NEW JERSEY — An unofficial New Jersey city landmark that was scheduled to implode in a week and a half has been given a reprieve.
The Nabisco plant on Fair Lawn, which filled the air with the delicious smell of cookies baked for 60 years before closing in 2021, was scheduled to implode on Saturday, April 15. That is no longer the case, authorities say.
They also do not have a new date set for the implosion, though Fair Lawn officials indicated the change was merely a postponement. The nearly 40-acre site was expected to be bulldozed to build a warehouse, NorthJersey.com reported.
Why the delay? It is not clear.
According to Fair Lawn, the contractor who carried out the implosion said a state regulation prevents demolitions if the impact is exacerbated by certain weather conditions that create “a low ceiling,” such as fog or cloudiness. He said he would track the weather five days in advance, flag any potential concerns, and reschedule if necessary.
All of that said, Fair Lawn announced the sudden postponement Wednesday, a full 10 days before the planned blast on April 15 at 8 a.m. No other details were immediately provided.
The massive site on Route 208 has been a part of the landscape for as long as some people can remember.
Hundreds of people who worked for the company were out of work when it closed a few years ago. Demolition began last fall, according to NJ.combut this huge boom was expected to be among the most disruptive components.
The tower above the factory with the giant red letters for NABISCO was supposed to be part of the implosion, which attracted great public interest for multiple reasons. Some people just wanted to watch.
Police said Thursday that won’t happen, as long as a new date is set. The general public is requested to avoid the area surrounding the property on the new implosion date yet to be determined. There will be road closures that day.
In the lead up, residents had raised concerns about air quality and potential soil and water contamination, and a school district had planned to close the following Monday out of an abundance of caution.
The contractor says air monitoring is part of its protocol. He said it also follows state rules on hazardous waste and material disposal and has seismic and noise monitoring for additional protective measures.
Fair Lawn officials say more information will be released as it becomes available.