4-minute read
Residents question impact on aquifer, local traffic
Upper Saddle River retain council to explore development in neighboring Rockland County at its May 4, 2023 meeting.
Marsha A. Stoltz, NorthJersey.com
UPPER SADDLE RIVER A two-year simmering dispute over building violations at several Jewish facilities under construction on its northern border has finally generated a public pledge to pursue remedies from the mayor and council at Thursday's meeting.
The dispute primarily concerns the clearing of a 19-acre wooded site for an orthodox Jewish cemetery recently opened at 44 Hillside Ave. in Airmont, New York, and the construction of a 18,520-square-foot mikvah or ritual Jewish bath facility on 3.7 acres across the street from the cemetery at 79 Hillside Ave. in Ramapo, New York.
Both have been cited by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation for failure to engage in runoff containment practices during constructon.
Now, however, the concerns have widened to include an allegation of insufficient on-site parking for the cemetery, forcing cars onto the shoulders of narrow Hillside Avenue, and funneling traffic onto Upper Saddle River side streets. Officials are also charging that the builder has reneged on a pledge to arrange for a water connection with Veolia (formerly Suez) and is now planning to install three wells to service the building, with discharge site in question.
The borough is largely on well and septic systems, and residents allege filling one swimming pool empties the aquifer serving the Hampshire Hill area, leading to questions of the impact of the mikveh.
Upper Saddle River Mayor Arman Fardanesh told 24 residents attending the meeting that White Plains attorney Michael Burke has again been retained to address "water and sewer issues" for the borough, and that they are meeting with water-impact committee and elected officials next week.
"Following that, we will have a meeting with both New Jersey and New York legislation to include members of this council as well as Mike Waller from New York State to discuss the ongoing issues that impact residents," Fardanesh said. "We'll also be engaging with the N.J. DEP and N.Y. DEC. We are working round the clock and taking this issue very seriously."
The $14.5 million, 52-room Ohel Sarah or Hillside Mikveh is scheduled for completion in September 2024. The mivehohelsarah.com website states the orthodox community has "outgrown" its existing Mikvah of Rockland County on Viola Road in Monsey, New York and that another is "desperately needed."
The Har Shalom Cemetery is being billed as the largest Shomer Shabbos-owned cemetery in the United States, described as containing anywhere from 10,200 to 20,000 plots. Traditionally bodies are buried unembalmed in a shroud in a pine box with a hole to facilitate "going back to earth."
While residents deny their concerns are antisemitic, they refer to two cemeteries east of the Har Shalom site as "clean" even though one of them is the Jewish Gates of Zion Cemetery following the same burial rules because Har Shalom bodies are "buried without a proper enclosure."
Local: Saddle River affordable housing plan OK'd. Here's what judge said of residents' objections
Burial of unembalmed bodies is not prohibited in New York or New Jersey, and in fact is gaining in popularity as part of the "green burial" movement on the premise that embalmed bodies may be leaching more chemicals into the ground water than naturally-decaying bodies.
The Green Burial Council notes that "embalming does not remove toxins from anywhere in the body" and cremation has no environmental benefits.
"It's an old thing that's new again," said Jeff Vander Platt of Vander Platt Funeral Home in Paramus. "We don't have a whole lot of call for it, but we are able to perform them."
Among the cemeteries performing green burials is Maryrest Cemetery in Mahwah, one of 11 Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Newark with New Jerseys first Catholic Natural/Green Burial Section. Patrons can choose from "dark," "medium" or "light" green options from burial in a shroud to burial with environmentally-friendly embalming chemicals and decomposing casket.
Residents argue the Har Shalom cemetery land has been made additionally "porous" and susceptible to seepage by the wholescale removal of the site's foliage, fluffing up what they estimate to be 15 feet of top soil so remains can seep down to the aquifer more quickly.
But Mickey Levine, executive vice president of the Cemetery Association of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, says he's never had a complaint about seepage or water contamination in 20 years of overseeing their 18 burial sites in Bergen and Passaic counties.
"When you dig a grave you're loosening the soil, " Levine said. "We're doing burials all the time."
Old Paramus Reformed Church in Ridgewood oversees the adjacent 22-acre, 18,600-plot Valleau Cemetery just off Route 17 south. The Rev. Rob Miller says his church doesn't do "green burials," but that their vault is primarily required to stabilize the ground as soil settles after burial, not to prevent seepage.
In his 2022 book "Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America's Cemeteries," author Greg Melville points out that the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world embalming its dead a practice left over from the Civil War to preserve bodies for long-distance transport. Before that, dead people went into the ground "au natural."
