Jersey City Turns To Courts To Help Speed Up Industrial Cleanup
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- After decades in court, Jersey City wants a judge to help expedite the cleanup of a former industrial site being eyed for redevelopment.
As WCBS 880's Levon Putney reported, PPG Industries has been cleaning up more than a dozen acres along Garfield Avenue where factory chemicals were dumped.
"This was a toxic wasteland owned by PPG, which is a publicly traded company," Mayor Steven Fulop said.
Jersey City Turns To Courts To Help Speed Up Industrial Cleanup
But city officials say PPG refuses to complete the project and prepare the site for future use. Fulop and the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency have announced they are terminating PPG's access to the site starting Monday until the city can return to court to enforce cleanup provisions.
In an email, PPG said it has removed 80 percent of the soil and debris from the site and is fully committed to finishing the job. But the company added: "The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency's action to deny PPG access to areas being remediated will seriously impair PPG's ability to complete this important project. PPG plans to take legal action for continued access to the work site in order to fulfill its commitments."
Fulop said the city plans to tranform a 20-acre swath of land into condominiums and a 17-acre park, which would be the largest in Jersey City.
"In order to make a place really a destination where people want to live in, you need a recreational opportunity," Fulop said.
The mayor said he's also envisioning that more homes and businesses will pop up around the park to help revitalize the Bergen-Lafayette area.
