EMERSON—An unassuming sign affixed to a fence on Kinderkamack Road between Linwood Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard at the Citizen Emerson Station redevelopment site has quietly signaled an environmental cleanup effort for more than three years.
The sign, which reads “Environmental Investigation Cleanup in Progress at this Site,” provides a contact number, a project identification number, and a posted date of December 2021. To a casual passerby, it might seem like just another construction notice. But to a reporter from Pascack Press, it raises an important question: Is the cleanup ongoing?
Using the project information number (PI #966792) on the sign, Pascack Press retrieved NJDEP DataMiner records showing that an incident report filed by the site’s Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP), Devang Patel, acknowledged a gasoline release during the removal of two underground storage tanks on April 29, 2022. No volume was reported, and the record states, “Clean-up pending. Waterways were not impacted.”
Despite this, the NJDEP’s Underground Storage Tank report lists the case as Terminated, while a separate Site Remediation Case Oversight file marks the document status as active. An NJDEP official confirmed that this means additional reports or monitoring data may still need to be filed, but Pascack Press was unable to determine whether any ongoing remediation efforts remain in place.
Patel, the LSRP for Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal, declined to comment when contacted and referred Pascack Press to a representative of Accurate Builders. The representative repeatedly answered “no comment” before directing inquiries to Accurate Builders president Jack Klugmann, who also declined to comment. An email sent to Klugmann on Feb. 5 outlining Pascack Press’ findings did not land a response by press time.
The Citizen Emerson Station redevelopment project, a planned 147-unit mixed-use development with easy access to the rail line, has faced multiple delays and legal challenges since its approval. The project, backed by Emerson Redevelopers Urban Renewal LLC, and which displaced several local businesses, was originally slated to bring a mix of luxury and affordable housing along with retail space.
We have reported on a variety of legal actions centered on the project, including whether ERUR is on the hook for creating a new ambulance headquarters in exchange for town land handed over as part of the deal.
Pascack Press reported in October 2021 that construction at the downtown redevelopment site had been suspended due to soil contamination at a former dry cleaner property.
At an Oct. 19, 2021, council meeting, construction code official Richard Silvia stated that perchloroethylene—a hazardous dry-cleaning solvent—had been discovered in the soil at the former Ranch Cleaners at 190 Kinderkamack Road, which had been demolished for redevelopment.
Silvia relayed that the on-site construction superintendent estimated a delay of three to six weeks while awaiting state DEP guidance on whether soil remediation would be required before work could resume.
DEP spokesperson Larry Hajna noted to Pascack Press in 2021 that perchloroethylene (PCE) is considered a potential carcinogen and is regulated as a hazardous substance.
Environmental concerns surrounding the redevelopment site date back further. In 2019, we reported on potential contamination issues at Block 419, where the borough’s redevelopment partner, backed by the now previous administration, had planned to build retail space and residential units, including affordable housing. During public hearings in 2018 and 2019, resident Lorraine McQueeney asked whether environmental testing had been conducted on area properties formerly occupied by two gasoline stations and a dry cleaner. Officials responded that any necessary site cleanups were the responsibility of the redeveloper’s LSRP.
Joseph A. Paparo, an attorney representing Accurate Builders and Developers of New Jersey, acknowledged in March 2019 that the LSRP had identified “areas of concern” on Kinderkamack Road between Lincoln and Linwood. He declined to provide details, stating that remediation efforts were being managed and subject to NJDEP oversight.
Asked by Mayor Danielle DiPaola whether the land was clean enough for redevelopment, Paparo asserted that due diligence had been conducted. “Once the buildings are demolished, it [the project] can be built to residential standards,” he said. “The good news is that with this redevelopment project happening, those [areas of concern] will be addressed. Without it, they wouldn’t.”
At the time, Paparo also stated that specific environmental reports could not be disclosed due to confidentiality agreements. “With a confidentiality agreement, we can’t disclose those reports. We can’t turn those over—nor would we,” he said.
See “Contamination halts Emerson Station project” by Michael Olohan, Oct. 24, 2021, thepressgroup.net.