Statement on Union Dry Dock Property

Dear Residents,

As your Mayor, I promise to be open and transparent with you about how best we can continue to move our City forward.  To this end, on Friday, March 23, I made an offer to New York Waterway Chairman Armand Pohan to purchase the Union Dry Dock property for $11.63 million.  This purchase by the City of Hoboken would advance our collective vision to transform this property to an open public park for everyone to enjoy.

Allow me to provide you with some background – on March 15^th, the Hoboken City Council authorized me, in my capacity as Mayor, to acquire the Union Dry Dock Property by friendly acquisition or by eminent domain, as a last resort.  At that time, the City also conducted a thorough evaluation of the property and received an appraisal valuing it at $11.63 million. The appraisal report can be seen in its entirety here.  With this information in hand, I felt that it was in the best interest of the City to make a fair and friendly offer to NY Waterway.  I now await their response.

In my letter to NY Waterway, which you can see in its entirety here, I stated that condemnation or the use of eminent domain would only be implemented if all parties are not able to engage in voluntary negotiations. The City’s goal in these negotiations are two-fold: to (1) secure the Union Dock Property and advance our long envisioned plan of a contiguous waterfront; and (2) work cooperatively with regional public and private stakeholders to assist NY Waterway in securing an appropriate location for their refueling, repair and maintenance operations.  To be clear, NYWaterway’s intentions for this property is not to add another ferry stop in Hoboken, but rather to use the facility solely as a refueling, repair and maintenance location.

As both your Mayor, and a fellow resident of Hoboken, I see firsthand how beneficial NY Waterway is to our City and the region’s mass transit infrastructure.  However, I also firmly believe that the Union Dry Dock property is not an appropriate location for the use intended by NY Waterway, nor does it serve the greater public, regional interest in expanding mass transit options for New Jersey residents.  I have made it clear that I will do everything within my lawful authority as Mayor to ensure this land is secured as open space for the public benefit, and my offer to purchase this property is a means towards this end.

As always, if you ever have any questions or thoughts regarding our City, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office as my staff welcome and appreciate your support and involvement in this critical issue for our City’s future.

Very truly yours,

Ravi S. Bhalla

Mayor, City of Hoboken