members. “I am sorry to advise you that the statement is false!”
The one-acre first phase of the park, at Observer Highway and Harrison Street, is scheduled for completion this summer.
Zimmer has made the creation of park space a cornerstone of her administration, particularly on the city’s west side and in the southwest corner, a neighborhood starved of open space that was once dominated by light industry but has become increasingly residential. Zimmer has repeatedly said she is committed to acquiring the .8-acre Academy property to nearly double the size of Southwest Park.
The Academy property sought by the city is on the north side of Observer Highway, directly across Harrison Street from the initial park site. It is part of a 3.5-acre paved expanse owned by Academy, which is surrounded by hedges and razor wire and has been used for taxi and bus parking.
The park site and the Academy property are within what is known as the Southwest Rehabilitation Area, for which the city is now working on new zoning and other measures to manage development in the traffic-congested and rapidly changing neighborhood.
Last’s month’s preliminary vote in favor of the land acquisition capped a 4-hour council meeting when more than 100 members of the public crowded into City Hall, with most of the two dozen speakers urging council members to acquire the land. Councilman Michael DeFusco voted “present,” saying he wanted more time to study the issue.
A few speakers preferred negotiating with Academy, and were open to a deal involving increased density, something they said could save the city time and taxpayer money. Why, they asked, should the council risk alienating and possibly driving out one of the city’s biggest employers and taxpayers by taking the contentious step of invoking the city’s power of eminent domain?
The controversial eminent domain process is one in which municipalities condemn private property in the name of the public good, and compensate owners for its appraised value. But Bahis Siteleri the practice is opposed by property rights and others who say it can lead to expensive, protracted legal battles that may not play out the way the municipality envisions.
The letter Tedesco seized upon was sent by Zimmer on Monday to Southwest property owners, including Academy, seeking to clarify her position on the rehabilitation process and the acquisition of the Academy property for the park.
Zimmer said in the letter that she was not interested in granting Academy increased density on its remaining property in exchange for the parkland, and she preferred to keep density issues out of those negotiations.
“We are committed to negotiating on a parallel track for the purchase of Block 10, lots 1-7 and 30-36, so that the additional park space is not dependent on any future development decisions,” Zimmer’s letter stated.
Academy On a Better Hoboken
As part of Academy’s battle over the property, the company’s home page has a video of Tedesco explaining how the city could save time and taxpayer money on the land acquisition by negotiating a deal.
In his letter to the council, Tedesco sought to “set the record straight,” on negotiations, or the lack thereof, over the past nine months.
“There has been no meetings, contacts, or discussions between Academy and the Administration since April 29, 2016, in good faith or otherwise,” he wrote.
Tedesco did acknowledge an exchange of letters in August and September, when Zimmer asked how he had arrived at the $13 million asking price. His lawyer, Kevin Coakley, wrote back explaining that an analysis of comparable properties, including 1415 Park Avenue and 900-912 Monroe Street, made Academy’s appraisal “easily substantiated.”
TedescoH closed his letter by appealing to the council members’ friendlier instincts.
“Academy stands ready to negotiate,” he wrote, “in good faith.”
Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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