Media reports prompt removal of hazards in Weehawken Cove
Two of the six sunken boats in the cove between Weehawken and Hoboken were removed on Monday, May 7.
Many of the boats have lain for years in the bottom of Weehawken Cove. People have anchored their boats for free in the cove for free, only to have them capsize when a big storm rolls through. Some of the boats have been submerged since Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and removal has proven difficult.
Years ago, the city of Hoboken said it would track down the owners and remove the boats. Recently, reports on mainstream TV media pointed out that the boats were still there, potentially posing a danger if they drifted into the Hudson River.
A spokesperson for Hoboken, Santiago Melli-Huber, said on Monday that two of the six boats were being removed as “those two are the ones that pose an immediate public safety risk. We have to work with the DMV because the other four don’t pose an immediate safety risk, so it’s a different process for removal.”
According to Melli-Huber, children were playing on the two boats in question due to their close proximity to the rocks.
Hoboken Fire Chief Brian Crimmins said removal was “long overdue.” He said the boats are not only an eyesore but a hazard.
“It’s a hazard to navigation,” said Crimmins. “They could crash into a boat or ferry. We have two marinas within half a mile and two ferry terminals within half a mile of the cove.”
Crimmins noted that the cove is not a designated anchorage area.
He said the Army Corp of Engineers does not remove capsized boats unless they pose an imminent hazard such as drifting farther into the river, and that the boat removal can be very expensive. A barge with a crane must be hired to have them pulled up from the cove’s floor.
Melli-Huber said the removal of the two boats will cost $15,200, but the owners have been identified, and they will be billed for the cost of removal.
Weehawken High School makes U.S. News best schools list
More than 100 New Jersey schools ranked among the best high schools in America, according to the 2018 rankings from U.S. News & World Report, and Weehawken High School was ranked as number 50 out of 103 listed.
To determine the rankings, U.S. News teamed up with the social science research firm RTI International. A variety of data sources, including the Common Core of Data, College Board and the International Baccalaureate, were used.
A four-step process was used to rank all eligible schools. The first two steps were to determine whether students were performing better than statistically expected in the state and whether minority were performing at or better than the state average for minority students, which was the second step. The third step required schools to meet or surpass a certain graduation benchmark and the final step was to determine college readiness.
