NJMG's Hackensack development raises flood concerns

The Hackensack City Council met as a Committee of the Whole on Tuesday night, when officials discussed potential flooding from development of 150 River St. -- the old headquarters of The Record and North Jersey Media Group.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

An upbeat story in the Local section today ignores officials' fear of flooding after redevelopment of The Record's former headquarters in Hackensack.

Because the 19.7 acres owned by North Jersey Media Group are in a flood plain, bordering the Hackensack River, city planners already have called for raising the land 3 feet.

The Hackensack City Council voted unanimously to  introduce the site's redevelopment plan on Tuesday night (L-3).

But at its Committee of the Whole Meeting, council members wondered where the water would go after construction of a mixed-use residential and retail complex at 150 River St. and adjoining parcels.

The fear is that flood waters would be diverted to Foschini Park, turning it into "Foschini Lake."

Cashing in

NJMG closed The Record's headquarters in 2009, and set up shop in Woodland Park, several years after printing of the newspaper was moved to Rockaway Township.

Now, parking spaces at 150 River St. are being leased to Bergen County during construction of a Justice Center and new parking structure near the courthouse and old county jail.

NGMJ's 19.7 acres are expected to fetch $20 million or more.

Today's paper

You know Editor Martin Gottlieb isn't serious about presenting the news of the day when two of the four major Page 1 stories, as well as one brief, involve pro and college athletes (A-1).

In Local, Law & Order news is the order of the day with the exception of a few other stories, including one on bears closing a state forest and a column on a ticket blitz against pedestrians (L-1, L-2 and L-3).