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"Waterworks Is at Center of a Battle in New Jersey,NY Times"
Waterworks Is at Center of a Battle in New Jersey
The New York Times METRO
Friday, June 7, 2002
By MARIA NEWMAN ORADELL, NJ, June 6 - Almost a decade after the
Hackensack Water Company donated a mammoth water filtration
plant here to Bergen County, the property finds itself in
the middle of an unusual battle, with historic
preservationists on one side and local officials and
environmentalists on the other. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private
nonprofit group in Washington, today named the Hackensack
Water Works to its annual list of the 11 most endangered
historic sites in America, a designation that has helped
other sites in the country avoid the wrecking ball. In 1994, some residents, concerned that the plant would be
demolished, formed a group called the Water Works
Conservancy to persuade county and state officials to let
them turn the series of red brick buildings into a museum
and research center about New Jersey's industrial past;
namely, to explain how water was treated to prevent the
spread of disease. The plant, which includes
water-purifying technology from 1882 until 1990, when it
closed, is a symbol of what made modern New Jersey, say the
group's officers. "We save every place George Washington slept in," said
Anthony Vouvalides, one of the Water Works directors. "By
the same token, we should try to save the places that
delivered clean water to citizens. This is what made New
Jersey. This is not just an Oradell landmark, or a Bergen
County landmark. It's a national landmark." Many officials and environmentalists seem to think,
however, that applying the wrecking ball to parts of the
64-acre site would not be a bad idea. William (Pat) Schuber, the Bergen County executive, wants
to raze most of the buildings and turn the 13-acre Van
Buskirk Island - where the plant actually is - into a
county park. The park would include an amphitheater and a
partially enclosed garden that would serve as a backdrop
for tours. The county's proposal has the backing of the
Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc., an environmental group here.
"This plant is located in a part of New Jersey where open
spaces are definitely at a premium," said Bill Sheehan, the
Hackensack riverkeeper. "We need more places where people
can just go and spend some quiet time, go read a book, go
put a canoe in the water. That's the kind of experience the
county executive wants to give the people of Bergen
County." It is not entirely clear who has the upper hand. Because
the site has been listed as a state historical landmark,
the county's plan requires the approval of the state's
Department of Environmental Protection. Commissioner
Bradley M. Campbell is scheduled to announce his decision
on the matter later this month, but both sides continue to
try to win public support for their plans. The Water Works organizers say today's designation could be
a major victory. In the past the National Trust has given
the same designation to Ellis Island and to the Thomas A.
Edison laboratory in West Orange. "I think it will have a
tremendous impact on what Commissioner Campbell decides,
because it means this is a site with national
significance," said Pat Huizing, executive director of
Preservation New Jersey. Mr. Schuber has said he does not want to turn the property
over to the Water Works Conservancy because he is not
confident that the group can raise the $20 million or so
that it would cost to restore the buildings and turn them
into a museum. He said he feared that the county and its
taxpayers would be stuck with the bill if the conservancy
ran out of funds years down the road. A spokesman for Mr. Schuber, Tom Ammirato, said the
county's plan includes a nod to the historical significance
of the plant, but without the cost of creating a museum.
Historical designations are fine, he said, but they come
with no money to pay for the idea. "There are some doubts that this is going to attract so
many people," Mr. Ammirato said. "I don't know how many
people are interested in water filtration. Pat loves old
buildings too. But we just can't go around trying to
preserve every old building that there is with a blank
check. "It's a lovely idea," he said. "It's just not practical."
Maggie Harrer, president of the Water Works Conservancy and
a resident of Oradell, said her group believed that it
would take $10 million to develop the site over six years
and had already identified $3.75 million in grants the
group would probably qualify for immediately if the county
turned over the property. The rest, she said, would come
through fund-raising.
Under the conservancy's plan, the site would include a
10-acre environmental park, a history and technology
museum, a research center that would focus on the
Hackensack River, an environmental education center and a
cultural center. "Our mission is to tell the story of water as a vital
resource," Ms. Harrer said. "Our challenge is to convey
that the water treatment site is a part of our history. It
represents 100 years of technology." Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
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