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Topics - just watching

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46
Hackensack Discussion / tree ordinance for Hackensack
« on: May 13, 2009, 08:25:04 PM »
Does Hackensack need a tree ordinance ???
See article from today's Record

It could cost you if you chop down that tree, court rules
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Last updated: Wednesday May 13, 2009, 4:54 PM
BY MARY FUCHS
NorthJersey.com
STATE HOUSE BUREAU
 1 Comment    Saying it would improve the environment, New Jersey’s Supreme Court yesterday ruled that towns can charge residents and builders to replace trees they chop down.

The justices, in a unanimous decision, said a Jackson Township ordinance was valid not only because it would "ameliorate the evils of tree cutting" but also because it would "serve general environmental goals," wrote Justice Virginia Long.  In 2003, Jackson passed a rule that builders must first apply to the town before removing a tree and pay $200 to $800 for each one they uproot — if they don’t replace them. That money is used to plant trees in parks and other public property in the town.

The decision was praised by environmentalists who say more than 200 towns have such laws on their books — and derided by builders who say such rules are just a way for towns to make money.  Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the decision could affect the "whole ecosystem" of a town because the ordinance ensures trees are replaced for the municipality’s benefit and not just a site’s development.

"Towns can now protect the environment and do better planning. We think this is a landmark case," said Tittel.

Paul Schneider, a lawyer for the New Jersey Shore Builder’s Association, which challenged the Jackson law, said there’s "no assurance" that towns are using those funds "appropriately."  "It allows them to, as they’ve acknowledged, pay for an Arbor Day party. It would enable them to pay for new landscaping at the municipal building as opposed to addressing the environmental concerns," said Schneider.

Schneider said towns across the state continued to enforce their tree ordinances and charge builders fees while the case was ongoing.  In the decision, the court said Jackson has to be clear about how it uses the fee money. If the "primary purpose is to raise revenue" and not replace the plants, then charging builders and residents would not be "feasible," wrote Long.

William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, said the justices "recognized the necessity of allowing municipalities, through their police power" to protect a town’s environment. Jackson Township officials did not return calls for comment yesterday.

Branchburg Mayor Jim Leonard said his township expects to adopt an ordinance that mirrors Jackson’s rules within two weeks. The difference, he said, was that only developers — and not residents — would be charged for tree removal.

"There was almost universal support in commercial and industrial areas and significant opposition to asking a resident to replace a tree," said Leonard. While towns cannot force residents to plant trees on their own property, the court found they should have control over an increase in foliage.

"Because the Township obviously cannot mandate that trees be replanted on other private property, its attempt to mitigate the effects of tree loss on private property by promoting replanting, wherever it can, is rational," said the court’s decision.

Mary Fuchs is a reporter for The Star-Ledger. E-mail: mfuchs@starledger.com


47
Hackensack Discussion / Police Facility in Johnson Park
« on: May 03, 2009, 09:57:52 AM »
POLICE FACILITY:  I think this topic deserves it's own thread, and I couldn't find one looking through the archives here.

The proposed site is not "behind" Johnson Park, it is in Johnson Park.

This application is (or should be) complicated by the fact that Johnson Park is PARKLAND.  Hackensack signed a contract with the NJ Green Acres program in 1983 or 1984 when it expanded Carver Park.  Under the terms of the contract, all parkland in the city is forever preserved as Parkland, including Johnson Park.  Green Acres doesn't want to give money to any municipality to create parkland, and then see the municipality sell off other parkland or convert it to non-parkland use.  That's why they make cities and towns sign a contract.  Hackensack is forever bound by that contract, because we took money from Green Acres in 1984.

The NJ Green Acres Program is not going to allow parkland to be converted into a "building", and then allow more acreage of parkland to be paved with asphalt to provide a large parking lot needed to support the building.  The public could easily lose another 3 acres of parkland in Johnson Park just to create a parking lot for the police.

