Edgewater South 2018
WALK the WALKWAY
Edgewater South – Oct. 7, 2018
On a cool, cloudy autumn day, 11 walkers including 4 HRWC Board members and long time walkers gathered at the Trader Joe’s parking lot in Edgewater to Walk the Walkway through the southern half of Edgewater. The group welcomed Paul from Manhattan as a new walker. The Walkway in this area is under development and redevelopment with Walkway “gaps” being closed each year and several dangerous and crumbling portions that need to be redeveloped.
Walkers came from as far as Phillipsburg, NJ and New York City and the communities along the Hudson River. It was good to see previous walkers in the group, some who have walked with the HRWC for several years.
The parking lot where the group gathered was the site of the former Binghamton Ferry. The Ferry has been demolished now and there are plans for a new dinner boat to replace the Binghamton. The group speculated about the future of the entire Trader Joes shopping center. While it is very busy, Chase Bank will close later in October and the parking lot floods every rain storm as it has sunk below the level of the river. The Walkway will be rebuilt when the new river boat is set up. However, until then, the Walkway remains in disrepair and can be dangerous.
At 9:30. the walkers proceeded through the Trader Joe’s shopping center where part of the Walkway is undefined. There is a ramp leading to an elevated wooden balcony that could be the Walkway. However it is very narrow and used for outside dining by several restaurants. The owner of the shopping center has offered to build a proper Walkway along the shore line below the balcony that would allow the current elevated balcony to remain as outdoor dining for the restaurants. The Conservancy supports this however, this will not happen until the Walkway is built on the adjacent property previously owned by Hess Oil.
The Walkers stopped to view the previous Hess Oil property. Environmental clean-up is now completed and the property remains in litigation between the new owners and Edgewater Borough.
South of Hess Oil, the walkers reentered the Walkway at the Mitsuwa Marketplace. The Walkway here was constructed many years ago. The restaurant on the pier has recently closed and the Walkway again is not being maintained as garbage cans were overflowing and weeds and shrubbery overgrown. There is a possibility that the shopping center will be sold to allow condominiums to be built.
Next the group entered the decaying Walkway behind the Edgewater Golf Range. This area is sinking into the river and needs major reconstruction. At high tide, half of the Walkway is submerged. The Golf Course is now closed and there is a proposal to develop the property into condominiums. There is evidence of recent patching of the Walkway but the Walkway and the shoreline need to be completely rebuilt. This will be required when the property is redeveloped.
The walk continued into the Edgewater Commons shopping center with the group debating the pros and cons of many feral cats that live near the grocery stores and how to keep the messy Canadian geese away from the Walkway. New signs warning of a $2000.00 fine for feeding the wildlife have been posted throughout the Edgewater Walkway. This is a new ordinance in Edgewater. However, there was evidence that people still feed the cats and the geese.
At the northern edge of Edgewater Commons is a restaurant on the end of a pier. This specific pier was built as a fishing pier and the restaurant has been a problem for the DEP in the past. The owners try to discourage or prevent the fishermen from using the pier. Fishing and private dining do not seem to be very compatible. The restaurant has recently changed hands and names. It is now Joe’s Crab House. The groip speculated that the owners have decided to work with the fishermen rather than fight with them. It was good to see that all the facilities were being maintained and the public bathrooms were open and being serviced. Unfortunately, the fishermen on the pier were not having a good day.
The group stopped at the end of Edgewater Commons to talk about the redevelopment that is occurring along the entire Edgewater Waterfront. Properties like the golf range, movie theater and retail stores are closing and the properties are being converted to residential use. This is actually a long term opportunity for the Walkway as new developments will be required to replace older non complying Walkways with fully compliant Walkways.
Next was the high-end condos known as Independence Harbor. These condos were built on the site of a previous Ford Assembly plant. It is amazing to see the beautiful condos where an old decaying factory once existed. Here the Walkway is maintained in excellent condition. Landscape buffers are well developed and trimmed to separate privacy needs of the residents from the public Walkway. Unfortunately, it appeared that the Condo Association has removed all the required benches along the Walkway due to vandalism. Pictures were taken and will be sent to the DEP to require the benches be replaced.
The Marquis condominiums lay next to Independence Harbor with a small section of well -maintained Walkway.
The walk continued through the large City Place property where it is well maintained. However, the group stopped to examine the sinking land under the Promenade Condominiums and behind City Place. The structures and the Walkway are built on fill materials and are continually being undermined by the river. A photo was taken of a sink hole that has developed on the upland side of the Walkway. The was river water visible in the sink hole indicating that the entire Walkway is undermined at that area. The DEP will be informed to make sure the Walkway is repaired.
The walkers continued and arrived at a dead end where the Walkway stops at the Quantas Superfund Site. Walkers arriving here must use the dangerous driveways of the City Place shopping center to return to River Road and bypass Quantas.
At Quantas, the walkers stopped to look at the work being done by the EPA to clean-up the land and the waterfront. Quantas was an old, abandoned chromium and coal tar processing plant. There was a slight odor of naphthalene in the air. This has been a major concern of the residents who live near Quantas. The contaminated soil is being capped and sealed to prevent future exposure to the toxic chemicals. When the remediation is completed, a developer plans to build hundreds of condominiums on top of the remediated land.
Beyond Quantas is/was 115 River Road. One of the walkers noted that this is the last industrial building remaining in Edgewater. It would be nice if some acknowledgement of Edgewater’s industrial past was included in the redevelopment. It should be noted that both Hoboken and Jersey City have done this by adding historical notes to the wayfinding signage along the Walkway. The building was in the process of being demolished and will be part of the Quantas remediation. The remediation extends across River Road which will be rerouted at some later date so the area under the road can be remediated.
Edgewater Harbor is the last waterfront property at the southern end of Edgewater. It was the former home of Unilever Research where many of the popular detergents, soaps and creams used today were originally developed. Unilever sold the property to a developer about 5 years ago and now there are shops, condos and the Edgewater Municipal building on the site. The development is almost complete with the last building ready to be occupied before the end of the year. The developed has built a beautiful and fully compliant section of the Walkway that meets all of the design guidelines for new Walkway segments.
Unfortunately, Edgewater Harbor has also developed a pier for private use of Edgewater Harbor residents. This is in violation of the Public Trust Doctrine that guarantees public access to the waterfront. The Conservancy will continue to press for opening these types of private enclaves along the Walkway to the general public. The final section of the Walkway at Edgewater Harbor is under construction and will soon allow walkers and bikers to enter the Walkway at the southern end of Edgewater.
The guided portion of the walk ended at Edgewater Harbor. The HRWC thanked the walkers for their participation and insight as many of them walk the Walkway often, some daily, and have valuable insight into the operation and use of the Walkway.
The next Walk the Walkway will be on October 14, when the HRWC will lead a walk along the Walkway in Hoboken. Please plan to join us.
Photo album of walk.