Eminent domain encroaches on neighborhood

BY TONY GICAS
STAFF WRITER | CLIFTON JOURNAL

CLIFTON - The $150 million Department of

Transportation project designed to provide a safer
merge of Routes 3 and 46, as well as alleviate
traffic congestion along the state highways, carries
a hefty price for residents and business owners
who will lose land due to eminent domain.

Phase I of the project, which will construct an

access road running parallel to Route 46 and an
overpass connecting Montclair State University to
the highway via Clove Road, broke ground this
month. Sources said the majority of the first phase, with an estimated completion date of July
23, 2019, will occur "off" the roadways system and no road closures or disturbances are
anticipated for "several" months.

The second phase of the New Jersey Department of Transportation improvements, which will
focus on the actual interchange itself, are expected to begin in three years. The entire
construction project is scheduled to be finished by 2021.

For commuters who use the two major highways to travel east to New York City or west toward
Parsippany, traffic delays will be an inevitability throughout the project's five-year construction
period.

However, for several homes or businesses that directly border the work zone, the project's
plans resulted in the NJDOT acquiring their land and leaving property owners powerless in the
process. Any entity with the power of eminent domain, such as the DOT, can obtain private
property for public use without consent.

DOT plans show that a row of homes on the western side of Normandy Road will lose portions
of their back yards that border Route 3 east. However, because of the curvature of the street,
City Manager Dominick Villano said a family of five living at 82 Normandy Road will be hit the
hardest.

Michelle Genardi, 45, and her husband Corey, 47, are both lifelong Clifton residents who first
moved into their home in 2003. Corey is a third-generation Cliftonite whose family-owned
roofing company has been based in the City for nearly 50 years. Michelle's parents moved from
Paterson to Clifton, where her sisters, cousins and other relatives also call home. The family's
three children are all products of the City's public school system, with the oldest child entering
college and their youngest daughter in elementary school.

Over the last decade, the couple invested thousands of dollars into the home, including upscale
masonry work on the exterior, a kitchen with flooring imported from Italy and an in-ground pool
installed in the already compact back yard.
"We're a Clifton family and this is our home. My husband and I have worked very hard for it,"
Michelle said. "The idea of moving out is a decision way down the road because that's not at all
where we're at right now. We wouldn't even think of it."

As a result, when they first learned that the second phase of the highway improvement project
included plans for a 12-foot sound wall that would cut out 21 feet of their property line and run
straight through the center of their pool, they were dejected.

"It's very disheartening," she said. "It's eminent domain so you have no choice, no recourse.
It's not a great feeling to just hear someone come in and say they have the right to take it
away. It's been very upsetting and very overwhelming but, it is what it is."

From the home's addition, a spacious family room which juts out into the back yard, the
proposed sound wall will sit just 11 feet outside the room's windows. According to the plans,
about 1,900 square feet of yard will be taken from the property's 7,800-square-foot lot.

DOT spokesman Stephen Schapiro said the Genardi's pool will be removed completely when
Phase II begins in approximately three years. The pool will be filled in at the state agency's
expense and the transportation department will also cover landscaping costs once the sound
barriers are finished.

An independent appraisal of homes on Normandy Road determined that none of the property
owners would experience enough "damage" following the project's completion to warrant the
purchase of the homes themselves, a state official said.

Schapiro said the agency is not aware of any encroachments onto residential properties during
Phase I of the project.

However, as part of Phase II, NJDOT officials confirmed the majority of the Genardi's back yard
was acquired in 2012 and that the homeowner was compensated $175,000 for land required for
construction purposes. He said payment has already been made but stipulated there is an
appeals process in which the property owner can argue that the land's appraisal should be
higher.

"It's one of those things that's difficult," Schapiro said. "Often times with projects such as these
there's someone who's not going to be happy. But that's why there's a process in place to
ensure people are fairly compensated."

Villano, who served as Clifton's lead engineer when Normandy Road residents first learned of
the project's impact, said the improvements "on a large scale are for the greater good" but
agreed it creates a "very difficult" situation for families like the Genardi's. The sound barriers,
which will range in height from 10 to 13 feet along the Upper Montclair neighborhood's back
yards, are designed to deflect Route 3 traffic noise upwards and away from the homes, the city
manager said.

However, homeowners on Normandy Road say the noise only becomes an issue when windows
are open, a contention Clifton Journal confirmed during visits to houses in the area.
"The biggest concern is the safety of my family," said Michelle, adding that she is deathly afraid
a worker could accidentally cut a gas line and cause an explosion or leak. "There are a lot of
safety concerns. You don't know what you'll be breathing in or who will be working overnight in
your backyard while your family's sleeping. We just have to hope that it will not be as invasive
as we fear."

