#4984 Article in the Hackensack Chronicle on Friday July 31 should be titled "Architect raked over the coals.... stay tuned for next month's meeting on September 23rd to see if he can survive the grilling from objector's counsel". Shout out to Charles, Tama and Murray who live on Prospect Avenue and want HACKENSACK TO JUST SAY NO. Special shout out to newly elected council member John Labrosse who also came out to voice his opposition to the Pineles project planned for Prospect/Summit Avenues.
Residents irate at zoning board meeting
Friday, July 31, 2009
BY MARK J. BONAMO
Hackensack Chronicle
Architect Michael Szerbaty was just doing his job.
He came to the July 22 zoning board meeting in Hackensack on behalf of the potential project's owner Richard Pineles to explain the ins and outs of the proposed 24-story acute-care medical facility to be built on Prospect Avenue. Pineles did not speak at the meeting. But many members of the over 200-member crowd that packed the council chambers late into the evening spoke out, making it a long night for Szerbaty.
"If this building is constructed, which I hope it isn't, it's going to tie up traffic tremendously," said Prospect Avenue resident Charles Warren, reflecting a common concern of many in the audience. "I am profusely opposed to this structure. It's going to cause all kinds of problems environmentally, as well as with traffic. I don't think that this building belongs in a residential area."
Warren's words were a sample of the sentiments of most in the crowd, who have continued to clog zoning board meetings in the hope of stopping the project.
Controversy over project continues
Pineles is president of Bergen Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital LLC, the company that is seeking to obtain site-plan approval for the project, which would be built at 329 Prospect Avenue. According to deed records, the company purchased the property, presently occupied by a residential home, in 2007 for $1.33 million.
If constructed, the facility, which city officials have indicated will have a ground floor of 7,250 square feet, would primarily provide adult day care and dialysis, as well as other medical services, and would include several driveways and an underground parking garage. City officials have also stated that the company will need more than a dozen variances in order to complete the project, including variances for use, parking and lot size. The site is currently zoned for residential and multi-family buildings.
Pineles also owns Prospect Heights Care Center, a 180-bed nursing home facility located close to the site, as well as Regent Care Center, a nursing home on Polifly Road. He declined further comment at the July 22 zoning board meeting about the project, stating that it was company policy not to comment about a project that is pending and that is being proposed to the public.
New councilman, residents united in opposition
Newly elected council member John Labrosse attended the meeting, and during a break continued to voice his opposition to the project.
"There are too many other locations in Hackensack that fit this building without affecting the quality of life for residents," he said. "It's really not fair for this building to go up… professional witnesses, as well as local residents, have to come forward in order to make their case against the project."
Prospect Avenue resident Tama Cuperman also came to the meeting and came away with a distinct feeling about the proposed project.
"I'm getting [very aggravated], said Cuperman, 68. "There are lots of people who dislike this building. It doesn't belong where we live."
Other resident complaints centered upon quality of life, property values, traffic and environmental issues, reiterating concerns they have voiced at two previous zoning board meetings held since mid-May.
After the meeting, Prospect Avenue resident Murray Runin also expressed his dismay about the facility potentially being built in his neighborhood.
"I'm more convinced than ever that this doesn't belong there," he said. "It's not the type of business it is that I object to. But it's going to create havoc on Prospect Avenue. The more I hear about it, the worse it gets."
The next zoning board is scheduled for Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 65 Central Ave.
E-mail: bonamo@northjersey.com