Residents helped plan a future around Plainfield's rail line.
Plainfielders took a big step toward taking their future into their own hands at the Visioning Plainfield Charrette Saturday.
It was a perfect day: sunny and bright, with bracing air and a cerulean sky, a heavenly California-type day that puts spring in your step. And a vision of a landscape of hope and glory (once again) for Plainfield in your imagination. (See my slideshow of the event at the end of this post.)
The crowd of seventy or so, mostly Plainfield residents, business folks and planning officials, mixed easily with the NJIT grad students for whom this was also a day of excitement as part of their hands-on training.
With Darius Sollohub, NJIT's Director of Infrastructure Planning, acting as emcee, the students got the day off to a start with a great PowerPoint presentation (where the script explained the unfolding diagrams and illustrations, but was not shown on the screen -- take note, all you amateurs out there!)
Congratulations should be given to Councilors Storch and Burney, who pushed for this planning process against considerable skepticism from some of their fellow councilors and an initially hostile reaction from Mayor Robinson-Briggs' then-director of PWUD, Jennifer Wenson-Maier. I think the turnout and level of participation vindicate their leadership on this question.
Councilor Storch has posted his assessment of the charrette (see here). The complete presentation has been put on YouTube by the good folks at NJIT. You can start with the overview video (see here), and check the other sections listed in the right hand column of the page -- or visit Councilor Burney's blog where a link to each section is listed (see here).
Mayor Robinson-Briggs and Assemblyman Jerry Green were both present. Robinson-Briggs exercised her one real gift in welcoming the attendees and expressing hope for the process' outcome.
Assemblyman Green focused on the housing portion of the planning process, letting it be known that Plainfield is considered to be compliant with its affordable housing obligations, and reiterated his oft-stated theme that Section 8 housing is a big problem for Plainfield and that Section 8 must go.
After the overview presentation, punctuated with a Q&A session, participants were encouraged to join in discussing issues and opportunities for six areas identified along the Raritan Valley rail corridor from Clinton Avenue in the West to Netherwood Station and South Avenue in the East. Each area was provided with a table with aerial map, zoning overviews and tracing paper and markers to develop ideas for development opportunities.
Following a lunch break each table was given time to report on its activities to the group as a whole.
(Those who are aware the City is forbidden to supply food for events per the Memorandum of Understanding Mayor Robinson-Briggs entered into with the state on January 15 as a condition for receiving this year's extraordinary aid will be pleased to know that Assistant Economic Development Director Jacques Howard used his charms to get local businesses to donuts the refreshments, which included morning coffee and donuts and a hearty lunch from KFC.)
The afternoon concluded with a summary of the day's work and an outline of next steps (you can see the Visioning process' committee membership and proposed timeline here).
While the many transportation possibilities for the area were exciting (including a possible cross-county rail link, and an eventual one-seat ride to Manhattan), I did note that the one transportation idea that was RED-HOT when I moved to Plainfield has disappeared entirely from the vocabulary of possibilities: the extension of PATH to Plainfield.
At the time I moved here, I still worked in mid-town Manhattan and a PATH ride from Plainfield to 34th Street/Penn Station would have been a gift from heaven.
That proposal failed.
Times, hopefully, have changed.
And will change some more with a successful Visioning Plainfield study.
(NOTE: Clicking anywhere on the slide show below will open it in a separate window, where you can choose to view it FULL SCREEN for better details.)
- NJIT: "Plainfield Visioning Presentation: Overview" -- With links to other sections.
- Councilor Burney: "Plainfield Visioning: YouTube links"
- Councilor Storch: "Visioning Charrette a success"
- Visioning Process: "Committee membership and study timeline"
- Plainfield Today: "VISIONING Plainfield Slideshow"
-- Dan Damon [follow]
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4 comments:
Maybe one thing the Mayor can envision is getting more local merchants to donate goodies for here meetings.
As much as I am one who will easily and without any effort involved go after Mayor Sharon for her administration, I will say this. She was there for a bit more than a photo opp. She did go from table to table and listen and I heard her interact with people, even if just briefly, so she was actually "THERE". Jerry -- same old same old, but, again, he too did not have to attend. So his presence, even if symbolic was welcome. ( IS THIS A NEW AND KINDER ROB YOU ASK ??? )
- NO, lol -- But, the day was spent on hope and vision. And even I can say maybe, just maybe...we can hope Mayor Sharon and Assemblyman Jerry will be an active part of that. Here's to Plainfield and of course, Rashid & Cory!
It was a great day. There is no lack of enthusiasm, or vision. What needs to happen how is the leadership to put this into action. Here's hoping policits goes by the wayside, and we have a collaboration on what is good for Plainfield. (and that does NOT include any more low income housing)
I too was working in NY (mid 70's) when they talked about raising the tunnel toll from $1.00 to $1.50 and they were going to use the extra .50 to expand the Path to Newark Airport and Plainfield. Well, they've gotten that toll hike and a whole lot more, and we're still waitin' on the Path extension. -- Hope
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