Melville says that while research on how cemeteries contaminate ground water are "surprisingly scarce," there are indications that the contamination is more likely coming from bodies that are embalmed with a cancer-causing combination of formaldehyde, methanol, and ethanol an average three gallons per body or 4.5 million gallons for the U.S. in 2021 alone.
"There are many potential fixes for the creep of graveyard ooze into our aquifers," Melville said. "The easiest being to stop injecting the dead with chemicals."
View original post here:
Upper Saddle River residents protest Jewish development on NY ... - NorthJersey.com
- Construction of housing project in former Church to begin with parking dispute in the rearview - Concord Monitor - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Egypt: Christian homes attacked following rumours of planned church construction | ICN - Independent Catholic News - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Moscow Patriarchy launches church building mission at Novaya Zemlya - The Independent Barents Observer - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Lawsuit: Head of the Harbor trustees broke law with vote for church project - Newsday - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- When an old church sells its building | History | newspressnow.com - News-Press Now - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- First Baptist Church of Amboy to celebrate 100th anniversary of building dedication - Shaw Local News Network - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Waterford prepares for the heartbreak of seeing its oldest church come down - Journal Times - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Why did the church collapse? South African architect says he knows - theday.com - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Craven Corp. sues Louisville Baptist Temple over development project - Canton Repository - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- A debate over the fate of Catholic Church offices and an accusation of religious bias - Idaho Statesman - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Church rebuilds a year after highway demolition | News | thefacts.com - Brazosport Facts - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Near Chicago, a Lutheran Church Finds New Life at the YMCA - Church Leaders - April 25th, 2024 [April 25th, 2024]
- Apartments to Replace 19th Century Church in Williamsburg - Brownstoner - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Saint Patrick Church reopens three years after a fire - WFMJ - March 23rd, 2024 [March 23rd, 2024]
- Sale of church building to benefit two congregations - Central Penn Business Journal - February 7th, 2024 [February 7th, 2024]
- Historic Reflection: Pioneer Methodist Episcopal Church - The Village Reporter - February 7th, 2024 [February 7th, 2024]
- Church-to-treatment center project up for approval in St. Cloud - Finance and Commerce - February 7th, 2024 [February 7th, 2024]
- Fort Scott parishioners will return 'home' after construction of new church is finished - Catholic Diocese of Wichita - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Areas to open on Temple Square; Assembly Hall to close amid construction - FOX 13 News Utah - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Temples in 2023: 8 groundbreakings but temple growth not slowing - Church News - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Construction Initiative Supports Church Growth in the Peruvian Amazon - Adventist Review - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Historic Black Waco congregation, growing Hispanic church swap buildings - Waco Tribune-Herald - January 5th, 2024 [January 5th, 2024]
- Renovations update school gym built in the 1950s - Intermountain Catholic - December 28th, 2023 [December 28th, 2023]
- Church of Jesus Christ recaps year of global charity, temple proliferation - Standard-Examiner - December 28th, 2023 [December 28th, 2023]
- For churches devastated by Middle TN tornadoes, recovery reshapes their commitment to ministry - Tennessean - December 28th, 2023 [December 28th, 2023]
- Council Bluffs' Holy Family Church to be closed and sold - The Daily Nonpareil - December 28th, 2023 [December 28th, 2023]
- Donated property for Habitat 'cluster' home draws mixed reactions - Oklahoma City Friday - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Community Board 3 to Hear Details of Proposed 20-Story Tower ... - The Lo-Down - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Plans for the Boltex Building and Belle Reve at Walker and Church - Tribeca Citizen - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Non-profit working to meet demand in affordable housing for seniors ... - WOSU Public Media - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Inside Westminster Abbey, the heart of British monarchy, and site of King Charles coronation - Firstpost - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- New Stakes and Stake Presidencies Announced in April 2023 - Church Newsroom - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Brodsky Partners With Avery Hall on Gowanus Development - The Real Deal - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- The Dart: Ford plants roots locally with a quiet life in mind - Daily ... - Dailyleader - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Marvin Repinski: My boat is so small, the sea is so big - Austin Daily ... - Austin Herald - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- This Chinatown is divided by a freeway. A bold project could reunify the community - The Guardian US - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Sedona Airport begins new round of construction and public input - Sedona Red Rock News - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Governor Hochul Announces $875 Million in Financing For 3100 ... - ny.gov - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Portion of Queen St. closed until 2027 for Ontario Line construction ... - NOW Toronto - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Died: Rachel Kerr James, Missionary Nurse to War-Torn Vietnam ... - ChristianityToday.com - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- Albion native chronicles rise and fall of Medina Sandstone industry - Orleans Hub - May 7th, 2023 [May 7th, 2023]
