Actually, they were stones not bricks & I saw no place where neon madmen can climb. Apparently, someone reported rocks tumbled down from the top of the famed Embankment that runs along 6th street. Saw something online that J.C. fireman fear one of the larger bricks could topple due to erosion from the winter thaw. The caution tape is a wise precaution. The embankment is a type of railroad trestle built in 1902 and was officially called The Pennsylvania Railroad Harsimus Stem Embankment . The famed freight trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad traveled on this elevated railway taking goods to barges that went across the Hudson. It is a recognized historic site by the state and the municipality (national recognition apparently is pending). Always one of my favorite things to see while traversing through downtown, these remnants of our railroad past—railroads physically and symbolically unified America after our Civil War—it would be tragic to lose the Embankment. Currently, it is owned by developers who want to build condos, which is being fought by residents who want to transform it into some sort of nature trail (which would enhance the value of their condos). City government is offering a compromise plan of some development and green pathways. Neither of the last two plans has funding and given the current real estate market and economic climate, it seems unlikely that the developer is ready to go forward with new construction. Follow the brewing shit storm in the Jersey Journal. Whoever wins this battle, hopefully the deterioration of the embankment can be abated and injury or even a complete collapse prevented. Why not rebuild the freight line, put in new tracks, so our current crop of Jersey City folk singers can write a new generation of train songs. Just saying.
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