Hudson County has finished their role in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) parkland diversion application between them and North Bergen, according to Hudson County Counsel Alberico De Pierro.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
The Hudson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously (9-0) at their regular meeting Thursday to approve a resolution authorizing the transfer of the title of land owned by Hudson County at 1811 Paterson Plank Road in North Bergen.
The land transfer is part of the diversion application by North Bergen and Hudson County to replace NJDEP Green Acres restricted parkland that it historically diverted for other uses, including pre-school trailers in James J. Braddock Park and a firehouse at 43rd Street Park.
“The law department, the municipality, Green Acres, and the state DEP have been part of all these conversations,” De Pierro said at last week’s meeting.
“This is actually a document. This transfer of property is required, is being asked by the municipality, and the county is no longer part of the diversion application.”
The township and the county have been involved in the replacement of the diverted parkland since 2014 when the entities submitted a pre-application.
De Pierro confirmed the approval of the title transfer for 1811 Paterson Plank Road is part of completing the diversion application for the firehouse portion of the parkland.
While Hudson County’s role in the application is complete, the NJDEP “has not taken any formal action on the application” for the Braddock Park diversion.
The diverted land totals 1.477 acres, the NJDEP states, consisting of: 1.339 acres diverted for the preschool in Braddock Park at 8701 Boulevard East, valued in 2024 at $2,003,368; and .138 acres diverted for the firehouse or the North Bergen EMS South Building as it is officially called at 1812 43rd Street, valued in 2024 at $3,316,600.
The 2024 assessed value of the land diverted for non-park uses by North Bergen totals $5,319,968.
As part of the diversion application process, the township had to replace the diverted parkland in Braddock Park and 43rd Street Park by a ratio of 5:1.
The replacement properties selected bring the township to a ratio of 5.04:1 through 7.474 acres of new parkland worth an assessed value in 2024 of $19,004,600, according to the NJDEP.
The trailers were first placed in the park in 2001, at the time viewed as a temporary solution at the time as the township and board of education looked for a more permanent home for the pre-schoolers.
The solution was an emergency response at the time to delayed construction timetables for the Early Childhood Annex on Lincoln School at 64th Street, completed to meet state mandates to provide pre-k for the start of the 2001-2002 school year.
The site of the old municipal pool on Tonnelle Avenue and 89th Street was first chosen as a replacement site, but when excavations for utility connections began, more contamination was discovered, causing the site to be closed and vacated.
This prompted the township to look to Braddock Park for a solution, harkening back to the historic Ulysses S. Grant School that stood in the park until 1950, eventually placing the trailers where they stood for over 25 years – although only 2 of 17 currently remain.
While the township sought to make the pre-school in the park permanent since their NJDEP application in 2014, the North Bergen BOE announced in September that plans to construct a permanent pre-school were kaput, saving taxpayers an estimated $17 million, as HCV first reported.
The pre-school became collateral damage amid the renewed political feud between North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco and state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack.
Since the start of this scholastic year, pre-schoolers have been incorporated into the various elementary schools, amid a reshuffling plan which saw the establishment of a new elementary school to make room.
Meanwhile, 43rd Street Park first received Green Acres funding in the mid-1980’s to develop two basketball courts at the overall .627 acre open space, becoming permanently encumbered with the NJDEP restrictions.
However, by 1999, the township was required to construct two firehouses by the Hudson County Improvement Authority (HCIA).
They entered into a lease with the HCIA to construct the firehouse on the site of the park, which stated it was the intention of the township at the time to legally or administratively remove what they characterized as “improperly imposed” Green Acres restrictions.
While the NJDEP doesn’t have any records of the township even attempting to remove the restrictions, the firehouse completed construction regardless in 2005.
After construction, the township designated the building into its own 30 by 200 foot or .138 acre lot that is still owned by the township and leased by the HCIA.
The original plan was to turn the lot over to the HCIA once the Green Acres restrictions were removed, but now, the plan is for North Bergen to retain ownership of the property when the diversion application is complete.
Once the Green Acres restrictions are removed after the diversion is complete, the firehouse will legally remain where it stands next to 43rd Street Park and its two playgrounds and basketball courts.
In November of last year, NJDEP approved the township’s diversion application to allow the firehouse to remain on its portion of 43rd Street Park.
The building is currently home to one of the two North Bergen Emergency Medical Services (EMS) companies and the North Bergen CARES community assistance program.
De Pierro said that, since North Bergen is looking to keep the Paterson Plank Road property now instead of turning it over to the HCIA, the title transfer was necessary.
He emphasized that the county will no longer have any ties to the 43rd Street Park diversion, stating it is solely North Bergen’s application – not the county’s.
According to De Pierro, the county will be fully removed from the equation once the remaining two trailers are removed, something under negotiations between himself, counsel for North Bergen, and hired outside counsel.
Commissioner Bob Baselice (D-8), who represents North Bergen, clarified that the mulch stored on the site and accompanying dump trucks and backhoes are used to divert flooding in the area.
“The last two are the subject of the final ongoing negotiations between the attorneys and obviously the parties. Eventually, I’m sure they’ll come to a resolution,” DiPierro concluded.
