Weehawken and Union City Team Up to Save Reservoir

Weehawken and Union City Team Up to Save Reservoir

Hudson Report, 4-Oct-15

By Al Sullivan

Holding a party for a reservoir might seem a little odd. 

But for residents and public officials in Weehawken and Union City, preserving a 14.4-acre former reservoir near the border of both cities is a big deal. The towns closed down a portion of Palisades Avenue on Sept. 24 to celebrate. People danced or sang. Kids climbed onto various amusement rides. Many visitors took a stroll around the reservoir to admire the wildlife as well as the view of the New York Skyline.

“The property could have been sold for development,” said Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner. “There were plenty of offers from developers.”

But he said the site offered a good opportunity as a public amenity, a park with walkway in a part of Hudson County that is already densely populated.

Turner reached out to state Senator and Union City Mayor Brian Stack to see if they could come up with a plan to purchase the property.

Known Hackensack Reservoir No. 2, the property is located on the Weehawken side of Palisades Avenue.

“Even though it is in Weehawken, this will benefit residents of Union City,” Stack said.

Although built in the 19th Century, the reservoir property hasn’t been in operation since 1996. But it has been reconfigured into a passive park with benches and a rail around the perimeter.

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“This is the largest preservation project in North Hudson in the last 50 years.” – Richard Turner
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“There is a lot of water,” Turner said. “And it will provide a place for people to sit or walk. If they need to contemplate something, they can do it there.”

Turner said United Water originally owned the property and offered to sell it for $11 million.

“Through a combination of grants and low interest loans we were able to buy the property,” Turner said. 

This included an $8.66 million low interest loan from The Trust for Public Land, a national, non-profit organization that has worked with landowners, funders and townships across the nation since 1972.

The loan – three quarters of which is at 0 percent interest, and one quarter of which carries between 1 and 2 percent interest – will be split by both parties. The loan’s projected payoff will take 20 years. 

The project also received a $2 million grant from the state’s Green Acres – a program under N.J.’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) dedicated to funding land conservation and recreational resources.

Both towns kicked in to fill in the rest of the sale price, and they will split the cost of maintaining the park. Maintenance cost is estimated at about $600,000 annually.

“This is good for the residents of both our towns,” said Stack.

The agreement with NJ State DEP guarantees that the reservoir will be preserved indefinitely as a park.

The reservoir is bordered by Washington Street, Gregory Avenue, Highpoint Avenue, and 20th Street.

“This is what government is supposed to be doing,” Stack said. “This will be felt by the public.”

The reservoir will be open to the public in the morning, guarded by security, and closed after dusk with no nighttime access or lighting.

“This is a great moment for Union City and Weehawken,” Turner said. “This is the largest preservation project in North Hudson in the last 50 years.”

Weehawken HS Brings Back Girls Tennis, Cross Country

Weehawken HS Brings Back Girls Tennis, Cross Country

The Jersey Journal, 26-Sep-15

By William Harrigan

With its athletics program classified in Group 1 for decades now, Weehawken is consistently one of the smallest high schools in Hudson County.

However, the Indians have added two new sports to the card this year, and so far the results have been very promising.

Cross country and girls tennis — both offered in the past but later discontinued — are back this year and already in the midst of their respective seasons, with the girls tennis squad taking on a JV schedule in 2015.

In just one month, interest and numbers have tripled for Kyle Mahoney's cross country squad. Back in late August, the Indians had only four runners in the entire program.

"We are up to 13 kids in the program, and the breakdown is five girls and eight boys," Mahoney said. "Once school started and students realized that we actually had a team, there was an incredible amount of interest in the program. We are definitely gaining momentum."

While the Indians went 0-3 in its inaugural outing — a quad meet with Dwight-Englewood, Hasbrouck Heights and Paterson Charter — they received a strong performance from senior Michael Stepkovich, who finished in 20th place.

"Michael has been our fastest runner so far. He actually played football before, so he's a very athletic kid and has been very serious about improving his times," Mahoney said.

Weehawken's fast improvement was evident in its team scores at its second NJIC quad meet, when the team fell to North Arlington, 36-21, and St. Mary's of Rutherford, 38-19. The first victory for the program came via a forfeit over Paterson Charter.

On the girls side, Weehawken's fastest performance of the season came from Miriam Janssen, who ran a 29:06 on that first NJIC race day. Fellow runner Isabel Jeffoni's fastest time to this point is 48 seconds off that pace, which she accomplished in the Season Opener Invitiational in Mahwah on Sept. 12. Teammate Alexa Castellano finished close behind Jeffoni on the day.

Diane Clarke — an English teacher at Weehawken — is piloting the girls tennis side, and has already experienced some success. Weehawken is 1-2 on the JV circuit, with senior Nicole Primero sitting at 3-0 in first singles. The Indians' victory came against Secaucus' JV squad. The sides have split a pair of matches to this point.

"The team will play nine JV matches this season, and we plan to have a full varsity team for next year," Clarke said. "Right now, we have eight girls in the program, so we have a full lineup and an alternate player."

With only two seniors on the club, Clarke plans to add more depth to the squad moving forward.

"A lot of our players have younger siblings who will probably join the team, and kids who are interested in tennis and want to play, now can," she said.