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Years and years ago I did some work at a Haz Waste site in NJ (Carteret). The Mayor of Carteret was involved somehow with the property, so I was sort of following the news of the area and the site. (Even got my photo taken for the big newspaper. luckily I had the foresight even as a 20-something to say “Hmm - I’d rather not say my name.”) So the caption was something like “A workman looks for buried utilities at the proposed....”

(What am I doing? Um, looking for um, um - utilities - pipes and stuff! Yeah - that’s the ticket!)

Anyway, a few weeks after that article, the Mayor of Carteret got into a fist-fight with the folks at the city council meeting suggesting improprieties with his involvement with the sale/development of the contaminated site.

Had to go see what they have done with the site. I was expecting some big development.

As of Sept. 2018 there is a lot of grading and earth-moving going on (Google Earth), and a sign on the gate that says “Keep Out. Environmental Study and Remediation.”

I was there back in 1988 or so. I’m guessing that the mayor didn’t make out too well on his property deal.

However, I did do a project on the East River of Manhatten, on the East Bank. Saw it in a TV show. Instead of the old landfill it is now a nice river walk/park.

My client knew a guy that had a restaurant near that site on the East River. So we had lunch near there once. Winded our way through through the warehouses and came upon this big building with white columns - an Italian Restaurant in the middle of all of these warehouses. A few limos around the back.

We go in and are the only ones in there at lunch hour. The place could probably seat 500 people. My client kept ordering food for all of us (”Oh - you’ll love Tony’s shrimp!”) - we were there for over two hours. Nobody ever did come in!

And the food WAS unbelievable! (I always wondered why a place like that with such great food didn’t draw more customers!?)