Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association Responses from Mayoral Candidate Dan Levin GENERAL How do you see the PAD best contributing to Jersey City? I believe in the Powerhouse Arts District (PAD) as designed - preserving, protecting and reusing a unique historic asset, the Warehouse District, further developing the artist community, and providing for a destination arts-based entertainment district. As designed, the plan clearly provided a long-term vision and would greater benefit the city as a whole than wholesale rezoning/destruction of the district for high-rise condos. It is important to recognize that the PAD Redevelopment Plan was a compromise in itself, balancing the public, government, developer and community interests. Now that compromise is being destroyed. DEVELOPMENT Were you aware that Mayor Healy's administration radically amended the PAD redevelopment plan April, 2008 to accommodate the development goals of national homebuilder Toll Brothers despite overwhelming citizen outcry? Yes, I testified against these amendments before the Planning Board and City Council. Are you aware the extent of these amendments as listed below? (see original questionnaire for list) Yes, I oppose these amendments. If you were elected to office what would you do about these amendments? While respecting the law, my administration would find ways to pick up the pieces of the current Administration's PAD disaster. We must re-designate the remaining district as a historic district and use the resources of city government in efforts to have Toll Brothers return to the PAD zoning. Currently there are four developments that have had final site plan approval since 2005. They have not broken ground despite there's being a major building boom at that time. It is widely supposed that the developers of these sites were waiting to see what Toll brothers" got" in order to then demand the same for themselves (elimination of affordable housing, greater density and height, demolition of warehouses). How will you address these developers? Enforce existing PAD zoning. What steps will you take to ensure the Powerhouse is maintained and does not sink into further disrepair than it already has? Will you actively lobby for its development during your administration? If so, what steps will you take to secure the funding and consensus so that it is developed? Act. My administration would open a pubic process to determine the best use and build city-wide consensus and support for the ultimate use. The Powerhouse is a special and unique asset that must have a public component in its re-use and should be redeveloped in a manner that will make it at minimum a regional destination. Potential reuses to consider - home to a relocated Jersey City Museum, public market, and / or public hall. Efforts must be made to prevent a reuse that is less than special or unique (for example, a shopping mall). The commercial aspect should be crafted in a way to again make it a special use such as office space focusing on a special industry (for example, design). Funding will be drawn from commercial development, grants, "earmarks," historic credits, and foundation awards. While funding will clearly be a challenge, by redeveloping the Powerhouse as a unique public resource and destination, public, government and private support can be galvanized and economic benefits justified. There must be the vision and will to create something grand. QUALITY OF LIFE The Powerhouse Arts District currently has no street cleaning services from the city. In addition, there are many unoccupied warehouses and lots with private owners that are currently covered with trash (around the Butler Brothers Building, Manischewitz and Caputo Lots, lots on First Street) and graffiti. Currently we have individual members of our neighborhood organization calling owners to request they clean up; as a group, we organize neighborhood cleanups at least twice a year. Neither of these methods has proved satisfactory in keeping our neighborhood clean. What will you do to rectify these issues? If street sweepers cannot travel the streets, then the streets must be hand swept. Unoccupied buildings and lots must be maintained according to municipal code. The code will be enforced through fines and, if necessary, performed by the city with a property lien to recover the cost. My administration will implement a maintenance report card system to monitor conditions and prioritize resources. After any heavy rain, the neighborhood is filled with the odors that emanate from the combined storm/sanitary sewer. Although the city constantly claims that there is adequate capacity in the system, it is not clear that this so. An additional problem with the sewers is the existence of hexavalent chromium which was used as fill under the sewer lines along Warren and Bay Streets. What would you do as mayor to address the concerns that the sewer system might not be adequate to support all of the new development, and the further concern that new development in the area will potentially expose, disturb, and spread a dangerous contaminant? The problem must be identified and solution(s) proposed. A capital plan to upgrade our aging infrastructure must be created. In the interim, we must undertake plans to minimize the impact of storm water during heavy rains to reduce overflows, flooding, and protect human health and environment. Please see the attached plan - Plan JC - Water, which details six initiatives. The plan is also available on our website, onejerseycity.org. OPEN SPACE The Powerhouse Arts District has virtually no public parkland/open space. Do you support open space initiatives? How would you propose to bring more open space in to this district? Where there is no available land to acquire, reasonable "give backs" may be negotiated with property owners / developers to achieve community goals. I support a municipal open space tax that is dedicated to acquiring and improving open space. This tax opens up opportunities