President Joe Biden’s newly-unveiled Fiscal Year 2023 budget includes hundreds of millions of dollars for vital infrastructure projects in Hudson County, according to an announcement by the Federal Transit Administration.
“Public transit creates jobs, reduces traffic and pollution, and lowers the cost of living for people in the community,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this funding made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can help support transit projects all over the country that will improve the lives of millions of Americans.”
This includes $100 million for the Gateway Tunnel Project that will help start construction of a new tunnel for the Northeast Corridor connecting New Jersey and Manhattan. The project includes the Hudson Yards right-of-way preservation project, a new Hudson Tunnel, and the rehabilitation and modernization of the existing North River tunnel.
“FTA looks forward to working with communities across the country to provide exciting new transit options,” said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. “These investments support President Biden’s commitment to combat climate change while also improving safety, advancing equity, and improving quality of life for millions of Americans.”
The budget also includes a proposed total of $339,519,539 to continue Portal North Bridge construction work in Secaucus next year. Biden made a visit to Kearny to kick off construction of the new bridge in October of 2021.
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., a Democrat who represents the 9th Congressional District which includes Secaucus and Kearny, celebrated the announcement of the additional federal funds for components of the Gateway Project.
“No state or region in our great country relies on its bridges and tunnels more than New Jersey and the Tristate,” said Pascrell. “New Jersey and our region’s growth for the next generation depends on strengthening those avenues for travel and if we fail, the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast can atrophy. All of us know completion of a new tunnel and bridge is absolutely essential to guaranteeing our future. Today’s Biden budget shows a farsightedness to our region’s destiny.”
Pacrell continued: “This massive $100,000,000 down payment is another building block as we move closer to commencing work on the Gateway Tunnel. The over $339 million for the Portal North Bridge will continue to build on the work we’ve done to replace the existing 110 year old span over the Hackensack River. The spiteful decisions of Donald Trump and Chris Christie set us grievously back, but under President Biden and Governor Murphy we are moving forward again because leadership matters.”
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
A rendering of what the parking garage will look like when completed.
West New York plans to bond additional millions of dollars for the construction of a parking garage in town.
The West New York Board of Commissioners have voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance that would bond $3,450,000 for the construction of a parking garage at the site of the 57th Street Parking Lot. This is one of three surface parking lots currently being converted to parking garages by the town to increase parking, including the lots at 51st Street and 54th Street.
The money that would be bonded in the ordinance introduced at the board’s March 23 meeting is in addition to millions the town has already set aside for the project. The town previously appropriated $8,550,000 in parking utility bonds in support of the project, in an ordinance adopted by the commissioners in February of 2021.
The move to bond more funds aims to finance the additional cost of the project. The maximum amount of bonds to be issued for the project is now $11,590,000, according to the ordinance.
More parking spaces at 57th Street
In early March, the West New York Planning Board conducted a courtesy review of the project, endorsing the move to add more parking in town. The existing surface parking lot is around 94 parking spaces. The new planned garage will hold approximately 197 parking spaces.
To the north of the parking lot is 58th Street, to the west is Bergenline Avenue, to the south is 57th Street, and to the east are buildings. The entrance would be on 57th Street. Underneath the first floor drive ramp is storage space for the town. The three-story parking garage has multiple stairways and an elevator.
The history of the town was taken into consideration when designing the facade of the parking garage. The brick design is meant to highlight West New York’s history as a former textile industry hub. The brick patterns aim to emulate that and the surrounding neighborhood.
Pedestrian walkways approximately 13 feet in width will run around the perimeter of the building. Construction is estimated to complete by mid-November of 2023.
Officials eager to address parking problem
After the ordinance was introduced, Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez touted the project which aims to alleviate the parking problem in West New York.
“We are very excited to once again be voting on something that is going to improve the parking situation in the town of West New York,” Rodriguez said. “I thank everybody involved, the town administrator, project manager, all the commissioners, engineers, and architects. This is something that our community needs and we are happy to vote yes moving forward.”
