PLEASE EXCUSE ANY CROSS POSTING
Dear Friends of the Water Works,
The following Guest Editorials appeared today in the RECORD under the overall
heading: BATTLE OVER VAN BUSKIRK ISLAND IN ORADELL; with a sub-heading of
MAKE IT A MUSEUM over the article written by Maggie Harrer, and MAKE IT A
PARK over the article written by Adam Strobel. WWC immediately wrote the
editors protesting the headlines, as the WWC's thesis is that there can be a
park AND a museum, and that Bergen County's efforts to create a battle
between preservationists and environmentalists is artificial and entirely
unnecessary. Thus, the headlines distorted the issue. WWC suggested that a
more appropriate headline might have been : MAKE IT A MUSEUM, and MAKE IT A
RUIN, as the only issue in debate is the footprint of the historic site - to
be saved by WWC or demolished by the County.
Wanted to share the two editorials with you, and invite any who wish to
comment on or reply to the County's Editorial to please do so in letters to
the RECORD, and please copy it to WWC.
Letters to the Editor by e-mail: [log in to unmask]
by Fax: 201-646-4749,
by mail: Your Views, The Record, 150 River St., Hackensack, NJ 076001-7172.
Please copy it to WWC by e-mail: [log in to unmask];
Fax: 201-967-7517,
or mail: WWC, Box 714, Oradell, NJ 07649
Thank you all for your continuing support and interest in saving our historic
Water Works.
All the best,
Maggie Harrer
President, WWC, Inc.
THE RECORD Opinion Paghe Thursday, March 14, 2002
THE BATTLE OVER VAN BUSKIRK ISLAND IN ORADELL
MAKE IT A MUSEUM
[My Headline was "Take the High Road to Van Buskirk Island ")
By Maggie Harrer, President of the Board of the Water Works Conservancy, Inc.
On February 21, 2002, the New Jersey Historic Sites Council rejected—by a
9–0 vote—Bergen County’s request to demolish the historic Hackensack Water
Company (HWC) site on Van Buskirk Island. The Council said the County needed
to preserve this nationally important historic site. The state Department of
Environmental Protection says it may consider extending the deliberation
period by 90 days in hopes that the two sides can find a common ground. If
the deadline is extended, Commissioner Bradley Campbell would issue a final
decision on the site by late June.
[ THIS SENTENCE WAS CUT OUT BY THE RECORD The Council concluded that the
County has not fully recognized the historical significance of this site. ]
Bergen County also insisted that flooding at the site would prevent
preservation. The Council challenged that concern. Most of the historic
sites in the nation and in New Jersey lie in similar flood plains including
Harper’s Ferry, New Bridge Landing and the Trenton War Memorial. Expert
witnesses, engineers and architects testified that flooding is a manageable
issue.
The hearing made it clear that this is not a choice between park or
preservation. Historic preservation with environmental restoration is a
win-win for Bergen County. The WWC’s and the County’s proposals contain
exactly the same amount of open space and parkland. The key difference is
whether the historic site will hold:
ß A beautifully preserved 19th-century water treatment plant with a museum
and 100 years of technology, an innovative education center, and Hackensack
River Research Center; or
ß The County’s proposed artificially created "Roman ruin" standing in a
formal garden, with office space, an amphitheater, and a landfill "knoll"
behind it.
[ THIS WAS CUT OUT BY THE RECORD As a member of the Council remarked,
"Bergen County should celebrate this wonderful historic resource. It is
National Landmark eligible, and National Landmarks are few and far between.
Bergen County is very lucky to have one."]
The County deems it "cheaper" to spend $9.1 million ($5.1 million in to
demolish the historic site and $4 million to create a park) than to work with
a national coalition of organizations to save and restore the historic
site—at no cost to taxpayers.
The County’s proposal raises serious environmental issues: the proposed
"embayment" further damages the already flow-compromised Hackensack River by
diverting even more flow from the River; the bay becomes a collection pool
for debris that float upriver with each tide; and the landfill "knoll" adds
to the flooding problems.
Now is the time for Bergen County to walk a new path.
By choosing preservation, Bergen County will join thousands of citizens and
experts in this unique endeavor. The Water Works Conservancy (WWC) offers its
full support and advocates a feasible, innovative environmental and historic
restoration of the site. WWC is joined by a large majority of citizens who
value the environmentally sound preservation of our heritage. The State and
National Coalition to Save the Water Works— comprised of a host of state,
national, and international organizations—has offered expertise and
resources, both financial and professional.
The goal: transform the historically significant site into a multipurpose
facility within a 10-acre restored habitat park. The HWC site, which operated
uninterrupted until 1990, is nationally significant because it is a rare,
surviving example of a 19th Century water works and includes the oldest
existing example of the American system of mechanical filtration that enabled
the processing and delivery of clean, safe water.
