Group mounts last-minute plan to preserve Greystone
The nonprofit group trying to spare historic Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital from the wrecking ball — which could arrive as early as April 6 — is hoping a judge might step up where other New Jersey government officials have not.
“So we’re taking this thing to court,” Preserve Greystone President John Huebner said at what might have been its final annual meeting Wednesday at the Morris County Public library. “It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this, but we feel like we have no choice. The state’s demolition plan for Greystone is a disaster for taxpayers, and they are trying to shove it forward in violation of both state and federal laws.”
Huebner explained the group’s latest legal maneuver asserts that the New Jersey Department of Treasury’s decision to demolish the massive Kirkbride Building and other decaying structures on the sprawling Parsippany campus is unlawful. That argument, they claim, is based on a certificate of historic eligibility awarded to Greystone in 1989 that would require the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to sign off on the project.
The new appeal follows a previous appellate court denial in November, when Preserve Greystone sought an “emergent motion” asserting demolition activity there should be stayed immediately because remediation is part of the demolition project, and that has already begun.
By then, Treasury already had awarded a $34 million contract to Northstar contracting to remove environmental hazards such as lead paint, mold and asbestos, and ultimately raze the buildings on the campus. The state made a deal with Morris County in which the land would be turned over to the county for stewardship, then deeded to the county for $1 after the bonds secured to fund the demolition were paid off.
Once a state-of-the art facility for the treatment of the mentally ill in the late 19th century, the Kirkbride building has fallen into dangerous disrepair. Historic preservation groups across New Jersey and the United States have urged the state to preserve all or part of the Kirkbride, but DOT dismissed six formal expressions of interest it solicited and received from developers hoping to renovate it for housing, community or mixed use.
A Treasury spokesperson at the time characterized all the proposals as financially unfeasible, although several of the companies that submitted proposals stated they could fund a redevelopment project without the use of public funds.
“It is Preserve Greystone’s position that in addition to violating the New Jersey Historic Places Act the Treasury department’s decision to award the demolition contract was arbitrary and unreasonable, as it solicited proposals from the private sector for redevelopment, but failed to pursue those proposals in any meaningful way,” said Huebner, a Denville resident.
Speaking to a crowd of about 50 people filling a meeting room at the library, and referring to response letters received by those who mailed postcards to Gov. Chris Christie urging preservation, Huebner scoffed Treasury Secretary Andrew P. Sidamon-Eristoff‘s written position.
“It’s a letter saying how they tried ever-so-hard to save the building, but it just cost too much,” Huebner said. “It’s all couched in the language of unfortunate fiscal necessity, the implication being repurposing Greystone would require taxpayer money. But what the treasurer is calling a subsidy here is not spending taxpayer money. What the treasurer is calling subsidy in this letter are things like tax abatements, and the state’s historic tax credit. Things that don’t cause the taxpayers a dime, and generate revenue in the long-term.”
“You would think the treasurer of New Jersey would know the difference between a tax break and a subsidy, and I’m sure he does,” Huebner concluded. “And that’s why this letter is nothing but a bunch of disingenuous and misleading twaddle.”
The group, however, discussed a variety of last-minute strategies to stop the demolition, which is already taking place around the Kirkbride as hazardous materials are being removed from smaller buildings, tunnels and other structures. One idea that drew support was to solicit assistance from legislators outside Morris County as most government officials in the governor’s home county have supported the Christie administration’s plan.
A Treasury spokesperson on Wednesday refused to provide any specific update on project progress to date, or the schedule of actual demolition. John Jay Hoffman, acting attorney general, said last year while announcing the appeal decision that he believed demolition would begin around April 6.
The Treasury spokesperson referred questions about that date back to Hoffman, and would only say “The remediation project remains on schedule,” even though the department has never issued a schedule.
“You’ve got to let your representatives know what you want, or they are not going to do anything,” Huebner said. “If you don’t call public employees to account, if you don’t make them account for their decisions, and don’t demand an explanation, then you shouldn’t be surprised if they act like they own the place.”
The group also heard an original song, “They’re Tearing Old Greystone Down,” sung by popular local musician Grover Kemble, who spent 25 years working at Greystone as a music and recreation therapist. They also saw a new clip of a Greystone film documentary in progress for more than a year by Antiquity Echoes.
New Preserve Greystone Vice President William Needham III, a Morristown business owner who says he helped volunteers restore the Community Theatre in Morristown (now the Mayo Performing Arts Center) as a 10-year-old, said, he believed the healthy volunteer community could make a difference in this battle.
“People should go to the Preserve Greystone website, read the complaint that was filed, read the reply that was sent back from Treasury, and make the decision for yourself. Really, there’s no need to just blow money away when mixed use is becoming more popular around the world.”
Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com.