Imagine a two-story building lying on its side, fitting into 192 feet of real estate, a monolithic structure that dwarfs surrounding households and backyards and channels unfamiliar people into the very places we would consider to be a refuge from the outside world.
What does it feel like to live in its proximity 24/7? Or to feel that your home is no longer your private space that you originally bought but suddenly transposed to a less desirable piece of semi-commercial real estate? To be self-conscious when you are relaxing in your own backyard or while your children have their pool parties and birthday parties? How do you get back your access to a night free of annoying lights and traffic sounds bouncing off the walls of this structure and freedom from being video-monitored by security cameras?
I want to have peace of mind when I come home and enjoy the home environment that I have created for myself. I don’t want to deal with construction disruptions that impede our access to our venues. I want to live in the natural surroundings the way I found them and be able to feel unencumbered by impersonal views of the backside of this proposed structure.
We have enough concrete and asphalt in New Jersey already. I would like to see our community preserve the natural beauty of this increasingly diminishing resource so that our children can look at us and feel that we tried to leave the world in a better place for them.
Until these developers of the Metro Storage unit planned for Route 130 indicate or prove that they have or are also willing to have the same structure built on their own home streets and backyards, I remain unconvinced that no harm is done to the livelihoods of the people impacted by this project.
Ecofriendly development can proceed without disrupting the integrity of this neighborhood, and I urge the owner of this property to reconsider — you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. You paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Herb Lee
North Brunswick