Well, Green Acres isn't going to stop the application unless someone challenges what the Hackensack Police Department is claiming. To my knowledge, nobody is raising a red flag with the NJ Green Acres Program.  And don't wait for the Hackensack Riverkeeper to take the lead on this.  They won't touch this one because they are in Hackensack and they need to shut their mouth for political expediency.

Here's the tricky part: The Police are saying that they aren't erecting a new building, they are just tearing down an existing building that is not devoted to park use, and creating a new building on the same footprint that is not devoted to park use.  Sounds fine until you actually look at the site. This new "building" on the same footprint is an enormous 2-story Emergency Command Center and Police Training Center. Now, what they call an existing "building" is an open grassy area that is about 50% surrounded by a cinderblock wall, and 50% surrounded by a chain-link fence.  It is used as a firing range. To call that firing range a "building" is absurd, but that's the only way to try and make this thing fly under the radar of the NJDEP, and especially the NJDEP Green Acres Program.

If you look at the square footage of floor space for the new construction proposed, it is vastly larger than the existing Hackensack Police Department.  So what is really going on here ???? Basically, they are relocating most of the Police Department to Johnson Park, while keeping some people and some resources at the old facility on State Street.

It's really dishonest how the Police are presenting this issue.  This is a big part of why I am upset with the Hackensack Police, but certainly not the only issue.  Gee, I hope I don't get sued.  Whether or not this building is in a flood-plain is an utterly trivial issue compared to the Green Acres conflict, the loss of parkland for the facility and it's parking lot, and to how the public is being kept in the dark about what is really going on about the substantial relocation of the police department. Yes, it is in a flood plain, but only marginally.

I agree that Hackensack needs a new and larger Police Department.  If they want to combine it with some kind of Emergency Response Center that is needed regionally, that is fine by me.  But, let me state clearly and emphatically, it is NOT to be built on city parkland.  Find somewhere else to put in.  The city owns land at Essex and Green Street, for example, and can condemn more acreage if needed.

Even better, they can also put it on Central Ave between First Street and Railroad Ave along the south side of the entire block, and put the parking on the north side of the street, except for one garden apartment complex. I estimate that we'll have 10% less crime in Hackensack and 30% less murders if that entire block is torn down, so we'll need less police manpower in the future. There would be an upfront cost to buy the houses and relocate tenants, but in the long run we save money on costly salaries.  We need an administration in power that is bold enough to make this happen. The condemnations can't be challenged as "eminent domain abuse" because it's being used to create a public facility, not for economic development.  The courts are iron-solid on that one. Every attempt should be made to relocate the residents within the city limits of Hackensack. They'll be better off living on quieter streets elsewhere in the Carver Park Community or anywhere in Hackensack. Those kids who move will be less likely to be exposed to inner-city influences which seem to be concentrated on that one block, and will be less likely to turn to crime or drugs. The future of kids' lives is important too.

If a new police station is built elsewhere in Hackensack, city hall facilities can occupy the former police department on State Street and all the police parking spots, so the city won't need to build a whole new city hall. 

48
Events & Calendar / Clean Communities Day -- April 25, 2009
« on: April 11, 2009, 10:30:49 PM »
Special Thanks to Charlotte Panny for organizing this event !!!

Volunteers will be meeting on Saturday 4/25 at 9:00 AM at the City Hall Civic Center, and then dispersing to various sites throughout the city.  Pick up litter, collect recyclables, plant, remove graffiti, etc.  Areas to be cleaned include city parks.  The actual cleanup starts at 10:00 AM at locations throughout the city. Last year there was a group that did the riverfront walkway, from Johnson Park northwards, unsure if it will be hit again this year, but it's always a good idea.

The most popular cleanup event is usually the Borg's Woods cleanup, which Linda Flynn and her son, Rick Flynn, spearhead every year.

Sponsors for this years's event inlcude the City of Hackensack, NJ Clean Communities, NJ Transit, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Bergen County, Tree City USA, Upper Main Street ALliance, and Waste Management (a waste hauler).

Volunteers can also meet directly at the sites to be cleaned up at 10:00 AM, but the city prefers people to gather at 9:00 AM.  Good chance there will be free food and drinks, courtesy of  Java's Brewin and The Bagel Shoppe.