The HWC exemplifies the early 20th-century development of a pure municipal
water supply, crucial to a nation whose citizens drank water with foul taste,
foul odor, and bacteria from untreated sewage dumped into rivers. In 1901,
diarrhea, dysentery and typhoid were rampant. Most of this remarkable
complex, buildings and equipment, pre-dates World War I, and survives with
remarkable integrity. The site is the only intact facility of its kind in the
nation.
WWC calls on Bergen County to choose the high road without further delay. Wo
rk with WWC and environmentalists, save our historic waterworks and save
taxpayers over $5 million.
Our children and future generations should be able to walk along natural
paths, discover the Hackensack River, stand in awe in the Pump House watching
the rotating wheels of a four-story steam engine, and discover the excitement
of hands-on science in the restored labs and Environmental Education Center.
That’s priceless.
[ THIS PARAGRAPH WAS CUT FROM THE PUBLISHED EDITORIAL: If you agree, please
e-mail or write Commissioner Bradley Campbell, NJ DEP, Division of Parks &
Forestry, Historic Preservation Office, PO Box 404, Trenton, NJ 08625-
9494, [log in to unmask]]
(I've typed this in from THE RECORD, I do not know if THE RECORD edited
Adam's article in any way...so am unable to note any changes from the
original as I did with my article.)
MAKE IT A PARK
by ADAM STROBEL
In 1993 Bergen County acquired the 13-acre Van Buskirk Island, which is home
to the Hackensack Water Co. Pump and Filtration Plant, to protect the island
from development. The county spent nearly a decade working with the com
munity, historic preservationists and environmentalists to fashion a
master plan for the island. County Executive William "Pat" Schuber advanced
that plan in 2001, calling for preserving a significant part of the plant,
paying homage to its history, and creating a park accessible to all.
A small community group, the Water Works Conservancy, which wants to renovate
the buildings and use them as a meeting and educational site, has blocked
that plan. The WWC goals are admirable but enormously costly and probably
dangerous.
The county executive said he couldn’t in good conscience saddle county
taxpayers with the cost of renovating the site – estimated at $22.5 million
– and maintaining the buildings. Over the past several years, the county has
repeatedly given the WWC opportunities to raise money for its beloved
project, and the WWC has come up with nothing more than vague promises.
The WWC proposal calls for massive changes to the buildings, which were never
intended for public use. Much of the pump house has no first floor, and the
buildings have no heat or insulation. They have no amenities to accommodate
the public. That would require massive reworking of the buildings, altering
greatly the original look and feel and their historical accuracy.
But even if there were public money available for this enterprise, would it
be good public policy to spend huge sums on a project in the middle of a
flood plain? Current public policy as expressed through the Flood Hazard
Area Control Act and other measures is to remove buildings from flood plains
and let wetlands areas act as natural sponges to absorb water.
If the waterworks buildings were proposed today as new construction, they
would violate federal and state law. That begs the question of why anyone
would condone spending millions to renovate these buildings that, under
modern land-use law, would be considered illegal.
Even if millions of taxpayer dollars were available for renovation and
maintenance, we have to grapple with the notion that the WWC plan places peo
ple in jeopardy by inviting them into a building in the flood plain. The
liability to the county should anyone be injured or die in a flood would be
astronomical.
Critics of the county’s plan say visitors to the park are exposed to just as
much danger as visitors to the island with buildings. That argument is
counter-intuitive. Without the shelter of imposing brick structures,
visitors to the park would likely leave the island at the first sign of rain.
In this case, buildings – especially large ones – create a false sense of
security.
The county executive’s proposal preserves the ambiance of the industrial
waterworks and the history and architectural charm of the buildings. The
walls and roof section over the large steam pump No. 7 would be stabilized
and restores; the interior of th epump house would be converted to walled
gardens. Through self-guided walkwayhs, storyboardss, and the preserved
major steam pumps, visitors could learn the history of the waterworks.
Rather than accept this compromise, the WWC leadership did an end run and had
the island placed on the Federal and State Registers of Historic Places.
They took the action unbeknownst to the county. The WWC’s unilateral move
poses a grave risk to the future of the island because it effectively
prohibits the county from making any improvements to the property without the
state’s approval.
Van Buskirk Island’s fate is now up to Bradley Campbell, head of the state
Department of Environmental Protection.. He should weigh both sides, but we
hope he will ultimately allow the county to proceed with its plan, which
will turn the island into an accessible riverfront park. We believe this is
the best use of the land, balancing the interests of all residents.
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