Res. No. 921

Resolution calling upon the New Jersey State Legislature to pass and the New Jersey Governor to sign S.2052/A.3183, which relates to the preservation of the Palisades.

By Council Members Cohen, Johnson, Lander, Rodriguez and Rosenthal

Whereas, The Palisades are cliffs located along the western shoreline of the Hudson River that stretches approximately from Weehawken, New Jersey to Nyack, New York; and

Whereas, The Palisades were designated as a national historic landmark in 1965, as a national natural landmark in 1983, and as a natural treasure for historic preservation in 2014 because of their natural beauty, geological significance, and history; and

Whereas, According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the effort to protect the Palisades from degradation in the early 1890s was one of the earliest conservation efforts in the United States; and

Whereas, The efforts to preserve the Palisades resulted in the establishment of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (Interstate Park Commission) by New York and New Jersey Governors, Theodore Roosevelt and Foster Voorhees, and John D. Rockefeller purchased and donated the current parkland to the Interstate Park Commission in the 1930s; and

Whereas, A portion of the parkland is located in the town of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, which previously had zoning laws that prevented building structures over 35 feet without a variance; and

Whereas, In February 2012, the LG Corporation obtained a variance to build an eight-story tower that would be 143 feet high and would represent the first breach of the viewscape north of the George Washington Bridge in over 100 years; and

Whereas, The town of Englewood Cliffs amended their zoning law on October 2012 so that no variance would be needed to build structures over 35 feet tall; and

Whereas, The New York Times has stated that after months of negotiations with residents, environmentalists and politicians, on June 2015, the LG Corporation agreed to build a building approximately 69 feet tall which would merely peek above the tree line but preserve the views of the Palisades; and

Whereas, Although the agreement between the LG Corporation and the stakeholders was a great achievement, the conflict was a reminder that tall buildings could still be constructed in the Palisades; and

Whereas, S.2052/A.3183, currently pending in the New Jersey State Legislature, sponsored by State Senator Bob Smith, State Senator Christopher Batemen, Assembly Member John Mckeon, Assembly Member Patrick Diegnan and Assembly Member Upendra Chivukula, would create a preservation zone in the Palisades that would prohibit the construction of a building that exceeds 35 feet in height; and

Whereas, The preservation zone would preserve the spectacular views and protect a long-cherished natural area located in one of the most densely populated places in the United States; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New Jersey State Legislature to pass and the New Jersey Governor to sign S.2052/A.3183, which relates to the preservation of the Palisades.

JLC

LS 6128/2015

10/5/2015 3:50 PM