Crews In Jersey City Implode Three Buildings To Make Way For New Affordable Housing Complex
JERSEY CITY, N.J (CBSNewYork) -- Three buildings were imploded in Jersey City Saturday morning in order to make way for a mixed-income, affordable senior housing community.
As CBS2's Ilana Gold reported, the demolition of the former housing project known as Montgomery Gardens sent a massive cloud of smoke into the air.
Three of the six buildings at the housing project went down just after 9 a.m.
The city monitored the air quality for part of Saturday and told residents nearby to stay inside and keep their windows closed.
The implosion rocked the surrounding area. The noise was so loud, the ground literally shook.
The three buildings had been vacant since 2013 when the city relocated the hundreds of tenants.
"It's a very surreal feeling for me and I know for a lot of other people as well," said Angela Mcnight.
Including Anthony Mcnight; the building he grew up in is now demolished.
"It was like history going down. It's a little sad. It's a little emotional, a little emotional," he said.
A developer will now build an affordable housing complex at the site with more than 120 new units.
Fulop said the new design is an important step to making the area safer.
"Anytime you have high-rise, low-income housing, there tends to be a concentration of crime because it's very difficult to police. Mixed income projects are better suited for everybody," he said.
And while the mayor has recently been focusing on revitalization by the waterfront, Saturday's effort is his way of creating a stronger economy inland, Gold reported.
It will take some time to clean up all the rubble from the implosion. Once that happens, construction could start at the beginning of next year. The project is expected to be completed by spring of 2017.
