Environmental activists along with residents and some elected officials joined forces on Friday to rally against a proposed power plant in North Bergen, calling on Gov. Phil Murphy to stop the project because they say it would have a detrimental impact on the environment.
More than a dozen protesters dressed in neon green shirts with the words “We Say No” printed on them stood in Ridgefield Park on Friday afternoon under a campaign billboard that reads, “STOP THE NORTH BERGEN GAS POWER PLANT." The natural gas power plant is proposed by California-based Diamond Generating Corp., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi.
“This is the wrong project in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan said Friday at the rally organized by the non-governmental organization Food & Water Watch-NJ.
As he stood wearing a green “Make America Green Again” hat, Sheehan continued, “New Jersey is supposed to be on the road to recovery when it comes to fossil fuel. And here we are still talking about building a brand new infrastructure to support the fossil fuel industry.”
The proposed power plant, called the North Bergen Liberty Generating, would be located on a 15-acre parcel in North Bergen near Railroad Avenue on the banks of Bellman’s Creek in an industrial section of the town. The project would bring an estimated 800 temporary construction jobs and 118 permanent jobs.
But none of the energy is expected to serve New Jersey. The 1,200-megawatt gas-fired power plant would light up Manhattan through cables running under the Hudson River to Con Edison’s 49th Street substation.
During the rally, protesters holding signs chanted, “Dear Governor Murphy, don’t gas the Meadowlands,” criticizing the Democrat’s promises to achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2050. Murphy’s office didn’t return a request for comment on Friday.
“We’re committed to building the cleanest, safest, most efficient electric-generating facility,” said Brian Hague, a spokesman for Diamond Generating. “There are a lot of benefits, including thousands of jobs and tax rateable for North Bergen.”
The controversial $1.8 billion-power plant proposal has been opposed by residents, activists and elected officials, including Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez and Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese, who represents Ridgefield and Ridgefield Park. North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who is also a state senator, supports the project.
“Mayor Sacco has been very vocal about why he believes the project is right for North Bergen,” township spokesman Phil Swibinski said, noting the project will accrue significant tax revenue and create jobs in the township.
Swibinski noted that Sacco and town officials believe the power plant would’ve found another home in North Jersey, so North Bergen should benefit from getting “millions of dollars of annual tax revenue” that would go to keeping property taxes stable. Swibinski said the millions would come in the form of annual PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments.
Janet Glass, a North Bergen resident who opposes the plant, said Friday that she’s most concerned about the long-term damage the proposed power plant would have on the air quality in the area.
“My primary concern is that the revenues that North Bergen would collect from this and the pressure from unions who want the jobs that are connected to this power plant are overshadowing (the township government’s) good sense when it comes to the long-term effects (of the power plant pollution).” Glass said.
Glass, 71, said that Sacco is not responding to science, but rather to the revenues, adding money and politics appear to be more of a concern to the township.
“The mayor is absolutely committed to doing what’s in the best interest for the residents of North Bergen in every sense,” Swibinski said Friday.
Glass added that she hopes her activism against the power plant will yield results.
“I am very hopeful that this pressure is going to come to bear,” said. “I think the pressure is being amped up, and I think that’s going to help.”