Tons of opposition came out for a proposed Jersey City waste management facility at 25 Van Keuren Ave. at a public hearing held at 60 West Side Ave. last night.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
Consultant Michael Logan led the meeting, explaining that the proposed site is located in an overburdened community since it is a low-income, majority-minority community hurt by pollution. It is currently a truck depot for Joseph Smentkowski Inc., a waste company.
Since it is close to the Hackensack River on the West Side, it falls under the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). He said the NJSEA approved the application back in March 2015, noting it will take in about 750 tons of waste per day.
“Who did the study?” Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) called out when Logan said a study showed no pollution hazards or detriments to residents.
Logan said another company, but didn’t specify which: “The facility does not result in a disproportionate adverse impact,” he claimed.
During the public comment period, Ward C Councilman Tom Zuppa noted the public meeting wasn’t held near the site, and calling that a sign of bad faith, to applause.
“This plan is an easy no-go: The need still hasn’t been established,” he added.
“We are living there. It is an extremely congested area. It’s right next to Indian Street … As a council, we would never support this,” expressed Councilwoman at-Large Mamta Singh.
“This is one of the worst things I’ve seen proposed!” O’Dea shouted to more applause.
He continued that the NJSEA approval supersedes local control, adding that Our Lady of Mt Carmel church would have been a better place to hold the meeting.
“These routes are already burdened with heavy traffic,” former Ward C Councilman Arnold Bettinger asserted, further stating that the facility would pollute the nearby Hackensack River and urged them to deny the permit, drawing more applause.
State Senator Raj Mukherji (D-32) explained that he championed a bill signed into law in 2020 so that overburdened communities like Jersey City won’t have to shoulder public health risks disproportionately.
“Diesel particulate matter is more than double already in Jersey City: This is an illegal project. It must be denied under the law!” Mukherji declared to applause.
“The public sees this as deeply dangerous,” Ward D Councilman Jake Ephros explained.
He said the owner, Thomas Giordano, agreed to another meeting in his ward where the site is located to applause. Ephros said they needed a more compelling reason to build the facility.
Van Keuren LLC, which owns the property, was mandated to hold the hearing by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to since they applied for an exemption from New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law to build the facility.
Their mandated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Thomas Giordano as a contact, who, along with Gary Giordano, were the owners of Van Keuren LLC and tried to sell it in 2016, court documents show.
In 2013, the FBI investigated Thomas Giordano of Galaxy Carting, then located in Jersey City for racketeering. The obituary of Gary Giordano in 2024 noted that that he ran Galaxy.
“I’d love to know who from … the DEP or the Galaxy Waste is going to look her in the face and say it’s fine that her ability to blow bubbles will be impacted by your decision,” noted Adam Cohen, he pointed out that his daughter was in the room, to applause.
Jersey City Mayor James Solomon’s Senior Policy Advisor Issac Smith noted that “the applicant has made zero outreach to the city and the administration” and therefore they are staunchly against it.
Smith added that they have set up a meeting with the DEP to discuss this.
“I do not recognize your authority to limit my time to speak,” Dawn Giambalvo, a former council candidate who identified herself as a Green Infrastructure Specialist, said to Logan.
She noted that over 119 bird species documented in nearby Pershing Field and the Heights Reservoir would be negatively impacted.
“This site sits at the nexus of multiple Greenway corridors that are being planned,” Giambalvo added.
“It is very disrespectful for you and the company to hold this meeting so far from where we live! We are going to be here till the end!” Hudson County Commissioner Yraida Aponte-Lipski (D-4) exclaimed.
Al Cupo called the presentation “nothing but smokescreen and mirror” and pledged that the community would “fight this ’til the bitter end.”
8th District congressional candidate Mussab Ali said his family moved to the nearby India Square since it felt like home, arguing that the animal waste smell could be awful.
“This is incredibly frustrating. It is in direct violation of the state’s landmark environmental Justice Law,” declared Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (D-32), who testified virtually.
Another city resident, Kevin Link, lamented about the vehicular traffic this could cause, urging elected leaders to get together and stop this.
“ … We’re adding all this truck traffic people are going to have to dodge. We already have too many people in Jersey City die due to vehicle traffic: This is only gonna add to this,” he began.
“I ask you: ‘Do not do this,’ I ask our elected officials – thank you for being here – to get together, it’s like one hand doesn’t know what the other hand is doing … People are planning this garbage facility, no one’s communicating together.”
Assemblyman Ravi Bhalla (D-32) exclaimed that the applicant “should be ashamed of yourself,” continuing that “this is not going to happen” as the community will “fight tooth and nail” until the end.
