I believe that Mayor Torres’ proposal is shortsighted and it does not go along with the plans to convert the facility into a recreation and entertainment center for the City of Paterson.  We already have enough social service providers in the City; however, we are desperately lacking a recreation and entertainment center.  Mayor Torres should scrap any personal plans for the Armory and start listening to what the people of Paterson want and need.

Dream vs. Reality
Thursday, January 15, 2009
BY MEREDITH MANDELL
Herald News

PATERSON — City officials dream of renovating the dilapidated Paterson Armory into a state-of-the-art recreation center.

But that dream clashed with reality at a special meeting of the City Council on Tuesday when an architect estimated the project would carry a $12 million price tag.

The 53,800-square-foot Market Street building was once the grand home to members of New Jersey’s National Guard and also served as a meeting place for the city’s clubs and social events. But since 1990, the building has sat empty and in disrepair. The roof is leaking, and many of its inside walls and floors suffer from water damage. The building also has asbestos, according to Newark-based GRAD Associates, the firm the city hired to write a feasibility study.

Allen Trousdale, the architect who presented the study to the City Council, said although the 113-year-old building is structurally sound, it needs entirely new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems; a new roof; a new fire alarm system; an elevator; and two new fire stairwells.

The study, which cost $80,000, came after years of wrangling over what to do with the building. Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres proposed converting it into a community center after the City Council denied his push to sell the building to a self-storage company. Officials have since touted the recreational center as one of the ways to solve the city’s ongoing troubles with juvenile crime.

“That area of the city is a very distressed area, and there’s very little for the community to do,” said 2nd Ward Councilman Aslow Goow Sr. “Other than, you know, you go to school, you come home and you wind up getting in trouble, and most of the parents are both working. These kinds of facilities could enhance the position for the children to get better acquainted with sports. It will have a tremendous benefit.”

The architect’s study included tennis courts, a running track, volleyball and basketball courts, and an indoor-soccer field on the first-floor of the building.

On the second and third floors, there would be room for an alternative high school, a job counseling program as well as space for other social service programs and functions like remedial education classes, parenting classes or a vaccination clinic.

Torres said in an interview Wednesday that the next step will be to present architectural plans to the council for approval and to lobby state and federal officials for money to fund the project.

“I have to get all these entities to buy into it. Someone’s got to come up with the $12 million to renovate it,” he said. He added that they also have to get money to operate the facility, too.

Torres said he’s contacted Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, for federal funds, and he’s asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office about using funds seized from drug dealers to pay for the project.

The plan proposes that much of the renovation be eco-friendly, including installing insulated windows and doors that are weather-stripped to retain heat. The study notes that air infiltrating from outside is a major cause of wasted energy. The proposal calls for installing several large fans on the ceiling for ventilation. It proposes planting large trees on the stretches of barren pavement surrounding the armory for shading in the summer. Additionally, the study calls for installing energy-efficient lamps and conserving water by setting up a system to collect storm water. That water could be used to flush new toilet fixtures in the building.

Trousdale said that although sustainable design can be more costly to do initially, it would lead to net savings for the city.

“Part of the result of a green building design is that the annual costs of operation, utility and electricity is lessened,” Trousdale said Wednesday. “For a long-term owner like the city, all of these additional costs would be paid off.”

Torres proposes housing a variety of social services in the building, including drug abuse counselors and social workers.

Fifth Ward Councilman Julio Tavarez said he feels Torres’ plans divert from the original intention of making this major landmark in his ward into a recreational facility.

“I thought the usage was going to be an entertainment venue for adults and youth, but what the mayor is trying to do is create a social services hub in the middle of the city,” Tavarez said in a phone interview Wednesday. “We already have many social service providers in the 5th Ward and throughout the city. … I think it’s going to be redundant.”

Reach Meredith Mandell at 973-569-7107 or mandell@northjersey.com.