Overpeck County Park: From Bleak Landfills to Green Hills (1957-2021)

Final Report:

Introduction

It was a beautiful springtime morning in Overpeck County Park in Bergen County, New Jersey, dated May of 2017. A middle-aged man donning a tank top and athletic shorts could be seen walking his German Shepherd alongside the mile-long track surrounding the green middle area of the park. A young woman wearing headphones passed by on her morning jog while cars near the entrance zoomed past Fort Lee Road to rush to work. Ducks float on the still surface of the Overpeck Creek, the water reflecting the rising sun. Amid the serenity, I could not help but admire the frighteningly flawless weather and scenery bestowed on me in this area. Each day, different individuals pass by or utilize the park’s facilities, completely unaware that a sea of trash lurks hidden beneath their feet, a remnant of the area’s unsanitary history.

Back in the early 1970s, a sour smell pervaded the small suburban town of Leonia, New Jersey, bothering nearby residents. Even during school hours, students were forced to conduct their studies while being subjected to nauseating odors[1]. The source of this stench happened to be an unchecked landfill over what was promised to be a recreational park for the neighboring towns. Originally, the surrounding land was donated to Bergen County under the condition that county officials would repurpose the pest-infested wetlands to service locals. However, years went by, and the Overpeck Creek area remained unfinished and riddled with municipal waste and illegally dumped garbage. It took until the early 2000s to coordinate attempts at rectifying this environmental damage.

Why did Overpeck Creek end up being home to enormous piles of waste despite people living close to the area? Moreover, why did it take until the mid-2000s to properly cover up these landfills? Finally, to what extent are the residents living near Overpeck Creek affected by ongoing cleanup efforts after the park was built? I aim to tackle these burning questions and derive reasonable conclusions from them later on in this report. Through my research, I can state that Bergen County officials chose to save time and effort by refraining from restoring Overpeck Creek under the assumption that the small towns nearby would not fight back, which ended with future generations having to clean up this mess.

This report will explore and analyze the history of the Overpeck Creek area and its gradual transformation into Overpeck County Park. Key actors and events will be highlighted to detect any hints of unequal treatment against neighboring residents. The effect, reaction, and the corresponding response of nearby communities in relation to the dumping practices will also be discussed later on. Most importantly, the report will demonstrate the essence of community and political action in combating environmental inequality. Through what’s to come, we will be able to conclude that the people near Overpeck Creek were put in environmental harm due to financial concerns and short-sighted planning from Bergen County officials.

The Overpeck Creek Area

To truly get to the root of this issue, we must also look at the history of the areas surrounding the environmental site. Starting out, it is important to bring up one of the small suburbs that surrounds the park: Leonia. A middle-class New York City suburb no bigger than two square miles, Leonia was always an area that maintains its colonial history, blended with modern conveniences.[2] Although the town was primarily Caucasian, a demographic shift started in the 80s, when a surge of Korean immigrants started to settle in the area, along with the more blue-collar towns of Palisades Park and Ridgefield Park. Meanwhile, other nearby towns, Teaneck and Englewood, have historically consisted of sizeable African American subcommunities comprising up to a third of the population for each town.[3] What brings these five towns together is none other than their proximity to the Overpeck Creek Area.

An area spanning acres of wetland that previously belonged to the Lenape Tribe, Overpeck Creek, and the neighboring Teaneck Creek are tributaries of the Hackensack River. Although the areas were home to incredibly diverse ecosystems at play, the Overpeck Creek area started to degrade starting with the rise of industrialization in America. Before the halfway point of the 20th century, small developments such as a trolley line, a dancehall, and homes where people lived. To some, the wetlands, which could be considered an extension of the New Jersey Meadowlands, were a nuisance and a missed development opportunity.[4] Seeing as how rebranding this area could increase revenue for the area by building new facilities, wanting to freshen up the marsh made perfect sense.

Starting from the year 1958, Bergen County officials addressed this “missed opportunity” by drafting plans to fill the Overpeck Creek area with garbage, thereby generating acres of landfill. The landfill would then be capped off to build a brand-new park for residents from the county to partake in activities such as tennis, rollerblading, and a plethora of other recreational activities. To get this plan rolling, the county enlisted the help of A. Carl Stelling Associates, a consulting firm, to create a Master Plan for the future park. With land that was previously donated from the towns of Teaneck, Englewood, Leonia, Ridgefield Park, and Palisades Park, the county had all the space it needed to fulfill its promise of a recreational park.[5]

In regard to the specifics of this plan, the proposed Overpeck County Park was going to have to be drained by two feet to reclaim some of the lands. This process would involve creating a basin around the watery parts of the land and pumping out water until it reaches satisfactory levels. In addition, the area would temporarily serve as a landfill to fill in the rest of the marshy patches. A combination of these two methods to fix up the land would be the most cost-efficient route according to A. Carl Stelling. From a logistics standpoint, it also makes sense to help reclaim land thorough landfills, as it helps solve garbage disposal issues, killing two birds with one stone. Through these methods, the proposed 805-acre park was projected to be finished in around ten years at a projected cost of around $14,000,000.[6] With a feasible plan to give the area a proper facelift, things were starting to look up for the people of Bergen County.

