$2.8M Paterson wall plan to protect city from flooding fails to get state approval

PATERSON — The city’s application for a $2.8 million grant to build a flood wall along the Passaic River failed to get state approval.

The Paterson flood project was not among the 10 selected for $34.5 million in funding, said a New Jersey Department of Community Affairs announcement on Friday.

Mayor Andre Sayegh frequently mentioned the flood wall plan during press conferences and television news interviews in December and January after the Passaic River surged into some Paterson neighborhoods because of heavy rains.

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Sayegh did not respond Friday when Paterson Press asked whether he was going to drop the flood wall plan or seek other sources of funding for the project.

Sayegh wanted to build the wall along the river’s south bank, just before the Passaic passes over the Great Falls. The mayor said the wall would protect Pennington Park and the city’s fire headquarters on McBride Avenue.

Among the applications approved were $5 million each for the city of Passaic and Hudson County for floodwater pumping stations, and $721,600 to North Arlington for “flood resilience” along the river.

State officials did not respond when asked why Paterson’s application was not approved for funding.

Some Paterson community leaders questioned the wisdom of Sayegh’s plan for building the wall along Pennington Park. Critics pointed out that much of the worst flooding from recent storms has affected other parts of the city, especially the Northside neighborhood in the East Main Street area in the 1st Ward.

Councilman Michael Jackson said building the wall upriver would only exacerbate flooding in downriver areas like the Northside.

Carteret, Flemington, Greenwich Township, Kingwood, Manville and Sayreville also got grants under the Community Affairs Department’s Resilient Communities Program.

“With climate change making New Jersey more vulnerable to destructive storms and flooding events, my administration is taking steps to better protect lives, property, and infrastructure from natural disasters,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in the grant announcement.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson bid for $2.8M to build Passaic River flood wall denied