Letter: Are North Bergen Officials Saving Taxpayers $17-Million?

Following North Bergen’s decision not to pursue construction of a new, pre-school building inside of James J. Braddock Park, Hudson TV received the following letter to the editor from township resident Robert Walden:

North Bergen officials deceptively claim they are saving taxpayers “$17-million in reduced construction costs“.  What officials mean is that the school they claimed for years needed to be built in Braddock Park doesn’t need to be built in Braddock Park, or anywhere else.

Instead, North Bergen officials WASTED millions of taxpayer dollars on an incomplete and deceptive diversion application aimed at building this unneeded school and for the compensation which the NJ Department of Environmental Protection requires North Bergen-Hudson County to pay, for illegally moving North Bergen’s 17-trailer “temporary” preschool into Braddock Park in 2001.

If your taxes go up, ask Nick Sacco why he/North Bergen decided to violate state and federal environmental (and educational) regulations in 2001 while he was simultaneously State Senator/Mayor/Assistant Superintendent of Schools.

The ironic thing is that most of the preschoolers are now attending school in the Early Childhood Center/Lincoln School Annex, where they were supposed to be, in 2001. 

Thank you everyone who spoke up to end this fiasco – you are the heroes, not lying officials and not NJ DEP and NJ DOE, which failed to conduct inspections, enforce regulations and which facilitated North Bergen’s misconduct.  At least one person might still be alive had North Bergen not illegally moved its preschool into Braddock Park.

Officials should be apologizing, not boasting.

Robert Walden

North Bergen