Also at the meeting, the board voted to send the project back out to bid, in search of a construction contractor to build the parking garage. Project officials sought bids to be presented to the board by April 20, and it appears that things are on track to meet that timeline.
A public hearing and vote on the ordinance, as well as potentially further discussion of the parking projects, will be held at the next board meeting. The West New York Board of Commissioners will meet next on April 6 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. For more information, go to westnewyorknj.org.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
32BJ SEIU workers from the Xchange said that they've only received a small wage increase despite their work throughout the pandemic. Photo by Mark Koosau.
32BJ SEIU union workers from the Xchange apartment complex in Secaucus have rallied to demand for more wages and benefits, saying that they’ve only received minimal wage increases despite their work throughout the pandemic.
The workers, which comprises porters and concierges employed under Planned Companies that have been unionized since late 2019, said that they’ve gone for almost two years without a contract, including having only gotten at $13.25 per hour wage without any health care.
32BJ Vice President Kevin Brown said that Planned has stalled on making any offers. “They’re just messing around at the table wasting time wasting lawyers, which they don’t care about, and the owners of this property, Atlantic Realty, they’re not doing anything to encourage Planned to work this out,” he said. “This needs to be resolved as soon as possible.”
The union’s demands include a three year agreement to get over the minimum wage, provided healthcare, paid time off and “basic decency” from their employers and the owners of the complex.
One worker named Martha Roca, who has been employed at the Xchange for three years, said that she has cleaned and worked throughout the pandemic, but despite that, Planned hasn’t paid enough to support her family.
“We need jobs to help us to put food on our table,” she said via an interpreter during a speech. “No job [should] force us to choose between paying for necessities and having health insurance.”
Brown also took more aim at Planned and Atlantic over how much they earn compared to the workers during the rally. “I’m sorry sisters and brothers, I don’t know any other word, but b******t!” he exclaimed.
Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea also attended the rally to support the union, saying that it is a “disgrace” on how the workers are being treated. “It affects their safety, our families and our livelihoods,” he said during a speech. “These essential workers are crucial to keep the New Jersey economy thriving, and must be treated as such.”
O’Dea said that back at the Board of Commissioners, they’ll be doing resolutions and letters to support the union’s efforts to organize and that Planned can negotiate in good faith.
Planned did not respond for comment on the union’s rally.
The union plans to meet at the bargaining table again on March 29.
Unrelated image courtesy of West New York Police Department.
West New York Gabriel Rodriguez addressed recent back-to-back crimes reported on the week of March 14 in response to resident questions. The conversation was prompted at the March 23 meeting of the West New York Board of Commissioners.
“Details have just been very, very limited,” resident Mark Bloomberg said. “Is there anything you can share with the public on the most recent crime?”
Bloomberg is referring to a string of reported crimes starting on Monday, March 14, according to computer aided dispatch (CAD) reports that was highlighted by a story in the Hudson County View.
Three incidents the week of March 14
At approximately 11:35 a.m. West New York Police Department responded to the Wireless Express at 5010 Bergenline Avenue on a report of an armed robbery. According to the dispatch reports, the owner of the establishment told police the robbery occurred about 20 minutes ago and refused medical attention. No other information was available as the investigation remains an ongoing.
On the same day, at approximately 4:07 p.m., the West New York police responded to reports of shots fired incident at the intersection of 62nd Street and Park Avenue. According to the report, the victim was shot in the leg and received treatment on scene before being transported to Jersey City Medical Center. A nine millimeter bullet shell casing and a knife was recovered from the scene
The following day on Tuesday, March 15, at approximately 7:57 a.m., authorities responded to 139 66th Street and found a man dead on arrival outside the home. No additional details were available.
Rodriguez can’t say much
In response to Bloomberg, Rodriguez noted the matters were on going, so details that can be released to the public are limited.
“Obviously these are points of concern for all of our community, beginning with myself,” Rodriguez said. “As you may understand, these types of conversations are limited, due to the fact that there are ongoing investigations. We cannot comment in detail.”
However, Rodriguez assured these were not random, yet personal incidents.
