Hoboken city officials are ratcheting up their effort to fight for a parcel of land along the city’s waterfront.

The land was the site of the former Union Dry Dock. It is currently owned by ferry company New York Waterway. New York Waterway wants to turn the site into a refueling station. But Hoboken officials want to turn the land into a park.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely connect the waterfront, make it open and publicly accessible for everyone to enjoy,” says Mayor Ravi Bhalla.

The Hoboken City Council on Wednesday voted to approve eminent domain over the site if Hoboken and New York Waterway can’t agree on a purchase price for the land.

The battle over open space in Hoboken is not a new one. The city is only 1-mile square and already densely developed. Bhalla says that there are few opportunities left to build a park and open space in the city.

City Council will cast a second and final vote on approving eminent domain on Sept. 4, giving the city administration the option of taking the property at fair value for public purposes.

New York Waterway officials had no comment on the eminent domain vote.