in future Ford Ave. projects
By sandi carpello
Staff Writer
MILLTOWN — With the redevelopment of Ford Avenue looming, local environmentalists are concerned that construction could have detrimental effects on the surrounding environment.
The Rutgers University Chapter of the New Jersey Community Water Watch (NJCWW), a 30-year-old subsidiary of the New Jersey public interest group that addresses water quality issues, hosted a public forum Monday evening discussing the environmental dangers that correspond with redeveloping the site that was once the industrial hub of Milltown.
"We need to start thinking about the environmental ramifications," said Matthew Verby, an environmentalist and organizer who works for the NJCWW.
The 48-square-mile Lawrence Brook Watershed encompasses areas in Milltown, New Brunswick, South Brunswick and on the campus of Rutgers University. The brook that runs through the watershed area is adjacent to the Ford Avenue site.
"We don’t want anything to happen to the water," said Milltown Environmental Commission Vice Chairman Michael Shakarjian, a biologist and pharmacologist researcher who, along with Environmental Commission Chairman Alan Godber, made a presentation at Monday night’s forum.
According to Shakarjian, constructing a building too close to the edge of the Lawrence Brook could cause erosion and runoff, carrying undesirable contaminants such as fertilizer and phosphate into the brook.
"If that happened, I’m sure that fish would find it an undesirable place to live," Shakarjian said.
Shakarjian added that similar actions could cause green vegetation to float in the water, making it "unsightly" for the residents, he said.
Godber, an electrical engineer who performed extensive research on the subject, said the contaminants could also affect the borough’s drinking water.
"The Lawrence Brook is one source of our drinking water in Milltown. It has moderate pollution levels, exacerbated by all of the development and roads which have been added in recent years. Much work is needed to correct this," he said.
Water is not the only cause for concern, Godber said.
The Ford Avenue site, which was home to the Michelin Tire Factory during the 1930s, may also have contaminated soil.
"It is likely that there is pollution of various types on the site, as it was used for various industrial purposes over the years, and it is likely that there was asbestos in at least some of the buildings," Godber said.
"There is certainly concern on the part of the Environmental Commission that appropriate stream corridor buffers be provided between the Ford Avenue site and the water in the Mill Pond and the main stream of the Lawrence Brook," he said.
Ford Avenue Redevelopment Agency Chairman Anthony Zarillo said Tuesday that the environmentalists are jumping the gun. Still in the preliminary stages of redevelopment, the agency has only recently begun to meet with builders and has not made any decisions on the future use of the site.
"It doesn’t make sense to discuss [environmental repercussions] on the basis of pure speculation," he said. "By the time the redevelopment agency receives proposals from developers and we make a recommendation to the Planning Board, we will have an open public meeting," at which the environmentalists can air their concerns, Zarillo said.
He added that the Middlesex County Improvement Authority is currently performing an environmental evaluation of the site, and the agency expects to get a more detailed assessment later on in the process.
In the meantime, the environmentalists plan to go door-to-door in Milltown in order to "get people more involved," said Verby.
The report on Middlesex County’s environmental evaluation will be presented at the next meeting of the redevelopment agency on Dec. 10.