“I can tell you that they are not random acts of violence,” Rodriguez said. “These were incidents between individuals who knew each other. That doesn’t make it any better, but they were personal in terms of involvement. That alleviates a little but of the stress that comes with situations like this. But unfortunately, we cant really comment further than that, but thank you for your concern.”
Bloomberg asked about the dead bound found, which Rodriguez said he cannot provide any additional information. Bloomberg thanked Rodriguez for the details he did provide, and asked him to provide feature details as they become available.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
The Secaucus Town Council meets usually twice per month in person at Town Hall.
Secaucus is planning to update various previsions of its zoning code regarding things like pre-existing conditions and driveways.
Mayor Michael Gonnelli and the Town Council voted to introduce an ordinance that would do so at its March 8 meeting. Town Administrator Gary Jeffas explained the changes at the request of Gonnelli. The ordinance is intended to prevent unnecessary things from coming before the Zoning Board.
“A lot of time before the Zoning Board, a lot of recurring structures would come for no reason,” Jeffas said. “The reason we say no reason is because they’ll be coming because they have a pre-existing condition that is an exception to the zoning ordinances.”
Most of the pre-existing conditions did not need to be rectified by the Zoning Board, Jeffas explained. The new ordinance seeks to clarify that for homeowners or those performing property renovations.
“So what this is doing is, the Zoning Officer looked at it, cleaning some of that up,” Jeffas said. “For example, if you’re going to put a dormer on your house and not increase the space, you don’t have to go before the Zoning Board because you’re not increasing the square footage of the flooring… If you have a deck and your going to replace it, you don’t have to go before the Zoning Board. Sometimes steps, the front stairs, exceed the setback but they are pre-existing.”
“So we’re eliminating conditions were people often wind up before the Zoning Board where pre-existing conditions force them to do so,” Jeffas said. “So it’s just making it streamlined, so they don’t have to appear before the board for minor changes to its property.”
Provisions for driveways
Gonnelli asked if this ordinance included new means for filling in driveways, to which Jeffas explained there is a new provision regarding that to help prevent flooding.
“Also in this ordinance is, if you have a sloped driveway, that often causes flooding, which we’ve had many times on heavy rains,” Jeffas said. “You can come before the construction department so you can fill them in so they’re level to reduce flooding. And you don’t have to go before the Zoning Board for a request for that because it’s alleviating a flooding condition, making it easier for the homeowners to handle that.”
The council also introduced an ordinance that would amend the section on “Streets and Roadways” in the zoning code to updating replacement materials for sidewalks, driveway openings, curbing, and curb cuts. The idea is to require concrete after the driveway meets the sidewalk and continues until it meets the street to make road maintenance easier.
“If anybody is doing work on their home between the street and the start of their driveway, so the sidewalk and the driveway, that would have to be replaced with concrete. So if people are doing pavers, they don’t do it up to edge of the driveway, because often times that becomes problematic when we’re doing road work and road projects. It’s harder on maintenance.”
The ordinances will be up for a public hearing at the next meeting of the Secaucus Town Council. That meeting will be on March 22 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers on the first floor of Town Hall at 1207 Paterson Plank Road. For more information, go to secaucusnj.gov.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
Residents have had issues with aspects of the parking space line repainting in West New York, as seen here via Google Maps.
As West New York addresses what officials in town consider to be a top issue, parking, residents have voiced concerns about some aspects of their efforts.
Jackie Granchamps, a West New York resident, said at the March 9 Board of Commissioners meeting her concern is the way parking space line repainting has been done on some streets in town. She is not the first resident to bring up issues with the town’s line repainting.
“The issue of parking has been something that has been on my mind recently,” Granchamps said. “I’ve lived in West New York for four years and I’ve never been able to get a paid parking spot in any of our garages. It’s really at a premium. I’m finding now with a lot of influx of other areas, parking is at a premium. There’s also a lot of unsafe behaviors because of the lack of parking. What I’m finding now is that even Boulevard East, which used to be a parking spot of last resort is full even by 6 p.m.”
