essexleo

Well said Superman. Before anyone offers further misguided comment about police staffing they should take the time to read the NJ Department of Community Affairs' report about the Harrison Police Department. Call town hall and ask the Town Clerk to email the report, it is very enlightening. I'm an ardent police supporter, but it is simply out of the town’s hands regarding police staffing. As long as the town is classified as distressed we are not masters of our own destiny. How or why we got into this mess is immaterial at this point. It is what it is.

The town does not have a reverse 911 system. The Board of Education has an autodial system that is used to notify parents of school closing and important events. We have the new siren system by Quick Check, which when it is fully functional will provide general notification, the cable channel, numerous radio stations and of course, cops in patrol cars on the PA system. It’s not a perfect system but adequate enough to inform most people of a potential hazard coming our way. As for your concern about a chemical release from South Kearny we are in the dispersion zone for Kuehne Chemical's worst case scenario but we are up gradient and most of the time up-wind. I mean to say that chlorine travels with the wind and is heavier that air. Since the prevailing winds are from the west and since we are up hill from the plant, I think we are safe. A greater source of hazardous materials would be trucks traveling on the Turnpike and 280. Harold Stahl is the Harrison’s Emergency Management Coordinator. He is a retired Fire Chief from Rahway and very competent. And he does it for free and as do the other members of the Emergency Management Committee.

Regarding the original topic, it is possible that the "No Trucks Allowed" restriction is unenforceable. Municipalities can not just arbitrarily restrict a curtain type of vehicle just because it feels like it. Furthermore, if it was enforced the scrap metal recycler at the foot of North Fifth Street would be negatively impacted. I think the trucks are here to stay.