Coming down?
Nabisco demolition reported moving ahead at old Fair Lawn factory, after a year of silence
After a year of silence over the fate of the old Nabisco factory in Fair Lawn, borough officials said Monday that the building will be coming down “shortly.”
After receiving questions from NorthJersey.com and The Record, the borough updated its website with a two-sentence statement about the Route 208 property: “Demolition at the Nabisco site is expected to resume shortly, with state approval. A non-explosive demolition will be undertaken.”
In a text Monday, Mayor Gail Rottenstrich said the developer seeking to replace the decades-old bakery with a warehouse had received state Department of Environmental Protection approval to proceed with the dismantling, which was put on hold almost a year ago.
Borough Manager Kurt Peluso said the town has not been given a specific date.
The news comes almost a year after a planned implosion of the Nabisco tower was postponed amid concerns from neighbors about the release of asbestos or other contaminants into the air. Current property owner Greek Real Estate Partners canceled the plan altogether in May and promised to clear the site through an “alternative method” that would not involve explosives.
Calls seeking more information from Greek Real Estate managing partners Matt Schlindwein and David Greek were not returned in recent days. Messages left with the Department of Environmental Protection also were not immediately returned.
The factory, one of North Jersey’s most well-known landmarks, was closed in 2021 after more than six decades of churning out Oreo cookies and other sweet-smelling snacks. Portions of the complex, including its famous red “Nabisco” sign, were taken down in 2022 and early last year, leaving the partially dismantled tower behind.
Once that is knocked down, East Brunswick-based Greek Real Estate plans to build a warehouse covering 644,000 square feet – about the size of Prudential Center in Newark – along with another 10,000 square feet of office space and 256 parking spaces. The project was approved by the borough Planning Board last September.
Officials gave conflicting explanations last year as to why the implosion was postponed and eventually canceled, with some citing delays in securing permits and others saying more time was needed to remove asbestos.
Community members who raised concerns signed a petition asking for additional testing and expressed frustration with the communication and information coming from local leaders.
Over the weekend, before Monday’s brief announcement, residents of Fair Lawn and those just across the border in Glen Rock said they remained unhappy.
William “Skip” Huisking of Glen Rock said he spoke out at several meetings about traffic and health-related issues regarding the site and was “very surprised that there has been very, very little, if any, communication regarding the status.”
“Residents are very concerned and want answers ... but none [are] forthcoming,” said Huisking, a former Glen Rock councilman. “They see a crane brought in a few weeks ago but no news at all.”
Fair Lawn resident Pam Coles said in an emailed statement that “the lack of transparency” has made it “difficult to find out any information about what is going on.”
“The town of Fair Lawn can easily host a meeting about any toxins that may be involved so the residents of Glen Rock and Fair Lawn are protected,” she said.
Caitlin O’Rourke, who last year helped organize a town hall where residents expressed frustration with the implosion plan, said Monday that the latest statement from borough officials “still lacks the information the residents are looking for and instead prompts more questions than answers.”
“What state approval is needed, and was this missing prior to the implosion?” O’Rourke asked. “What is the method of non-explosive demo? It’s a failure on leadership and an insult to residents.”