Dear Editor:
The feeble excuse used by local government that a difficulty exists in regard to building a new high school in North Bergen due to shortage of building sites may be solved. The excuse, that some of that property is already occupied is not altogether valid because I’ve seen government confiscate private homes in the past if the move enables them to justify dictatorial action to gain political fame or advantage. You know “pork”!
The property which the owners are very anxious to sell is located on the Blvd. area of 57th and 58th St., North Bergen. It also has adjoining vacant land with room to accommodate the school, athletic field and all necessities. Of course, there is no room for the architect with allusions of grandeur such as the present 76th St. North Bergen High now occupies. The waste of land there, if used properly in the beginning would have eliminated the need to build another one today. I suspect the plans offered for the new one are similar to the country club, spread approach, of the old one and that is ridiculous.
The public school I attended, built upward, housed twice the students at 76th St., because it was five stories high and the street level provided room for many courts for varied athletic exercises. With today’s technology handicapped persons could be accommodated. We climbed up and down five stories, and most of us remained slim and healthy as a result.
My children had a problem getting to North Bergen High due to poor location but those living further south down around 8th St. and way down the hills, westward were even more disadvantaged.
57th St. and the Blvd. is pretty centralized and ideal as possible compared to where we’ve been, and the thought of West Side around 90th St., among the mosquito infested swamps, causes me to think that insanity exists in the present thinking.
Inclusion of a junior high school would be a further prospect.
Refusal to deeply consider this site would trigger off my conviction, expressed in previous letters, that my old nemesis “parochialism” is still at the root of all evil which Hudson County can be dubiously proud of.
Angelo Nanfro