Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts celebrated the re-opening of the historic Sybil's Cave this morning. But, as Hoboken wrestles with a state takeover and residents face a 47 percent tax hike, some say Sybil's Cave is just another example of what they call the mayor's spendthrift ways.
"This is just fluff. Everything is fluff and pomp and circumstance," said Hoboken Councilwoman Theresa Castellano. "This is why we're in the mess we're in. Because somebody at the top thinks this -- fluff -- is what looks good for Hoboken." The 18-foot deep cave and underground aquifer were once a well-known tourist spot. In the mid-19th century, New Yorkers would come to Hoboken to drink water from the cave, which was believed to have therapeutic properties. The cave is said to be the inspiration for Edgar Allen Poe's crime novella "The Mystery of Marie Roget."
Around the time of WWI the cave became unused and eventually was sealed up. As part of Roberts' goal of preserving historic spots in Hoboken, such as the clock tower, Roberts worked with the Hoboken Historical Museum, Hoboken Brownstone company and others to unblock the cave and make it accessible to the public.
The total cost of Sybil's renovation is $106,752. The bulk of the money -- over $56,000 -- came out of a $1.4 million Castle Point Park bond the city floated in 1994. Roberts contributed over $32,000 of his own salary to the cave project, as well as some of his own salary to the $56,000. Capital One Bank donated $10,000 to the project.
Castellano thinks the restoration of Sybil's Cave should have been held off, at least until Hoboken, which is currently in debt, is in stronger financial shape.
"I'm not against Sybil's Cave. I'm against the way it was handled financially, especially considering the state we're in today," said Castellano, who is chair of the Hoboken Historic Preservation Committee. "The City Council should have had some input -- Do we want to go this far, this elaborate, should we designate the money for it? But no, he just did it on his own," she continued of Roberts. "Somebody had to put a lid on this man. Another year of him we would have had another 10 million deficit!"
Roberts countered by saying the cave was restored for much less than the $250,000 he thinks the project could have cost. "If it was done unorthodox, I'm sorry. It's done and it's there. And it advances the public interest," he said today.
Not all are upset with the re-opening. The Hoboken Museum plans to include the cave in their educational children's classes. The Museum also plans on testing the water coming out of the aquifer to see if it is still drinkable.