After more than a year of delays due to the discovery of contaminated soil, it appears that James J. Braddock Park will be cleaned up and returned to passive park space and plans for a 1,500 seat football/soccer field have been scrapped.
After state funding for the project in the county park was frozen last spring when contaminated soil was found, the state required a remediation plan for the cleanup. The $1.5 million state Green Acres grant for the project remains on hold, although officials now say that the “stadium” will no longer be completed.
Hudson County spokesperson James Kennelly said the current goal is to complete the remediation, and reseed and landscape the field, work that is expected to cost around $2.8 million and be finished by the middle to first quarter of next year.
Kennelly said that the delay is because the Hudson County Division of Parks, the Hudson County Administrator’s Office, and Board of the Chosen Freeholders are attempting to find the most economical way to approach the work. They are waiting until around Oct. 15 before releasing a request for professional services from contractors for the job. They hope that this extra time will allow them to work with the state Department of Environmental Protection in securing a loan that could one day be transferred into a grant.
‘As a result of all of the local concern, the construction of the field with the stadium has been cancelled.’ – James Kennelly
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A DEP spokesperson said that the county had submitted a request for $2.93 million from its Hazardous Discharge Remediation Site Fund, which is currently under review.
The county first awarded a $3.5 million contract to Tomco Construction in April 2009 for the project. Woodcliff Avenue residents were upset they weren’t given notice that open park space park was being taken away, and that other areas in dire need of refurbishing weren’t being fixed.
Since the project was halted, the land has sat stagnant with rubble, dirt mounds, and construction materials.
“As a result of all of the local concern, the construction of the field with the stadium has been cancelled,” Kennelly said.
Residents, NB officials ‘frustrated’
“What ended up happening obviously is the remediation was a lot more than they thought [it would be],” said Town Administrator Christopher Pianese.
In the plan, the county will remove the contaminated soil, as well as some of the historic fill present in certain areas of the site, which consists mainly of metals. Those areas will have to be capped off. The county originally planned on completing the work during the summer.
Kennelly said that the work, once started, would take around 14 to 16 weeks.
“I think [Mayor Nicholas] Sacco, our administration, we’ve been trying to work with the county,” said Pianese. “We’re frustrated in that it appears that no work is being done.”
Sacco said that while they have been asking the county questions, that they have not received a clear answer as to when the work would be completed, and that they originally thought it would be finished “a long time ago.”
“This [county] park happens to be in North Bergen and it’s a very bad eyesore,” said Sacco.
Park’s future
Pianese said he knew the county was going out to bid on a contractor for the remediation work during the summer and believed that cost would dictate how much the county would be willing to spend on the other areas of the park that are in need of beautification.
The town believes that other locations could benefit from improvements.
One area that many locals consider a problem is a non-regulation soccer field that borders Bergenline Avenue nearby. Due to constant soccer games, the area has no grass and is often referred to as the “dust bowl.”
Kennelly said that the county believes it will still be able to use the $1.5 million grant, since it applies to work that will still be completed, such as improving drainage, installing a new bathroom, and improving landscaping.
However, he said that the Board of Freeholders want the county to look into improving other areas of the park and installing a synthetic turf space, due to the overwhelming need for soccer fields in the county.
“Our hope is that we are going to have a cleaner, restored space there and we are basically back to square one,” said Kennelly.
He said that county officials would allow all sides, including residents, to be a part of the discussion for future park improvements.
Do you think this area of the park should be returned back to ‘open space’? Have your say by going to this story on our website, www.hudsonreporter.com, and participating in our reader’s poll.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.
(Poll closes Thursday, Sept. 16)