In order to avoid cutting into gas lines during construction Schapiro said the NJDOT coordinates
with utility owners, including PSEG, to identify and map existing underground utilities located
within the project's limits.

NJDOT officials said the second portion of the project is still in the design phase. Consequently,
details regarding overnight work or the number of work days required to build the sound
barriers have not yet been finalized. However, the state agency works with residents,
businesses and municipal officials to minimize the disruption and inconvenience, transportation
representatives said.

In 2012, upon first hearing of the project, the Genardis retained the Morristown law firm of
McKirdy & Riskin. Joseph Grather, an attorney who specializes in eminent domain, represents
the couple as well as several of their Normandy Road neighbors and nearby business owners.

"With eminent domain, the only real dispute with a legitimate public use - like a highway - is
how much compensation the property owner is entitled," Grather said.

After the state agency files a deed with the court and it is determined that the eminent domain
process was properly exercised, the DOT acquires the portion of property required for the road
improvements. A preliminary period of negotiations then plays out to determine how much the
homeowner will be paid for the land. If, like the Genardi's, the homeowner is unable to reach a
settlement with the DOT, compensation is determined preliminarily by a panel of condemnation
commissioners and secondarily by a jury.

Grather said the Genardis are currently in the middle of the process and have yet to undergo a
commissioners hearing. However, several of their neighbors, including Geraldine Flaminio, who
lives three doors down, went through the process earlier and have settled.

At this point the Genardi family is holding out hope that, at some point, the project's plans will
change and the area of property taken by the state's transportation department is reduced.

In response to questions from residents of Normandy Road, Schapiro said five years ago the
DOT investigated and rejected an option that would have moved the sound walls further away
from the homes. Doing so, he said, would have created an unsafe situation by limiting the sight
distance for vehicles accessing Route 3 eastbound from the Valley Road northbound ramp.

At a DOT information session held at Montclair State University earlier this month, dozens of
residents were in attendance from Clifton, Little Falls and Woodland Park, the communities
which will feel the greatest impact during the road project's construction.

Clifton stakeholders Eve and Robert Rekker, residents of Robin Hood Road since 2004, as well
as other residents peppered transportation department representatives with questions about
the proposed traffic signal changes on Valley Road. A few feet away, the Genardis gingerly
approached enlarged maps displaying the project's scope to make doubly sure their property
would not be included within Phase 1 construction work which began this month.

"Completely overhauling Route 46 has been one of my top priorities in Congress," said U.S.
Congressman Bill Pascrell, who sent representatives to the MSU info session. "The federal
government has reinvested transportation dollars to improve Route 46 in Passaic County, from
the Spaghetti Bowl in Wayne to the Passaic River. One major interchange which sees massive
delays and needs updating is the confluence of Route 46 and 3."

Pascrell stated the project has been delayed too long and motorists will likely be inconvenienced
during the construction period but said he is pleased the "aging" roadway will be rehabilitated
and its traffic pattern updated. He is optimistic the completed project will improve safety,
alleviate traffic backups and improve the quality of life for commuters.

In addition to homeowners and commuters, officials said businesses along the corridor will also
be impacted by the project.

While Normandy Road residents will deal with sound barriers, Villano said the Fette car
dealership, which hugs the westbound side of Route 46, is slated to lose property during the
Phase II improvements. In order to help create a safer merge, Villano said the majority of the
project's expansion work will occur on the north side of the highway near the car dealer.

Transportation reps also confirmed two of the three existing structures on the Little Falls
property identified as Trish's Treasures & Make-Up by Gail Marie that sits along Notch Road's
westbound jug handle will be demolished for construction of the access road which will run
parallel to Route 46. Additionally, the DOT acquired a residence as well as two gas stations on
the eastbound side of Route 46 - a current BP and former Gulf station - which fell within the
project's slope easement.

The Great Notch Inn, a Little Falls bar which has been located on the westbound side of Route
46 since the highway was first constructed in 1939, is slated to lose about a third of its property
due to the DOT project.

Rich Hempel, whose grandfather Greg DiLeo opened the haven for music and motorcyclists,
currently operates the landmark watering hole alongside his sister and co-owner Gail Sabbak.

"In the short term it helps us because it puts some money in our pockets," Hempel said. "But,
in the long term it hurts us because it eliminates a lot of our future options."

Although the majority of the land taken through eminent domain is located at the rear of the
property, Hempel said any potential plans to lease the property would be hampered by the lack
of available parking because of the land acquired by the DOT.

"Basically, we're just trying to deal with it and move on," said Sabbak.

Ironically, their grandfather opened The Green Chateau in 1924 on the eastbound side of the
highway near the McDonald's and only moved across the street to the Inn's current location
because the initial construction of Route 46 was set to run straight through the establishment.
The bar was raised onto logs 77 years ago and moved to where the Inn stands today.

Email: gicas@northjersey.com