User:Djflem/Rockefeller Group Hoboken project

The Rockefeller Group Hoboken project, estimated to cost $1.1 billion, is a mixed-use development proposed by the Rockefeller Group for a site owned it owns in Hoboken, New Jersey. The project would include a 40-story, 1.8 million square feet office tower, 300 condominiums and 85,000 square feet of retail space. Design details of the project have not been made public and it has not received approval from city's planning board.

Hoboken's North End
The North End of Hoboken is a nineteen block area above 14th Street extending northward to the right-rightof-way of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail near the border of Weehawken, across which is the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. It is east of the Hudson Palisades and west of the Hudson River waterfront at Weehawken Cove. The area is been mostly used for for manufacturing, distribution, transportation.

The northwest quadrant of Hoboken is a nineteen block area north of the and west of Park Avenue. The district is increasingly being developed for residential and recreational purposes. http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/26139251/article-City-to-offer-%249-7M-for-park-land-Also--Council-members-rip-rolling-reval--call-for-end-of-program-?instance=latest_story http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2014/03/arrested_development_construction_of_hobokens_newest_apartments_buildings_continues_after_delays.html

https://hudsonreporter.com/2020/04/02/developer-contributions-could-build-new-recreation-center/

14th street http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/26431937/article-Welcome-to-NoVHoNeighborhood-North-of-the-Viaduct-in-Hoboken-bustles-with-food--theater--life-

Rockefeller site and proposal
The Rockefeller Group, through its subsidiary Park Willlow LLC, acquired properties in 2008 between Grand Street and Park Avenue, with a view to develop the area into a commercial and residential complex. The company owns three blocks in the North End. The industrial area has been home to Stahl Soap, a Burlington Coat Factory outlet, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade warehouse (which had earlier been a Tootsie Roll factory. )

The area is zoned for commercial office development, but a height restriction of eight stories.

Park Willow, Economic Development Authority grant and environmental remediation
Park Willow LLC asked for up to $1 million in reimbursement of costs to remediate nearly five acres on the Hoboken waterfront for a $1.1 billion residential and commercial project.

the New Jersey Economic Development Authority

The four-block redevelopment site contained several industrial businesses, including an auto body repair shop, an elevator supply and repair firm, a sheet metal shop, a soap factory and a car wash.

The cleanup work involves removing several underground storage tanks and contaminated soil and monitoring contaminated groundwater.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey study
http://www.hobokennj.org/docs/communitydev/North-End-Redevelopment-Study.pdf

In 2010, 11 months after Zimmer took office, the Rockefeller Group said it was working closely with her and the city to make its vision a reality. At the time, Zimmer denied the city was negotiating with the Rockefeller Group because she was awaiting completion of a study to examine redeveloping the north end of the city, which included the properties owned by Rockefeller. The study, commissioned by the Hoboken Planning Board which Zimmer controls, concluded that only three of the 19 blocks considered for rezoning should be developed — at least some which were owned by the Rockefeller Group.

The holdup concerning the project stemmed from a study conducted on a 19-block area on the north end of the city, of which the Rockefeller Group effectively owned three of the blocks. The study, which recommended that the three blocks owned by the Rockefeller Group be declared an area in need of redevelopment, was rejected by the Hoboken planning board.

The significance of the planning board vote is that as an area in need of redevelopment, the Rockefeller Group properties would be in line for big tax breaks. In the end, the entire area was declared an area in need of rehabilitation. http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2014/01/emails_show_state_officials_concerned_about_rockefeller_group_properties_in_hoboken_report.html

After the study was released, the Rockefeller Group began demolishing buildings on the property. However, last April, the planning board decided to reject the study.

The study was funded by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The law firm of David Samson, chairman of the Port Authority, represented the Rockefeller Group.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/port-authority-study-favored-politically-connected-builder-for-hoboken-redevelopment-1.176099

http://www.northjersey.com/news/port-authority-study-favored-politically-connected-builder-for-hoboken-redevelopment-1.176099

North End Rehabilitation Area study
Zimmer: Part of Hoboken connected with Chris Christie scandal will get a planner Jul 17, 2014

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/25455985/article-Zimmer--Part-of-Hoboken-connected-with-Chris-Christie-scandal-will-get-a-planner?

Undisclosed Hudson Bergen Light Rail station agreement
A The New York Times cover story published on January 29, 2014 revealed that New Jersey Transit approved plans in June 2013 for a Hudson Bergen Light Rail station in northwestern Hoboken, adjacent to the property owned by the Rockefeller Group. This agreement was not made known to the local government. but came to light after Mayor of Hoboken Dawn Zimmer, appearing on MSNBC on January 18, 2014, claimed that Lt Governor Kim Guadagno and Richard Constable, director of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, had earlier insinuated to her that more Sandy relief funds would be released to the city if it approved the project proposed by Rockefeller. The agreement is dated June 21, 2013. The plans show a station at 17th Street and Clinton Street.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-christie-administration-member-lobbied-for-train-station-that-would-ve-boosted-project-cited-by-hoboken-mayor-1.685782 Lori Grifa

Wolff Samson
http://www.politickernj.com/71195/new-york-times-rockefeller-group-dismisses-wolff-samson http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/24492741/article-AXED--Rockefeller-Group-drops-lobbying-firm-at-heart-of-Hoboken-Christie-scandal--report-says http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/chris_christie_appointe_lori_grifa_sandy_recovery_money.html http://www.wnyc.org/story/nj-transits-secret-deal-christies-favorite-firm/ http://www.northjersey.com/news/ex-christie-administration-member-lobbied-for-train-station-that-would-ve-boosted-project-cited-by-hoboken-mayor-1.685782

Zimmer allegations against Christie administration officials
On January 18, 2014, on Up with Steve Kornacki cable program, the Democratic Mayor of Hoboken Dawn Zimmer said that Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Rich Constable had, on two separate occasions in May 2013, pressured her to support a Rockefeller Group development project in Hoboken's North End in exchange for the city receiving additional federal Sandy relief aid. On January 20, appearing on a CNN cable program, Zimmer also stated that a month earlier, Marc Ferzan, Director of the Governor's Office of Recovery and Rebuilding had also pressured her to support more development in exchange for federal Sandy aid. Following her television appearances, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey met with Zimmer and reviewed and took as evidence a notebook journal in which she had written about the meetings. They also interviewed two of her aides and five other potential witnesses. Zimmer stated: “As their investigation proceeds, they have asked me to refrain from giving any additional interviews and I am respecting their request.”     The Christie administration officials categorically denied the allegations,   a spokesman saying "It is very clear  partisan politics are at play here as Democratic mayors with a political axe to grind come out of the woodwork and try to get their faces on television." Zimmer said she had not come forward until after the so-called Bridgegate scandal (which had broke 10 days earlier) because she thought her claims would be not taken seriously. On January 31, the city acknowledged that it had received subpoenas from the US Attorney.

An internal investigative was commissioned by the Christie administration and conducted by Randy Mastro of law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher. Zimmer declined to participate. A report released in March 2014 said that Mayor Zimmer's allegations were, "in material respects, demonstrably false." and "whether intentional or not, it appears that Mayor Zimmer's subjective perception of events she has described do not reflect objective reality." Zimmer dismissed the report as "sadly predictable" and said she was still willing to repeat her allegations under oath.called the report stating, "Randy Mastro could have written his report the day he was hired and saved the taxpayers the million dollars in fees." In editorials, the The Star-Ledger and The New York Times labeled the report a "whitewash".

Hurricane Sandy
flooding study http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2013/05/rockefeller_foundation_funds_s.html#incart_river_default