North Bergen residents gathered at North Bergen High School, located at 7417 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, to express their concerns to township officials regarding a plan to turn 1.1 acres of James J. Braddock Park into a preschool.
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Trailers near Bruins stadium have been used for the township’s preschool arrangement for about 12 years, according to literature provided at the meeting, which also says about 270 students – ages 4 or 5 – attend the pre-school.
North Bergen Administrator Chris Pianese, Chief of Police Robert Dowd, Superintendent of Schools George Solter and Mayor Nick Sacco were just a few of the officials on hand for the meeting.
Nate Burroughs, a consultant for Bruno Associates, did his best to provide clarity on the matter before members of the public took the microphone.
Despite the lengthy explanation, certain residents in attendance were still not impressed.
Still, some residents thought the plan was just fine, praising the way the preschool has been run up to this point.
When the smoke settled, Sacco addressed the crowd, noting that North Bergen is a non-Abbott school district – meaning they receive no additional state funding – and squashed rumors of health concerns around the trailers.
News correspondent Katherine Guest contributed to this report.Â