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January 24, 2022 The Record 'Extreme' water damage closes school in Passaic County until further notice by Philip DeVencentis PROSPECT PARK — Classes at the borough's only public school will be held remotely until further notice after air-handling equipment froze and then burst, causing "extreme" water damage to parts of the building. The full extent of the damage was not known Monday, as workers continued to restore areas of the second floor where water poured through the ceiling. The equipment that ruptured was evaporator coils — a key component of most heating, ventilation and cooling systems. Staff and students may be able to return to the building next week under the best-case scenario, school officials said. But timing will depend on results of an air-quality assessment, which was being done to ensure that the building is free of mold. "I can't, in good conscience, bring people into a building if I don't know it's safe," said Tyeshia Reels, acting school superintendent. "I have to do my due diligence to make sure that, when we reopen, we have a clean bill of health." Meanwhile, students have not been inside the building in weeks. The Brown Avenue school closed for holiday recess on Dec. 23. Leading up to the equipment breakdown announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it was closed for virtual instruction because of a reported rise in cases of COVID-19. According to the most recent available state data, the school has an enrollment of 816 students in pre-K through eighth grade. Reels said she did not know the age of the equipment that failed. However, she said she expects that the school's insurer will cover the cost of the damage. January 12, 2022 The Record Whistleblower sues Prospect Park officials for retaliation, denial of wages by Philip DeVencentis PROSPECT PARK — A former municipal employee has sued the borough administrator and mayor, alleging she was forced to do two jobs without being fairly compensated and that she was fired after protesting the extra workload. But the accusations raised by Kairy Acevedo run far deeper. In a 34-page lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Paterson, Acevedo alleges that Borough Administrator Intashan Chowdhury tried to bully her into giving money for the campaign to reelect Mayor Mohamed Khairullah. Acevedo also alleges that she was a frequent target of reprisals, including being ignored by her coworkers and left out of a holiday party. The stress caused her to need psychiatric help, take a medical leave of absence and move her family out of the borough. She was terminated last month. "Defendant has engaged in retaliation against Plaintiff and violated Plaintiff's rights with willful or wanton negligence," the complaint states. Acevedo is seeking lost wages and compensatory, liquidated and punitive damages in the eight-count suit. Acevedo, now of Elmwood Park, was the borough's full-time recreation director. In April, she was appointed to be acting court administrator — also a full-time position. According to the suit, Acevedo fulfilled the jobs for four months because she feared her status as court administrator would be in jeopardy if she refused. But the simultaneous roles required her to work 70 hours per week. During that period, the suit claims, she was only paid for her work as court administrator. State records show that her most recent annual salary was $39,899. When Acevedo became court administrator, the suit claims, Chowdhury instructed her to digitize the court's records and to move them to cloud-based storage to give him access. But some files were confidential, and it is illegal to release them to anyone who does not work in the judiciary. Chowdhury was angry when she objected to digitizing the records, the suit claims, and he "engaged in retaliatory actions." Acevedo's duties were in conflict, the suit claims, because a court administrator should be removed from other branches of government. Even when she said so to Chowdhury and Khairullah, they continued to order that she keep both roles and did not accept her resignation as recreation director until July. Chowdhury declined to comment about the case, and Khairullah did not return a call. Nicholas Milewski, an attorney representing Acevedo, also did not return a call placed to his law office in Iselin. Chowdhury has been administrator since January 2019. At the time of his appointment, he was believed to be the youngest town manager in the state. Khairullah, a Democrat, was appointed to be mayor in November 2005. He will finish his fourth term this year, and state records show that he has raised more than $105,400 for his reelection bid. Incoming contributions include a $500 gift from Chowdhury in July. Weeks before, the suit claims, the administrator tried to coerce Acevedo into giving the same amount to the campaign. "Have your husband leave a $500 check" at a political event, Chowdhury allegedly said in a text message."These are the things that the Mayor remembers," he told her, according to the suit.Acevedo did not contribute to Khairullah's campaign, and the suit claims that Chowdhury was angry as a result. December 3, 2021 / January 1, 2022 The Record Prospect Park deliberately derailing quarry residential development, suit says by Philip DeVencentis PROSPECT PARK — The owner of a quarry on Planten Avenue has sued the borough, claiming that officials have derailed its development plan by letting millions of gallons of stormwater flood the former mine. The issue is substantially delaying the project, the owner alleges, and it has so far cost $225,000 to clean sediment buildup, control erosion and pump excess water out of the 78-acre chasm. The rock pit is more than 25% of the size of the entire borough, the smallest municipality in Passaic County. The property owner, a limited liability company called PPark NJ, filed the lawsuit in state Superior Court in Paterson. The borough did not answer the allegations, as of Thursday. The intentional flooding is negligent, reckless and unlawful, the suit claims. "There is no indication," according to the complaint, that officials will "abate discharge of stormwater onto the property." The three-count complaint seeks damages and interest, as well as permanent injunctive relief in the form of a runoff management plan for Hofstra Park, the alleged source of the excess water. The 23-acre park on Struyk Avenue sits atop a bluff, overlooking the quarry to the west. The proposed housing development would dramatically change the face of the borough, likely calling for more police and construction of a new school. The project dates to 2009, when the site was rezoned to allow for 720 apartments in buildings as tall as nine stories. At the time, officials said the neighborhood would be home to 1,080 people. The borough's population is 6,372. Neither Borough Attorney Denis Murphy nor Mayor Mohamed Khairullah returned calls about the case. Michael Sinkevich, an attorney for PPark NJ, also did not return a call placed to his law office in Princeton. Before development can start at the site, the suit states, PPark NJ has to restore it to the condition that it was in prior to quarrying. That requires a process known as de-watering, which ensures the ground is totally dry before excavation. PPark NJ has noticed more and more water being pumped from its property for years, the suit states. But the most recent quantities measured have been greater than what the state allows, it claims. The excess water is a direct result of 1 million gallons of runoff coming from Hofstra Park each month, the suit states. PPark NJ runs a recycling facility at the site. It accepts used asphalt, brick and concrete, as well as clean dirt. Mining started there in the same year that the borough was founded — 1901 — by James Sowerbutt, whose family had control over it for 68 years. Tilcon New York Inc., a behemoth in the industry of crushed stone, was the last business to mine at the site. Based in Parsippany-Troy Hills, it still has quarries in Pompton Lakes and Riverdale, among many other locations. The basalt deposit was tapped by 2010; two years later, PPark NJ purchased the site for $12.1 million. The borough planner prepared a re-examination of the master plan in July, noting that the quarry can be a new and "vibrant" town center. However, the document states, the project has not proceeded because officials have not received a site plan for it. "For this reason, the project is partially stalled," the document states. "A project of this magnitude requires a developer with the vision and financial resources to bring it to fruition." |
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