Hudson Reporter Archive

Running on empty

Weehawken residents are asking about the future of an old Exxon gas station at Boulevard East and 48th Street, which has been closed for several years.
Some residents said recently that they believe the unused property, on a prime real estate location with views of the Manhattan skyline, is an eyesore on a beautiful stretch of Weehawken’s portion of the boulevard.
But information about the property’s future was hard to find over the last few weeks.

Environmental concerns

A sign at the property – which has a place on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) contaminated site list – says “Environmental Investigation/Clean Up In Progress At This Site” and includes phone numbers for the DEP and Exxon.
Calls to Exxon resulted in no answers on the status of the property, only several attempts by representatives to push the responsibility of fielding the calls onto other staffers there.

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Further information can be obtained by visiting the NJDEP website at www.state.nj.us/dep.
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The NJDEP eventually responded to calls. Last week Lawrence Hanja, a press officer at the NJDEP, said that groundwater had been contaminated by a previous owner. Although the NJDEP issued a “No Further Action” determination around 1996, meaning some aspects of an environmental cleanup were completed to the satisfaction of the NJDEP, monitoring has been ongoing ever since.
According to Hanja, there are no safety issues for surrounding residents.
“The contaminants in the groundwater are being monitored by a system of wells,” said Hanja. “The contaminants remain confined within the property boundaries.”
However, Hanja also said that he found information indicating that additional soil contamination was discovered in 2007 – and that is what is now being investigated. He didn’t provide any further details.

Confusion over signage

Hanja said the signage at the site and others like it throughout the state, although meant to be informative, can be confusing and unnecessarily disconcerting for nearby residents.
“A lot of people don’t understand what it means,” said Hanja. “They think it is something ominous. But it is just alerting the public that there was this environmental cleanup and [provides] some contacts to find out more information.”
In 2008, the NJDEP implemented a law requiring enhanced public outreach by those responsible for cleanups of contaminated sites, ordering them to post signs or distribute notification letters within two weeks of the start of investigation or remediation.
Hanja could not explain why the newspaper was unable to obtain the correct information or contact person when calling the numbers left by Exxon on signs at the site.

Plans for the future

As far as the Town of Weehawken is aware, Exxon still owns the property and may be attempting to lease it to another franchisee, said Mayor Richard Turner last week.
Weehawken residents have their own ideas of what should happen there. “With its million dollar view, it would be a great spot for much needed retail/dining,” said one Reporter reader who contacted the newspaper to ask about the site. “At a minimum, it should be an overflow parking lot for Weehawken residents.”
Turner declined to comment on what type of development he might like to see there. For now, he said, the property is clean and the owners take care of it.
He added that the vacancy at the property is a sign of the poor economy.
Despite the previous cleanup and ongoing monitoring, Hanja said that the classification of the site doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be redeveloped in the future.
Lana Rose Diaz can be reached at ldiaz@hudsonreporter.com.

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