Call to Action: On July 15, the Planning Board will meet to hear this application for 829 Bergen Ave. We urge anyone who lives near Bergen Square or Highland Ave to show up and support it. The meeting begins at 5:30pm but this case will likely be heard after 7pm. Get in touch with us (betterblocksnj is our gmail) if you’d like to go but need assistance!

In 2023, 829 Bergen Ave was approved for a project with 77 apartments, 20 parking spaces, and 4 income-restricted affordable units. But now the site has traded hands, and the new owner wants to update the plan by eliminating the 20 parking spaces. Instead of parking, they are proposing:

• doubling the number of affordable housing units to 8.
• adding ground-floor retail and a street tree
• increasing total unit count by one, to 78.
• height of the project would remain unchanged, at 11 stories.

If the proposed changes are denied, the building will likely be built as approved in 2023 (with parking, half as much affordable housing, and no retail)

Parking is rarely the best use for scarce urban land in a housing crisis, so even if this project removed the parking spaces and did nothing else, it would be worth supporting. But the particular circumstances here make it even more of a win for various reasons:

1. Street Safety: Bergen Ave is a street with heavy pedestrian and car traffic. Introducing a curb cut will introduce conflicts between cars entering and exiting the garage and pedestrians walking, as well as cars moving down Bergen Ave. This is especially problematic since Ss. George & Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church is next door. Children routinely congregate outside the church on the sidewalk, and often play there in large crowds. It is a distinct possibility that a child could be pushed into the way of a car entering or leaving the garage.
2. Affordable Housing: Removing the parking would make doubling the number of income-restricted housing units feasible. These units will be restricted for families with low, very low, and moderate incomes.
3. Retail and Streetscape: Removing the parking will enable a ground-floor retail space, which will provide eyes on the street, make it easier to run errands without a car, and make walking more pleasant. In addition, a sidewalk tree will be proposed in front of the store, which was not possible when the driveway would be there.
4. Congestion: Bergen Ave is a street with a lot of traffic, especially at rush hour and on Sundays. Less garage parking means fewer cars in the neighborhood, which means less traffic. This site is within walking distance to the Journal Square Transportation Center as well as the Central Square Supermarket, making it an attractive home for tenants without cars.

Sounds like a layup, right? Unfortunately we have heard rumblings of organized opposition to this plan. Even the original approval faced opposition from the Planning Board commissioners. In fact, an early version of that 2023 plan was pretty similar to this new plan: it included 7 affordable housing units and retail instead of parking, but it was changed by the earlier owner due to opposition.

We urge anyone who lives on Highland Ave or in the Bergen Square area to please try to show up on July 15 at 4 Jackson Sq, and let the board commissioners hear the benefits of replacing the curb cut with affordable housing, a storefront, and even a street tree! The case likely won’t be heard until after 7pm. There will be a presentation of the project, then an opening for public comment where everyone will get 3 minutes to voice their opinion. Your voice could make the difference!