Different ways of looking at Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a really special part of the New Jersey landscape. It is historic, it is urban, it has some well kept secrets, it is a place of great demographic richness, but it also experiences many conflicts that are quintessential for understanding the Garden State. I've been fortunate enough to learn a little more about Elizabeth over the last few years, so I found these two different items to be very interesting.

A fairly upbeat example was in the Star-Ledger which reported on some Elizabeth HS students who made a video about the FAA's changing policies regarding airport noise around Newark airport. It is a great example of how younger people can see old problems in new ways. It also a great example of how a small non-profit, like Future City, can spark a larger conversation.

Michelle Doran McBean, CEO of the Elizabeth-based nonprofit Future City Inc., provided equip ment and guidance for the film and saw the girls' enthusiasm build firsthand. She now hopes the film can spread their passion.

"I think there are many other young people just like the three of them who would be equally interested and engaged if provided with the opportunity and support," said McBean, whose organization has an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of air pollution and other environmental issues in the Newark/Elizabeth "aerotropolis."

"Hopefully, they can serve as a nexus to bring people together on this issue," she said.

Here is a less positive example. Someone has mapped out some of the larger public housing projects in Elizabeth complete with photos. Some of the photos look clearly out of date (and the website admits enough if you dig a little) but it is an interesting example of how one person can assemble information in a way that seems definitive to the casual viewer. As part of a larger website called Urban Decay, these photos could easily be construed as having a specific message about life in Elizabeth, but the website seems underdeveloped in a way that makes it hard to derive any singular message.

3 Landscapes: Brand and Miller

Stan Brand

• Bahai Terraces of thee Shrine of the Báb
• Central Park
• Warinanco Park in Elizabeth, NJ

Ryan Miller

• J. Paul Getty Center
• Berchtesgaden in Southern Germany
• Ciudad de las Artes y de las Ciencias in Valencia, Spain

For background, go here: http://hahawall.rutgers.edu/tulloch/Candidates.html

New development despite economic questions

With the economy experiencing some clear uncertainties, it isn't surprising to see some large projects being put on hold while everyone recalculates on loans and adjusts estimates on demand. For instance, East Brunswick has grand plans for its Golden Triangle, but the Toll Brothers have asked to slow down.

So, I've been surprised by two different proposals for large projects in today's paper. Are they filling a suddenly available niche? Is the demand for housing in NJ just that unstoppable? Or are they off their rockers? We'll see.

The first is a proposal for 14 glass towers on the Elizabeth waterfront. This would be in the area behind the Jersey Gardens along Newark Bay.

The project calls for a nearly mile-long wooden promenade hugging the bay's shore, with a marina for recreational boats. Then there's the hotel and charter school surrounded by restaurants and shop. Hoda sees thousands of new residents on this isolated spit of land where not so much as a shack stands today.

Dayton Village in South Brunswick is also looking at a big change, considering a proposal for a Town Center development. The planners behind the project have tried to promote the ways it will positively impact the overall community:

"When you look at Dayton, there is very little connectivity between the different sections," Constantine said. "If a kid wants to visit his friend in a different development about 100 yards away, his parents have to drive him more than a mile around in order to get there. There is no direct way."

Constantine said the suggestions include closing a portion of Culver Street to create a village green. Several existing small shopping centers would be replaced with a larger two-story building with more on-street parking. New bike paths along existing rights of way would be created and small local roads could be cut through sections of town, connecting them all.

They are holding workshops on Monday and Tuesday to generate more community input and (they anticipate) to get community buy-in.

Historic Tunnel in Elizabeth

The Elizabeth Historic Society has found a secret tunnel that they think carries important links to the past. Paul Mattingly reported recently that the tunnel was probably used for smuggling of both goods and people, from the Elizabeth River up to the Belger-Ogden Mansion. While the details are preliminary, it is a pretty exciting find. I can't wait to see it.

PP videos

As citizens try to fight planning decisions and change public perception on environmental issues, they are turning to videos as a tool for education and persuassion.

An interesting example comes from Fort Lauderdale where a major waterfront development is being opposed by a group of citizens who have turned to YouTube to express their concerns.



As a different use of You Tube, I point you towards Future City in Elizabeth (disclosure: I work with them). They have produced some environmentally-focused videos looking at issues facing the Elizabeth River-Arthur Kill Watershed (and all of urban America). They work to advance awareness as a general goal and not directed at a specific conflict on the calendar.



It all feels very David and Goliath. It is hard to be critical of a small group trying to protect their town or environment. So it may be equally hard to suspect or believe that jumpy little videos made by a anti-shopping mall group could really made by a group funded by another developer who is pro-resort hotel. And how do you research these groups to discover their full intent? With a group like Future City in Elizabeth, there is a 10 year history. But when citizens spontaneously respond to a new "threat" there is no history.