Author Topic: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue  (Read 294356 times)

Offline regina

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #285 on: May 17, 2013, 07:21:23 AM »
Very gracious of you. We all have to support the new Council and let them know our concerns. They have promised to listen to all of us and it is our job to make them aware of issues.

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #286 on: August 07, 2013, 02:28:19 AM »
47327/47519

LTACH APPEAL WATCH

The Bergen Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital LLC trial will take place on Friday, August 16th at 1:30pm at the Court House on Main Street. If you are interested in attending the trial please be aware that comments, heckling and/or talking while the court is in session will not be permitted and doing so may result in ejection from the court room.

The former Hackensack City Attorney and the newly appointed City Attorney will be representing the City of Hackensack. The Judge presiding over the trial will be: 

Judge Alexander H. Carver, III | Superior Court, Civil Division, Bergen County
Bergen County Courthouse
10 Main Street, 3rd Floor
Hackensack NJ 07601
(201) 527-2390

The latest judge to announce his retirement is Judge Alexander “Zan” Carver, 67, who said Monday he is leaving the bench to join the Hackensack law firm of Harwood Lloyd.

Carver, who was sworn in as a judge in May 2008 and has since served in the family and civil divisions, said he will work as a mediator and arbitrator at the firm. His last day on the bench is Sept. 1, he said.

“I hope to be useful in mediating cases that otherwise would go to trial,” Carver said.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/Bergen_County-based_state_court_faces_stream_of_departing_judges.html
« Last Edit: August 11, 2013, 10:37:21 AM by Prospect Avenue Coalition »

Offline just watching

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #287 on: August 09, 2013, 09:46:48 PM »
Here's an article in NJ.com.  Judge Carver approves a controversial height variance for the LG headquarters on the Palisades.  It will jut above the treeline, prompting outcries from preservationists in NY and NJ.  Carver evidently doesn't care how high the building is.


http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/08/judge_upholds_variance_for_lg_headquarters_subject_of_legal_dispute_on_the_palisades.html#incart_river_default

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #288 on: August 11, 2013, 10:39:30 AM »
47710

Northjersey.com

Hackensack hospital object of suit

SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2013
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

HACKENSACK — The city and zoning board are expected to go to court on Friday to fight a lawsuit alleging that the board unfairly denied an application for a 19-story medical building that was strongly opposed by neighborhood residents.
The zoning board, however, will not be represented in court by its former attorney, Richard Malagiere, who faced controversy but had community support to keep him on the case.

The Zoning Board of Adjustment rejected the application for the proposed Bergen Passaic Long-Term Acute Care Hospital in January 2012, saying that the project would bring traffic and parking problems to the residential neighborhood.

But the project didn’t get a fair shake, the applicant claimed in the lawsuit, filed in November in state Superior Court. Bergen Passaic LTACH alleged that city officials conspired to delay the process and tainted the outcome with bias and prejudicial comments.

Malagiere declined to seek reappointment as board attorney in January. He never publicly said why, but his decision came weeks after a fire at a Johnson Avenue home he owned with land-use lawyer Carmine Alampi and Anthony Errico. The house had many illegal electrical connections, and the fire was the result of faulty wiring, officials said. The Record also found that the owners didn’t have an occupancy permit and that the premises had not undergone a safety inspection. Serious violations also were found at an adjacent home they owned.

Some residents insisted Malagiere be kept because of his experience and knowledge of the case, and they even made it a topic in the spring City Council race. The Prospect Avenue Coalition, a resident’s group, held three forums to get candidates’ views on the proposed hospital and asked all of them if they’d keep Malagiere after the election.

Stepped down

Malagiere decided on his own to step down from the case in late May, shortly after a new City Council was elected, officials said.
Laura Kirsch, the new zoning board attorney, who was appointed in April, has taken over the case. The case file was lengthy but not complicated, she said.

"You do what you have to and yes it took time, but we got it done," said Kirsch, a Hackensack-based attorney with expertise in zoning and real estate.

