Don't curse potholes and rough pavement: You can blame this wealthy county in N.J. for refusing to repair, repave many streets

WHO OWNS THIS STREET? Summit Avenue -- from Essex Street in Hackensack to the Hasbrouck Heights border -- is considered a road under the control of Bergen County, but the city of Hackensack controls this pockmarked stretch of Summit, above and below, which is between Passaic Street and Spring Valley Road. 

 

What do property taxes we pay

to Bergen get us besides heartburn?

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Every year, a little over 9 percent of my property tax bill -- or $1,743.75 in 2021-22 -- goes to Bergen County, and I'm struggling to think what I get in return.

In fact, living in Hackensack carries a far larger county imposed tax burden for me and other home and business owners who pay property taxes:

The hundreds of millions of dollars of county owned property in Hackensack -- including the classically styled Bergen County Courthouse, county Administration Building, jail and homeless shelter -- are tax exempt, shifting the burden to me and thousands of other and raising our tax bills considerably.

Drivers get the finger

And yet, day after day, month after month, year after year, we have to deal with the insult of county owned streets that go unpaved or are crudely repaired or lack safety measures, which contributed to the death of two pedestrians in Hackensack last year.

I originally included Summit Avenue in Hackensack, from Passaic Street to Spring Valley Road, pockmarked with numerous crude repairs or potholes, but was told only the section of Summit from Passaic Street to the Hasbrouck Heights border belongs to the county (and was repaved several years ago).

But county roads that have been in disrepair for years include Grand Avenue and Lafayette Place in Englewood, littered with sunken manhole covers and broken pavement; and on and on.

In fact, I'm sure there are county owned streets in each of Bergen's 70 municipalities that have been neglected for years.

For a list of all state and county owned streets in your town, see Bergen County Roads by Municipality, which was compiled in 2016.

Terrible Teaneck

I remember the years-long nightmare of driving to Route 80 on a narrow, 4-lane DeGraw Avenue in Teaneck, between Queen Anne and Teaneck roads, before it was finally repaired and repaved.

Teaneck's Cedar Lane through the main business district, another narrow, 4-lane county street, remains a nightmare, with motorists jostling for space with buses and dump trucks, and plenty of rough and broken pavement to contend with. 

Is Bergen County broke or so arrogant that it treats tax-paying county residents like crap by letting the streets and avenues it controls fall apart?

An email I sent to Michael Pagan, the county's public information officer, seeking information on the history of county owned streets, hasn't been answered. 

Pagan also is a councilman in Teaneck.

Please use the comments section at the end of this post to highlight streets in your town that are in desperate need of repairs.

A LITTLE PAINT, A LOT LESS CONFUSION: The city of Hackensack painted these turn arrows at Prospect Avenue and Passaic Street after Bergen County officials ignored repeated requests for them, City Councilman Leo Battaglia said. Without the arrows, two lanes of cars would form and some drivers in each lane would drive straight ahead into one lane, causing conflicts.

READ: Bergen fails to add safety measures

 months after 2 pedestrian deaths

READ: How 2 Hackensack women

 died crossing the street