With a clear goal in mind, the mission of converting the wetlands of Overpeck Creek into a county park commenced. The area around the creek became zoned for dumping, and the county allowed even private companies to begin unloading waste in the area, which included materials such as old tires and refrigerators. Coincidentally, nearby highways, I-95 and I-80, were being built around the same time that this plan had gone into motion. Thus, the New Jersey Department of Transportation took the opportunity to dump waste from the construction process into the unofficial Overpeck Creek Landfill as well.[7] With this, the filling phase of the Overpeck County Park construction project was on its way to being accomplished. As the years passed, however, a big problem started to arise and the people living nearby started to suffer because of this issue.

A Stinky Issue

Fast forward around twenty years after the Overpeck Creek Area was zoned for dumping. It was already the mid-1970s and no further and no further efforts beyond consistently dumping garbage had been taken to develop an actual park. The landfill that was made with the purpose of reshaping the land remained open for dumping with no apparent end in sight. It appears county officials seemingly forgot the original purpose of the dumping practices and elected to continue nonchalantly allowing trash to be dumped there. No matter the true cause, the reality was that nearby residents were starting to notice a problem with the Overpeck Creek area and that their lives could have been in danger.

To illustrate the type of dangers the people were exposed to, we must turn our attention to the waters. Through studies conducted in the Hackensack River, of which Overpeck Creek is a tributary, Hexavalent Chromium or Cr(VI) was detected.[8] Cr(VI) is an industrial-produced chemical that has been linked to multiple organ diseases, most notably cancer.[9] Since the Cr(VI) seemed to be coming from one of the Hackensack River tributaries, we can infer that it partly came from Overpeck Creek, considering the presence of landfills in the area. According to the EPA, pollution from groundwater can seep into local water supplies, causing potential harm to those who drink said water.[10] Therefore, it can be said that constant dumping practices at Overpeck Creek likely exposed nearby residents to harmful chemicals.

Now that we have established the potentials implicit dangers of the dumping at Overpeck Creek, we will now observe how the issue explicitly impacted nearby residents. As touched upon before, the stench from the landfill that reached twenty-four feet in height at Overpeck Creek was detected by civilians who happened to live near the site. Particularly, one of the schools in the town of Leonia happened to be within walking distance of the landfill. Everyone in the school was able to detect the noxious odors that the landfill gave off. Moreover, it could be observed that actual waste was in direct contact with groundwater and surface water.[11] This observation further strengthens the claim that the landfill polluted the waters.

Health hazards were not the only issue to the townspeople as negative financial outcomes also sprout up. Aside from being subjected to obnoxious smells, what would happen if you lived close to a landfill? For homeowners in Ridgefield Park, Palisades Park, Teaneck, Leonia, and Englewood, the answer was a sharp decrease in property value. A decrease in property value not only lowers a homeowner’s personal assets, but it also lowers the standard of living across the impacted area as towns would end up receiving less in property taxes. On top of this, the county was planning on adding at least twelve more feet of garbage to the landfill.[12] It was clear that something had to be done about this situation.

The people had enough of this stinky issue in their backyards and finally decided to take action. In the year 1974, local officials from the towns of Ridgefield Park and Teaneck represented the interests of the people and filed a lawsuit against Bergen County. The suit was primarily waged due to the county not fulfilling its promise of building a park in the Overpeck Creek area and neglecting the land that the towns provided. Officials representing Bergen County fired back against the towns, stating that the county had not figured out a way to dispose of more garbage. However, the towns claimed that the county did not plan properly, and it did not use more modern methods of garbage disposal.[13] It does make sense that the county did not properly plan ahead, seeing as how the area did go neglected for twenty years after the master plan was concocted. The suit held up in court and it finally seemed as though the promised Overpeck Park was on its way to being built.

Naturally, the next step following class action would be to finally cease dumping in the area and start renovating the landfill, right? Following the legal battle, the dumping operations eventually did slow down, but no immediate efforts to start building a park commenced. Once again, the county was neglecting the Overpeck Creek area and leaving it to rot. The political action may have triggered some reaction from the county, but the fight for the safety of those living around the area had yet to be finished. The area remained abandoned until around the early 2000s when the torch was passed onto local champions. These community members would be the ones to properly form the Overpeck Creek area into what is now known as Overpeck County Park.

