Left Bank of the Hudson by David J. Goodwin

Author:David J. Goodwin [Goodwin, David J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, Urban, History, United States, State & Local, Middle Atlantic (DC; DE; MD; NJ; NY; PA), Art, Contemporary (1945-)
ISBN: 9780823278046
Google: f5WUDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Fordham Univ Press
Published: 2017-10-03T05:50:31+00:00

Powerhouse Arts District, unknown date. (Courtesy of Bill Rybak)

City officials counter-argued that the original Powerhouse Arts District plan was impractical from its conception and that it had been drafted in 2004 as a knee-jerk response to the public battle over 111 1st Street. According to the defenders of the changes to the Powerhouse Arts District ordinance, the original policy could not generate a critical mass of residents to support retail, spur renovation of the iconic Powerhouse, and generate further investment for the district. The executive director for the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency supported such reasoning: “The idea of keeping density extremely low on a PATH stop is a luxury the city can’t afford. It’s not consistent with smart growth, and it’s not best for the whole city.”54

The statements coming from municipal agencies and from City Hall merit closer analysis. Admittedly, the original Powerhouse Arts District plan was drawn up during the interregnum following the unexpected death of Mayor Glenn Cunningham in 2004. The then acting mayor, L. Harvey Smith, spearheaded the Powerhouse Arts District legislation and shepherded it through the city council in late October 2004. The special mayoral election occurred a week later in November. Politics and the desire for an electoral victory (Smith lost the election; Healy won it) likely played no small part in the drafting of the plan and the rush to pass it, thereby providing an element of credibility to the criticisms of the original ordinance by the Healy administration.

The Healy administration embraced the talking point that the Powerhouse Arts District presented a distinct choice between historic preservation and smart growth. They argued that strictly maintaining the guidelines spelled out by the Powerhouse Arts District redevelopment plan jeopardized the infill of vacant parcels and the development of underutilized or empty structures; that is, investors and builders would avoid the Powerhouse District and possibly Jersey City altogether and place their funds and resources in more malleable municipalities. At best, this was a simple-minded view of the attraction of historic districts for investment and as a bulwark of high property values. Historic districts always contain some of the more, if not the most, desired and pricey property in a city. At worst, it was a dishonest excuse, barely hiding an instinct to placate real estate interests.

The Powerhouse Arts District sat within easy walking distance of both the Grove Street PATH station and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, thereby minimizing automobile dependency and connecting workers and residents to the robust mass transportation network of the metropolitan region. High-rise office and residential towers largely hemmed in the district, providing any potential business with an enviably large pool of customers and clients. If the district had developed as first planned, hundreds of apartments, mostly rented or owned by affluent individuals and families, would have been built in refurbished industrial spaces and in new buildings following the heights and densities of the historic structures. Such a population would have no difficulty drawing retail and restaurant entrepreneurs. The Powerhouse Arts District plan was an attempt at both smart growth and preservation.

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