We believe that successful waterfronts begin with sound planning, time-tested urban design and an understanding that the water’s edge belongs to the public.
Jane’s Walk: Seeing Hoboken through Jane Jacobs’ Eyes
Saturday, May 4, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.
A one-and-a-quarter mile walking tour led by FBW’s Executive Director Ron Hine
RSVP for details & starting location
Sponsored by the Hoboken Historical Museum and the Fund for a Better Waterfront
In her seminal book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane Jacobs writes about her West Village neighborhood in Manhattan. But she could have been describing densely populated Hoboken, with its rows of walk-up residential buildings built more than 100 years ago, interspersed with ground-floor shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. Hoboken’s traditional urban street grid, with 200-foot wide blocks and small lots, makes for walkable, lively streets. Jane Jacobs was also a vocal critic of the sterile housing developments that replaced these diverse, vital neighborhoods. Hoboken also has examples of these failed 1960s-era projects. The tour will cover the good and the bad as Jane Jacobs would have seen it. The tour begins at the south end of town and will end at the Hoboken Historical Museum at 1300 Hudson Street.
Earth Day Movie Night on Thursday, April 18th at 6 p.m. at the Community Church of Hoboken
Join FBW and Resilience Adventures as we celebrate Earth Day with the free screening of two remarkable environmental films, A Living River and Chasing Coral. A Living River is a short film by award-winning National Geographic filmmaker Jon Bowermaster that chronicles how the Hudson River – after suffering years of overfishing and pollution – is once again teeming with life. Chasing Coral follows a group of photographers and scientists on a “visually staggering and suspenseful” global trek to document how climate change is causing the rapid collapse of coral reefs around the world.
Recent Articles
What is the key to Hoboken’s success as a vibrant urban community?
A mix of residential and retail uses, high densities, small lot sizes, and rows of buildings hugging front lot lines all contribute to lively, walkable neighborhoods Hoboken Street [...]
Hoboken’s private, lifeless alleyways are an ill-conceived attempt to create public space
"The street is the river of life of the city, the place where we come together, the pathway to the center." - William H. Whyte “There must be eyes upon the street, eyes belonging [...]
Hoboken model to mitigate flooding dependent on massive gov’t support as costs rise and major rain storms intensify
A $392 million flood wall, now under construction, will protect against coastal storm surge; an additional $100 million has been invested in stormwater retention systems and high-velocity pumps to reduce flash flooding [...]
NJDEP is sued for failure to abide by its own Hudson River walkway requirement on land that it owns
Conservancy pushes to complete the final gaps in the mostly built Hudson River Waterfront Walkway The retail stores and restaurants at the Edgewater Marketplace block access to the water's [...]
Proposals to monetize and privatize portions of Maritime Park run counter to the goal of a truly public waterfront
Leasing the Community Hub building to a commercial operator would trigger the referendum requirement Proposal to “Capitalize on Kayaking” conflicts with the mission of the free 20-year-old kayaking program that serves thousands each [...]
Aaron Lewit (3/7/1948 – 2/27/2024) had a life-long commitment to social justice and progressive causes
We will celebrate Aaron’s life with a Memorial Service on Saturday, March 9th at the Hoboken Community Church on Sixth and Garden Streets at 11 a.m. Ron Hine | February 28, 2024 [...]
Can the City of Hoboken afford the $74.5 million price tag to build Maritime Park?
Pedestrian bridge spanning Sinatra Drive, Community Hub building and two new piers account for one-third of total cost FBW | February 13, 2024 Ayear ago, the City awarded a $1.2 [...]
First addition to Hoboken’s linear waterfront park since 2007 at the Weehawken Cove will protect against future storm surges
Significant progress for Hoboken’s continuous, public waterfront park, first proposed by FBW in 1990, will be made in 2024-2025 FBW | January 31, 2024 Construction of a 2.5-acre [...]
Judge Jablonski signs Consent Order that grants City of Hoboken clear title to Union Dry Dock property
Purchase price of $18.5 million to be paid to NY Waterway; deed will be amended to conform to Open Space Trust Fund ordinance FBW | January 22, 2024 A Consent Order for [...]
New Jersey environmental and civic groups challenge Governor Murphy’s opposition to NYC’s congestion pricing plan
34 groups, including the Fund for a Better Waterfront, file an Amicus brief in federal court New Jersey traffic headed to the entrance of the Holland Tunnel. FBW | [...]
Court documents reveal details of settlement agreement between City of Hoboken and NY Waterway
Once the court approves the Consent Order for Final Judgment, NY Waterway will receive the agreed-upon purchase price of $18.5 million and the City of Hoboken will finally have clear title to the Union [...]
FBW and Hoboken reach a settlement upholding the right to referendum on future sale or lease of the Union Dry Dock site
The City also agrees to deed restriction language required by the City’s Open Space Trust Fund Ordinance FBW | November 14, 2023 The latest dispute over the Union Dry Dock property [...]