Implosion of former Nabisco plant in Bergen County delayed due to asbestos
FAIR LAWN, N.J. -- There's been another delay in the implosion of the former Nabisco plant in Bergen County.
Officials say the postponement is because of asbestos found in the building.
Workers continue to pick up debris at the old Nabisco factory where neighbors once got an aroma of baked goods. But now, they say, dust and noise are all they deal with.
"My house literally shakes when they're doing work," neighbor Jack Carvainis said.
His Glen Rock home sits across from the former Nabisco plant in Fair Lawn, which was scheduled to be imploded this month but is now postponed.
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He and other neighbors had complained about possible contaminants in the building.
Now, Fair Lawn's mayor says the implosion is being delayed because of asbestos inside the building.
"They did find it in the section that was earmarked to be imploded, so it had to be delayed until that's all cleared out," Fair Lawn Mayor Kurt Peluso said.
"The fact that there's asbestos in the building and that's why they can't implode it, not sure why it took this long for that to come out," Carvainis said.
Greek Development is the company that's hired demolition crews to bring down the structure. The owner tells CBS2 the safety of residents and workers is a top priority and an implosion won't occur until all asbestos has been removed.
"This is just a situation where the process worked, where all the asbestos and hazardous materials were not removed, so it didn't come down," Peluso said.
Evacuation orders have now been lifted for a nearby school, the Iris Park complex and a development next door.
Neighbors plan to meet Wednesday night to review plans for what will replace the factory. Developers have said a warehouse, and even a movie studio's been mentioned.
"We think there's going to be a lot of lighting, there's gonna be new roads," Glen Rock resident John Mulholland said.
But the focus is still on what's set to crumble.
"The implosion is still outstanding. There's a lot of anxiety about that," Mulholland said.
A date has not been reset for the implosion.
Fair Lawn's planning board will be meeting Monday night to review Greek Development's plan and possibly vote on it.