"The Palisades is getting worse over the years," said John Dublier, a West New York resident and homeowner.
Dublier is talking about the pollution along the Palisades cliffs, specifically from 60th Street to Weehawken's border on 51st Street along Boulevard East.
"Those residents on Boulevard East who live on upper stories of townhouses or apartment buildings have to look down at litter and refuse-strewn cliffs from November to May," said Dublier.
During a recent survey of the Palisades, Dublier's observations proved to be correct. On the West New York portion of the Palisades, in addition to petty trash, this reporter counted three automobile tires, two traffic cones, metal piping, police barricades, an automobile engine, and a portable bathroom more commonly known as "port-a-potty."
"It appears someone knocked [the port-a-potty] over just on the border [of Weehawken and West New York]," said the Department of Public Works (DPW) Superintendent Bill Parkinson.
He added, "That's pretty dangerous. We're going to try to rope it and pull it up, if not tow it."
After an assessment by the DPW, Department of Parks and Public Property Superintendent Ray Casper, Town Administrator Nicholas Goldsack, and health officials, the town expects clean up to begin on Tuesday.
One person makes a difference
Though Dublier and the town have dealt with the on-going problem, Dublier contacted town officials in late February of the recent, larger debris (car engine, port-a-potty, barricades, etc.) found on the cliffs.
Town officials assessed the area after Dublier contacted the town and DPW about the waste problems.
"I don't believe homeowners are doing this," said Dublier. "We have too much appreciation of the uniqueness of the natural wonder that is the Palisades."
Dublier's own suspicions are that contractors are dumping on the Palisades, in addition to careless residents. According to Dublier, he has sometimes personally hopped over the stone barricades to remove trash, once even removing an air conditioner from the cliffs.
"Any time I get a call from him [Dublier], I go down there to see what we can do to clean up," said Parkinson. He added, "We take charge of our town's [portion] of the Palisades. You have to take care of it."
Safety issues
According to officials, cleanups are done "seasonally" (roughly once every four months) due to poison-ivy infestation and safety issues that arise from performing these cleanups in unsafe weather.
One issue Parkinson and Goldsack addressed was the men's risk of falling on the steep cliffs.
"During the wintertime, it's very slippery on the cliffs," said Parkinson, "We're going to worry about safety first before anything. If it's not safe, I'm not sending my guys there."
For the larger items, Parkinson expects to use a tow truck.
"It's a big drop," said Parkinson, adding, "We're going be on level ground walking along the edge cleaning up."
Stop polluting
"As far as catching these people, they're not [dumping] during the day," said Goldsack, voicing the difficulties in catching perpetrators in the act, adding, "It's a question of enforcement."
Town officials said they are considering installing "no littering/dumping" signs along the overlook as well as more wastebaskets.
"We're going to do the best we can under these circumstances."
Anyone with information on dumping by contractors can call the Hudson County Improvement Authority Solid Waste Management investigation department at (201) 795-4555.
Nicolas Millan can be reached at NMillan@hudsonreporter.com.
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