Poll

With respect to the proposed plan, which of the following best describes your view? (Click "register" on top to vote.)

1. County should sell old Zabriske St. facility and move to River St. (leaving room on Zabriske for residential development)
5 (27.8%)
2. County should tear down and rebuild existing Zabriske Street facility
1 (5.6%)
3. County should renovate existing facility (cheapest)
4 (22.2%)
4. Hackensack should support whatever plan has greatest tax "ratables" for the city
8 (44.4%)
5. None of the above (add post)
0 (0%)
6. Who cares?
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 15

Author Topic: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)  (Read 33686 times)

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #15 on: December 23, 2008, 10:03:53 AM »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #16 on: November 03, 2011, 12:16:16 PM »
Hackensack OKs rezoning of county police site
Thursday, November 3, 2011
BY STEPHANIE AKIN AND JAMES QUIRK
STAFF WRITERS
The Record

HACKENSACK - The dilapidated county police building on Zabriskie Street could be replaced by a mid- or high-rise apartment or office complex under a pending deal between Hackensack and county officials.

Under the arrangement, the county will postpone a proposed sale of the property until the city changes the zoning, providing more leeway for a private developer to build on the land, county and city officials said Wednesday.

Bergen County Administrator Ed Trawinski also confirmed that the county plans to sell the property, assessed at $4 million, regardless of the conclusions of a study on the future of county law enforcement.

"We are not going to keep putting money into Zabriskie Street," Trawinski said, citing ongoing problems with mold and flooding in the building, which has housed the county police since 1934. "We don't want to keep putting Band-Aid fixes on it."

The city planner recommended the zoning changes on the property, which is located at a Hackensack border near Route 4 that is sometimes characterized as a gateway to the city, City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said. The city council approved the idea at a Tuesday night meeting, setting the framework for the change to proceed.

Making the change before the county puts the property on the market could protect the city from lawsuits from developers, who could sue if the city changes the zoning after a developer has bought the property, he said.

A mid- or high-rise office or apartment complex would complement a six-story residential building on Johnson Avenue, around the corner, and the 12-story Continental Plaza office building on Hackensack Avenue, across Route 4, Lo Iacono said.

Such a development would provide a more welcoming scene at the city's border than the collection of county vehicles, piles of road salt and rundown buildings there now, Lo Iacono said. It could also draw more tax revenue for the city than the types of developments that would be allowed under the property's present manufacturing zoning, potentially making up for lost tax revenues from a $1.2 million Hudson Street property the county bought last week to house the Central Municipal Court.

The county does not pay taxes on government buildings.

Lo Iacono said county officials agreed to postpone the Zabriskie Street sale during a meeting about the Central Municipal Court purchase about a month ago.

The county's decision to move its police force out of the Zabriskie Street building was one of several steps involved in a proposed reorganization of the county police force and other agencies.

County Executive Kathleen Donovan announced the formation of an advisory committee to study consolidating the county's three law enforcement agencies in May, shortly after the release of a county-sponsored study conducted by New York-based Guidepost Solutions. That report recommended downsizing or eliminating the Bergen County Police. Donovan named J. Fletcher Creamer, a prominent contractor, chairman of the committee. Four other members were appointed in July. The ad-hoc group's meetings are not open to the public.

The committee has been tasked with reviewing the potential cost savings of moving the county police headquarters from the Zabriskie Street building to a larger space within the Bergen County Community Services Building in Paramus. That move would involve relocating 77 Department of Health Services employees to the county's administrative building at 1 Bergen County Plaza. The county Department of Public Works, also housed at Zabriskie Street, would move to the mosquito control headquarters in Paramus.

Trawinski said Wednesday none of the departmental moves would be finalized until the advisory committee concludes its report.

A separate consolidation report conducted for the county by Guidepost Solutions found that, due to its poor condition, the Zabriskie Street building "is no longer suitable to house a modern law enforcement agency" and is not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

E-mail: akin@northjersey.com and quirk@northjersey.com

Offline just watching

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 928
  • Karma: -25
    • View Profile
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #17 on: November 03, 2011, 06:00:27 PM »
They've been talking about this for almost 10 years.  And if they move on it now, by the time the police move and a developer has approved plans, the real estate market will have turned around and the project will be successful.

Real estate has been down for 5 years.  It's never down for much longer than that.  And the last downturn was 1989 - 1995.