The new interim city attorney, Thomas Scrivo, will represent the city in the case, in place of the former City Attorney Joseph Zisa.
The applicant wanted the hospital building to include 10 floors of patient rooms, a dialysis center with 63 stations and a medical day-care center for up to 180 adults.

The company claimed the medical center would fill overwhelming demand for long-term acute care and dialysis while meeting the needs of a growing senior population.

The project needed special city approval because the property is zoned for residential use and the facility would have exceeded lot, parking and other building restrictions.

Bergen County Superior Court Judge Alexander Carver will hear the case. Carver has announced that he will retire Sept. 1, and it’s unclear whether he plans to rule on the case before then.

Email: adely@northjersey.com

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/219150461_Hackensack_hospital_object_of_suit.html?page=all#sthash.tkQzXm26.dpuf

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #289 on: August 13, 2013, 07:51:57 AM »
47864 http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/directions/berdirect.htm#table

Important Parking Update for the Bergen County Justice Center

Effective Monday, July 29, 2013, the Bergen County Justice Center – Court Street parking lot will be closed due to the new construction of the Bergen County New Agency Building. The Bergen County Administration has provided a parking lot for the public with shuttle service to and from the Bergen County Justice Center, 10 Main Street, Hackensack, NJ.

PARKING LOT LOCATION: Parking lot opens at 7 a.m. The Record News Lot, 150 River Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601

SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE: Providing transportation for jurors, attorneys, court users, and the general public,
 
SHUTTLE HOURS: 7:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. Monday thru Friday Shuttle will run every 10-15 minutes. The last shuttle from the justice center leaves at 7 p.m.


PARKING FEES ESTABLISHED BY BERGEN COUNTY:
 
Jurors FREE
 
Persons using handicap parking:
First 90 minutes FREE
$5/day flat fee thereafter
 
All others:
First 50 minutes FREE
$5/day flat fee thereafter
« Last Edit: August 31, 2013, 09:10:54 AM by Prospect Avenue Coalition »

Offline Editor

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #290 on: August 18, 2013, 07:28:20 PM »
Court arguments begin in appeal over Hackensack rejection of acute care hospital
Friday August 16, 2013, 5:10 PM
BY  KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — A proposed 19-story medical building on Prospect Avenue will benefit the public more than it would inconvenience its neighbors, an attorney argued in court on Friday, asking a judge to overturn the city’s decision to stop the project.

Attorneys for the city, meanwhile, argued that the city’s zoning board was right to deny the application to build the Bergen Passaic Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, calling the proposed project not only inconvenient but dangerous to area residents.

The case made its way to Superior Court in Hackensack late last year when the applicant, the Bergen-Passaic Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, LLC, filed a lawsuit challenging the zoning board’s decision.

Bergen-Passaic LTACH is seeking to tear down residential structures on Prospect and Summit Avenues and erect a medical center that will include 10 floors of patient rooms, a dialysis center and an adult medical day-care center for up to 180 adults.

Citing traffic and other quality-of-life concerns, the city’s zoning board ruled that the detriments of the project outweighed its benefits and denied the application.

Joseph Basralian, an attorney representing Bergen Passaic LTACH, said at a hearing before Superior Court Judge Alexander Carver that the concerns about added traffic were not justified because the average stay in long term acute care facilities was 25 days. That means patients will not be continuously going in and out and add to the traffic or parking needs.

He also said the height of the buildings in that area on Prospect Avenue ranges from 13 to 28 floors, and that the proposed 19-floor building is well within the high-rise limits of the zone.

Basralian said such a facility would be highly beneficial to the community because of the rise in the aging population in and around Bergen County.

Because of high obesity and diabetes rates, the need for dialysis has been rising by about 5 percent a year, he said. The six dialysis centers in Bergen County already are operating near capacity, he said.

Laura Kirsch, an attorney representing the city’s zoning board, did not agree. She said both Prospect and Summit avenues already experience high traffic volume with frequent backups and that this project would only make “a bad situation worse.”

 “This is a building with 120 [long-term acute care] beds, 63 dialysis seats and 180 adult day-care beds,” she said. “It’s three commercial units crammed into one building in a residential zone.”

She also said the building would have 500 employees and that there will be added traffic from ambulances, delivery trucks, and family members visiting patients.

