County workers from the Division of Parks will be honored at a future Hudson County Freeholders meeting for having performed a late night rescue at Bradock Park Pond in North Bergen on Feb. 9, saving a man who had tried to rescue a dog on the pond’s island.
“On Saturday, Feb. 9, at approximately 4 p.m., Joe Abalsamo, the park’s supervisor, received a call that a dog was stranded on the island in J.J. Braddock Park,” said Freeholder Bill O’Dea last week. “In addition, a Good Samaritan had jumped in the lake and – unable to catch the dog and suffering from exposure – was in need of rescuing.”
Abalsamo, along with Gary Moskofian, William Taylor and Joe Albertson, bravely faced the frigid weather and menacing thorn bushes to get the job done.
“With the Sheriff’s Office providing the lighting, they rowed our boat to the island and brought the man ashore to the waiting EMTs,” O’Dea said. “After a number of futile attempts to rescue the dog, due to the darkness and the late hour, they postponed the effort until the next day.”
The rescue team mobilized again on Sunday morning at 7 a.m. The uncooperative Boston terrier was finally rescued and the ordeal ended for all at approximately noon.
“They went above and beyond,” O’Dea said in praising the workers. “These people performed well, and despite suffering some nasty scratches from the thorns and battling the frigid temperatures of the air and water, they successfully rescued the Good Samaritan and the dog. They deserve some accolades.”
Buildings have problems
At the freeholder meeting on Jan. 27, the board learned that several county buildings have suffered from structural issues. January into February saw three significant problems.
Pieces of the roofing on the Newark Avenue Administration Building in Jersey City began falling at the end of January. The county instituted repair efforts almost immediately, and kept anyone from being hurt, officials said.
In early January, chunks began to fall from the façade of the administration building.
Harold Demellier, director of the county’s Department of Public Property, said scaffolding was put up near the sections of the building and work is largely completed. To assure safety during the work, several entrances to the building were closed.
Demellier also said a corroded underground cable knocked out power to several buildings at the Meadowview campus, including a senior citizens building and the Juvenile Detention Center.
Although backup generators did exist, these are meant for temporary emergency situations. As a result, the facilities were being run with about 85 percent normal power, as the county ordered a contractor to dig out the old cable and lay down a new cable that will restore full power to the campus.
The housing for the original cable, he said, has to be replaced. This means the county has to dig a trench about 1,400 feet long, pull out the old cable and lay down the new cable and house.
More dangerous to workers, however, is the deterioration roof and walls of a county records warehouse in Kearny. County officials are reviewing the situation and will likely evacuate the building until the situation can be made safer for workers at the site.
Freeholder Jose Munos pressed the county for answers on the warehouse, noting that the site has had problems before, including records that had been exposed to weather and possibly contained mold.