- On the Porch | News, Sports, Jobs - Marshall Independent - April 21st, 2023 [April 21st, 2023]
- Powerhouse Church in 1, 000 capacity auditorium construction project ... - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Construction begins on new Victory Church | CIProud.com - CIProud.com - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- California Churches Want to Build Affordable Housing on Their Land, So Why Is It So Hard? - KQED - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Construction to begin at new Elmwood Village playground - WGRZ.com - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- First Presidency names 2 temples: Teton River Idaho and Birmingham England - Church News - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Why, for Latter-day Saints, the Washington D.C. Temple is the bedrock of the community - Church News - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Catholic Charity Rallying for Support to Fund Construction of Marian Shrine in Angola - ACI Africa - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Heres the latest on I-69 construction in Johnson County - Daily Journal - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Next phase of Huron Church construction announced, to include repairs from Tecumseh to Dorchester Road - CTV News Windsor - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Central Texas church recovering from tornado in April and now alleged theft - 25 News KXXV and KRHD - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Biden continues construction along parts of border wall started by Trump - Crux Now - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Hafners' are 2022 "Friends of the Fair" - Philip Pioneer Review - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Bucharest Archdiocese Welcomes Order to Demolish Building Near Cathedral - The Tablet Catholic Newspaper - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Southeast Park Improves Accessibility; Businesses Around the Hidden River Construction are Open; and Installation of ADA-Compliant Ramps Continues |... - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Kiambaa Church Pastor Narrates How They Were Forced to Change Its Name - Kenyans.co.ke - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Radical overhaul of major diocese announced in plan to help parishes cope with dwindling number of priests - Independent.ie - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- On its 100th anniversary, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral Moves the Bones of Its First Priest to Charlotte - From the Archdiocese - Greek... - August 4th, 2022 [August 4th, 2022]
- Construction continues on what will be the largest ... - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Temple takes shape: Sacred space will be first of its kind in Arkansas - Arkansas Online - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Recipients of 2022 Alumni Awards announced - The Baylor Lariat - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- James Matthew Peter Hughes, 54, Orange - The Record Newspapers - TheRecordLive.com - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Gov. Wolf Announces $25 Million Investment in Economic Recovery for Abandoned Mine Lands - pa.gov - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Road report: KYTC District 6 update on this week's construction projects; be alert to delays, closures - User-generated content - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- $11.8 million in Bluffton construction permits issued in 2021 - Bluffton Icon - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Baton Rouge Symphony finally returns to the River Center Theatre with a packed spring season - [225] - 225 Baton Rouge - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Alessandro Bruno Obituary - The Record/Herald News - NorthJersey.com - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Parishes partner with Habitat for Humanity to take on LAs homeless crisis - Angelus News - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Letters to the Editor: Housing, environment and the bishop of Fall River - Cape Cod Times - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Converted Summerhill church ticked all the right boxes - The Globe and Mail - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Mexicos Mayan Train: Will it hurt those its meant to help? - The Christian Science Monitor - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Structural issues at arts center an 'existential threat' to building, mission - The Suffolk News-Herald - Suffolk News-Herald - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Massive Restoration Of Logan Square's 109-Year-Old 'Red Church' Nearly Complete - Block Club Chicago - November 16th, 2021 [November 16th, 2021]
- With a Veto by the Mayor, the Buckhead Church Development Hits a Snag - What Now Atlanta - November 16th, 2021 [November 16th, 2021]
- New Coffee House Opening in Rock Island Mall - WQAD.com - November 16th, 2021 [November 16th, 2021]
- Gregory Wilder: Could the LDS Church single-handedly solve world hunger? - Salt Lake Tribune - November 16th, 2021 [November 16th, 2021]
- James Marvin Anderson Jr. | News, Sports, Jobs - The Journal - NUjournal - November 16th, 2021 [November 16th, 2021]
- John Martin Bell, 91 - Southern Maryland News Net - Southern Maryland News Net - November 16th, 2021 [November 16th, 2021]
- MON AM News: UW-Madison student team awarded $250,000 for carbon dioxide removal; Researchers discover 'unprecedented' chemical reaction -... - November 16th, 2021 [November 16th, 2021]