It would be a new coup if the city could get a good ratable on that property AND persuade the County to sell, for private development, the land on S. River Street formerly housing the Goldberg Slipper Factory.  That was one thing that Jack Zisa was really good at, pressuring the County to sell off lands.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #18 on: February 22, 2012, 08:57:21 AM »
High hopes for county property
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
BY STEPHANIE AKIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — The city officially cleared the way Tuesday for apartment or office buildings to be constructed on a Zabriskie Street property in place of the rundown county police headquarters and storage yard that has been there for decades.

A unanimous vote at a council meeting concluded the process of rezoning the property for a mid-or high-rise apartment or office building, part of a deal between county and city officials meant to lead to the county's sale of the land.

"Now the county can proceed and sell that property," City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono said.

The county will sell the building after it finishes relocating its employees, a process that is already under way, said Jeanne Baratta, chief of staff for County Executive Kathleen Donovan.

"The county police will be moving out of there, and we will be glad to be putting that building back on the tax rolls," Baratta said.

She added that she could not project when the sale would move forward but that it would happen as soon as possible.

The county agreed in the fall to postpone its planned sale of the land until the city could go through the several steps necessary to change the zoning, providing more leeway for a private developer to build there.

The property, which has housed the county police since 1934, is assessed at $4 million.


 Gateway to city


The city planner recommended the zoning changes for the property, located at a Hackensack border near Route 4 that is sometimes characterized as a gateway to the city, municipal officials have said.

City officials said when the deal was announced that making the change before the property went on the market could protect the city from lawsuits from developers, who could sue if the city changes the zoning after a builder has bought the property.

A mid- or high-rise office or apartment complex would complement a six-story residential building on Johnson Avenue, around the corner, and the 12-story Continental Plaza office building on Hackensack Avenue, across Route 4, Lo Iacono said in the fall.

Such a development would provide a more welcoming scene at the border than the collection of county vehicles, piles of road salt and rundown buildings there now, Lo Iacono said. It could also draw more tax revenue than the types of developments that would be allowed under the property's present manufacturing zoning, potentially making up for lost revenues from a $1.2 million Hudson Street property the county bought last week to house the Central Municipal Court.

The county does not pay taxes on government buildings.

The county's decision to move its police force out of the Zabriskie Street building was one of several steps involved in a proposed reorganization of the county police force and other agencies.

The county is moving its police force to the Bergen County Community Services Building in Paramus. That space currently houses 77 Department of Health Services employees who will be relocated to the county's administrative building at 1 Bergen County Plaza. The county Department of Public Works, also housed at Zabriskie Street, is moving to the mosquito control headquarters in Paramus.

Email: akin@northjersey.com

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #19 on: July 25, 2012, 12:27:45 AM »
Bergen sets series of office movesTuesday, July 24, 2012
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

Several Bergen County departments are scheduled to be moved within the next year as part of a building consolidation plan that County Executive Kathleen Donovan contends will save taxpayers $46 million.

But Democrats say Donovan was comparing "apples and oranges" when she calculated the savings — largely derived by not spending $47 million on a new county police building and instead spending $1 million on renovations to a building in Paramus.

Here are the moves in play:

* By Friday, most of the county's Health Services Department will have moved into fourth floor of the county Administration Building at One Bergen Plaza in Hackensack.

* At a future date, the county Police Department will vacate its building at 70 Zabriskie St. in Hackensack and move to the renovated former Health Services building at 327 E. Ridgewood Ave. in Paramus.

* After that move, the Department of Public Works garage will move from Hackensack to the Mosquito Control building in Paramus.

* The county will then sell its Zabriskie Street property, returning it to the tax rolls.

Donovan's chief of staff, Jeanne Baratta, said the moves were possible because the administration identified underused space within the county administration building.

"We're just using the space better. The flow wasn't right," Baratta said. "And we found we had plenty of room."

She said moving the DPW to Paramus will put it in a more central location and get it out of a flood zone.

Donovan calculates savings by spending $1 million on renovations in Paramus instead of $47 million for a new county police headquarters at the site of the former Goldberg slipper factory near East Broadway in Hackensack.

County officials in 2007 estimated that building would have cost between $35 million to $47 million. The building also was supposed to house a regional 911 dispatch center that instead was later built in Mahwah.

"The bottom line is we are delivering the same services for less money and relieving the tax burden on county residents," Donovan said in a press release.

Tim Dacey, who served as county administrator under County Executive Dennis McNerney, a Democrat, said Donovan's numbers don't add up.

Dacey said Donovan is not including the cost of dispatch center or the Central Municipal Court, both of which were part of the county police building. The county spent $1.24 million to buy a building in Hackensack to house the court, plus $650,000 to renovate it. The dispatch center in Mahwah cost $12.4 million.

