Greystone: History reduced to rubble

Barring a successful appeals court challenge by preservationists who have yet to win a single battle, the demolition of historic Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital is expected to be completed by Dec. 10.

Gone, but not forgotten, according to the New Jersey Department of Treasury, which is overseeing the controversial $34.4 million demolition and remediation project in Parsippany.

A state consultant is undertaking several measures that were identified in consultation with its Historic Preservation Office, according to Treasury spokesperson Joseph Perone.

"The documentation will include an enhanced narrative history of the Kirkbride Building based on additional research and large-format photography, which will document all room types and views of the building," Perone told the Daily Record.

First, the consultant will prepare Historic American Building Survey documentation for the Kirkbride building, the massive centerpiece of the Greystone campus, where a total of 26 buildings or structures will be razed.

Treasury also is working on the development of a website interpreting the history of the property and designs for on-site interpretive signage, according to Perone. The documentation will include an enhanced narrative history of the Kirkbride Building based on additional research and large-format photography, which will document all room types and views of the building.

Certain elements of the building will also be preserved, Perone said.

"The contractor has had conversations with the Morris County Parks Commission in response to its request to secure certain elements of the Kirkbride Building envelope," Perone said.

David Helmer, executive director of the Morris County Park Commission, confirmed those discussions that he said he initiated after learning of the decision to demolish the Kirkbride, a 673,000-square-foot building that once housed thousands of patients beginning in 1876, when it opened as part of a national initiative to revolutionize the humane treatment of the mentally ill.

But most of the buildings on the sprawling campus, have fallen into dangerous disrepair and are riddled with toxic substances ranging from mold and lead paint to asbestos, prompting Gov. Chris Christie's administration to move forward with demolition despite public outcry and formal expressions of interest to repurpose the property by developers, some of whom claim to be able to fund the entire project with private funds and tax credits.

Treasury awarded the demolition contract in August to the New York-based Northstar Contracting, which has offices in East Hanover. Actual demolition of the Kirkbride began on April 6.

Perone confirmed on Friday that Northstar has agreed to donate to the county portions of the Kirkbride including part of the stone veneer, two marble columns from the front of the building and two cast-iron light poles.

"The contractors have been very cooperative," Helmer said.

Perone added that about 65 percent of the remaining demolition waste, including concrete and masonry, will be recycled on site for use as clean fill, significantly reducing the amount of waste that otherwise would go to a landfill.

Schedule of demolition

Northstar has not responded to several requests for comment and information about the project, but the Daily Record obtained the demolition schedule through an Open Public Records Act request.

That schedule lists a completion date of Dec. 10 for the Kirkbride, and a total project completion date of Feb. 15, 2016, including backfill, seeding of the remediated ground and removal of demolition equipment.

Once the project is complete, the state plans to turn over stewardship of the remaining 165 acres of Greystone as open space to Morris county authorities. The land will be formally deeded to the county for $1 once the bonds used to pay for the project are paid.

Morris County previously obtained about 300 acres of the original Greystone campus — also for $1 —in 2003, and used it to establish Central Park of Morris County. A new Greystone hospital facility was opened on another portion of the property in 2007.

With more of the Kirkbride being demolished every day, the nonprofit group Preserve Greystone, which has led the fight to save the Kirkbride and other historic structures on the campus, continues to criticize the Christie administration for what they term as a failure to recognize the historical significance of Greystone.

Preserving its memory simply is not enough, according to Preserve Greystone President John Huebner.

"All the markers and websites in the world won't undo what they've done," he said. "We've worked to preserve the real thing, and see it put it to good use. Tangible objects and physical spaces like buildings make history real for people, literally. The Kirkbride building can't be replaced by a website or a marker in the grass. There is no equivalency. It's like the difference between having a book about old cars on your coffee table, or a restored classic car in your driveway."

"This is a classic example of government double-speak," said Preserve Greystone trustee Adam Mcgovern. "They seem to be saying that they are demolishing Greystone to save it. The way to honor a place's history is to not knock it down. To hear the people who are trampling over this treasure say they're the ones who are honoring its history is just obscene."

"We empathize with the concerns of preservationists that the Kirkbride building is being razed," Joseph Perone said. "However, we continue to move forward with the project, including our own ways of preserving the hospital's history. The ultimate goal is to convert the property into open space and turn it over to the parks commission for the enjoyment of Morris County residents."

Perone added that the state is compelled to avoid delays in demolition because it has spent an annual average of $1.18 million on maintenance, utilities and security at since 2009.

Preserve Greystone Vice President William Needham III, said they will not give up the fight until the last stone is taken away.

"We still have a pending case in the appellate division, and our attorney is putting up an admirable fight," he said. Preserve Greystone pro bono attorney James Sullivan said Friday he is working on a strategy for what could be the group's final appeal.

Other interested parties would settle at this point for preservation of the iconic center portion of the Kirkbride. With the work schedule focusing on razing the sprawling wings on each side, there may still be time to achieve that goal.

Morris County Superior Court Judge Stephan Hansbury denied Sullivan's bid on Wednesday to circumvent the appeals court and provide a temporary stay of demolition, saying it could be too late for the Kirkbride by the time that appeal is heard. But the judge said he did not have jurisdiction.

Needham also referred to a portion of Sullivan's argument before Hansbury that the state has failed to recognize its own responsibility to preserve New Jersey history.

"Why is it up to Preserve Greystone to do this?" he said. "They act as if we are multimillionaires and can just write checks. The state has both the responsibility and the means to preserve its own history, and should not be putting that burden on a nonprofit group."

Preserve Greystone's Notice of Appeal was filed in New Jersey's Appellate Division on Sept. 12, 2014. The appeal alleges that the Treasury's decision to award the demolition of the Kirkbride Building was done in violation of New Jersey's Historic Places Act because it failed to first obtain DEP approval.

The appeal also alleges that the Treasury's decision to demolish the buildings was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable" considering that the proposals to preserve and redevelop the Kirkbride building were not considered or reviewed by its own feasibility experts, according to Sullivan.

Sullivan added that following a "merit briefing" schedule, which concluded on Feb. 23, the appellate division takes approximately six to nine months from that date to calendar matters to be heard.

"As such, Preserve Greystone is presently researching alternative remedies prior to when the appellate division will hear the appeal on its merits, which include the filing of motions for an accelerated hearing and a settlement conference before the court," Sullivan said.

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.

The state already has created a historic timeline for Greystone that can be found online at http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/dpmc/Assets/Files/A1132 Greystone campus timeline.pdf.