Board Approves Valley Hospital's New Paramus Site

Valley Hospital’s request for variances for a treatment and research center in a residential zone on Linwood Avenue was approved by the Paramus Board of Adjustment at their meeting Thursday night, but with some stipulations from the board.

According to Valley Vice President of Facilities Management Maria Mediago, the site will be used for research, rehabilitation and diagnostics for cardiac and cancer patients. However, there will not be any radiation or infusion therapy done on the premises, which was a concern of some neighbors. The site is good for Valley, Mediago said, because it is close to their other facilities and already has the lab equipment they will need.

Currently, the building is used by , a nonprofit organization that takes blood donations and distributes them as needed to local hospitals. They have occupied the building since the '60s and were previously given variances by the Board of Adjustment for the medical use of the property. According to Dr. Dennis Todd, the president and CEO of Community Blood Services, the site is currently open all day and night for emergencies, and operates seven buses, two box trucks and 10 delivery vehicles. There are about 150 employees at the site. They will have one year to move the majority of their business to a new location, but will have the option of retaining a 4,000-square-foot suite for four more years while Valley occupies the rest of the building.

Residents who live near the site said they were concerned about noise and traffic.

“I see more traffic coming in and out of the driveway, more doors slamming,” said Liza Musarra, a neighbor.

However, according to engineer Alexander Lapatka, once Valley takes over, there will be fewer employees, shorter hours and no large trucks or buses going to the site. Lapatka said there should be less noise. However, neighbors were still concerned, and the representatives from Valley agreed to build a new six-foot fence along the western edge of the property and put in more plants to try to block any noise from the site.

Neighbors also expressed concern that Valley would want to increase the size of the building like they have planned in Ridgewood. However, Mediago said they would not be expanding the building on Linwood Avenue and agreed that they would return to the Board of Adjustment before any expansion could be done on the property. Mediago also said she wanted to make it clear that the expansion in Ridgewood would not increase the number of patients in the hospital—just create larger rooms up to modern standards.

Valley also agreed to build a sidewalk connecting to the Stop & Shop on Route 17, which was requested by some of the neighbors.

Though some neighbors had initially been concerned, they said with the stipulations, they accepted the board’s decision to approve.

“As long as they keep their word and have no expansion, that’s alright,” said Kay Cooper, a neighbor.