He said the McNerney administration shelved plans for that building after the recession hit.

"That plan died a slow death," Dacey said. "It just became so expensive as costs were rising and the economy was declining."

Freeholder David Ganz said it remains to be seen if the renovations in Paramus can be kept to $1 million or whether that cost will grow.

Email: ensslin@northjersey.com

Offline just watching

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 928
  • Karma: -25
    • View Profile
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #20 on: July 25, 2012, 01:21:00 PM »
There's still two big unanswered questions:

(1) what will happen to the vacant Goldberg Slipper property across South River Street from the jail. Will that be sold off as well, and added to the city's tax rolls ?

(2) It hasn't been decided for certain if the County will or won't consolidate the County Police and the Sheriff's Department. If the consolidation happens, what's the point of moving the County Police to the northern end of Paramus, all the way up by Bergen Regional Medical Center.

Here's what's really going on:  The Republicans want to move the County Police to Paramus, and then they can say "Listen, we just spent taxpayer's money to move them to Paramus and we renovated a building for them, and now you Democrats want to spend more taxpayer money to consolidate them out of Paramus, to a new building near the Jail in Hackensack. That's a typical Democrat plan, to overspend" That's what is really going on here, it's a big game of positioning, with tax dollars being spent now that nobody is questioning. That's what the Record reporter should be focussing on. The taxpayers aren't that blind.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #21 on: December 07, 2012, 11:31:32 AM »
City hopeful county will sell site mid-2013
Friday, December 7, 2012
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK — After months of an ongoing process involving proposals, ideas and potential site plans, it appears that the redevelopment of the Zabriskie Street building location —a site that at one point housed the Bergen County Police Department —is inching closer to being finalized, as the county hopes to post the sale by mid 2013, according to City of Hackensack Manager Stephen Lo Iacono.

The site has long been a location that city officials hoped and aspired to transform into, not only a more visually aesthetic site, but a tax revenue gold mine.

Approximately four months ago, the site was zoned and designated as a residential area, according to Lo Iacono. Essentially, only residential buildings will be allowed to be developed on the site.

"What [Bergen County officials] did was –they gave us the opportunity early on –to study the site and see if we wanted to rezone it," Lo Iacono explained. "This way they would sell it and it would already be zoned to what the city wanted…[and] a potential buyer would not have to deal with buying it and not knowing what the city was going to do."

The county does not pay taxes on government buildings, thus the proposed ideas for this site all include developments that would provide the city with more tax earnings.

"Now [the county] also wants to put some conceptual ideas together as to what can go on this site, this way, again, it may be more attractive to a particular kind of a developer and that would give them possibly more money because they would get a better price for the property," Lo Iacono said while explaining the process. "At the same time it would help [Hackensack] in that someone would come in, know what they would want to do and hopefully move ahead real quick and turn that property into a nice tax ratable."

According to a press release this summer from the Office of Bergen County Executive, "moving the County Police and the [Department of Public Works] out of Zabriskie Street has long been a long sought goal of past administrators. The area floods often, but because of the proximity to Route 4, it is a desirable redevelopment site."

Because of the location of the site near Route 4 –the area is sometimes referred to, and portrayed, as an entrance to the city. City officials are also hoping to work with the county in a possible change of the street layout to better access Hackensack.

"There is going to be civilization of the intersection [by the Zabriskie Street site], which is an unusual intersection with three different roads coming together at different angles," Lo Iacono said. "That’s going to require some cooperation between the county and the city."

Despite this, the site is in a prime location for residences, Lo Iacono commented, in part due to the easy access and convenience potential residents would experience of having the New Milford train station at close proximity.

"It’s an ideal site for commuters," Lo Iacono said. "It’s right within walking distance of the New Milford train station so it’s right there. I’m sure if a developer builds apartments or condos, it will be very attractive for people who commute using the train."

The next step in the redevelopment process is up to the county. Bergen County must finalize the sale since at the moment it is under their ownership. Once the sale of the site is complete, Hackensack can work with the developers who purchased the site and commence collecting taxes on the property.

"[The county is] going to post [the site up for sale]," he said. "They are going to sell it. Once they sell it, a buyer comes in. A buyer owns a piece of property which is taxable to the City of Hackensack , and then hopefully, we’ll be working with that buyer on developing the property."

Though Hackensack officials have to wait for the county to sell the property, officials from both are working closely together sharing views on the future of the location, this according to Lo Iacono.

