Bayonne has taken steps to remedy issues residents have brought up regarding stagnant water and insufficient fencing at an abandoned factory at 70 Hobart Avenue. The factory sits in a residential area featuring townhouses along 3rd Street, the nearby senior center on 4th Street, and some other industrial facilities.
Resident Gregory Merendino of a nearby property on Hobart Avenue brought the situation to light at the June meeting of the City Council. The next meeting is on July 20, but officials have already sprung into action.
Issues in the neighborhood
“Behind the warehouse, there’s like a swamp back there,” Merendino said in June. “Towards the front is stagnant water, which is an issue in and of itself. That water has been there since I’ve lived there so I’ve been there for about six years now I believe. That water has never gone anywhere. Even within the droughts, there’s always a huge amount of water… It has its own ecosystem over there.”
Insects are another issue, according to Merendino.
“There’s an abundance of mosquitos which have their own issues of zika or whatever other issues that might be happening with them,” he said. “There is flies galore. Also the lanternflies are there now.”
In addition, there is wildlife that’s been living there too.
“I’ve seen raccoons, and they also come up my house because I live on the end of a row house and I have the alley way,” Merendino said. “A lot of times, I’ll see these raccoons coming through my backyard. I’ve seen skunks and other wildlife that I’m assuming are living there, drinking the water that’s most likely contaminated.”
According to Merendino, the wildlife is feral and may have rabies or distemper.
“I’ve had people that have trapped the cats to have them neutered or spayed and then they’ve come back,” Merendino said. “And they’ve come back and they have distemper, which could be another issue. That means they’re fighting, and if these wild animals, which are known to carry rabies, are going at the cats constantly.”
Dangerous area?
Merendino fears people may get bit walking on the sidewalk near the area.
“If you walk down in that area, which is unkempt 90 percent of the time, the grass is high enough where an animal could hide,” he said. “People leaving The Vic at night… [could] get bit by a cat or raccoon or something that has rabies.”
One other main issue is a wall surrounding the property is not sufficient to keep people out.
“The wall that’s there, it’s unsafe,” Merendino said. “It’s not stopping anyone or anything from going back there.”
Merendino noted that people can get into the site through the area and possibly get hurt.
“God only knows if there’s any teenagers that want to spend the night there,” he said.
The site is also home to three large power transformers that supply electrical current to the area, sparking concerns that the power could be interrupted if anything happened at the vacant site.
According to Merendino, this has been ongoing for some time: “It’s been an issue and everyone in my area has always discussed it. If there’s something that needs to be done, we can sign a petition.”
Former DC Plastics Inc. site
Then-City Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowksi said there were ordinances on the book, but they needed to be enforced. City Councilman At-Large Juan Perez said he was aware of the situation.
“That’s DC Plastics,” Perez said. “I spoke to the owner Mr. David Moskowitz. I told him about what’s happpening. He got in contact with the health officer and he said he will take care of it. I told him he’s go to take care of it right away or face a lot of fines. He understood and he’s going to take care of it.”
Merendino said that the abandoned building could better serve the city as a school or another land use.
“If that property needs a little remediation, a school might be something that benefit, he added.
Perez rebutted it was a light industrial zone, to which Ashe-Nadrowski noted it could be rezoned. First Ward City Councilman Carroll thanked the resident for coming out, being that the site is located in the First Ward in Bergen Point.
“We spoken about this before,” Carroll said at the June meeting. “I’ve been in your neighborhood and spoke to a few of your neighbors. I have already alerted some of the key individuals who are here with us in the room tonight. I would like to ask through the police, the Health Department, and our Law Department, if something can be done between now and 30 days from now to provide with more concrete answers as to when and how that needs to be drained and when and how a fence appropriate to the area can be put up to assuage those two concerns… We’ll deal with the rest as we get more answers for the Health Department.”
Carroll thanked Merendino for bringing the issue before the City Council, noting that similar issues have been solved because of that and will likely lead to the resolution of this issue.
“Every time someone comes forward with an issue similar to this, it helps get it done quicker, especially when people come to the meetings to bring it up,” Carroll said. “It doesn’t hurt to have members of the press in the audience either when these things arise.”
Ashe-Nadrowski noted that the property owner will be alerted immediately. “The Code Enforcement Official should send an official letter to the property owner tomorrow letting them know they’re in violation. That would give them 10 days to clean it up or they would be issued a summons.”
City acts on some issues
In an interview with the Bayonne Community News on July 8, Carroll noted the Fire Department had begun draining the stagnant water.
“A gentleman came and spoke at the [June] meeting about the matter, and when he got done speaking, I asked if the heads of the departments would inquire and take a look at the situation,” Caroll said. “They did and the fire department went in and drained as much water as they could.”
Additionally, the Hudson County Division of Mosquito Control tended to the property to hopefully deal with the mosquito and insect problem. Carroll said that a fence is still needed on the site, among other fixes.
“I think what needs to be done is that there must be a drain back there that is clogged or not in use and it needs to be fixed,” Carroll said. “That would help alleviate a lot of these problems going forward.”
Caroll also noted that the site could be cleaned up further when it comes to garbage and abandoned trucks on the site and even rotting in the stagnant water. The property owner has been responsive somewhat to notices from the city in the past, but Carroll noted that if there is no compliance the city will take legal action.
The area features a mixture of residential, commercial, and light industrial uses. Those sites are still active and not vacant like the aforementioned factory, making this a unique issue to the site.
“In that particular neighborhood, most of those buildings are in use,” Caroll said.
In response to questions if the vacant factory could find a better use as something else, Carroll said he was unaware of any plans. For now, the site will remain an abandoned industrial site barring any action taken by the Bayonne City Council or Bayonne Planning Board.
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