 “Parking and traffic are already terrible,” Kirsch said. “There is no reason to make them even worse.”

The added traffic is particularly a hazard for a nearby elementary school and its students who must cross Prospect and Summit avenues during morning rush-hour traffic, she said.

The hearing will continue Monday with more arguments.

Email: markos@northjersey.com

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Court_arguments_begin_in_appeal_over_Hackensack_rejection_of_acute_care_hospital.html?page=all#sthash.2agO1PLK.dpuf

Offline Rob Gartner

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #291 on: August 19, 2013, 11:28:16 PM »
http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Fate_of_rejected_Hackensack_medical_building_plan_in_judges_hands.html

I guess we will know pretty soon.  I hope the city's attorney made a stronger argument than it sounded in this article.
________________________

Fate of rejected Hackensack medical building plan in judge's hands
Monday August 19, 2013, 4:24 PM
BY  ALLISON PRIES
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — The fate of a 19-story medical building proposal that was unanimously rejected by the city’s zoning board is now in the hands of a judge.

Oral arguments that began on Friday concluded Monday morning with just an hour of rebuttals by attorneys.

Judge Alexander H. Carver, III will make a decision by Aug. 30, his expected retirement date.

The Hackensack Zoning Board of Adjustment denied the application in January 2012, saying it would bring traffic and parking problems to the residential area around the site at Prospect and Summit avenues. Residents packed hearings, held protests and hired attorneys to oppose the medical center.

Joseph L. Basralian, the attorney representing Bergen Passaic Long-Term Acute Care Hospital, argued that the facility would benefit the growing population of aging adults in Bergen County more than it would inconvenience its neighbors; the center’s clients typically stay 25 days and would not add to traffic problems, and that the height of the building was comparable to those within the same zone.

The project would require the demolition of two homes to make way for 10 floors of patient rooms, a dialysis center and an adult medical day-care center for up to 180 adults.

Demand for dialysis centers has been rising about 5 percent per year, Basralian said, and six other centers in Bergen County are already operating near capacity.

Laura Kirsch, an attorney for the city’s zoning board, said the major issues that drove the board to vote down the project were parking, traffic and safety issues. Prospect and Summit avenues already experience traffic problems and back ups.

She expressed concern about 30 dump trucks of soil leaving the site per day over 10 months of construction and the impact that would have on the water table for neighboring properties. Kirsch said there were issues with site lines and an inability for cars and trucks to maneuver safely at the driveways. “There’s no continuous path,” she said.

Liquid oxygen tanks being trucked on and off the site could also exacerbate the problem. “You have the potential for a serious accident,” Kirsch said. “If a vehicle hits a truck carrying oxygen, we could lose Prospect Avenue.”

Basralian declined to comment after the hearing.

The lawsuit says that the city and zoning board engaged in a political scheme to deny the applicant a fair and impartial review.

Carver, during the hearing, asked Kirsch how she felt about candidates for mayor and council speaking out publicly at the beginning of the application. Kirsch said the officials spoke as any other citizen would have the right to.

But Carver said if they had come as private citizens, they wouldn’t have spoken at the beginning of the application and “set the tone.”

LTACH also claims in its lawsuit that the board allowed an objecting attorney to harass the property owner, applied different standards for its own experts and created a conflict of interest with the applicant’s engineering consultant by engaging and interviewing the consultant — forcing the applicant to switch professionals in the middle of the process. The company also said the hearing process was delayed and costly, noting there were 23 meetings, of which 20 were special meetings at a cost of $3,000 each to be paid by the applicant to the city.

Email: priesa@northjersey.com

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Fate_of_rejected_Hackensack_medical_building_plan_in_judges_hands.html?page=all#sthash.QVar9ntG.dpuf
« Last Edit: August 20, 2013, 12:14:11 AM by Editor »

Offline regina

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #292 on: August 26, 2013, 07:46:11 PM »
Judge ruled in favor of the Zoning Board/City

http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Judge_upholds_decision_denying_Hackensack_hospital_plan_.html?scpromo=1
_______________________

Judge upholds decision denying Hackensack medical building plan
Monday August 26, 2013, 6:59 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK – A state Superior Court judge on Monday upheld a decision by the city’s zoning board denying an application for a 19-story long-term acute care hospital – a plan that sparked fierce protest in the city over years.