"We are going to continue working with the county to develop a couple of these concepts just to make it more attractive for when they post it for sale."

Calls to Bergen County officials were not returned in time for this deadline.

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6708

Offline just watching

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 928
  • Karma: -25
    • View Profile
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #22 on: December 09, 2012, 09:09:00 AM »
Aaaah, the intersection.  That's something I was thinking about way back in 2005 when the redevelopment idea was kicking around.

There's a wide-mouth intersection of Johnson Ave, Zabriskie Street, and Kinderkamack Road.  So here's my suggestion.

1. As one drives south on Johnson Ave, bend it towards Kinderkamack Road as soon as it is physically possible, and make a 90-degree angle intersection.  Install new traffic light. That road CONTINUES through what is now the county building itself and bends into what is now the eastern block of Zabriskie Street. Rename that block as Johnson Ave. 

2. Remove the short adjacent section of Zabriskie street, as it becomes irrelevant. I am referring to the short section just east of Kinderkamack Road.  Also remove the short section of the old Johnson Ave between the new bend of Johnson Ave to Zabriskie Street.  There could be a little triangular green area there.  Plant a few trees.

3. There is no longer the need for a traffic light at the intersection of Kinderkamack and Zabriskie Street.  There would be a new traffic light only 100 +/-  feet away, and the western block of Zabriskie Street basically becomes a side street.

4. Install a new traffic light at Kinderkamack and Jefferson as part of making the primary traffic flow be Jefferson to Kinderkamack. 

3. At the eastern end of the old Zabriskie Street (near the railroad), there should be a published plan for the street to bend again and run south along the railroad.  I would suggest that the city dedicate an easement to this effect across the properties along the railroad, or some other legal mechanism that might be more appropriate.  This would encourage further redevelopment.  As envisioned here, for each property that is redeveloped, the easement would be paved as a street and extend southward the length of that entire property.  (Same concept as properties along the river that build a section of the river pathway for every redevelopment.) This way there is a long-term plan to redevelop that entire industrial area.  It would be a waste to let the first property redevelop without making paving his section of the new street along the railroad.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #23 on: December 15, 2012, 05:07:10 PM »
Related story:

Two Hackensack landlords face fines after rental house fire
Thursday, December 13, 2012    Last updated: Thursday December 13, 2012, 11:41 PM
BY  JEFF PILLETS AND HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITERS
The Record

Hackensack officials did an abrupt about-face Thursday, pledging to cite two prominent local lawyers for problems at a rental house they own — which was damaged by fire earlier this week — and asking a neighboring town to review the city’s handling of the case.
 

This Hackensack house had 15 tenants and had been illegally converted, officials said. The owners are two local lawyers.
TARIQ ZEHAWI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The decision by City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono comes one day after Building Department chief Joseph Mellone told The Record he would cite tenants for illegal conditions at the Johnson Avenue house, but not issue summonses to city zoning board attorney Richard Malagiere and land-use lawyer Carmine Alampi, the owners.
 
“The entire matter is being revisited,” Lo Iacono said. “It’s an ugly story.”
 
Lo Iacono and a city councilman noted that the house at 238 Johnson Ave. is part of a larger tract that has been identified by Hackensack as a potential redevelopment area. A county freeholder on Thursday also questioned if there was a possible conflict between Malagiere’s ownership and his dual roles as attorney for the city zoners and the county freeholders. The land lies a block away from the county’s old police headquarters that has been rezoned as a mixed-use residential tract and is slated to be sold.
 
Neither lawyer returned calls for comment Thursday.
 
Malagiere and Alampi bought the house in December 2007 through their company, 236 Johnson Avenue LLC. The company also owns the house at 236 Johnson.
 
They rented the house to two families, although fire officials are investigating whether a third family lived there illegally. The house is registered in the city as a two-family home, but the building is described in Bergen County’s assessment records as a single-family dwelling.
 
Fourteen or 15 people were living in the 1,400-square-foot house when the fire broke out early Monday. Fire officials said it was caused by faulty wiring.
 
Mellone told The Record on Wednesday that there were numerous illegal electrical connections, that a closet had been turned into a bedroom and that wires had been cut and spliced open with inferior-gauge “lamp wire.”
 
City officials had talked informally about a possible rezoning of the area around the Johnson Avenue houses under a plan to revitalize the so-called commuter “gateway” near the New Bridge Landing train station and Route 4.
 
