After NJ rejected its expansion plan, Clifton Adult Opportunity Center gets second chance

The Clifton Adult Opportunity Center is a worthy cause, but that's not the point, say state officials who in June rejected its request to expand the existing facility on Clifton City Hall grounds.

The center will get a second chance to make its case to the state in August.

City and center officials have been at odds with state officials and local residents who don't approve of additional buildings on the grounds at Clifton and Van Houten avenues, which were the home of the historic U.S. Animal Quarantine Station.The center, a nonprofit that provides programs for adults with developmental disabilities, had plans approved last fall by Clifton's zoning board to construct an 8,000-square-foot, 2½-story building for $3 million next to its existing building among structures that once were part of the quarantine station.

The center needs an expansion to accommodate the many young adults with developmental disabilities currently on a waiting list for services, Executive Director Grace Lisbona said. Building the addition close to the center's operations is desirable because many of its adults have multiple disabilities, she said.

"My people are vulnerable," she said. "It would be too difficult to transport them."

The problem, the state said, is that the property where the center wants to build involves the Animal Quarantine Station, which is part of the 26-acre historic site and parcel Clifton City Hall sits on. The state determined that the proposed large building would alter the site's historic setting.

The property housed a number of barns that served as the "Ellis Island for animals" from 1900 to 1979.

Musk oxen, giraffes, circus animals and lots of cattle and sheep that arrived from outside the country were first held at the Clifton Quarantine Station, the only one on the East Coast. Today, the property houses the Clifton municipal complex in one of the original barns, and in two other buildings is the Clifton Adult Opportunity Center.

Clifton took possession of the property in 1978, and part of the deal obligates it to maintain its historic character. Before the center is allowed to build there, it must pass muster with the state Department of Environmental Protection's New Jersey Historic Sites Council.

At a June 16 hearing, the DEP's council voted 3-1 to deny the center's request, largely because the application lacked key pieces of information.

The Historic Sites Council members noted that Clifton failed to prove that a public meeting had been held, that no alternative locations were viable and that an overall plan for the use and maintenance of the quarantine grounds existed.

"I think this an extremely high-handed application," sites council member Alaya Flavia said, adding that she found it "quite objectionable."

She said that although the center is a worthy organization, she was "incredulous" that no other location for its expansion exists in the city.

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On July 14, a Zoom meeting was held among the center's representatives, Clifton City Manager Nick Villano, Clifton municipal attorneys and Historic Sites Council staff, during which it was determined the center could, via the city, submit written input regarding the deficiencies in its application.

The information would be provided to DEP Assistant Commissioner Elizabeth Dragon, who is expected to make the final decision regarding the application on Aug. 25.

The Historic Sites Council's recommendation, along with project documentation, will be forwarded to Dragon for a final decision, DEP officials said.

Preservation:Clifton to preserve Barn S2 of historic U.S. Animal Quarantine Station

On Tuesday, Clifton held an additional hearing on the center's expansion proposal during its regularly scheduled City Council meeting, but residents who oppose it said there was not enough advance notice of the hearing. The legal advertisement wasn't published until Monday, so few knew of the hearing, some residents said. Most of the audience members Tuesday were supporters of the center's plan.

Alessia Eramo, who plans to run for a seat on the Clifton council in November, said she has problems with the way the city has handled the center's proposal.

It "did not appear to be a good-faith public meeting," she said; otherwise, there would have been more than 24 hours' notice.

She added that it seems Clifton rushed the public hearing. Officials could have waited for the Aug. 3 meeting, she said.

Councilwoman Mary Sadrakula agreed with Eramo. "You are only asking people you want to come to the meeting," Sadrakula said.

The center's executive board member Carol LoGioco, wife of the late former Police Chief Frank LoGioco and a longtime supporter of the center, said that as her husband was, she is a "true believer" in the center's mission.

"It is important that they have additional space for their work," LoGioco said.

Paterson resident Eric McKenzie said his brother benefited greatly from the center's program and others should be afforded the same opportunity.

"Paterson doesn't offer anything," he said. "Clifton, you have a treasure."

Mayor James Anzaldi said the center, which has been a tenant on the quarantine station grounds almost since the land was acquired by the city, renovated buildings that were not in the best shape to give a home to young adults with developmental disabilities long before other organizations stepped up.

Councilman Ray Grabowski asked what the big deal is.

"We are not adding to an existing building but building on grass," he said. "We are not doing anything different."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Clifton Adult Opportunity Center NJ has new chance for expansion