Action Center
Wednesday August 20, 2008
Neighbors Say Storm Drains Mean Relief From Rains
WEST PATERSON—For nearly four decades, Martin Walsh has tolerated continuous flooding on Hillcrest Avenue because the street lacked storm drains. To address the issue, he had to come up with a plan to stop water from cascading down his driveway.
“I have 16 garbage cans in my driveway catching water,” Martin Walsh said Wednesday. “Every time there is a hard rain, I have to empty out each one of the cans.”
Walsh, who has lived on Hillcrest Avenue for 38 years, said his home has flooded more times than he can remember. Because of the moisture, there are cracks in his garage walls and decay in his basement’s wood molding, Walsh said.
When Walsh learned that the borough had received a $200,000 grant last year from the state Department of Transportation to repave and re-curb the street, he and his neighbors asked the Borough Council to also install storm drains and catch basins.
Residents and borough officials have said Hillcrest Avenue is one of the few streets left in West Paterson that does not have storm drains and water basins. For reasons unknown, when Hillcrest Avenue was built more than 50 years ago, drains and basins were not installed, borough officials said.
Ultimately, the council agreed last year to spend an additional $117,000 from a multipurpose bond and put in the drains, bringing the total project cost to $317,000.
“If we didn’t get it done now, we knew it wouldn’t happen,” Councilman Keith Kazmark said Wednesday of the storm drains. “This road probably won’t be up for repaving for another 20 to 30 years.”
Jenicar Builders Contractors Co. Inc. of Kearny began work on Hillcrest Avenue in late July. When that project is completed, the company will begin repaving and re-curbing Rose Place.
The borough received a $165,000 grant from the DOT for the Rose Place project earlier this year and added $15,000 from a multi-purpose bond, bringing the total expenditure for the work on Rose Place to $180,000.
Over the past five years, the borough has received $680,985.75 in grants for road improvement projects, according to DOT officials.
Many Hillcrest Avenue residents said they were thrilled the road and storm drain work has begun.
“When it rained, it was like we had a little river running down the street,” said Hillcrest Avenue resident Claudio Vapore.
Vapore’s neighbor, Mary Ann Puzio, agreed the street needed work.
“They are doing a good thing,” Puzio said. “You can see our tax dollars being put to use.”
Nevertheless, some residents had some concerns about the impact the construction had on their property.
“They are tearing up my driveway, and I’m not thrilled,” Lucy Pirone said. “I just put it in three months ago. But if that’s what they have to do, I’ll deal with it. The road needed the work.”
Reach Virgil Dickson at 973-569-7172 or dickson@northjersey.com.
Reprinted with permission. (c)2008 Herald News (Passaic Co., NJ) Virgil Dickson
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