By JACQUELINE DURETT
Correspondent
SAYREVILLE — The Morgan section of Sayreville needs to be a higher priority for the borough — that was something residents and borough officials agreed on at a town hall event on Sept. 28 at the Morgan First Aid Building.
Councilman Steven Grillo, who has an urban planning background, held the event to speak with residents at a standing-room-only event to get some preliminary feedback about their ideas to improve the Route 35 corridor between Bordentown Avenue and the Cheesequake Creek Bridge. With him were most of his fellow council members, as well as Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex).
Grillo talked about some of his long-term goals for the area, including rebuilding and rebranding the Morgan section. After a brief presentation, he opened up the floor for questions, suggestions and comments.
Residents at the meeting had a lot of pent-up frustration about how they feel their section of the borough has been regarded for years. Many used the word “forgotten” in their comments.
Top concerns included the condition of buildings on Route 35, especially Covello’s restaurant, which was under a renovation process that has stalled out. The area has safety issues and has become an eyesore, they said. Grillo said he has spoken with code enforcement about the issue and has been told there is a manpower shortage to effectively address problems.
“It wasn’t intentional that code enforcement is not doing what they need to do on Route 35,” he told the crowd. “I know you’re frustrated with it.”
He said one state law in particular, the Permit Extension Act, was creating a situation where incomplete businesses have been able to legally sit vacant.
“The Permit Extension Act was passed because you have developments that get delayed because going to the DEP [Department of Environmental Protection] is remarkably slow,” Wisniewski explained. “This seems to be, could be, an unintended consequence.”
It was also the first time many residents learned that the “triangle property” at Route 35 and Old Spye Road would be used as a storage site for a gas company for the next three to four years. Residents expressed concerns that it would become another eyesore on the highway.
Grillo said he did not have any illusions that all of the problems would be fixed overnight. He said because the area is dominated by the highway, promoting foot traffic would not be realistic. However, he said, attracting retail of a higher caliber is a possible solution.
“If you create stores that are destination points … that’s a totally different retail model, but it works,” he said.
He added that even smaller changes, such as setting off the area with flags or signage celebrating the area’s history, would have a positive impact on the area.
Implementing solutions could create subsequent solutions — Councilwoman Mary Novak pointed out that having higher-end businesses would drive up rent, and that is somewhere, she said, businesses like adult bookstores do not want to be.
Residents had their own suggestions as well, from formally organizing a Morgan neighborhood association to some local business representatives committing to purchasing a new sign for the area.
Grillo and his fellow council members encouraged residents to contact them and continue the dialogue and mentioned the possibility of another similarly structured meeting in the future.