Residents and officials had packed hearings on the project to argue that it would have brought traffic hazards, congestion and parking problems to their neighborhood. On Monday, they cheered the court’s decision even as the attorney for the applicant pledged to appeal.

“This has been three years of waiting to see what happens and trying to stop it from being built in this area,” said Murray Runin, a member of the Prospect Avenue Coalition, a residents’ group that opposed the project. “This would have disrupted the whole area.”

In his 20-page decision, Judge Alexander H. Carver III said the application got a fair hearing and the board reasonably determined that the harm to the neighborhood would outweigh the public benefit.

Bergen-Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital had sought to tear down residential structures on Prospect and Summit Avenues and build a medical center including 10 floors of patient rooms, a dialysis center and an adult medical day-care center for up to 180 adults.

The board unanimously denied the application in January 2012.

The Bergen/Passaic LTACH sued the board and the city in November, alleging that it didn’t get a fair hearing; was subjected to delays and unnecessary fees; and that city officials conspired to delay the process and tainted the outcome with prejudicial comments.

Email: adely@northjersey.com
« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 08:11:11 PM by Editor »

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #293 on: August 26, 2013, 07:49:40 PM »
48520

Judge Carver upheld the Hackensack Zoning Board decision denying the Bergen Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital, LLC application and dismissed the complaint.

WE WON.

Offline Editor

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #294 on: August 26, 2013, 10:15:24 PM »
Judge upholds Hackensack rejection of proposed acute-care hospital in residential neighborhood
Monday, August 26, 2013 Last updated: Monday August 26, 2013, 8:41 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY, STAFF WRITER The Record

HACKENSACK — A state Superior Court judge on Monday upheld the city’s zoning board denial of an application for a 19-story long-term acute care hospital — a plan that sparked fierce protest in the city.

Residents and officials had packed hearings to argue that the hospital would have brought traffic hazards, congestion and parking problems to their neighborhood. On Monday, they cheered the court’s decision. Meanwhile, the attorney for the applicant, Bergen-Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital, pledged to appeal.

“This has been three years of waiting to see what happens and trying to stop it from being built in this area,” said Murray Runin, a member of the Prospect Avenue Coalition, a residents’ group that opposed the project. “This would have disrupted the whole area.”
Mayor John Labrosse called the decision a “victory for the community.”

“While the city needs and welcomes responsible development, I feel this particular development was too big and too intrusive for the neighborhood,” he said. “It would have caused horrendous traffic problems and serious concerns about the safety of nearby residents.”

In his 20-page decision, Judge Alexander H. Carver III said the application got a fair hearing and the board reasonably determined that the harm to the neighborhood would outweigh the public benefit.

Bergen-Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital sought to tear down residential structures on Prospect and Summit avenues and build a medical center including 10 floors of patient rooms, a dialysis center and an adult medical day care center for up to 180 adults. The applicant claimed the medical center would fill a public health demand and meet the needs of a growing senior population.

The project needed special city approval because the property is zoned for residential use and the facility would have exceeded lot, parking and other building restrictions.

The board unanimously denied the application in January 2012, saying it would hurt traffic safety and parking and that the proposed uses were contrary to the city’s zoning plan and ordinances.
The applicant sued the board and the city in November, claiming it didn’t get a fair hearing, was subjected to delays and unnecessary fees and that city officials conspired to delay the process and prejudiced the outcome with their comments.

The court found there was credible evidence of increased traffic and dangerous traffic situations on already-busy streets. Carver also found no evidence that the board was influenced by officials’ statements and concluded that council members statements were not improper.

The court refuted claims of delays and unnecessary fees; out of 23 total hearings, 20 were special meetings that required a $3,000 fee be paid to the city. The fees, though, were set by city ordinance, not by the board. The applicant also didn’t object to special meetings and delays during the proceedings, Carver wrote in his decision.