According to Granchamps, the line repainting has exacerbated the existing issue: “The parking spots have been drawn so large, it’s actually cut down on the number of parking spots quite a bit.” She suggested redrawing the spaces smaller on one side of the street as a compromise to keep some of the new larger spaces.
“The larger cars that are being accommodated by these larger spaces can be still used, but the majority of cars in our neighborhood are compact cars and they would fit,” Granchamps said. “For instance, three large spaces can accommodate four or five compact cars.”
The other problem she pointed out was motorcycles were taking up one large space.
“What we can do is put in dedicated motorcycle parking. We could have in one large space, five motorcycles parked as long as everyone parks with their nose against the curb.
Rodriguez highlights parking plan
Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez thanked Granchamps, who has lived in West New York for four years.
“As I’m sure you’ve known, parking is probably our number one issue,” Rodriguez said. “We are in the most densely populated area in the nation, which translates to obviously a lack of parking. We’ve identified that we understand residents need for parking. There hasn’t been done much for parking in many years. We are not going to make that mistake.”
Rodriguez noted that the town is undergoing a plan to construct three parking garages on three existing municipal surface lots at 51st, 54th, and 57th Streets, with all in various states of the process. Additionally, the town is adding angled parking among other measures designed to add spaces.
“We’ve already got plans to create three garages to already established floor lots to remedy that,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve already started creating diagonal parking in some of our areas. We’re serving different avenues to see where that can be implemented because that adds parking.”
Rodriguez, addressing Granchamps’ specific issue with parking lines, said that was done in order to provide more order to parking and prevent vehicle damage.
“I completely understand your frustration in terms of size, but the problem that we were having before was that cars were getting damaged because people were trying to fit cars where they didn’t fit prior,” Rodriguez said. “But every solution that we try to provide, our solution can also encounter other issues as a result. That is an ongoing problem for the town of West New York, but we are addressing it as best we can.”
Rodriguez asked to continue the conversation offline with Granchamps to listen to any new ideas to potentially solve problem.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
Township Administrator Janet Castro described the application review process by North Bergen's cannabis committee.
The North Bergen Board of Commissioners has expressed support for two retail adult-use cannabis establishments, unanimously approving resolutions endorsing applications for the Class 5 cannabis retail facilities.
Township Administrator Janet Castro explained the purpose of the resolutions at the March 9 meeting.
Castro said there were a total of nine applicants for retail establishments, but the township settled on these two applications. This was after a review by the township’s cannabis committee consisting of Castro, the Chief of Police Peter Fasilis, and the Director of Community Improvement Pete Hammer.
The two businesses the township is supporting are Daily Muse at 6901 Tonnelle Avenue, and Green House Apothecary at 1600 Tonnelle Avenue. Castro said this is in line with the township’s ordinances regarding cannabis establishments, limiting it to two, one north of 43rd Street and the other south of it.
Mayor Nicholas Sacco touted the move by the township, as nearby municipalities in Union City and Weehawken have prohibited cannabis establishments.
“A lot of towns haven’t moved in this direction,” Sacco said. “However, we’re fortunate to be able to spread ours apart because we have the Tonnelle Avenue- West Side Avenue corridor. By doing this, I think it will help the town financially. Since legalization, it’s the right thing to do.”
Thorough review of applicants
According to Sacco, it was a “very arduous and stringent process.” Castro confirmed this, explaining applications were intensely reviewed by the cannabis committee.
“Anybody who had any interest partnering with the township and applying the license, we gave everybody an opportunity,” Castro said. “They came forward, provided presentations, business plans, projections, and of course location played a significant part of that process. We all evaluated them, we had a scoring criteria. We all came together and are recommending the two applicants, one uptown and one downtown.”
The CEO of Green House Apothecary at 1600 Tonnelle Avenue and 16th Street, Pharaoh Lozano, was present at the meeting and called the township’s support “a great honor but also a big responsibility.” Lozano said the business would be run by lifelong North Bergen residents with the goal of de-stigmatizing cannabis.
After the meeting, Lozano told the Hudson Reporter that Green House Apothecary would submit their application for the state licensing process on March 15. After that approval, the business would come back to the township to finalize everything before heading back to the state for final approval.
