Dear John & the building department of Edgewater team members, 

A new grand Spa Club has opened up within close proximity to my condo building, which is fabulous, for the exception of somebody who posted the following in Google reviews:

"Warning this area has been a bio hazard for many years. It used to be a landfill and was denied any home or business construction unless the land owner removes and restores all the soil from the ground (which costs lots of money). Hexavalent chromium, a manufacturing component that has been identified as a cause of lung cancer, liver and kidney damage and mutations to human DNA is what is found in the ground not only in this location but other Edgewater/Weehawken locations. This area I believe has the highest levels that's why the site has been abandoned for many years. Hudson County is the nation’s chromium-waste center, with almost 200 sites where it was dumped decades ago.

I pass by this area all the time and never seen them clean out the soil and they kept the foundation as you can see." 

Obviously, you could see why someone would get concerned. Are you able to please kindly comment and advise if:

1) Aforementioned (bold and underlined) statement is accurate; if so

2) What measures have been taken for soil restoration 

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

 Response: 

This gentleman is not accurate in his allegations. The property on which the SOJO Spa is located  was not part of a land fill but rather housed part of what was the Alcoa Aluminum manufacturing facility in Edgewater. Yes there was contamination on the property as there was contamination on the rest of the Alcoa campus which now houses the Avalon Bay Residential Community however this property was cleaned to NJDEP standards years ago. Also Mr. Williams is incorrect in stating that the reason there was or is no residential development on that property is due to the contamination, in fact the reason is a zoning issue.  The area where the SOJO Spa is located was part of an area that was deed restricted from residential use when the Avalon bay project was approved in 1998, for density purposes not contamination.

  If you have any other questions regarding this matter please contact me. 

Regards,
John Candelmo  Borough of Edgewater - "On the Hudson"
Bergen County, New Jersey
55 River Road, Edgewater NJ 07020
201-943-1700 ext. 3127
JOHN@EDGEWATERNJ.ORG