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HUD REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR LYNNE PATTON TOURS HOBOKEN, NJ REBUILD BY DESIGN PROJECTS
Hoboken, NJ – In a continuing effort to recognize the challenges cities are facing with post disaster recovery work, U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Regional Administrator Lynne Patton toured post-Hurricane Sandy Rebuild by Design-Hudson Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) project sites in Hoboken on Monday, March 2nd. HUD awarded $230 million to the State of New Jersey for the Project to protect Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City along the Hudson River.
“Superstorm Sandy took the lives of no less than 37 New Jersey residents and caused more than $30 billion dollars in damage. One of the most powerful images seared in the memory of millions of Americans was the endless cascade of water flowing down the steps of the PATH station right here in Hoboken – a city underwater,” said Lynne Patton, HUD Regional Administrator for New York and New Jersey. “Through HUD’s $230 million award, Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City are ensuring their residents will never suffer from such a nightmare again. Thanks to proactive elected officials such as Senators Menendez and Booker, as well as Mayors Bhalla and Turner, this pioneering project by Rebuild by Design will improve the physical, ecological, economic and social resiliency of the great Garden state.”
Regional Administrator, Lynne Patton, joined U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, the NJ Dept of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe, and representatives from New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and Department of Environmental Protection. Regional Administrator Lynne Patton’s tour ended with a stop at the New Jersey Transit Yards/Observer Highway in Hoboken.
The Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force launched the REBUILD BY DESIGN competition in June 2013, a multi-stage planning and design competition to promote resilience in the Sandy-affected region. HUD conducted the competition under the authority of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, and administered the competition in partnership with philanthropic, academic, and nonprofit organizations. The goal of the competition was to promote innovation by developing regionally-scalable but locally-contextual solutions that increase resilience in the region.
“After Sandy devastated our state, it was clear that New Jersey communities needed to take bold steps to protect their residents and property from the threat of future flooding and more powerful and more frequent storms. I was proud to support and secure $230 million in federal funding for Hoboken’s ‘Rebuild By Design’ project. It is the kind of long-term, comprehensive approach to flood mitigation and resiliency that can serve as a model for other urban areas grappling with repetitive flooding,” said U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, ranking member of the Senate’s housing subcommittee. “I want to thank Administrator Patton and her team for their interest in and commitment to seeing Hoboken’s ‘Rebuild By Design’ project through to completion.”
The competition also represented a policy innovation by committing to set aside HUD CDBG-DR funding specifically to incentivize the implementation of winning projects and proposals.
“I am incredibly grateful to HUD Regional Administrator Lynne Patton and her staff for coming to Hoboken to tour our resiliency projects, and for committing her strong support for Rebuild by Design. With the leadership of Ms. Patton along with our federal and state elected officials, Hoboken will become a model for creating critical flood infrastructure that can be replicated across the country,” said Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla. “We look forward to a continued partnership with HUD as we break ground on construction for Rebuild by Design later this year.”
Examples of design solutions were expected to range in scope and scale – from large-scale green infrastructure to small-scale residential resiliency retrofits. The competition process aimed to strengthen understanding of regional interdependencies, fostering coordination and resilience both at the local level and across the US.
“Hudson River Rebuild by Design is an exciting and innovative project to protect Hoboken and its residents from flooding and enhance its vital waterfront area,” said New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe. “Yesterday’s tour demonstrated that this flood control project has required unprecedented levels of coordination and collaboration across federal, state and local governments. As the program reaches 100 percent design, I’m confident that this project can become a national model with the support of our partners at HUD.”
TOUR AGENDA
Weehawken Cove / Harborside Park (Garden St. and 15th St.)
Alleyway Resist Alignment (B/w 14th and 15th Streets)
Northwest Resiliency Park
Hoboken Housing Authority
New Jersey Transit Yards / Observer Highway
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