The Hudson County Board of Commissioners have set a special meeting to vote on a $33.7 million contract for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) renovations to the historic William J. Brennan Courthouse.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
At Thursday’s meeting, the board discussed postponing a resolution for the heating and cooling plant replacement for the Brennan courthouse, located at 583 Newark Ave.
The engineering contract would be with Wall-based Hall Construction Company, Inc- based for four years for $33,693,000. Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) suggested making a motion to carry that resolution to a special meeting of Tuesday, August 25th.
Amid talks with Board Chair Anthony Romano (D-5) about other dates, O’Dea said it was time-sensitive and needed to be done before September 1st.
The board ultimately agreed to do it a week earlier, Thursday August 20th at 3 p.m., after some adjustment of the time, subsequently voting unanimously (9-0) on the matter.
O’Dea said that members of the board can participate via Zoom, as many were at this meeting, on August 20 as long as there were five members present in the chambers.
Independent candidate for Hudson County commissioner in District 4, Dr. Aaron Weiner, spoke against the contract for the HVAC-related renovations during public comment.
He cited delays the construction would cause, since staff from the Hudson County Administration Building at 595 Newark Ave. would have to move to the Frank Guarini Justice Complex at 2 Central Ave.
In his eyes, the delay would be two-fold in that it would further push back the demolition of the Administration Building to construct the planned Courthouse Park, which he said residents in the area are already incensed about.
“This is not merely a contract to repair the system. This contract is going to cause the displacement of people from Brennan to 595, and 595 sits on the site of Courthouse Park. This building should have already begun the asbestos remediation process and demolition long ago,” Weiner expressed.
“As well all know, projects like this often also go overtime and over budget. This means that this is going to have downstream effects that will likely delay Courthouse Park for years.”
According to Weiner, the Administration Building and Brennan Courthouse sit in the heart of the desperately-in-need-of-green-space Journal Square.
“I was in Journal Square last night and I saw children playing soccer on the black top on the parking lot of P.S. 31 at about 8:15 p.m. because there is no park or soccer field for them,” Weiner said.
“Courthouse Park is meant for those people. It should be an oasis for Journal Square residents amidst an urban neighborhood that is growing denser and taller by the day.”
In addition, Weiner said Courthouse Park would be an additional reprieve from the scorching summer heat, especially as the Five Corner branch of the Jersey City Public Library recently closed its doors over a broken HVAC system.
“Courthouse Park would have been a source of shade trees and therefore an escape from the intense rays of the sun in the dog days of summer,” Weiner said.
“It fights the urban heat dome effect. A library can close, but the shade of a tree cannot. This tree canopy will literally reduce the surface temperatures that we face as we face an increasing frequency of fatal heat waves.”
Weiner then directly addressed his November 3rd opponent, Commissioner Yraida Aponte-Lipski (D-4), whose district the facilities sit in, for not advancing Courthouse Park.
“This building is in your district and you sit on the Planning Board and the Environmental Committee. Moving Courthouse Park forward is one of your stated priorities. Yet six years later, 595 is still standing,” he declared.
“Anything other than a vote of no is an about-face on your claim to be a friend of Courthouse Park and shirking your responsibility to fight for the health and well-being of District Four. And it’s a disservice to the residents of Journal Square who need and deserve green space.”
Later in the meeting, O’Dea noted that the issue regarding Courthouse Park delays was discussed by the commissioners at that Tuesday’s caucus meeting substantially, noting there will be a meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18th.
He said the county and Jersey City are discussing how to utilize the building while remediating asbestos to further the move from the Administration Building to the Guarini Complex, while accommodating repairs to Brennan Courthouse and not greatly delaying Courthouse Park.
“The development of the park at the former site of 595 is of critical importance. There has been a substantive dialogue exchange between the city and the county over the last several months as to how to try to let both the need to potentially occupy some floors in that building for a somewhat decent period of time,” O’Dea said.
“As well as to move forward with asbestos remediation, design, and development of the park – even if some of that design or rather construction may begin prior to the demolition of that building. It’s a complicated process.”
The veteran commissioner added that he agreed with Weiner that, if the Brennan Courthouse had the HVAC-related repairs completed a year ago, they wouldn’t even need to discuss the matter.
He also sought confirmation the city would hold the property title after the Administration Building is demolished so they can further guide the Courthouse Park project.
“I’m not happy or saying that what’s being proposed is the best solution, but at the end of the day, before I’m comfortable in voting for this, I need to have 100 percent assurance as to the title of that property resting in the hands of the city,” O’Dea continued.
“Because ultimately they will make sure that the park gets done, all the funding and financing agreed upon to ensure that that park gets done, and the best schedule possible to allow the park project to move forward during any period upon which some of the floors of that building may be occupied because of the situation at Brennan.”
He said they will further discuss it at the meeting of the new Courthouse Park committee set for tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Romano concluded by noting that involved stakeholders are working diligently to progress Courthouse Park.
“When two parts of government are collaborating, sometimes it takes time to ensure that the connection is … everybody’s on the same track, and also the understanding when it comes to a historic building- especially if it contains contaminants in any shape or form- how one has to proceed cautiously not knowing what may be behind the next door,” Romano said.
“So it is complicated and that we’re all working together to ensure that this gets done in the smoothest way possible, that both the executive and the legislative branches, as well as interacting with the Jersey City Council and mayor, so it’s not as if anyone’s purposely trying to drag their feet. It’s something that just seems to be ongoing.”
O’Dea then requested that Jersey City Ward C Councilman Tom Zuppa join the Courthouse Park-related committee meeting tomorrow.