the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Palisades Park NJ, nearly a year after a custom modular building was brought in to relocate Palisades Park police officers from their mold-infested headquarters, the multi-level trailer structure remains empty. The borough continues to pay for the unused trailers while officers work in unhealthy conditions, leading to mounting frustration among residents, the local police union, and borough officials.
In 2022, officers began complaining about black mold in their headquarters. In response, a modular building was leased to house the police department temporarily. However, almost a year later, the structure sits vacant as costs for the trailers continue to rise.
Taxpayers are now demanding answers, and the borough’s mayor and council have launched an investigation into the mismanagement of the project. They have hired an attorney and set up a committee to determine who is responsible for the costly oversight.
The empty trailer, which will cost taxpayers more than $900,000 when returned in spring 2025, was initially not used due to high costs associated with connecting it to utilities like water and sewer. Borough officials learned that it was their responsibility to handle these connections, not the trailer company’s, during a council meeting last September.
In July, the council passed a resolution to hire a special counsel and form a committee to investigate what went wrong. Councilman Michael Vietri, the only member to vote against the resolution, called the investigation a waste of taxpayer money.
Since the resolution, attempts to gather more information from borough officials have been met with silence. The mayor, council members, and even the special counsel have not disclosed details about the investigation or the cost of hiring the attorney.
Residents voiced their concerns during a July council meeting, asking why the trailer remains empty and why police officers are still working in moldy conditions. These questions went unanswered by the officials present.
The situation has sparked renewed tensions among Palisades Park’s officials, who have been plagued by in-house fighting for years. Lawsuits, accusations of misusing funds, and special investigations have become common in the borough.
Mayor Chong “Paul” Kim has called the trailer situation “unlawful and improper,” placing blame on Councilman Vietri. Vietri, in turn, criticized the mayor for waiting months to investigate the issue.
Meanwhile, the police union has expressed deep concern over the health risks posed by the mold in the headquarters. Officers have filed more than 50 injury claims related to the building’s conditions. Despite these concerns, council members have claimed that the air quality reports show the building is safe—a statement the police union strongly disputes.
As the investigation into the police trailer project continues, residents and officers alike remain frustrated with the lack of transparency and accountability in Palisades Park’s government. The future of the trailer project and the health of the officers remain uncertain as costs continue to mount and solutions remain elusive.
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