Lo Iacono said Malagiere was not part of the negotiations with the county over the rezoning of the adjacent 11-acre Zabriskie Street site that houses the old county police department.
 
Councilman John Labrosse cited a possible conflict, or at least the appearance of one, in noting that the zoning board attorney owns property that has been eyed for redevelopment.
 
“It’s a very, very thin line,” he said. “If you have people involved in a planning or zoning board and they’re buying property in an area that’s going to be part of redevelopment, it could definitely raise questions.”
 
In 2008, Malagiere and Alampi got approval from the zoning board to tear down 236-238 Johnson Ave. to construct an office building. Zoning Board President Michael Guerra said he didn’t know whether Malagiere stated his connection to the property at the time because he could not recall the application.
 
Jeanne Baratta, chief of staff to Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan, also raised concerns Thursday about Malagiere’s involvement.
 
Baratta said Malagiere sought information about the status of the Zabriskie Street property during freeholder work sessions. During one such session, she said, he was asked if he was seeking information as freeholder attorney or Hackensack zoning board attorney and was advised that his questions were not appropriate.
 
Freeholder Rob Hermansen, a Republican who is leaving next month, said Malagiere never told the board about his business interests near the Zabriskie Street redevelopment area even as he urged the board to sell the property for private development.
 
“He asked the board who we were going to sell the property to and things like that, and we all kind of looked at each other,” Hermansen said. “He said it would be positive for Hackensack if we sold to a developer.”
 
Hermansen added that Malagiere is likely to be replaced as freeholder attorney next year when political control of the board switches to Democrats. “It's not useful talking about if he should resign or not because he's gone anyway,” Hermansen said.
 
Hackensack’s Fire Prevention Bureau is required to inspect all two-family houses that are not owner-occupied when a new tenant moves in. Inspections weren’t done for the current tenants of 236 Johnson, said Lt. Chris Annunziata, the city’s fire official and head of the bureau.
 
He said city records had not been updated to show that no owner lives on site. The Building Department is supposed to issue a new certificate of occupancy when ownership changes, he said, but that also did not happen.
 
Mellone said in the interview Wednesday that tenants would be cited for illegal conditions and that the owners told the city they weren’t aware of modifications to the house or the number of people living there.
 
But Lo Iacono said Thursday, after a meeting with building and fire officials, that the owners would be cited over the lack of a current certificate of occupancy. He has also asked Teaneck building officials to review files and procedures and submit a report on the matter that will be made public.
 
Email: pillets@northjersey.com and adely@northjersey.com

Offline Whitey

  • HackensackNow Regular
  • **
  • Posts: 40
  • Karma: 2
    • View Profile
Northeast Hackensack
« Reply #24 on: November 06, 2014, 02:01:54 PM »
See the 2 Items from the Freeholder Agenda.  I assume this is a step toward development in northeast Hackensack.

Bergen County Freeholders Agenda
Ordinance 14-34
First Reading Nov 5
Ordinance to Discontinue Jefferson Street in Hackensack as a County Road and Transfer Control and Jurisdiction to the City of Hackensack.

Ordinance 14-35
First Reading Nov 5
Ordinance to Discontinue a Portion of Zabriskie Street in the City of Hackensack as a County Road and Transfer Control and Jurisdiction to the City of Hackensack

Offline just watching

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 928
  • Karma: -25
    • View Profile
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #25 on: November 08, 2014, 01:26:49 AM »
And Hackensack gains WHAT from this.  Nothing as I see it.  It becomes another road for the city to pay to pave and maintain over time.

There's going to have to be major traffic reconfiguration for the redevelopment of the Zabriskie street property.  Let the County pay for that portion which is County roads, and after the development is completed, then transfer the roads to Hackensack.


Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
« Last Edit: February 29, 2016, 11:37:45 PM by Editor »

Offline BLeafe

  • Global Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4158
  • Karma: 26
    • View Profile
    • Bob Leafe Photography
Like music? Like photography? Step into my office: http://xrl.us/BobL - - - - - - - http://xrl.us/BobsDarkness

Offline Homer Jones

  • Long-time poster
  • *****
  • Posts: 622
  • Karma: 16
    • View Profile
Re: Bergen County DPW/PD (Proposed)
« Reply #29 on: March 01, 2016, 02:02:40 PM »
Ol' Homer likes this councilman from Teaneck. If he can propose one municipality being allowed to build a DPW facility in another town, then this same logic should encourage Hackensack to build it's salt shed in the middle of Teaneck's Cedar Lane central business district right around the movie theatre.
This trade off would take inter municipal cooperation to a new level.