Attorney Joseph Basralian, who represented the hospital, said Monday his client will appeal the judge’s decision but declined further comment.

Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino said the building would have been “completely out of character for the neighborhood.”

“It’s far too intense of a development in a residential neighborhood,” she said. “In his decision, the judge gave considerable weight to the safety issues, and I have to agree that public safety was and is a major concern of the council and the people living near the proposed development.”

Email: adely@northjersey.com

http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Judge_upholds_decision_denying_Hackensack_hospital_plan_.html
« Last Edit: August 26, 2013, 10:32:26 PM by Editor »

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #295 on: August 30, 2013, 07:38:56 AM »
Attorney Joseph Basralian, who represented the hospital, said Monday his client will appeal the judge’s decision but declined further comment.

http://www.northjersey.com/hackensack/Judge_upholds_decision_denying_Hackensack_hospital_plan_.html

48707 Continue to check here for LTACH APPEAL WATCH updates.

48771 Attached is a copy of the LTACH Order of Judgment and Opinion given by Judge Carver on August 26, 2013.
« Last Edit: September 19, 2013, 08:09:10 AM by Prospect Avenue Coalition »

Offline bergen07601

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #296 on: September 23, 2013, 10:56:34 PM »
So, nice win for Prospect Avenue residents. Yes, our presence counted. Big round of applause to Karen Hull/Prospect Avenue Coalition who continuously organized and announced the developments of each meeting. Clap, clap, clap. Her efforts drove us to each meeting over the past few years in this sometimes tedious and boring battle. Let's applaud ourselves too. We fought and won in the face of the developer's big $$$.

And he is on to his next project. More commercial use of our beautiful residential neighborhood.
For those of you who are interested and can attend a public hearing on October 2, 2013, at The Bergen County Utilities Authority, Administration Building, Foot of Mehrhof Road, Little Ferry, New Jersey, at 10:00 A.M. in the Public Meeting Room. See the thread re Prospect Heights Medical Waste Treatment Expansion at http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,2791.0.html. Please post your comments if you attend.

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #297 on: October 24, 2013, 08:00:00 AM »
And he is on to his next project. More commercial use of our beautiful residential neighborhood.
For those of you who are interested and can attend a public hearing on October 2, 2013, at The Bergen County Utilities Authority, Administration Building, Foot of Mehrhof Road, Little Ferry, New Jersey, at 10:00 A.M. in the Public Meeting Room. See the thread re Prospect Heights Medical Waste Treatment Expansion at http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,2791.0.html. Please post your comments if you attend.

@Bergen07601, congratulations to the residents and a big thank you to those who attended the trial. ProspectAvenueCoalition will continue to closely monitor the 336 Prospect Avenue proposed Plan Amendment: The Bergen County District Solid Waste Management Plan is hereby amended to incorporate the Prospect Heights Care Center SteriMed System 70 Medical Waste Treatment Unit located at Lot 10, Block 341, 336 Prospect Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey, 07601.

Several ProspectAvenueCoalition members attended the Public Hearing on October 2, 2013. These residents asked many questions regarding the potential harm that operating a medical waste unit of this type may cause to the residents living in the World Plaza and Ritz Plaza in addition to any other residential buildings nearby. The Bergen County Utilities Authority did not have ready answers for some of their questions.
 
Following the hearing the proposed Plan Amendment is pending agency approval. If approved by the requisite agencies then Pineles would still require Hackensack Zoning Board approval as the medical waste treatment unit is not a permitted use on Prospect Avenue.

50619

[Editor's note: All future posts related to the Medical Waste Treatment Unit should go here: http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,2791.0.html.  Thank you.]
« Last Edit: October 24, 2013, 09:54:43 AM by Editor »

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #298 on: October 29, 2013, 07:34:45 AM »
50795 LTACH APPEAL WATCH

An action in lieu of prerogative writ has been filed by Bergen Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital LLC.

Offline Prospect Avenue Coalition

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Re: 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« Reply #299 on: December 07, 2013, 04:36:11 PM »
52293

329 PROSPECT AVENUE and at least 2 of the houses directly behind on Summit Avenue have been demolished.