Jersey City Councilman Jermaine Robinson Ensures Developers Secure Resident Input

“More than 50 residents attended the Bates Street Redevelopment Area Meeting”

(Jersey City, NJ – May 30, 2019) – As part of his commitment to seek equitable, inclusive redevelopment across all of Jersey City, Councilman Jermaine Robinson (Jersey City- Ward F) hosted a community meeting on May 29th to allow residents the opportunity to question developers prior to planning board review.

“I hope this meeting with the developers will help the community come together to make sure the F in Ward F stands for First and that we are that world class city we aspire to be,” said Councilman Robinson at the start of the meeting. “I’m interested in seeing what the developer has to show you today but I’m more interested in your comments,” explained Councilman Robinson.

More than 50 residents were in attendance from Booker T. Washington, Lafayette Village and the Van Vorst Park sections of Jersey City.  Representatives from Manhattan Building Company revealed modern concepts and renderings for the Bates Street Redevelopment area, which runs alongside the New Jersey Turnpike Extension heading toward the Holland Tunnel. The previous plans, which were approved more than a decade ago, calls for a “wall of buildings” that would block the view of the Jersey City and New York City skylines and potentially further divide lower-income neighborhoods from more affluent neighborhoods.

In a recent article, Councilman Robinson states, “for years we have heard of this modern day tale of two cities playing out…on one side there are luxury million-dollar brownstones. On the other side there are two housing projects, Booker T. Washington and Lafayette Village. On one side the signage on the train trestle proudly reads “Welcome to Downtown Jersey City”;the other side simply reads Bergen-Lafayette.” See “No More Walls in Jersey City”: https://www.nj.com/opinion/2019/05/no-more-walls-in-jersey-city-opinion.html

Councilman Robinson maintains, “As a councilman in Jersey City, I will do whatever I can to ensure we are one Jersey City without borders.” There will be several more meetings with the developer and the community before any plans become final.

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