Any questions, call Charlotte Panny at 201-646-3907.

49
Hackensack Discussion / Kenneth Street contaminated soil dumping
« on: March 26, 2009, 08:38:04 PM »
I happened to drive by Kenneth Street today, that's an industrial street parallel and just below Polifly Road.  I noticed that an enormous amount of dirt mixed with garbage has been dumped between the fence and a large stream or drainage ditch that parallels the street for a couple hundred feet.  The area filled is over 200 feet long and 20 feet wide, and 1 to 3 feet thick.  It's along Kenneth Street generally north of Mary Street. Evidence suggests that trucks entered the strip from its southern end to do their evil thing.   Could it be that the business there is the responsible party ? Or another contractor in the immediate neighborhood.

To call it "fill" wouldn't be accurate, because it probably 60% dirt and 40% garbage.  It's just the dirtiest and most contaminated load of dirt you could ever find.  Certainly it isn't legal, and nobody in their right mind would call it clean fill.  It's so dirty that I can't even imagine what kind of jobsite would produce this type of excavation material.

It must have been dumped within the last few months because it looks like nothing is growing on top of it.  It wasn't there last summer.  I recall that there were trees and bushes there, but they've all be axed to the ground in order to clear the land for this dumping.

And it is right along a watercourse, so who knows what kind of chemicals are leaching into the water. 

This is an absolute disgrace to the City of Hackensack.  Who has allowed this to occur, and why hasn't anything been done about it. 

50
Hackensack Discussion / blighted houses cleared on Gamewell Place
« on: February 14, 2009, 05:33:39 PM »
As I was driving around Hackensack today 'just watching', I noticed that a cluster of burned and blighted houses on the south side of Gamewell Place just west of Union Street has been leveled very recently.  There's a temporary construction fence completely around one house still standing, so  that one is coming down too. Also leveled was one house adjacent house on South Park Street.  There was a fire recently, one house on Gamewell was gutted and ones on either side damaged.

I think it's 5 houses total which are gone, all of which are late 1800's housing stock, and all were in shabby condition subdivided into rentals. I'm sure that there were at least 20 apartments, mostly very small.  Probably not a single owner-occupied unit.

These were just about the worst cluster of houses in the entire city.  The burned pink boarding house on 211 Passaic Street was torn down less than a year ago, that was worse but it's already gone.  Also gone about a year ago are the two "hell houses of Myer Street", which is now a condominium nearing completion.  Also gone is the burned house on South State Street near Kansas Street, and the boarded up white monstrosity on Hackensack Ave across from Target.  It's amazing how all the oldest and most disgusting houses in Hackensack are disappearing, mostly by fire and demolition.  Let's keep it coming

It seems that all we have to do is think about it, and they disappear. Crazy theory, but if it's true, let's all start thinking about the corner of Kansas and Green Streets behind the Conklin Home. And how about Fair Street just off Essex.  Hey, you never know.

Does anyone know what is planned for the Gamewell Place lot ????

51
Hackensack Discussion / 24-story tower for Summit Avenue
« on: January 25, 2009, 07:32:20 PM »
Here is the application that was scheduled to be heard 1/21/2009 by the Hackensack Zoning Board of Adjustment.  There's a lot of cases to be heard, and they probably didn't get to this one yet.

They are probably starting with this 24-story proposal so that they can "drop" to 5 or 10 stories, and get that approved.  320 Summit Ave is on the east side, midway between Golf Place and Berry Street.  Unsure if this is the property that sold for a very high amount just a few years ago with intent to build a nursing home that goes through to Prospect Ave.

Someone should contact the folks at The Carlyle and the Barridge House, this will block their sunset views.  In fact, everyone who has a sunset view on Prospect Ave should be in an uproar. If this goes through, the rest of Summit Ave south of Passaic will be compromised. What about Bill Noonan and his group who fought Excelsior III a few years ago.

Let's see if our Zoning Board is sophisticated enough to see thru this plan.  What's the point of zoning if things like this are to be approved ???

