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News + Events

Get up to date on the Harsimus Branch and Embankment news and events - then help us write the next chapter!

News + Press


Surface Transportation Board online meeting

Thurs, September 28, 2023, 5-9pm; see these docs for guidance on commenting:

Online Public Meeting re National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Review of Conrail's Proposed Abandonment of Harsimus Branch (Docket No. AB-167, Sub.no. 1189X), Hosted by Surface Transportation Board Office of Environmental Analysis.

The Section 106 process is designed to consider ways to "avoid, minimize, or mitigate" adverse effects to historic resources that are subject to federal permits. To date, in a draft Memorandum of Agreement, OEA is suggesting documentation and signage as mitigation. We are calling for OEA to consider ways to preserve the historic resource, not presume its demolition and memorialize it.

The Embankment Coalition has worked tirelessly to preserve the Harsimus Branch & Embankment in Jersey City for historically compatible uses of open space, trail, and future light rail. Now we need your help!

Sign up for our email list to stay informed.

The Embankment On My Mind exhibition
The Embankment On My Mind Exhibition

Location: New Jersey City University Lemmerman and Visual Arts Galleries (map)

The Embankment On My Mind exhibits original art inspired by the grassroots preservation initiative that holds the promise of transforming Jersey City's treatment of open space and an emerging trail system. Sixteen artists depicting local flora and fauna join twenty-seven artists with wide-ranging responses to the Harsimus Branch Embankment, the massive stone rail structure in Downtown Jersey City that the Embankment Coalition has been working to preserve.

  • Reception: November 5, 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm (both galleries)
  • Panel Discussion: November 22, 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm (202 Gothic Lounge, Hepburn Hall and virtual), “The Embankment on My Mind: Bridging Science and Art”
  • JC Fridays extended hours: December 2, 11 am – 7 pm
  • Closing Reception: December 16, 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm (both galleries)
Embankment community meeting flyer
Embankment Redevelopment Plan – Community Meeting

Support the Embankment Coalition's "light touch" vision for treatment of the Harsimus BranchEmbankment at an upcoming Jersey City Planning Department meeting,Wednesday, Sept. 7, 6:30-8:30 pm. Register here.

City Planners will be rolling out an Embankment Redevelopment Plan focused on the open space of Blocks 2-8 of the Embankment property from the west side of Manila Avenue to beyond Newark Avenue near the Turnpike Extension. Help ensure that the future for the Embankment is historic preservation, conservation of what has become an ecological corridor, and connectivity of neighborhoods to a regional carbon-free transportation network.

Oblique aerial view of the embankment
Check out the new, updated drone flyover video about the Embankment and East Coast Greenway!
Climate Change 2021: Challenges and Solutions (4/29, 5/13)

Join the EPC & other civic orgs for Climate Change 2021: Challenges and Solutions. Dr. D. James Baker will explain the challenges 4/29, 7pm and then solutions & what we can do 5/13, 7pm.

Watch the recordings: part 1, part 2.

Rails to Trails Grant Award

The EPC joins nine other recipients of a 2021 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy grant to advance trails throughout the country. The Harsimus Branch & Embankment will eventually connect with the Essex-Hudson Greenway, which also garnered a grant for its advocates, the NJ Bike&Walk Coalition.

Click here to read more.

Mayor Steven Fulop was the Featured Speaker at Coalition Annual Members Meeting

The Embankment Coalition and Mayor Fulop gave an update on the Vision and an overview of the terms and status of the possible Settlement

--- Click Here to Watch Recording of the Event ---

Embankment Neighborhood Cleanup

The Embankment Coalition organized the Harsimus Cove Neighborhood Cleanup in partnership with Ward E Councilman James Solomon and the nonprofits CleanGreenJersey City and Adopt-a-Block.

STB Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment Issued

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is moving ahead with environmental and historic preservation reviews that are part of its federally mandated process when considering a potential permit to abandon a railroad.

The STB will meet (virtually) in October with previously designated consulting parties, including the Coalition, to discuss potential adverse effects on historic assets if an abandonment permit for the Harsimus Branch is granted. This is a step in a process mandated by the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). To fulfill obligations under the National Environmental Protection, the STB also issued a Supplementary Environmental Assessment (EA), to which the Coalition will be responding.

  • Public Movement

Coalition Petition to STB Gets 2,588 Signatures

A petition asking the Surface Transportation Board to carry out its preservation obligations received 2,588 signatures before the Embankment Preservation Coalition closed it.

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Stay informed about the Harsimus Branch and events sponsored by the Embankment Preservation Coalition and other preservation and conservation allies by subscribing to our newsletter. You will receive the Coalition online newsletter and occasional alerts and notices. We do not share your contact information with others, and we promise not to inundate you with email. You can also unsubscribe at any time.


Old aerial photo of Jersey City, 6th St. highlighted

Request a Presentation

Location: Zoom Meeting | Time: 7:00-8:00pm

The Embankment Preservation Coalition can tailor a presentation to your organization's interests, whether it's Harsimus Branch and Embankment railroad history, our ecological vision for park and trail design, or our advocacy for a trail system throughout the City that would enable every resident to be within ten minutes of a safe, off-road walking and biking trail.

Our work is all about making connections - so, with apologies to E.M. Forster, only connect with us! To request a presentation, email the Coalition with your proposal and, if you can, give us several options for dates and times.


Accessibility / Special Requests

The Embankment Coalition seeks to accommodate at our events people of varied abilities, within the limits of our resources. If you require special accommodations, please contact us at least two weeks in advance of an event at embankmentjc@gmail.com or call 201-963-0232 and leave a message. Please include your contact information and the best ways and times to contact you. Suggestions on how to make our events more accessible are also welcomed! Thank you.