Over 100 tenants of the Neumann Leather building, one of the city's oldest landmarks, are fearful that their art lofts and offices might perish in the city's fight to solve its fiscal crunch.

The city must resolve a $7.9 deficit in the $72 million budget by June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Originally, Mayor David Roberts wanted to sell the municipal garage on Observer Highway to the Hudson County Improvement Authority for about $11 million and then lease the facility back for a set fee. Should the HCIA, which has helped cities with financial quandaries before, sell the old garage for more, they would give Hoboken the profits.

But some of the City Council members disagree with the sale. They don't like the idea that Hoboken is selling assets to temporarily plug budget gaps.

The move needs a two-thirds vote from the City Council, and the governing body's minority has been dead set against it. A final vote on the sale was on this past Wednesday's council agenda, but was tabled.

So Mayor David Roberts and his supporters on the council went to Plan B.

Plan B

Plan B is to "up-zone" the area where the garage is located, allowing residential properties to be built there. That way, they could auction it to private developers and make $20 million or more. This type of rezoning only needs a simple majority vote.

But to do this quickly, the city can't just rezone that one block. It would have rezone the area, which includes, most notably, the Neumann Leather building directly across the street.

The labyrinthine Neumann Leather Building, which is almost 150 years old, is like walking into Hoboken's industrial past. In the nooks and crannies of the meandering industrial complex, more than 100 artisans, craft persons and owners of small industries continue to operate.

Tenants include craftsmen, filmmakers, architects, cabinet makers, web designers, musicians, artists and book publishers. The building is about 95 percent occupied.

For the past decade, developers have been salivating at the prospect of someday buying the edifice, which is at a prime location and within easy walking distance of the PATH train terminal.

The owner of the building has reportedly received offers in the past, but to this point, turned them all down. The saving grace has been that the property is zoned industrial, which has kept the property value down.

But the city has introduced new zoning that would allow for office, retail, commercial and residential uses. If approved, the buildings in the zone could be up to 14 stories tall.

A public hearing for the proposed up-zoning is scheduled for April 6. Because such a large crowd is expected, the meeting is now scheduled to be held at the Wallace School at 7 p.m.

These are your three choices

So now the City Council has some choices for how to raise the missing $7.9 million. The minority can change their mind and agree to the sale of the garage to the HCIA. They can also agree with the sudden rezoning and sale of property to a private developer, which would mean it will be gone for good.

Or, the city can raise taxes to cover the amount. This is something that Mayor David Roberts does not want to do with the mayoral election coming up in May. Two members of the council minority are also running for mayor, and most of the rest of the council is up for re-election.

Hey - anyone want to support a tax increase?

For $ale

If the area was up-zoned and the garage was sold, Roberts said, $7.9 million would be used for budget relief, $3 million would be used to build a new garage at another location, and the rest would be put in an "irrevocable trust" that could only be used for the purchase of new open space.

But the up-zoning, as currently written, could have dire consequences for the Neumann Leather building, tenants worry.

Tom Newman, a former Hoboken city councilman who operates a woodworking and cabinet making studio there, last year founded a lobbying group called the Hoboken Arts and Industry Preservation Project (HAIPP) with the goal of protecting and sustaining Hoboken's diminishing "arts and industry" community.

Newman said that it is in the best interest of the city to preserve and protect buildings that cater to arts and small industry.

"Right now the sword is hanging over our head," Newman said.

He added that the city's "political and financial crisis" is no reason to rush into rezoning.

"By doing this, you are greasing the skids of the wrecking ball," he said to the council.

Renowned artist Tim Daly has rented space in the Neumann building since 1989. "If this zoning goes through, it kills our chance of saving this special place," said Daly. "We should not be collateral damage."

Architect John Nastasi, who is a tenant in the Neumann Leather building, said that motivation to rezone shouldn't be budgetary relief.

"The concern is that the city's financial condition is going to cause a rash of changes in zoning," said Nastasi. "It seems like poor financial planning will lead to poor architectural planning."

Mary Ann Farley, a local singer/songwriter and artist, pleaded with the council to preserve the Neumann Leather Building.

"The tenants at the Neumann Leather Building are an amazingly diverse group," Farley said. "It's such a wonderful and magical place."

Neighbors concerned, too

The opposition to this rezoning goes beyond just the artist and small business owners of Neumann Leather. Out in force Wednesday night were condo owners and tenants of several of the residential buildings that surround the area in question.

Lane Bajardi, the condo association president of 70 Park Ave., said that community planning should not be driven by the need to fill a budget shortfall.

"This has been rushed through," Bajardi said. He added that is impossible to consider all aspects of such a massive rezoning before the April 6 public hearing.

Bajardi said that he understands that the municipal garage and the land on Observer Highway are extremely valuable, and developing this land does make sense, just not at this scale.

"If you lived in this neighborhood, you wouldn't want a 14-story tower," he told the council.

Carlos Figueiredo, who lives in the Observer Plaza Condominiums, was already burned once when favorable zoning was give to appease development interests. No more than a year after he purchased a new condo, a developer was given permission to build a vertical addition to a car wash that was adjacent to his third-story apartment, he said.

The addition is only about 10 feet from his balcony and blocks his and his neighbors' views and light. "I can't stand around and take this anymore," Figueiredo said. "There's a belief that Hoboken is a community, but this rezoning is only going to take that away from us."

Roberts' position

Roberts' position is that the council minority is to blame.

He said that he presented the council with a plan to sell the garage HCIA, which would have allowed for a balanced budget with a stable tax rate. Roberts also said that he has met with the owner of the Neumann building, and will work with him to protect the interests of the artists.

Meanwhile, the council minority says Roberts' newest plan is a haphazard way to push off a tax increase until after the election.

The budget year in Hoboken goes from July 1 through June 30. If the city had gotten its budget prepared much earlier in the fiscal year, it might have had more time to work out its issues, but budgets are typically late in most Hudson County towns. The political wrangling makes them later.

In Bayonne recently, members of different political factions on that city's council sat down and hashed out harsh recommendations to cut that city's budget. But in Hoboken, the main figuring is usually done by the city's administrators and given to the council to vote on. Rarely do council members offer specific suggestions for cuts. If the public hearing goes on as scheduled April 6, it will be held at the Wallace Primary School, 1111 Clinton St.