10.         Application V# 23-08 SP# 21-08
   Address: 320 Summit Avenue  Hackensack, New Jersey 
   Block: 344  Lot(s): 3,4,5,14  Zone:  R-75 & R-3
             Bergen Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital LLC

Applicant requests  Demolish the existing one family structure and construct a 24 story medical office building. 

The following were found to be deficient:

1.   Use Variance Required
2.   Insufficient Lot area Required 30,000 sq. ft. Proposed 20,000 sq .ft.
3.   Insufficient Lot Width Required 125’ Proposed 100’
4.   Insufficient Rear Yard Set Back Required 40’ Proposed 0’ to edge of R-3 District
5.   Exceeds Maximum Lot Coverage Required 30%  Proposed 40.5% for R-3
6.   Exceeds maximum height ratio Side Yard  Allowed 4:1  Proposed 19:1
7.   Insufficient Buffer Zone  Required 6’  Proposed 0 to edge of R-3 District
8.   Insufficient Parking Spaces Required 562  Proposed 402
9.   Insufficient driveway width Required 18-22’ for 2 way Proposed 10’ for 2 way
10.   No paving in side yard
11.   Insufficient area for back up aisle spaces-
12.   Exceeds maximum sign area Allowed  12 sq. ft   Proposed 96 sq. ft.
13.   Insufficient Sign Setback  Required 20ft Proposed 0ft.
14.    Any other Variance or Waivers that may be required.

52
Hackensack Discussion / 2009 Hackensack City Election
« on: January 19, 2009, 09:10:57 AM »
Time to start this string, the election is in May.

Who's running as incumbants ???  Who's running as challengers ???

53
Hackensack Discussion / train service interrupted by a fire
« on: January 10, 2009, 11:08:13 AM »
As of right now, the Weather Channel (Cablevision, Channel 61) traffic report is stating that train service between Anderson Street (Hackensack) and Hoboken is interrupted due to a major "Structure fire".

My assumption is that this fire is between the Anderson and Essex Stations, otherwise train service would be interruped between Essex Street and Hoboken.

What's going on ?  Does anybody know.

54
Hackensack History / New Bridge Landing
« on: June 24, 2008, 02:48:22 AM »
Looks like Hackensack's original courthouse from 1819 will be rebuilt, this time just over our northern border.  Within 2 years, this park will connect directly to Hackensack via the river walkway project currently under construction.  See article.

HISTORIC PARK IS READY FOR RENAISSANCE
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Last updated: Thursday June 19, 2008, EDT 8:21 AM
BY ASHLEY KINDERGAN
STAFF WRITER
The Historic New Bridge Landing Park is ripe for a renaissance.
 
DANIELLE P. RICHARDS/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Renovation of the Steuben House, above, and a visitor's center modeled after the old Hackensack Courthouse, below, are planned for New Bridge Landing Park.
Three major projects at the site are planned by the Bergen County Historical Society and Historic New Bridge Landing Park Commission, a new museum, a new visitor’s center and restoration of the 18th-century Steuben House.  The park touches four municipalities and has as many historic buildings. At a critical point in the Revolutionary War, George Washington retreated over the Hackensack River crossing with his troops.
The push to get the projects done came from last year’s nor’easter, which flooded the Steuben House and damaged important artifacts housed there.  “The flood was a transformative experience,” said Kevin Wright, secretary of the Park Commission. “It made us rethink everything.”
 
Wright and Mike Trepicchio, chairman of the Park Commission, said the flood made it clear that immediate action was needed on two long-term goals: the artifacts needed a safer home and the commission needed direct control over spending and administrative decisions.
State Sens. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, and Gerald Cardinale, R-Cresskill, have introduced a bill that would transfer fiscal and administrative control from the state to the commission, which is composed mostly of local residents. The bill is at the environment committee.

About 600 items were damaged and the rest are in storage without a permanent home, said Bergen County Historical Society President Deborah Powell. They were briefly housed at the nearby Campbell-Christie House, but had to be moved when repairs started there.
A conservator is restoring some of the most critical pieces, including some drenched documents and a rare 1815 grandfather clock. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has committed about $160,000 to “stabilize” the artifacts, Powell said.