Lozano said he hopes to be up and operational by early 2023.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
The West New York Board of Commissioners met via Zoom on March 9.
Calls are again ringing out for the governing body of West New York to consider passing a resolution that would condemn a proposed gas-fired power plant in Newark in favor of a renewable energy alternative. And in Weehawken, those calls have been successful, as the Township Council passed a similar resolution.
The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) is proposing to construct a gas-fired power plant in the Ironbound neighborhood of Newark. The planned Standby Power Generation Facility was proposed as part of a resiliency project in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy to provide back-up power to the facility.
Residents and activists have been rallying municipal governments to oppose the plant, as they did with the proposed NJ TransitGrid fracked-gas power plant in Kearny. Many were concerned that the plant would likely be used more than just in a back-up scenario, adding to pollution in the surrounding area.
Last June, the PVSC announced that it plans to reevaluate its current proposal for the power plant at its sewage treatment facility in Newark after community members and environmental activists from across the region opposed the plan in favor of renewable energy.
Regardless of the announcement, activists are keeping the pressure on PVSC. In Hudson County, Hoboken and Jersey City have passed a similar resolution against the proposed power plant, even after the announcement in June. North Bergen is still weighing the measure.
And West New York could be next. Resident Brielle Jeffries proposed the resolution to the West New York Board of Commissioners at its September meeting. At the time, Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez said he was in touch with West New York’s Environmental Coordinator Rosemarie Suarez regarding the issue and asked for a conversation offline from the virtual meeting.
Resident seeks resolution
That was in September of 2021. No resolution has been passed in the months since the first discussion. Jeffries again addressed the board at its March 9 meeting, asking them to pass a resolution to oppose the plant in favor of a renewable energy solution.
“I’ve been on here before but I wanted to bring up again the issue of the proposed power plant that is going to be built in Newark by the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission,” Jeffries said. “This has been proposed for a while now and the votes have been postponed due to some of the arguments against it. Of course, Newark is already a very polluted area, and we want keep this area safe as possible to the residents around there. So again, I’m asking that West New York pass a resolution against that proposed power plant. Instead, the Passaic Valley Sewage Commission can very easily propose a clean energy power plant.”
Jeffries encouraged West New York to join the municipalities already against it.
“So far, Jersey City, Hoboken, Kearny, Maplewood, Livingston, and Alpine have passed resolutions opposing the project,” Jeffries said. “I think it would be great if West New York did as well. We already have a templated resolution that West New York can just place its name on and show support for this. I’ve sent a few emails and I did try to get in touch with Rose as well, but it would be great if we can get this on the agenda for next town meeting.”
Rodriguez said the town will look at the resolution.
“Thank you Brielle, we will be sure to take a look at that,” Rodriguez said. “Thank you for sharing.”
A rendering of the proposed power plant in Newark.
Weehawken too?
In Weehawken, the township council passed a resolution opposing the proposed power plant.
William McClelland, of the Don’t Gas the Meadowlands Coalition and the Food and Water Watch first addressed the Weehawken Township Council about the issue at its Feb. 23 meeting.
“They are determined to use a gas-fired power plant. Our organization is opposing this construction because it will contribute to the already enormous amount of pollution in this area of New Jersey,” McClelland said. “The Ironbound section of Newark has been bombarded with pollution over the years.”
In response, Turner was on board, noting the township had opposed similar situations in the past: “We did the same thing with the New Jersey Transit facility they were going to build in Kearny.”
Turner instructed McClelland to forward the resolution to the Township Clerk’s Office to revisit the issue on March 9, the next council meeting. At that meeting, the council unanimously voted to approve a resolution expressing their opposition to the PVSC’s proposed fossil fuel power plant in the Ironbound section of Newark.
At the March meeting, Turner added: “During Sandy, the Passaic Valley system shut down. It almost overflowed. And the same thing with our plant, the North Hudson sewer plant. And when it goes down, they both go down for many months. So everybody is trying to figure out how to make sure that doesn’t happen. Passaic Valley’s proposing a $150 million dollar fossil fuel back-up power plant. The fear is that it will be used more regularly in an area that’s already polluted. So they’re suggesting renewable energy-based hybrid micro-grids.”