The Revival of Overpeck

Starting from the year 2002, real progress started to take place in the Overpeck Creek area. After more badgering from locals over the unchecked landfill at Overpeck Creek, Bergen County finally started to provide funding for a brand-new park. In turn, a local organization called the Teaneck Creek Conservancy formed and helped clean up the landfill alongside the Bergen County Department of Parks. After a busy six more years of development, a good portion of the newly christened Overpeck County Park was finally available for public access.[14] However, there was still a lot of work to be done, meaning this issue was not completely resolved.

As displayed above, we have a relatively modern image of a group of people gathered at the Northwestern portion of Overpeck County Park. To briefly remind ourselves of what has been established throughout the report, Overpeck County Park was once home to a massive unofficial landfill, polluting the area and posing dangers to local residents. Such pollutions ranged from old tires to refrigerators, polluting waters near residents and causing a stench that even bothered nearby residents. These dumping actions were facilitated by Bergen County local officials and captured a conflict of interest between residents and politicians. What this image signifies is the impact of extensive dumping practices and how future generations must live with the ramifications of careless dumping.

This image was captured in the early Spring of 2009 by an environmental class from Rutgers University visiting the site. The class visited the area to gain a better understanding of landfills and the effects they have on local areas, including communities. Moreover, the overall focus of their project was to come up with a revamped environmentally friendly design for the underdeveloped parts of the park.[15] Essentially, images, such as this one, were produced to educate Rutgers students on environmentally hazardous sites and to offer solutions to healing communities from such damage.

One important part of the image can be observed in the dirt piles on the left side. One thing to consider is why on Earth they still have piles of dirt in an area such as Overpeck County Park. A reasonable conclusion we can draw from this is that the area is unfinished and still has remnants of landfill waste from years past. This waste still has an impact on the area, and on the people as well.

Another important factor we can observe is the people gathered there. Although we established that they are from Rutgers University visiting the area, there is one big question that sticks out. If the area is still underdeveloped and potentially environmentally hazardous, why are people allowed there? Normally, areas such as this should be closed off and the fact that it was open to public visitors signifies that the area was overlooked by county officials, who were supposed to oversee the park.

A third observation we can make from this image is the buildings and houses in the background. Why are houses and buildings so close to this environmental site? Since garbage around the area ended up polluting the waters, it is entirely possible that the water systems of those buildings are contaminated as well, thus affecting the health and well-being of the people living there. Through all this, the people are forced to live with the health hazards that the landfill caused even now.

It is important to remember that massive landfills such as the one present at Overpeck County Park can take a long time to fully clean up. Yet, even in modern times, the effects of rampant pollution remain relevant to local communities. As seen through this image, people can still witness the effects of this pollution up close, and buildings remain close to the site. Even though an incredible amount of progress has been made to clean up the area over time, officials need to be careful about protecting local residents from the effects of pollution.

In Conclusion

Looking at Overpeck County Park in 2021, I can notice a lot of positive changes that people can be happy about for years to come. With a pristine body of water that is now used by high school rowing teams, you could hardly tell that the park was once covered in garbage.[16] Even though there seems to be nothing out of the ordinary with Overpeck County Park at first glance, the history of the garbage that lurks underneath the area is somewhat unsettling. After all, Bergen County sabotaged the livelihoods of those living near Overpeck Creek through around fifty years of pollution and neglect.

Although it has been established that it is up to the county to protect residents near Overpeck Creek it owns the land, one important question remains: Why did it take this long for the county to renovate the area? There is no definitive answer to this question, but using the evidence provided in the report, we can derive a plausible cause. As touched upon previously, the project was estimated to cost millions of dollars in the 1950s, and it was going to take a lot of time and effort to accomplish. When taking the demographics of the area into consideration, we know that Teaneck and Englewood have had significant African American populations, along with the other three towns that have significant Korean American populations. Historically, we know that politicians take advantage of areas that do not have their own voice. These areas tend to be filled with lower-income, minority, or even a combination of the two. Therefore, we can say that the county did not want to put in the resources to finish up the Overpeck Creek area. County officials also figured that they could get away with neglecting the area since the people were expected to not fight back.

That said, what lessons can we draw from the history of Overpeck County Park? We now realize that politicians can hold prejudices against certain groups, causing certain neighborhoods to suffer. Moreover, we also know that areas such as Overpeck Creek can be incredibly costly to patch up. Beyond these observations, there are broader significances to this issue that places across the country can learn from. Perhaps the most important lesson is the power of awareness. The people near Overpeck Creek became aware of the issue plaguing their homes and banded together back in the 1970s and in the 2000s to fight for their safety. Through recognition of key issues and tackling them strategically, battles against injustice across America can be won.

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[1] John T. McQuiston, “Ridgefield Park Suit Asks End to Dumping by County,” The New York Times (The New York Times, July 23, 1974), https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/23/archives/ridgefield-park-suit-asks-end-to-dumping-by-county-village-which.html.

