Protecting and Preserving our Beautiful Recreational Facilities
Protecting and Preserving our Beautiful Recreational Facilities
East Rutherford has some of the best, most beautiful, and widely used recreational facilities in Bergen County which is a great source of pride for the Borough. As such, the Borough is constantly making major investments in these facilities such as redoing the fields at both McKenzie and Riggin parks.
Unfortunately, throughout the past few years our recreational facilities have been a major target for vandalism with the problem getting worse and more repetitive as time passes. The vandalism includes but is not limited to destruction of our bathroom facilities such as ripping down the sinks, smearing food and feces on the walls, clogging toilets, etc.. Damages also include vandals making holes in the fences, attempting to burn the fields, and graffitiing our public benches with obscene language and images.
Upon discovery of these disgusting and unfortunate events, our dedicated DPW immediately does everything possible to remediate the situation, but this takes time away from their other responsibilities. In addition, making these unexpected repairs comes at a tremendous cost which essentially means funds must be diverted from other services/programs such as our recreational sports to cover the cost of the repairs.
What is being done to deter vandalism?
The Mayor and Council have been working closely with ERPD and DPW to implement changes such as enhancing surveillance of these areas by increasing police patrol and installing additional cameras, installing additional lighting in our recreational areas, enhancing/reinforcing physical barriers such as doors and gates, and last but not least, working closely with community members and recreational teams to enact changes that aim at deterring further vandalism.
What can you do to help ensure East Rutherford’s recreational facilities remain beautiful and accessible?
Everyone can play a role in protecting and preserving our beautiful recreational facilities by simply reporting suspicious and/or illegal activities. For example, if you see someone on any of our recreational fields after dusk (which is when our Borough Ordinance states all fields are closed) then you can contact ERPD to report the situation. If you happen to be using one of our fields and walk past the public bathrooms and hear unusual noises coming from within, contact ERPD to report the situation. If you are using or walk past one of our fields and see or suspect vandalism occurring, contact ERDP to report the situation.
Information provided to ERPD regarding vandalism, including graffiti can lead to a reward based off of Borough Ordinance 166-4 titled “Reward” that reads, “A reward not exceeding $250 may be paid for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of any person violating Section 166-3A of this chapter. This reward is payable upon written recommendation of the Chief of Police or his designed to the Mayor and Council, which may authorize payment of reward after its review.”
PLEASE NOTE – We are not asking nor want anyone to confront someone suspected of committing any type of vandalism.