Dear Editor:
In the 10/19/14 North Bergen Reporter, Town Administrator Chris Pianese is reported as saying the North Bergen preschool trailers in Braddock Park are “tucked away, it’s secluded, it’s safe.” And Mayor Sacco said “the current structures will remain with no plans to replace them with permanent buildings.” “They’re beautiful trailers.”
In making such glorified statements, one wonders if Town officials have considered the following:
1- The Federal Center for Disease Control has warned that many trailers contain potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde, a known cancer causing agent that is used in the manufacturing process. I have seen nothing indicating that the preschool trailers have been tested specifically for formaldehyde levels. If this testing has been done, where are the test results?
2- Almost exactly 2 years ago a tree fell on an electric wire and the resulting fire destroyed 2 of the preschool trailers in Braddock Park.
Do proponents believe it is safer to be in a trailer than in a brick building during a rain, wind or snow storm?
3-This past June a body was found in the woods adjacent to the preschool and it was reported that 10 homeless people were living there.
Is this the “safe” and “beautiful” environment Mr. Pianese and Mayor Sacco referred to?
The Green Acres program is all about preserving park land for recreation and conservation.
Allowing development of the park for other purposes, whether by government or private developers is a dangerous precedent , the beginning of the dismantling of a great natural resource that serves residents for miles around.
.
Robert Walden