A new home, modeled after the Veldran Mill that used to stand in Oradell, is also in the works. “Collections need a stable environment, and you can’t provide that in an 18th-century building,” Powell said. “We need a building where we can control the light and control the temperature.”
The museum would be designed to stand above the floodwaters of the Hackensack River, which often inundate the Steuben House. “The advantage of selecting a mill is not only that it would be an icon of the rural past,” Wright said. “Mills were raised on stilts or pilings.”

The historical society hopes schoolchildren will play a large part in raising the $1.25 million in estimated building costs.  Anthony Vouvalides, principal of Roosevelt School in River Edge, said teachers and students disappointed by the shutdown of the Steuben House will hold a penny drive this fall to raise money for a museum. The school will shoot a video this summer to help publicize the fundraiser to other school districts and corporate sponsors.
“We think one of the goals is teaching kids to become activists in the community,” Vouvalides said. “The Steuben House used to be one of the premier sites to come and talk about American history. Since it’s been closed, it’s really a lost gem.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection has budgeted $70,000 for a study to assess what the Steuben House would need for a makeover.
Trepicchio said the commission wants the house open so the public can watch restorers peel back the plaster to reveal original moldings, repaint the walls to original hues and rip out modern heating systems.
A new visitor’s center modeled after the original Hackensack courthouse, built in 1819, would tie the site together.
Amy Cradic, assistant commissioner of natural and historic resources at DEP, said the agency will pay for the visitor’s center, but a timeline and cost estimate are not yet available.

The land for both the museum and visitor’s center, a former auto parts junkyard and pizza store purchased by the state and commission three years ago, must first be cleaned of lead and petroleum contamination by removing 20,000 cubic yards of soil, said DEP spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas. Trepicchio said he has been told the work will begin in the next few months.

Officials hope that the improvements at the site will lure tourists looking for a slice of history, to be followed with trips to local malls, shops and restaurants.
“We could have our own mini-Williamsburg here,” said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck. “We’ve got everything to support it all around us.”
E-mail: Kindergan@northjersey.com

55
Hackensack Discussion / Hackensack River Pathway
« on: April 30, 2008, 08:56:41 AM »
I copied Record article of April 30, 2008. This affects the continuation of Hackensack's River Walkway.  County officials told me on the 29th that the pathway is funded and will be built from Bergen Tech to Riverside Square "this year", and the next phase is up to the Steuben House/New Bridge Landing. The path will then cross the historic bridge and go north along the New Milford side up to the Waterworks Conservancy site.  The County held the hearing to get input from New Milford. The longer the pathway is, the more it benefits Hackensack.

I attended the hearing in New Milford.  As usual, The Record article doesn't reflect what really happened. The issue is bogged down in partisan politics, with the 2 Republicans on the borough council firmly opposed, and a few Democrats feeling political pressure.  The residents want all studies and all funding to be DIVERTED from the pathway project and instead used to resolve their flooding issue. That's what is really going on here, in addition to the usual "nimby" complaints about anything unknown.  Senior citizens dominated the meeting.

A few residents of New Milford spoke and said that there will be a beautiful park "like the Dunkerhook section along the Saddle River" right here in our own town. There was also significant and very unfair bashing of Hackensack, with references to Hackensack residents walking up the river into New Milford, including pedofiles, drug dealers, and potential criminals that will steal bicycles off of people front lawns.

It is likely that the County will come up with a revised route that totally avoids Columbia Street, by diverting at the foot of Henley Ave to the River Edge side where there are no residents affected.

River walkway gets thumbs down from New Milford
Wednesday, April 30, 2008

BY ASHLEY KINDERGAN
STAFF WRITER
   
NEW MILFORD — Residents of the borough's most flood-prone neighborhood blasted the county's proposed river path Monday night.

