Letters to the editor, Oct. 31 – montclairlocal.news

Go to the polls

The League of Women Voters of the Montclair Area urges all registered voters to go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to exercise their right to vote and have a say in America’s future.
Every vote counts, and our votes make a difference.

Voters can check their registration status, find the location and hours of their polling location, review the rules for registration and voting by mail, and link to other important election events by going to state.nj.us/state/elections/.

Voting brings us together as Americans. This election is about our jobs, our health, our communities, our security and our future. Take control and commit to vote on Nov. 5.

SUSAN MACK

Montclair

The writer is the voter registration chair of the League of Women Voters of the Montclair Area.

History Center thankful for successful home tour

The Montclair History Center thanks those who helped make our Harvest Home Tour on Oct. 5, 2019 a big success. It was a wonderful day to stroll through four centuries of diverse homes and historic properties.

First, we thank the private homeowners and The George for graciously allowing us to visit. Each stop was a delight. We are also grateful to the members of the recently formed Montclair Chapter of Questers (an international organization dedicated to the study, conservation and preservation of historical objects for the benefit of today and tomorrow), who enthusiastically spearheaded this event and worked hard on it from start to finish:

Cathy Peter, Marcella Perez, Joan Barrett, Suzanne Miller, Nancy Simonic, Wendy Grotyohann, and Daryn Sirota. We also thank the many, many volunteers at the houses.
Of course, nothing at the Montclair History Center happens without the creative energy of our dedicated and hard-working staff—led by Jane Eliasof, with Erin Benz, Susanne Costa, and Diane Israel—who never cease to amaze us.

To the Montclair History Center’s tremendous volunteers…you are always there when we need you and we are so very grateful. The Montclair History Center also thanks the ticket-holders, who share our interest in Montclair’s architecture, and the advertisers in the event booklet.

Fundraising initiatives like this are vital to a small non-profit like ours. On behalf of the entire Montclair History Center Board, thank you to all involved for the support, enthusiasm and participation that made the Harvest Home Tour 2019 a success. Looking forward to next year’s tour.

ELIZABETH HYNES and HELEN FALLON

Montclair

Hynes is the president of the Montclair History Center Board of Trustees and Fallon is the vice president.

Urge representatives to act on Energy Innovation Act

As a member of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, I hereby urge people to phone or write to their representatives and urge them to co-sponsor HR 763, the Energy Innovation Act. It would place a tax on carbon use and sales and divide the proceeds equally among all U.S. adult citizens.

Then write or call Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker and ask them to introduce a similar bill in the senate. Their numbers are 202-224-4744 and 202-224-3224, respectively.

Climate change is a terrible threat to human life, within the lifetime of children alive today. As a gardener, I can already see significant effects.
Nov. 6 is the day CCL hopes the congressional lines will be flooded. Please write and/or call.

PAT KENSCHAFT

Montclair

Reader uses Lackawanna issue for college essay

I live in the community of Montclair New Jersey, which became one of the first outlying residential communities developed around New York City. This was made possible by the introduction of train travel. In 1913, an architecturally extraordinary train terminal, Lackawanna Station, was built in Montclair that elevated the experience of train travel in and out of New York. Standing to this day, Lackawanna station is the gateway to Montclair’s Commercial District and is centered on a critical intersection.

Today Montclair is considered one of the most desirable communities in the New York City metro, known for its extraordinary economic, racial and culturally diverse population. Due to its increasing desirability, a great deal of Real Estate development is taking place with the effect of urbanizing what was always a quiet, family oriented, “village-type” community. The historic landmark Lackawanna Train station is on the brink of being demolished to accommodate parking for a new grocery store.

This development has created great controversy in our community, and has numerous competing considerations that need to be addressed. The principal issue of the debate is how to properly reconcile the developer’s private property rights with the best interests and needs of the public good. Everyone in the community agrees that a grocery store be developed on the land of Lackawanna Station, as the station stands in a neighborhood, formerly served by a now closed Pathmark supermarket. Neighboring Residents feel they are experiencing hardship by the lack of proximity of a grocery and describe their area as a “food desert.”

The controversy lies in how the Lackawanna site will be developed. There are those in town who believe Lackawanna Station’s century old historic structure must remain. It has been formally designated as a National, State, and Local historic registered site in recognition of its extraordinary architecture and historic role in the community’s development. Thus, it is strongly felt by many that the current train station should be preserved in place and adaptively reused to incorporate a grocery store within the historic structure: similar to the successful examples of Faneuil Hall in Boston, the Ferry Building in San Francisco, Reading Market in Philadelphia, and others.

The developer believes it’s necessary to demolish the historic train station in order to build an exorbitant 375 foot deep parking lot, which is substantially out of character with the village streetscape (by a significant order of magnitude). The plan as presented defies the townships own Master Plan and sensible urban planning precepts. This is because the Developer desires to maximize the density of the site and his return-on-investment, with little consideration for the most site-suitable plan, likely to the substantial long-term detriment of the community.

To achieve a successful solution, it will be crucial to reconcile all competing interests of the various stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcome. The stakeholders consist of the community residents, property owners and merchants of the commercial district, Essex County and Montclair Township (County & Municipal Tax Ratables), the Developer and his investors, and the interests of those who value thoughtful planning, responsible stewardship and historic preservation. It will be up to our town’s leadership to recognize the critical and urgent nature of how the site is ultimately developed and the concerns and perseverance of the community to demand a better plan.

Presuming township leadership views their role as stewards for achieving the long term common good, and pursues their role with responsibility and integrity, they must take into account of all competing interests, and reconcile them in good faith. The solution that will achieve the best outcome may appear counter to the short-term self-interests of the developer however reconciling their private property rights with the best interests of the community should be the priority.

Montclair, as a community, must protect and adapt its historic train station as an architecturally attractive, historically authentic anchor and destination, and create an extraordinary project that will bring vibrancy and continuity to the Montclair Commercial District. To do this, it is crucial for township leaders to find ways to elicit the cooperation of the developer, possibly through thoughtful incentives and concessions which promote the best quality project. While the developer may not get the maximum return on his financial investment by preserving adapting and enhancing the existing historic structure and building a grocery store within the structure, it will achieve the best possible outcome for all other stakeholders, principally our Montclair community, and likely the best outcome for the developer over time.

ADIN B. GREENBAUM

Montclair High School, Senior Class of 2020