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"SAVING ORADELL'S ISLAND - June 2, 1999"

Channel New12 Editorial
By Sandra Earley



There's a surprise waiting when people talk about the controversy over Van Buskirk Island - a hard to see place surrounded by the Hackensack River in Oradell in Bergen County. Standing off against each other are groups that are often allies.

On one side are the environmentalists who want the 13-acre island returned to nature -- or at least maintained as a park with only the occasional trail for walkers.

On the other side are the preservationists. The island has three red brick buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Once a pumping facility for United Water Resources, the buildings and their contents hold a prominent spot in the history of drinkable water in America. The preservationists want the buildings to become a technology museum with a cafe. And they plan to maintain Allis Chalmers engine No. 7 inside.

Some environmentalists think the three buildings ought to be torn down so the island's animals can range freely. The environmentalists have worked hard for the island. In 1996, their protests turned back developers who would have built a shopping center or senior housing there.

Both uses ought to be able to exist harmoniously. People, as well as
animals, need access to undeveloped land. The animals have been
circumnavigating at least one of the buildings since 1882.

Bergen County and Oradell have worked out a compromise for the island that seems workable and fund-able. The county owns Van Buskirk and will maintain it as a largely undeveloped park. It will deed the buildings and parking lot space to Oradell which, in turn, will work with a non profit organization to develop the museum. If the museum doesn't materialize, the buildings might become Oradell offices. And that sounds as refreshing as a cool drink of water.