"The people who are most affected by this are here, and they don't want it," declared Karl Schaffenberger, a member of the Environmental Commission and zoning board chairman. "The river's got nowhere to go." Senior project manager John Biale and Brian Hague, chief of staff to the county executive, said the meeting was intended only to gather input and that the route can change.

Construction in New Milford is not expected before 2010. Hague said the county would not proceed if a committee of residents and officials could not come to an agreement. "We're not here to shove something down your throats," Biale said.

The walkway is part of a larger project allowing pedestrian access to the Hackensack River. The county has already built a walkway from Johnson Park in Hackensack to the Bergen Academies.  In the next two years, officials plan to extend the trail north to the Steuben House in River Edge. The next phase would place a 2.5-mile path through neighborhoods and wooded areas in New Milford.

Concerns about flooding

Many of the 100 or so people who opposed the project Monday night live on Columbia Street, where the county has proposed a dedicated pedestrian lane. Some pointed out that the route doesn't provide much access to the river. "Ninety percent of your path on your proposed walk is not along the river. Why are you calling it a river walk?" said resident Bob Leonard.

Columbia Street received some of the worst flooding in last April's nor'easter. Residents said they are worried that the trail would make flooding worse, even after Biale said the path could be made of stone dust, which is porous.  "There is no way on God's green earth that you are going to convince the people of this town that any building or construction in this area is not going to exacerbate the flooding," said Sal Tralongo, a Columbia Street resident.

Residents also said they are worried that the lighted path would attract drug users and crime, or at least more litter.

Bill Sheehan, the Hackensack Riverkeeper, predicted the opposite: "Once people come to the water's edge, they take ownership," Sheehan said at the meeting.

The council also said they oppose the idea. Mayor Frank DeBari said he liked the idea of river walks in general, but that the strong objections of residents made the plan a bad one.

E-mail: kindergan@northjersey.com

56
Oh no, we have a new liquor store in the neighborhood, the Deli Mart on Main Street near Spring Valley Ave.  For decades, Hackensack has had a policy against allowing new package liquor stores to open up in neighborhood settings. They've denied all liquor license requests to sell package liquor in neighborhoods. The last one was Simon Sez at State & Clay Streets around 1975.

Simon Sez caused a nearly continuous parade of liquor-buying pedestrians walking east down Clay Street from beyond Park Street. These pedestrians were littering, cursing, fighting, pushing drugs, prostituting, panhandling, blasting music, and generally being a nuisance and a drain on the police. Locals called it the "Clay Street Parade". It had severe consequences on the neighborhood.  At one point there was an organized effort by the police to repeatedly bust Simon Sez for liquor sales to minors, so that their license would be permanently stripped (the effort failed in court). 

The Simon Sez problem was so bad that the city decided not to allow any new liquor stores in any neighborhood. Liquor sales was deamed to be incompatible with the residential quality of life. They draw in drunks and homeless people as walk-in customers, and they encourage loitering and panhandling.  More liquor just means more problems. Ever since the Simoz Sez disaster, they have simply been denying the liquor license requests.  Only along the highways, including River Street/Hackensack Ave have new licenses been granted.

Both the Cerbo and Zisa administrations refused to allow any increase in package liquor sales in the neighborhoods.  The new administration apparently knows nothing about this tradition, or has other ideas of what kinds of businesses belong in our neighborhoods.  I'd like to know who was in favor of this change, and why.  But I don't expect any response to be posted.

We don't yet have inner city problems in the Fairmount part of the city, but who knows what the future holds. The Deli Mart's new liquor license is PERMANENT. 10, 20, and 50 years from now that store, or its successor, will be selling liquor. It is now OPEN SEASON on all our neighborhoods.  Every little convenience store and bodega is going to want the right to sell liquor. Yes, they'll have to get liquor licenses, but they can cry discrimination because the Deli Mart was given the right. The city is defenseless and can no longer say that the policy has been continuous since 1975.

It cost big bucks for a liquor license, but makes sense economically to invest in one.  Next will be the Central Mini-Mart at Central Ave & First Street, then
"In & Out" on Union & Atlantic Streets (they already want to do it), and how about a few more in the Anderson Business District and on Hudson Street.

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