Photo by Chelsea Pujols / SOC Images.
Despite this being the longest meeting held concerning #ZB 2024-010, West New York residents found themselves waiting for a chance to speak or ask questions, only to be denied the opportunity again.
The West New York Zoning Board held a special meeting on Oct. 8 to specifically address property #ZB-2024-010 at 6605-15 Boulevard East in hopes of coming to a decision. With 57 participants at the start of the meeting at around 6:46 p.m., participants in the meeting were reminded to keep their microphones muted so the meeting can “run as smoothly as possible.” They were also told that two sessions would be held: one for questions and one for comments, and each participant would have three minutes to speak.
The following is a recap of the meeting and cross examination done by lawyer Jeffrey Kantowitz where parking was a focal point in his line of questioning.
The minutes from the previous meeting were approved by members of the board and the attorney defending property #ZB 2024-010, Alvaro Alonso, confirmed that their presentation was concluded. He acknowledged that there is an issue concerning the separation of buildings, and he called upon Carl Jenne, the property’s engineer, to provide testimony on that.
Jenne presented document C101 from Sept. 25, an adjustment from document C100 which was presented on Sept. 19. The document originally presented the proposed building only had 106 feet of separation from its neighboring building, The Versailles. The new plan is more detailed; the plan now added distance away from neighboring building, The Versailles, of 116 feet on the north side of the building, 106 feet in the center and 120 feet on the southeast corner.
There was a moment of tension when zoning board member Kenneth Blane interjected, saying: “That’s a very specific item, and it just came out of the blue?” Referring to the adjustments made to the proposal, Jenne alleges that Blane has “grilled” him in past hearings.
Nick Graviano, the planner for the property, was then called to give testimony as well. He presented a drone photo around the proposed property location and said that the property will have a height of “well over 10 feet.”
Cross Examination And Questioning: What Role Does Parking Play?
After this new information and evidence was presented, cross-examination and questioning began around 7 p.m., conducted by lawyer Jeffrey Kantowitz.The first witness up for questioning was Carl Jenne.
Kantowitz asked Jenne if parking is included in his plan, and Jenne said he has shown interior parking spaces in the past, but did not design one for this property. After further questions about parking, Jenne said: “I had no involvement in the design of the parking spaces.”
Kantowitz asked Jenne if he is familiar with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines and Jenne replied yes. Kantowitz claimed that the proposed 8×18 parking spaces are not ADA compliant, and Alonso objected to the questioning due to the fact that Jenne was not involved in decisions about parking. Kantowitz said he is entitled to ask because Jenne is an expert.
Kantowitz proceeded to ask Jenne if he was familiar with the amount of cars that are parked at an autobody shop, which is being referred to as a gas station in meetings, on the property.
“I never made account to that–it is not pertinent to my design,” Jenne responded.
Questioning for Jenne was concluded and Kantowitz moved on to Alan Horwitz of Baseline Architecture in North Bergen, New Jersey. Horwitz confirmed that he designed the parking spaces in collaboration with traffic engineer Craig Peregoy. He also confirmed that he is familiar with zoning criteria and when asked if zoning ordinances matter to him, he responded: “Why would they not?”
However, Horwitz said he was unfamiliar with what is west of the proposed property. He also testified that the context of the neighborhood is one of the criteria that he uses when designing a “reasonable” building, but then said it is “unimportant” to know whether a neighboring property is a single family or multifamily home.
When asked about parking again, Horwitz said his job is to follow parking lot requirements.
“81 [spots are] required, there are 81 spaces,” he said. Horwitz confirmed that he is familiar with ordinances in West New York.
Kantowitz asked how many parking spaces there would be if it were 9×20, which he claims is according to West New York ordinances, and Horwitz said he must prepare calculations for this. Traffic engineer Craig Peregoy was asked to do this as well and they will present this in a future meeting.
Kantowitz also asked them to prepare calculations for how many spaces would be lost if parking spaces were to be made nine feet; this will be presented at the next meeting.
Chairman Solares asked for questions about parking to be deferred to Peregoy, the traffic engineer.
Kantowitz proceeded with his questioning and pointed out that there are no three-bedroom units on the property and asked Horwitz if he is familiar with affordable housing requirements. Alonso argued that Horwitz did not need to answer.
Another moment of tension comes as Blane interjected once more, who told Alonso that he “is not the judge here.”
A break was called at 8:37 p.m. The meeting resumed at around 8:48 p.m. with Kantowitz beginning questioning on traffic engineer Craig Peregoy.
Residents Raise Their Voices: ‘So You Don’t Want To Hear What The Public Think?’
West New York residents began to grow restless as the meeting went on without chances for them to interact with the witnesses. Some resorted to using the Zoom chat to voice their opinion during Peregoy’s testimony.
A question was asked about how many cars are parked in the current lot where the proposed property will be demolished and Peregoy responded with, “I have no idea.”
Resident Eleanor Rappaport wrote at 8:53 p.m.: “There are approximately 23 cars in the gas station right now. I can see them.”
Peregoy said this is “completely irrelevant to the parking lot in our project,” a clip that can be watched here.
Michelle Cucci wrote at 8:55 p.m.: “As I mentioned [in the] last meeting, having a [parking] expert who is not from the area doesn’t benefit this hearing. There are at least 25 cars, likely more, that park there overnight. We pay to park there, and it puts that many cars off the street, looking for parking.”
Peregoy also later insinuated that residents can park illegally when the property removes some of the street parking spaces the current lot provides.
Eleanor Rappaport added at 8:56 p.m.: “The cars in the gas station are parked there on a daily basis.”
Alonso asked for the Zoom chat to be closed. Walter O. responds with, “So you don’t want to hear what [the] public thinks?”
Kantowitz argued that knowing outside parking is a relevant piece of information for the board to make a decision.
Chairman Solares said, “I’m going to ask the public to respectfully stop sending chats.” The chat was disabled at 9:01 p.m. He reiterates: “Everyone will get a chance to speak…there will be an opportunity for questions, there will be an opportunity for comments.”
Peregoy’s questioning continues at 9:30 p.m., Chairman Solares says he will give Kantowitz until 9:55 p.m. so that the board has time to recap and decide where they will go from there.
Kantowitz concluded Peregoy’s questioning at 9:33 p.m.
Chairman Solares outlined what the rest of this process would look like, which consists of:
- Kantowitz finishing his questioning and presenting his own professionals
- Alonso’s rebuttal
- a presentation of the Board’s professionals
- questions from the public
- questions from the board
- comments from the public
- and a decision
Nicholas A. Graviano, the property’s planner, was the last person of the night to be up for questioning. He testified that he has visited the proposed site two times and is familiar with West New York ordinances.
Questioning was concluded at 9:55 p.m. Another special meeting was proposed for Nov. 7, which has yet to be announced.
The next Zoning Board held its latest meeting on Oct. 24 via Zoom. To stay up to date with Zoning Board meetings, you can visit West New York’s website, westnewyorknj.org, under the “Calendar” tab.
The Town of West New York is also hosting a “Understanding Your Rights As A Tenant” event on Oct. 30 at 5:30 p.m. For more information, you can visit @townofwny on Instagram.
