State’s Largest Resiliency Park Opens in Hoboken

On Jun 13, 2023

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held yesterday in Hoboken for ResilienCity Park, formerly known as the Northwest Resiliency Park. The largest resiliency park in New Jersey, site offers more than 5 acres of public open space amenities and 2 million gallons of stormwater detention through above- and below-ground infrastructure.

According to Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla, “This park opening is a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to create a sustainable and resilient community, serving as the largest resiliency park in our great state and a model for the rest of the county. Not only does this park provide much-needed, state-of-the-art open space amenities, it will also provide a critical defense against rainfall flooding, two critical quality of life improvements for our residents. Today, we celebrate the multi-year effort to transform this blighted land into a model of resiliency for all to enjoy.”

ResilienCity Park transforms a former industrial site into public open space that provides the public with a new multi-purpose athletic field, a basketball court that doubles as a stormwater detention basin, playground, open lawn space, water spray area, and other open space amenities. The park’s terrace pavilion, which will include a café and community room, is currently under construction and it is scheduled to open this fall.

An example of the City’s parks as defense strategy, the park is part of the State and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded Rebuild by Design project, which aims to mitigate flooding caused by the heavy rain events that have become more severe and frequent due to climate change. Due in part to Hoboken’s topography, low-lying areas of western Hoboken can experience flooding if the city receives more than 0.8 inches of rain per hour.

ResilienCity Park can detain up to 2 million gallons of stormwater that would have otherwise flooded city streets and residential basements through a 1-million-gallon stormwater detention tank located below ground and up to another 1 million gallons through above-ground green infrastructure such as rain gardens and a cistern for on-site irrigation. During heavy rain events, stormwater will be captured by the above-ground infrastructure and fill the below-ground detention tank. The on-site 30 million gallon per day flood pump, constructed through a partnership with the North Hudson Sewage Authority, will pump the water from the tank to the Hudson River.

“I extend my deepest gratitude to the Biden Administration and our congressional delegation for their continued investment in the health and resilience of New Jersey communities, and to the City of Hoboken for its ongoing efforts to expand opportunity among its residents,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “The ResilienCity Park – the largest of its kind in the state – will connect New Jerseyans to green, open space while offering our children and families a host of recreational activities. Just as importantly, amid the increasing intensity and frequency of storm events due to climate change, this resiliency park will help protect Hoboken’s residents and properties from extreme flooding.”

ResilienCity Park was funded in part by a $10 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities (BRIC) program, low-interest financing with $2 million in principal forgiveness through the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, as well as $1 million in grants from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund. Due to the multiple funding sources, including Hoboken’s dedicated Open Space Trust Fund, the park has been constructed at no impact to the municipal tax levy.

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