Dear Editor:
There has been recent discussion about building a pool at the Multi Service Center, which I fully support.
Since the abrupt closure of the Hoboken-North Hudson YMCA at 1300 Washington St. in 2010, there has been a screaming silence over the potential usage of that particular facility. There is a gaping hole, literally, where a once-vibrant community thrived for generations.
Why isn’t this our next pool proposal? Who owns this magnificent place? Why doesn’t Hoboken, a powerful economic entity, find a way to acquire, repair and reopen this community center? Will yet another municipal administration pretend this injustice never happened?
1300 Washington St. already has a pool, and two sets of locker rooms, including a sauna in the woman’s basic locker room. It also has an indoor track, two basketball courts, three rooms suitable for dance, yoga and fitness classes, in addition to a weight room and a cardio room, with other rooms for group meetings. Additionally, there are small scale bathrooms suitable for an After School Program and Summer Day Camp as well. This empty building has the potential to serve every member of the community.
Charge Hoboken residents a nominal fee for membership, with out of town members paying a slightly higher fee. An ethical, competent person should be appointed to oversee this community center. All fiscal information should be publicly available. This would not only re-establish a sense of accountability, but also foster public confidence desperately needed after the mysterious closure of the YMCA in March, 2010.
Hoboken taxpayers deserve to weigh in on this long overdue conversation. Otherwise, our city continues to be the only municipality in Hudson County without an (affordable) public pool. This is an insult, an uninvestigated injustice – and a blatant embarrassment to everyone who pays through the nostrils in property taxes, high rents, etc.
Mayor Bhalla and all elected officials: What do you plan to do about this neglected goldmine? In the future, when the Hoboken Community Center at 1300 Washington St. is a tremendous success, you can take credit for reopening it.
Thank you,
Amy Valent
