Freeholders get earful from judge on building plans

by Paul Koepp
Tuesday July 08, 2008, 9:37 PM

The Board of Chosen Freeholders pored over four options today for replacing the decrepit county courthouse and administration building on Newark Avenue in Jersey City.

The price tags for the concepts presented by architects Ken Ricci and Dean Marchetto range from $300 million to $345 million, depending on the layout of the new facility and the cost of relocating staff during construction.

Hudson County Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli blasted the county government at the freeholders' caucus for dragging its feet on a project he called long overdue, and threatened to "force the issue" into arbitration if nothing is done soon.

He pointed out that numerous plans for a new court facility have been studied since 1988.
"Isn't it time to basically bite the bullet and build the building the county knew it needed 20 years ago?" Gallipoli said.

He presented a long list of problems in the current structure, including its crumbling facade, temperature and electrical problems, flooding and security issues that have been serious enough to cause several "very close calls."

County Administrator Abe Antun said the option he preferred would put criminal and civil courts in one six-story building, connected by an underground concourse to a seven-story building for family courts and probation offices.

Under that plan, county agencies in the current building would be moved to another undetermined location.

Several freeholders, including Bill O'Dea and Jose Munoz, questioned why the architects' study did not consider the scarcity of parking in the area, which they said would be aggravated by the proposals.