NJ Port, Recycler Battle Over Site

The chairman of Port Jervis's Zoning Board of Appeals is gearing up for battle against a Newark business sniffing around his street.

John Russell, who is not only chairman of the ZBA, but was also chairman of the committee that enacted the current zoning ordinances, is disputing a recent decision classifying Advanced Recovery Inc. as light industrial instead of a junkyard.

The light industrial classification clears the way for Advanced Recovery, a computer recycling center, to move into the old Wilder building in the city's West End.

Russell's property abuts the land Advanced Recovery wants to use. In addition, Russell has four family members who live in the same neighborhood.

"This place doesn't manufacture anything; they pick about junk and they sell it as scrap," Russell said of Advanced Recovery. "I don't have a problem with that concept but it doesn't belong in a light industrial district."

The company is registered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as a recycling center under its solid waste management program. Even so, Port Jervis Building Inspector Wayne Kidney gave Advanced Recovery a light industrial classification.

Russell is challenging the decision before the ZBA. He has recused himself from the board until a decision is made.

Mark Rea, president of Advanced Recovery, said his business handles electronic devices, including stereos, computers, VCRs and DVD players, among other things.

And while the business does dabble in scrap metal collection at its Newark site, Rea said he has no interest in doing that at the Port Jervis site.

"Right up the road you've got a huge metal recycler who handles everything," Rea said, referring to the Arthur Trovei & Sons scrap metal yard just north of Port Jervis. "Why would we even try to compete with that?"

Dominick Scarfogliero, representative for Win-Holt, the company that owns the building, told Planning Board members recently that if the sale to Advanced Recovery didn't go through, Win-Holt would consider using the location as a distribution center, a venture that would most assuredly increase traffic in the area.

"We don't really want to do that, but if we can't sell the building, we will," Scarfogliero said.

Russell called the suggestion a threat, adding, "If they wanted to use the place for that, they would be doing it already."

In an effort to fight back against what he called Russell's Good Old Boy network, Rea has hired a public relations representative and aired several radio spots promoting the business.