The Bayonne Bridge Raise the Roadway project is still a source of concern for a number of downtown residents, and some spoke at a special update meeting on May 19 hosted by Mayor James Davis and the two council members who live in the area.
The meeting was held in the Saint Andrew the Apostle school at Broadway and 4th Street.
Davis, Council President Sharon Nadrowski, and First Ward Councilman Thomas Cotter represented the city, as did officials of the legal and police departments.
Six representatives of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, whose $1.3 billion project has been affecting bridge-area residents for two years now, also attended. They included Program Director Joann Papageorgis, Program Manager Dennis Stabile, and Client Manager Bill Young.
Residents voiced complaints similar to those raised at previous bridge construction update meetings, such as noise and other quality-of-life issues, Nadrowski said.
Residents of Juliette and 5th streets, as well as Avenue A, were among those voicing concerns, city officials said.
George Lavelle of Juliette Street and Lucia Frazier of Avenue A were among the residents vocal at the meeting, according to Cotter.
“Lavelle was concerned with a generator making noise,” Cotter said. Port Authority officials said they would hard-wire the generator, making it an electric generator, so it would not have to run on gas, to alleviate that problem.
Another complaint was from 5th Street residents about trucks going to a residential development project using their street as an alternate route when the bridge is closed, for as many as 80 trips a day.
Cotter, who visited the site, said that an alternate truck route was being considered to take care of that problem.
“The meeting went well overall, I thought. People are frustrated. At least they got to air some of their frustrations. Legitimate complaints were discussed.” – Thomas Cotter
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Other issues the Port Authority was working to solve were noise problems at night due to mechanical work and the agency’s picking up of paint chips coming off the bridge during reconstruction.
Residents in the 1st Street area complained of banging related to the hammering of bolts in columns.
“It’s tough, because working with steel, you’re going to be hearing banging noise,” Cotter said. “It’s part of the job.”
But in terms of verbal noise, the Port Authority agreed to make greater use of radios to communicate, rather than yelling back and forth, Cotter said.
Another issue brought up by residents was the possibility of some type of property tax relief.
Cotter said research would have to be done before anything could be decided. Nadrowski said a few house sales would have to take place before it could be determined if, and how much, the work was affecting home values.
Another problem was when both the Bayonne Bridge and New Jersey Turnpike were closed or partly closed on the same weekend due to construction work.
Cotter said that problem should be solved because the Turnpike and Port authorities have agreed not to close on the same weekends.
“They have to notify city hall first,” he said. “It’s not going to be like we had in the first weekend of May, where there was no way out of Bayonne.”
Productive discussion
On the whole, Cotter thought the meeting was productive.
“The Port Authority’s actually been pretty receptive,” Cotter said. “People are frustrated. At least they got to air some of their frustrations. Legitimate complaints were discussed.”
Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said, “We are working with the community since day one and will continue to work with the community. We came to listen, to see what their concerns were, and see what we could do to address them.”
Coleman said that most of the issues brought up at the May 19 meeting involved road closings, noise, and air quality discussions.
He said that several programs have been put into place to try and mitigate problems, such as hotel stay vouchers and noise and air-level monitoring. He also said that Bayonne residents have Young, who serves as their local contact on a day-to-day basis.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com. To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.