Parking and fields to take place of homes
Latest district plan calls
for taking property to
hasten school construction
By carolyn O’Connell
Staff Writer

Some of them have lived there for a quarter of a century, some have not even moved in, but sometime soon all of them will be moving out.

A resident of Indiana Avenue in Long Branch for 26 years, Sonny Spurlock said, "I am not upset that our house will be acquired, but I am upset over the rumors and that nobody told us anything."

What Spurlock is referring to is the Long Branch Board of Education’s updated middle school and high school facilities plan which calls for the city to vacate a portion of Indiana Avenue and proceed with the acquisition of 12 residential properties now on the street and Eastbourne Avenue to make way for 793 parking spaces, a new high school and a new middle school.

The changes in the plan were presented to approximately 40 people, mostly residents of the neighborhood who needed some answers to a hand-delivered letter they received notifying them about the project.

"The news broke my dreams," said Luis Larrea, who recently closed on a home on Eastborne Avenue and has not yet moved in.

He bought the home from Mario Vieira who owns two other homes, one on Indiana Avenue and another on Eastbourne Avenue.

"I was just recently notified," said Vieira, "of the closing of Indiana Avenue, and that they are taking my properties." His wife, Linda, added, "In April we applied for permits for 4 Eastbourne Ave., which is still under construction. No one told us even at that time that the land would be taken."

But Superintendent of Schools Joseph M. Ferraina said there is a reason residents were not notified earlier.

According to Ferraina, the original plan, put together in October 2001, called for the new schools to be completed in 2008 and did not affect Indiana Avenue.

In early May, a suggestion of a new concept by the state’s Economic Development Authority changed all that.

"The EDA," said Ferraina, "offered the concept to build both schools at the same time, which would eliminate shifting kids around schools during the construction period."

The new construction plan also calls for having the schools ready for occupancy by 2003.

To accomplish that, a part of Indiana Avenue would have to be vacated by acquiring additional property so that the existing schools can be used while the new schools are being built, explained Ferraina.

In addition, Assistant Superintendent George Catrambone said, vacating Indiana Avenue will get the side street parking on Indiana Avenue into the proposed 793 parking spaces and create better traffic flow.

He also noted, "Indiana Avenue is now a safety issue with students crossing the road to access the fields. That will be eliminated because the building plans will create a campus area giving student open access to fields and other areas of the schools."

That plan was finalized May 6, and the portion of the plan to vacate Indiana Avenue was approved by resolution at a city council meeting May 28.

"It made sense to talk to the city first," said Ferraina. "If the city didn’t approve closing Indiana Avenue there would be no plan, and the residents would have been inconvenienced for no reason."

Joyce Spadoro, a resident of West End Avenue, noted that although her home will not be acquired at this time, she is concerned that because of her proximity to the school there may be a future possibility that her home will be at risk of acquisition.

"This feels like a dirty trick," said Spadoro, "How am I to know that in a couple of years other houses in the neighborhood won’t be taken. When will this end?"

For Maura Ceeley who has lived in her home on Indiana Avenue for two-and-a-half years, there will be complications beyond the search for a new home. Ceeley said she doesn’t know what to do, and is worrying about how having to move will affect the terms of the special state financing she has that helped her acquire and improve her home. She just signed off on an additional $13,000 in home improvement financing Friday.

Ceeley obtained money for improvements to her home through the state’s affordable housing program.

She also is concerned about how having to move will affect her three children Michael, 15, Danny, 12, and Angela, 7. Ceeley said her son Michael wants to remain in Long Branch so he can graduate with his class, while Danny wants to know why in America they can take away your land. Angela who had been sharing her room with her mom for the past five years and now has a room to call her own, wants it to stay that way.

Under the plan for the schools, her property will become part of the infield of the baseball diamond.

"I resent that my home," said Ceeley, "will be taken for an athletic field. Tell me that they will take it for a scientific lab, a high tech wing. Give our kids something they can get excited about, something they can make a living at."

Under the terms of the financing she has received, Ceeley is required to live in her home for seven years.

Ferraina noted the EDA which will handle property appraisals, acquisitions and the relocation of residents, has not come forward with how the process will play out.

Ferraina did say that more questions will be answered at the June 19 Board of Education meeting as well as an update on an entire $170 million school project the board has in motion.

Thomas Miserendino, the Long Branch Board of Education construction manager, also was on hand to answer questions.

According to Miserendino the construction of the new high school will cover more land, going from an existing 200,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet. The historic section of the high school built in 1925 will be preserved, while the remainder of the high school will be torn down.

"Because we will be covering more land," said Miserendino, "the fields will be downsized."

According to Miserendino the four acres which the school will acquire will be added to the already existing 44 acres of land which will accommodate parking for the entire school staff and driving seniors. The new parking plan satisfies city parking requirements.

Residents can expect a visit from Ferraina who said he will talk to all the neighbors first before going to the EDA.