As gentrification rises in West New York, New Jersey, residents are beginning to speak out about one of the main problems it brings for them: parking.
A property proposal on 6605 Boulevard East became a main event on Thursday, Sept. 19’s Zoning Board Meeting conducted via Zoom. Flyers around town encouraged residents to attend the meeting and speak out against the proposal, citing that the proposed six-story building would only provide 80 parking spaces, which claims will be 48 parking spaces less than New Jersey law requires.
While the creator and distributor of the flyer is unknown, residents’ presence at the meeting was known by members of the board. With 36 participants at the start of the meeting at 6:30 p.m., Chairman Ricky Solares emphasized order.
Slice of Culture was in attendance at the virtual meeting. SOC contacted Board Secretary Caridad Rodriguez to request a recording of the public Zoom meeting but was advised to fill out an OPRA request form. The Office of the Town Clerk, who is in charge of OPRA requests, has seven days to respond to the request.
“I’m gonna be more disciplined with the public, you’ll see why,” Solares said during the meeting.
The importance of verbalized comments, questions and concerns were placed; Chairman Solares reminded residents that if their comments are not verbalized on the Zoom, they would not be taken into consideration in approving or disapproving this property.
Before discussing the property proposal on 6605 Boulevard East, also known as property #ZB 2024-010, a property on 6212 Madison Street (#ZB 2024-05) was approved and adopted by the board. The proposal mentions a five story building with 15 units, with 10 of those being one bedroom and five two-bedrooms. There was no mention of the unit’s parking situation in this meeting.
In anticipation of the controversy and debate around property #ZB 2024-010, Chairman Solares announced there will be a special meeting on Oct. 8 to make a decision.
After this, property lawyer Alonso Alvaro began his opening statement concerning property #ZB 2024-010. He began by saying that he has a lot of history representing property proposals in this area, claiming his first application was in 2012 with a proposal of a 13 story building. Another application was opened in 2013, with a proposal of a 12 story building with 157 units. There was also another application in 2019 which was also denied.
Alonso then introduced his first expert witness: Alan Horwitz of Baseline Architecture in North Bergen, New Jersey.
Horwitz proposed that this building would have five residential floors and two levels of parking. There is a plan for 81 parking spaces, not 80 like the flyer previously mentioned, to be distributed amongst the lower and upper levels. The lower parking level would contain 38 spaces with access to stairs, elevators and ADA compliant spaces. 31 of those 38 spaces would be nine feet wide and two handicap spaces would be eight feet wide. Horwitz also promises that drive aisles would be 24 feet.
The upper level parking will have 43 parking spaces with access from 67th Street. This level will also contain a loading area.
Chairman Solares asked if there will be additional street parking with this construction, and Horwitz responded that this building will add “one or more” spaces.
Carl Jenne, the next expert witness, is a principal engineer from Warren, New Jersey. He backed up Horwitz’s promises of two parking levels in the project. Jenne also adds that there will be a renovation of the sidewalk and curbing around the property. For aesthetic purposes, Jenne said that there will also be landscaping. A promise of new water, electric and gas services will be provided.
The following expert witness, Craig Peregoy, is a traffic engineer from Chester, New Jersey. His traffic analysis focused on 66th and 67th street on Boulevard East and the Lincoln Place intersection on 67th street. He claimed that traffic in the area is “about the same” according to data from December 2008 to 2024.
The meeting reached 48 participants at around 7:54 p.m.
Peregoy added that peaks of traffic during the day have 24 vehicle trips and night peaks have 20 vehicle trips. He said parking and access are “greatly improving” and this new building would make roads “much safer.”
He adds that parking space requirements are now at a maximum, not a minimum, so the proposed 81 spaces in the property are “more than enough” and “makes all the sense in the world.” Peregoy also said there is “lots of street parking in West New York.”
Alonso backed up Peregoy’s statement by arguing that since lot requirements are in maximums, the board can approve a lesser amount of lots.
This caused resident Michelle Cucci to speak up in the Zoom messages section, saying: “I’m sorry, but if you don’t live in WNY, you do not understand the parking issues everyone faces. Statistics, data don’t mean anything when it comes to our parking problems,” at 8:06 p.m.
Despite the data presented in the meeting, residents said parking is a very prominent issue that has affected many West New Yorkers’ livelihoods.
Resident Joel Javier, who has been living in the town for ten years, said solutions that the town present have not been effective. “I feel like the parking in the town has always been a prevalent issue. The town will offer solutions that are unreasonable for the average person to meet,” he said.
“One of the biggest moments that I remember regarding the parking was when they stated they were going to add parking lines. I was initially very happy because it would provide more organized spaces so people wouldn’t accidentally take two. But then, they ended up removing [about] 20% of the parking spaces because they would leave large parts of the street out of the lines, which would end up with you getting a ticket for a place that was previously recognized as parking.”
Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez began this project in 2021 with the Board of Commissioners, starting with diagonal parking on Broadway. In 2022, he announced that Park Ave parking spots would go from horizontal to diagonal via the town’s Instagram @townofwny.
Austin Sarmiento, who moved to West New York four years ago, said issues around parking were immediately noticeable. “Once I moved there, I realized in one week [parking] is disastrous,” he said.
Both Javier and Sarmiento have had to invest in private parking spaces for relief. Sarmiento said he pays $200 monthly. “At this point, it is a necessary expense, as I truly believe winning the lottery [is more likely than] finding a spot in WNY for street parking after 6 p.m.,” he said. “I do think it’s upsetting that WNY has had numerous new buildings be built and not take the effort to build parking spaces.”
Sarmiento lives on John F. Kennedy and Boulevard East, near the site where #ZB 2024-010 is to be built if approved.
Solares, in response to Cucci’s comment in the Zoom chat said: “Every member that sits in this board lives in West New York, we are well-aware of the parking situation in West New York.” He did not clarify what his beliefs on parking around town were.
A map highlighting parking lots available around town. Photo courtesy of West New York Parking Services
He then asked all residents to save their comments and questions for their respective portions of the meeting.
The final expert Nicholas A. Graviano, a licensed professional planner in New Jersey, said that this new property would have “excellent access to public transportation.” He claimed it also reduces the number of traffic and is “impeccably designed.”
The conclusion of witnesses occurred around 8:19 p.m.
Chairman Solaris announced that the public’s questions and comments will be heard when Jeffrey Kantowitz, the lawyer responsible for cross-examination, had expert witnesses ready for Oct. 8. Though Kantowitz’s unpreparedness was discussed at the start of the meeting, Chairman Solares did not mention adjourning the meeting without opening it up to the public, raising concern about the true motives of the decision.
However, Solares did take the time to reiterate that the board “takes great pride in making sure everyone is heard.”
The hearing was adjourned at around 8:30 p.m. and a final announcement for the special meeting on Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. was made.