^^^ People whose only experience of JC is driving or taking a bus through the Holland Tunnel get the wrong idea about it. The area around the tunnel is a sad disaster caused by mid-20th-century urban renewal, but most of the city doesn't look like that or like Newport, which was built over rail yards in the 80s and not really planned so well.
I'd say JC has a lot of work to do to make the city denser and more walkable, but so does a lot of Brooklyn. You wouldn't judge Brooklyn by the area under the BQE/Hamilton Ave near the Gowanus, or Queens by the Queens-Midtown Tunnel Approach and Newtown Creek area, so JC shouldn't be judged by this area. There are many very walkable, beautiful neighborhoods in the city.
The good news is that the level of planning has gotten better in JC since Newport was built. Especially by relaxing zoning laws that basically forced builders to build sterile, unwalkable modernist developments. So with all the development these days every area of the city is getting more walkable and active and vibrant.
Anyway, I remain skeptical that this project will happen any time soon given what a wasteland this area is, so far from transit. Many areas of the city with better transit and much nicer, more walkable neighborhoods have approved towers that are better candidates for construction financing ahead of this project. Not to mention this project has a sizeable retail component, and retail is struggling to fill up these days. The 1,000-space parking garage alone would cost about $40 million to build, which means they'd have to command extremely high rents given the marginal location. It'll happen someday, but I can't see it in the next 5 years.
A PATH connection makes zero sense, and I wish them luck on getting a light rail station nearby. They've been trying to get one at 18th and Jersey Ave for almost 20 years.
I wouldn't complain if someone wants to put money in to finance this project and get it built though
