A re-developer’s plan to construct a 16-story warehouse in Bayonne has sparked political controversy.
The warehouse plan has already gotten the attention of locals, some of whom have apparently already organized against it. Some residents received fliers in the mail, which were re-posted to social media pages, including to one called “Bayonne Bridge Neighbors United.”
The flier characterizes the warehouse as being part of a “secret plan” with “no public hearing.” On the other hand, officials have said that anything that would be constructed on the site would come before the planning board for a public hearing and final approval. But if the site is fully compliant with the zoning, the board may not have any room to do anything other than approve the application anyway.
The flier also criticizes the proposed warehouse’s supposed 757 parking spots as being for “out-of-town trucks” which would cause a “traffic nightmare” in the area with an additional “hundreds of trucks driving” in the neighborhood each day.
The area already faces high traffic, with an Amazon warehouse just down the road, as well as the recently approved Bayview project among other residential redevelopment, but the project would require a traffic study, which aims to ensure the area is not impacted by traffic spurred by the proposed warehouse.
The flier ends by claiming the warehouse is being constructed by a “political supporter” of Mayor James Davis and urges residents to call City Hall.
Political sparring ensues
In response, Davis spokesperson Phil Swibinski issued a statement accusing Ashe-Nadrowski, who is challenging the incumbent mayor in the May municipal election, of allegedly illegally dispersing the fliers. The statement did not, however, address any of the allegations in the flier.
“Sharon Nadrowski only announced her campaign for Mayor a few weeks ago and already she’s apparently violating state election law by illegally distributing a disingenuous, lie-filled flier without the required paid for line disclaimer,” Swibinski said.
“This comes after she caused a major backlash by allowing her out-of-town, dark money Super PAC to disrupt a high school football game with more lies about Mayor Davis. Nadrowski needs to get her campaign under control, and if she continues to break election laws we will not hesitate to demand a full investigation by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission into this misconduct.”
Responding to that, City Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski, a mayoral challenger to Davis, told the Bayonne Community News that she was not behind the flier.
“As a resident of the neighborhood impacted, I received the flier like everyone else,” she said. “The reality is that the Davis administration has put the interest of private developers over the residents of Bayonne. This irresponsible behavior is one of many reasons I am running for mayor. Unlike Mayor Davis, I do not hide behind dark money or out-of-town consultants. If I have something to say, I am more than willing to put my name on it. Mayor Davis only seems willing to have his voice heard when he is pestering us with non-stop robocalls paid for by the taxpayers.”
Ashe-Nadrowski continued, addressing the warehouse: “This is why I demanded a public hearing that would have revealed this secret plan. This is also why I no longer support walk-on items at the city council meeting. The public has a right to be heard.”
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