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
A rendering of what the parking garage will look like when completed.
The West New York Planning Board has reviewed the town’s plans to construct a parking garage at the site of the surface parking lot on 57th Street.The garage is one of a few the town plans to construct on its current municipal lots to alleviate parking problems including at 51st Street and 54th Street.
Michael Nelson, project architect, presented the preliminary plans for the parking garage to the board. The presentation was a courtesy review and discussion, and no action was taken other than the draft of a letter confirming to the West New York Board of Commissioners that the Planning Board had looked over the project.
The existing parking lot is around 94 parking spaces. The new planned garage will hold approximately 197 parking spaces.
“The planned structure parking is for 197 parking spaces with potentially spaces beyond that pending the bid environment and if we’re able to award a bid offer alternate to the project,” Nelson said.
To the north of the parking lot is 58th Street, to the west is Bergenline Avenue, to the south is 57th Street, and to the east are buildings. The entrance would be on 57th Street. Underneath the first floor drive ramp is storage space for the town, according to Nelson. The three-story parking garage has multiple stairways and an elevator.
Three or four stories depending on bids
While the rendering and current plans call for three-stories, West New York is also exploring the possibility of a four-story parking garage. The town has asked the project architects to look into a bid alternate for an additional floor.
“There is that option, if the numbers are competitive enough, to have another floor,” Nelson said. “That’s been worked into the bid documents.”
The architect incorporated embroidery designs into the brick facade as an homage to WNY’s history.
However, the number of stories selected for the parking garage will all depend on the nature of the bids received for the project. According to Nelson, the structure can be built to have additional stories in the future but the road layout would prevent that.
“The difficulty with adding floors to parking garages is the really tight logistics,” Nelson said. “This site in particular is highly constrained because of the tight fabric of the street… We could design the structure to support future lodes, but the reality is, it’s not feasible to get a crane of the order of magnitude that’s needed to lift the additional pieces 120 feet on to the building.”
Incorporating textile industry history
According to Nelson, the town’s history was taken into consideration when designing the facade of the parking garage.
“When we began work on the project, one of our first endeavors was to review the site in the context of the neighborhood, as well as the relevance of the building within the town. We drew from some of the town’s rich textile industry and history. That began to dovetail with some of the residential vernacular in the neighborhood, brick structures and brick patterning.”
Another view of the parking garage from 57th Street.
The brick design is meant to highlight West New York’s history as a former textile industry hub. The brick patterns aim to emulate that and the surrounding neighborhood.
“The precast concrete structure with brick veneer, brick patterning, and tones and colors were derived from early studies from spending time in the neighborhood and researching some of the town’s history,” Nelson said.
Pedestrian walkways approximately 13 feet in width will run around the perimeter of the building.
Board favors parking garage plans
Chairwoman Clara Brito-Herrera praised the project, but was in favor of the option for the larger parking garage.
“Beautiful project,” Herrera said. “It will definitely enhance the neighborhood and is much-needed… One of the things I like the most about the design is the safety feature with the glass as you’re walking in the building and the passageways from one street to the next. It’s easy access and it’s a beautiful project.”
Vice Chairman Jorge Gomez echoed Herrera that the rendering of the parking garage was “beautiful” and that he was also in favor of the larger option.
“If there is a way to add more parking to it, like another level, that would be even better,” Gomez said. “But it looks great and it’s exciting for the town.”
The parking garage could be three or four stories tall depending on how contractors place bids to construct the project.
Commissioner Margarita Guzman expressed her excitement for the project.
“I really like the embroidery design,” Guzman said. “I know that this is going to be very well received by the community because one of the problems that we are facing is parking. And this is one of our promises and we are delivering.”
Commissioner Andrea Bounsiar said: “It’s aesthetically pleasing, very necessary, and I like the glass features for security.”
Commissioner Jonathon Castaneda called it a “great project” and Commissioner Ignacio Amaro added it was “very beautiful.”
