March 18, 2007

Re: Toll Brothers Revised Development Plans for Manischewitz and Caputo Lots

Dear Friends,

As you know, the Powerhouse Arts District (PAD) is being redeveloped at lightning speed. As a neighborhood, our residents expect –indeed welcome –development. However, we believe this development should be done with an understanding of the intrinsic character of the neighborhood, a sense of history, and the wishes of its residents in mind. As many Downtown residents recognize, the City’s failure to support its own laws as they related to the 111 First Street settlement established a precedent on how developers could effectively negate zoning law that impacts their ability to maximize profits. This precedent is now having a “domino effect” on other planned development in the PAD. A proposed development for the Manischewitz Matzo Factory lot and the adjacent “Caputo” lot (directly east) could represent the next domino to fall.

Toll Brothers, a national developer, is circulating a proposal around City Council and City Planning for the Manischewitz/Caputo sites that would radically change the look and feel of our growing neighborhood. If this proposal is approved, it will forever alter the scale and character of the PAD – and not for the better. The Toll proposal will among other things,

• Demolish irreplaceable historic warehouses,

• Double the density permitted by law,

• Build four times higher than permitted by law,

• Appropriate and destroy one of the last cobblestone streets in Jersey City, and

• Cast large portions of the neighborhood into permanent shadow.

Developers, the City administration, and the Planning Department agree that this proposal violates the PAD Redevelopment Plan which was adopted by the City to encourage the sensible and stable long-term development of the area, and to create a lively arts district that would benefit all of the residents of Jersey City.

Moreover, neither Toll or the City have conducted environmental impact studies on how Toll’s proposed doubling in housing density would affect existing sewer, water and electrical service, traffic and parking within the immediate and surrounding neighborhoods, and overcrowding at Grove Street PATH station and on trains.

Over the past several months, PADNA has worked diligently to make our concerns known – meeting with various City politicians and bureaucrats, members of the press, and repeatedly attempting to meet with Toll. In addition, we are conducting a door-to-door voter registration drive to ensure that we have a strong voice in the future of our neighborhood and the City in the next election.

If we don’t stop the Manischewitz/Caputo domino from falling, the Powerhouse Arts District, as sensibly envisioned in 2002 will cease to exist. There are dominos located throughout Downtown. We can either choose to stand up now or look forward to fighting this battle elsewhere as the same sort of developer greed creeps into other historic Jersey City neighborhoods.

For more information, please contact us at padna.communication@gmail.com with any questions you may have or to aid us in fighting the Toll Brothers proposal for a historic area of the City or other similar ill-advised future development or visit www.padnajc.org/Keeping_the_PAD.html

Sincerely,
Rich Tomko
PADNA President

Edited by Civic JC 3/19/2007