Secaucus Builds Dog Run, Parking Lot At Foot Of Farm Rd.

SECAUCUS, NJ — What's going on with the pile of dirt at the base of Farm Road, by Acorn Park playground?

The town of Secaucus plans to build a dog run, a community garden and a parking lot there, but first the site has to go through an environmental remediation service.

This is a parcel of land right next to Acorn Park, and right now it's a dirt pit. That land used to be owned by a tanning company that produced leathers, so the soil may be contaminated with tanning by-products, Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli said.

The town of Secaucus purchased the land from the tanning company for about $100,000 a few years ago and was given a $300,000 grant from Hudson County to convert it to a park. At their most recent Council meeting, held last Tuesday, the town Council decided to hire Ellas Environmental Services to do an environmental investigation and possible remediation, if needed, at the site.

The parking lot would fit about 20 cars and would serve as a place to park for people who want to use Acorn Park, Mayor Gonnelli said.

The entire process will take six to eights months before the remediation, parking lot and dog run are complete.

Photos by Carly Baldwin/Secaucus Patch