[2] Paul H. Mattingly, “Recovering Suburban Memory,” in Suburban Landscapes: Culture and Politics in a New York Metropolitan Community (Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002), pp. 246-247.

[3] “EJ Screen,” EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, 2020), https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/.

[4] “The History of Teaneck Creek Conservancy,” Teaneck Creek Conservancy, n.d., http://www.teaneckcreek.org/history.

[5] “Planning Consultants Unveil Plans for Recreation Park on Meadows,” New Jersey Municipalities, June 1958, p. 12.

[6] “Planning Consultants Unveil Plans for Recreation Park on Meadows,” New Jersey Municipalities, June 1958, p. 12.

[7] “The History of Teaneck Creek Conservancy,” Teaneck Creek Conservancy, n.d., http://www.teaneckcreek.org/history.

[8] Victor S. Magar et al., “Geochemical Stability of Chromium in Sediments from the Lower Hackensack River, New Jersey,” Science of The Total Environment 394, no. 1 (2008): pp. 103-111, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.01.007.

[9] OSHA, “Hexavalent Chromium,” Hexavalent Chromium – Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration, n.d., https://www.osha.gov/hexavalent-chromium.

[10] “Where This Occurs: Ground Water and Drinking Water,” EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.), https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/where-occurs-ground-water-and-drinking-water.

[11] John T. McQuiston, “Ridgefield Park Suit Asks End to Dumping by County,” The New York Times (The New York Times, July 23, 1974), https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/23/archives/ridgefield-park-suit-asks-end-to-dumping-by-county-village-which.html.

[12] John T. McQuiston, “Ridgefield Park Suit Asks End to Dumping by County,” The New York Times (The New York Times, July 23, 1974), https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/23/archives/ridgefield-park-suit-asks-end-to-dumping-by-county-village-which.html.

[13] John T. McQuiston, “Ridgefield Park Suit Asks End to Dumping by County,” The New York Times (The New York Times, July 23, 1974), https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/23/archives/ridgefield-park-suit-asks-end-to-dumping-by-county-village-which.html.

[14] Marsha A. Stoltz, “Teaneck Creek Park Undergoing $5.6 Million Restoration Project,” North Jersey Media Group (NorthJersey.com, September 1, 2020), https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/teaneck/2020/09/01/teaneck-creek-park-nj-undergoing-5-6-million-restoration/3449914001/.

[15] Department of Landscape Architecture, “Intermediate Landscape Architecture Studio” (Rutgers University, 2009), https://cues.rutgers.edu/overpeck-park/pdfs/area-4-final.pdf.

[16] Juliet Macur, “Once an Urban Landfill, Now a Rowing Paradise,” The New York Times (The New York Times, May 7, 2012), https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/sports/former-new-jersey-landfill-is-now-a-rowing-paradise.html?ref=oembed.

Bibliography

Department of Landscape Architecture. “Intermediate Landscape Architecture Studio.” Rutgers University, 2009. https://cues.rutgers.edu/overpeck-park/pdfs/area-4-final.pdf.

“EJ Screen.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 2020. https://ejscreen.epa.gov/mapper/.

“The History of Teaneck Creek Conservancy.” Teaneck Creek Conservancy, n.d. http://www.teaneckcreek.org/history.

Macur, Juliet. “Once an Urban Landfill, Now a Rowing Paradise.” The New York Times. The New York Times, May 7, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/sports/former-new-jersey-landfill-is-now-a-rowing-paradise.html?ref=oembed.

Magar, Victor S., Linda Martello, Barbara Southworth, Phyllis Fuchsman, Mary Sorensen, and Richard J. Wenning. “Geochemical Stability of Chromium in Sediments from the Lower Hackensack River, New Jersey.” Science of The Total Environment 394, no. 1 (2008): 103–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.01.007.

Mattingly, Paul H. “Recovering Suburban Memory.” Essay. In Suburban Landscapes: Culture and Politics in a New York Metropolitan Community, 246–47. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.

McQuiston, John T. “Ridgefield Park Suit Asks End to Dumping by County.” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 23, 1974. https://www.nytimes.com/1974/07/23/archives/ridgefield-park-suit-asks-end-to-dumping-by-county-village-which.html.

OSHA. “Hexavalent Chromium.” Hexavalent Chromium – Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration, n.d. https://www.osha.gov/hexavalent-chromium.

“Planning Consultants Unveil Plans for Recreation Park on Meadows.” New Jersey Municipalities, June 1958.

Stoltz, Marsha A. “Teaneck Creek Park Undergoing $5.6 Million Restoration Project.” North Jersey Media Group. NorthJersey.com, September 1, 2020. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/teaneck/2020/09/01/teaneck-creek-park-nj-undergoing-5-6-million-restoration/3449914001/.

“Where This Occurs: Ground Water and Drinking Water.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/where-occurs-ground-water-and-drinking-water.