Project timeline
According to Nelson, in terms of a timeline, the goal is to present bids for the project to the Board of Commissioners on April 20. He added that the structure and aesthetic of the building is what drives the schedule.
“After the project is to be bid, the contractor would mobilize shortly after,” Nelson said. “Hopefully in June the timeline would start with early submittals with the contractor who’s ultimately awarded the project to that’s needed for fabrication of the precast concrete components in the works.”
Nelson said the town is “backing out the schedule so that the site doesn’t remain dormant for any period of time.”
He added that he anticipates completion by mid-November of 2023. This garage, along with the others, aims to add hundreds of parking spaces in West New York.
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
Acorn Park's playground will soon be accompanied by more passive park amenities. Photo courtesy of the town.
Secaucus is hoping to turn a currently empty lot into new parkland, according to Town Administrator Gary Jeffas.
The town is currently developing land next to Acorn Park at the terminus of Farm Road, adding to the parkland in the area.
“We have a park on Farm Road that will abut it,” Jeffas told the Hudson Reporter. “So what it will basically do is double the size of the current park.”
The existing park contains a playground situated near the Hackensack River and the town’s river walk. The park is also along the Secaucus Greenway, a 1.6 mile walkway which starts on Millridge Road across from the baseball fields, heads into Mill Creek Point Park, continues south along the Hackensack River, passes Secaucus High School, Acorn and Trolley Parks and ends at the Extended Stay Hotel on Meadowlands Parkway.
Years in the making
Jeffas said the project had been in the works for a number of years.
The site used to be a commercial property, a tanning company that used to produce leather, before the town bought it for $100,000. The town also received a $300,000 grant from the county toward converting the lot into a park.
It was thought that the soil may be contaminated by tanning by-products from the previous owner. As a result, the land needed to be remediated.
“We had to clean up the site, do some contamination work from the prior owner,” Jeffas said. “It took longer than it expected just to get the site all ready”
Now that the remediation is complete, the town is planning to award a contract to construct the park. And the town was set to send out bids for the new park on March 2. However, town engineers came across an issue requiring additional work be performed and the bid was postponed.
Regardless, the plans are very much still in motion and the project was sent back out to bid. It’s not clear what the total cost of the park will be until bids come in and a contract is awarded.
“It’s going to cost more than that for us to build a park,” Jeffas said of the approximately $300,000. “So the town is going to fund the rest out of our budget.”
Bids are now due in for the project by March 16, when Jeffas said he would have a better idea of the total cost.
Architectural drawings of the planned park.
New park plans
The plans for the new park calls for a small surface parking lot with approximately 20 spaces that would serve it and the existing park.
“We’re going to put in a parking lot because there’s not one down there for the park,” Jeffas said.
A path will lead from the parking lot to a gazebo. Around it will be some benches.
Off of that gazebo is a path leading to two dog runs: will be small dog and large dog run. There will be a dual water fountain for both humans and dogs. Another path diverges from the gazebo that will lead to a gravel path along the Hackensack River.
“We have a design right now with two dog runs, one for larger dogs and one for smaller dogs,” Jeffas said. “We’re going to have a gazebo proceeding with a path that leads right to our riverwalk.”
One portion of the park is yet to be finalized that is currently slated as a rain garden.
“We’re going to have some seating and some picnicarea,” Jeffas said. “It’s going to be a passive park with the dog runs and all new plantings and trees on the perimeter.”
For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].
Ordinance 26-008, which regulates bird-safe materials for buildings, has been reintroduced to the Jersey City Council agenda. The measure is identical to the version...
In Hoboken, after a press conference concerning an unrelated federal funding allocation, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) discussed the restoration of approximately $205 million...
Hudson County residents caring for youth with mental health symptoms can participate in a six-session NAMI Basics course offered this February through NAMI Hudson...
Beginning Feb. 15, Amtrak will start a month-long “cutover” project to transfer train traffic from the existing Portal Bridge to the new Portal North...
On Wednesday, February 11, 2026, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced that Matthew Ozol, 40, of Jersey City, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge...
