A battle that has been ongoing for the better part of a year between a concerned group of North Bergen residents and a prospective developer over the possibility that dynamite may be used to blast into the standing bluestone rock near their homes continued last week. Antonio Gonclaves, a Harrison developer, has received approval from the North Bergen Planning Board to build a two-family house on Durham Avenue between 88th and 89th streets. The approval only came last October after lengthy and heated debates, when Gonclaves assured the board that there would be no need to use dynamite to break through the existing bluestone rock. Last June, Gonclaves’ request was denied by the Planning Board after several concerned citizens appeared to testify and voice their complaints about the project at a hearing. Gonclaves applied for a building permit and variances for a subdivision at 8808-8810 Durham Ave. to construct two two-family homes on the lot, which measures 25-by-118 feet and 25-by-122 feet. He was also seeking variances in the township’s regulations for lot width, parking spaces, parking in front of the building and construction inside the structure. That plan was denied. Four months later, Gonclaves re-applied, with plans to build only one two-family home on the site. For that plan, he received approval. Last week, Gonclaves brought drilling equipment to the site to try to break through the hard rock base, which did not work. And the unsuccessful try with the conventional drills has neighbors concerned that Gonclaves will resort to using dynamite, which could very well shake the foundations of the existing houses. “Just that word scares me,” said Beverly Hansen, whose home is directly behind the lot. “Dynamite. I don’t like it.” A petition drive was established last week, informing residents to be aware of any possible detonation of dynamite. Although township officials have asked Gonclaves to examine all other possibilities before resorting to the dynamite, by law, there is nothing legally to prevent Gonclaves from blasting away. Gonclaves said that he had no intentions to harm the neighborhood. He also said that he no idea that similar applications to develop on the land had been previously denied. “Financially, if I don’t remove the rock, I will not be compensated for what I paid for the lot,” Gonclaves said. “And I will lose money unless I can build more than a one-family house there.” Gonclaves said he has yet to officially determine whether he will have to use dynamite, and does not want to comment further until a final determination is made. Residents concerned The residents of the area are very concerned, especially parents of small children who utilize a public park directly across the street from the site. Rachel Ortega, who was playing with her 3-year-old son, Jonathan, in the park on Tuesday, was shocked to hear that there could be dynamite blasting in the neighborhood. “I’m stunned,” Ortega said. “I didn’t even know. I hope they warn us before they do anything. I don’t want to be here when the loud noises begin. I think that would totally frighten my son.” Residents of the area are concerned that the blasting could cause damage to their homes. “All of our homes sit on the same bluestone,” said Hansen, whose two-family house, garages and swimming pool borders directly on the proposed development site and has formed the petition drive. “Any blasting could cause our homes to shift and crack. We worked very hard to get our home to the way it is now. We don’t want it damaged. My family has been living in that home since 1954 and we’ve watched two other attempts to clear that rock from that lot. Neither of those plans worked. I have too much to loose if this goes through. I have a retaining wall that cost about $50,000 to build. I have an in-ground swimming pool. All of these will be affected by any blasting. And homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by blasting.” If anything, the residents want to be assured that Gonclaves has more than the $500,000 liability insurance coverage, before he starts blasting. They would also like to have township inspectors to come and inspect their homes now, to see if their foundations could be threatened by the impact of the blasts. Marina Cesarini echoed Hansen’s sentiments. “All of the homes on 88th Street were built 85 years ago,” Cesarini said. “My family has been there all that time. I am very afraid of the construction. The last time someone tried to build on the site, they tried to dig through the rock and there was flying debris, rocks and stones being thrown through windows. And there’s a playground directly across the street. It was very dangerous. There are huge worries. The seniors who live in the area need to be concerned.” One of those seniors, Salvatore Aragona, expressed those concerns. “The people who have been living in the area have nice comfortable homes,” Aragona said. “They don’t want to be disturbed. We want everything to remain status quo. If they touch that rock, we all have problems.” “I’m really worried and I’m a nervous wreck,” Hansen said. “They don’t care about the neighborhood. They care about profit. Their intentions are strictly financial. If they were reasonable and wanted to build a one-family house with no blasting, then there would be no problem. But everyone is concerned.”
Down on dynamite: Durham Ave. neighborhood concerned over possible blasting