for matching funding grants. The "green" corridor in the PAD plan linking the Powerhouse to the Hudson River waterfront must be maintained. Do you support the use of the triangle adjacent to the Powerhouse as a public park? Yes - there is scarce open space in this area of the city. The 6th Street Embankment provides an opportunity to retain elements of Jersey City's industrial past, protect existing historic structures, as well as provide much needed green space and additional transportation alternatives in downtown Jersey City. Do you support the retention of the 6th Street Embankment from demolition? Do you support the Embankment's use as a public park? I have supported and continue to support preserving, protecting and reusing the historic embankment for open space while at the same time protecting the rail right of way (rail banking) for future generations. Developing the Embankment as a park, open space, and part of the national East Coast Greenway linking Maine to Florida would provide Jersey City with an opportunity of a lifetime to link city neighborhoods and the greater region with off-road walking and bicycle trails, increasing the quality of life of our residents and supporting approved residential development. To date the city has landmarked the Embankment, passed legislation to acquire the property and successfully petitioned the federal Surface Transportation Board to invalidate the sale of the property by Conrail to a private party. Now is NOT the time to capitulate. The city must now follow through and exercise its right to acquire the property at the same price it had been previously sold. To do so, the city must create an acquisition plan to utilize the $3.7 million in awards and pledges, and additional available funding sources designed for open space and greenways. TRAFFIC AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION The traffic problem on Marin Boulevard is getting worse and worse. It is very difficult to make a turn onto Marin from the PAD, and crossing the street on foot is almost impossible. New construction slated in our neighborhood will add hundreds if not thousands of new residents with cars, yet the city is saying the traffic level on these streets is not even close to capacity. What will you do to make these streets less crowded and safer? I represented the Harsimus Cove Association (my neighborhood association) on the steering committee for the Downtown Circulation and Regional Access study. The study concluded that with proposed building and improvements, and without parking management (perimeter parking at city edge) and congestion pricing, our road system will fail. My administration will work with the public to change habits and shift transportation resources to reduce motor vehicle use in our city center areas. An interim solution to the specific Marin question may be the addition of a traffic signal between those at 1st and Marin and Columbus and Marin. Various plans have been proposed to better link downtown to Liberty State Park. Many residents have grave concerns about additional vehicular traffic attempting to bypass the Turnpike by using our residential streets as through streets to the Holland Tunnel. Do you support a pedestrian bridge between downtown to Liberty State Park? Do you support a vehicular bridge between downtown and Liberty State Park? The Jersey Avenue bridge referred to is approved and in process. My administration would work to mitigate negative impacts of tunnel traffic by exploring and implementing improvements further south to reduce tunnel traffic from leaving the turnpike and cutting through Liberty State Park. In addition, we would evaluate the benefit of reducing the width of the roadway north of the new bridge to Grand St. The commute via Path train has reached an alarming capacity. During business hour commuting, it is routine to wait while train after train passes, unable to absorb even one more body. Various stations are in need of upgrades. Do you agree that the PATH will be unable to support the additional proposed high rise building that will be added downtown? How do you propose to absorb the additional residents that will be moving in to downtown and commuting via PATH train? Noting the increasing impact of planned development of Journal Square, Harrison, and Newark, it is unlikely that PATH can support existing peak travel patterns into New York City. While we can encourage the PATH to explore pricing management to shift some demand to off-peak periods, the PATH alone appears unlikely to meet our transportation needs. We will need to advocate for improved ferry access not only to existing destinations in NYC but to other employment and residential centers. The rebirth of ferry service, first to lower Manhattan from Hoboken, was subsidized by the Port Authority to reduce over- crowding on the Hoboken to World Trade Center line. My administration would bring a sensible approach to securing public funding for additional mass transit options. Lastly, we need to refocus efforts to improve mobility throughout the metropolitan region, including completing the Light Rail into Bergen County as initially planed. This will allow Jersey City to reposition itself as home not only to people who commute to Manhattan, but to those who work in the region. What is your position on the JERSEY CITY MOBILITY 2050 project? Do you think it will address its stated goal: "to create an action-oriented plan for a citywide transportation network that will be pedestrian friendly and reduce future traffic congestion?" Disappointingly, it is boiler plate and inconsistent with actions of our current and prior administrations. In comparison, NYC Department of Transportation has a plan called 2009 - Sustainable Streets with measurable objectives. My administration will revisit and improve the plan with actionable goals for 1 year, 5 years and 10 years. Our mission would be to provide mass transit mobility citywide and world-class sidewalks, and to promote bicycle use.