The plan calls for ripping up the abandoned railroad track, combining two parks and creating a riverwalk.

On the banks of the Passaic River, in the city that draws its name from the waterway, rests a swath of parkland bordered by an abandoned railroad track — a magnet for the homeless, drug users, dealers, prostitutes and their johns.

If the wheels that have been set in motion by the city of Passaic and a private investor continue to turn, the area may soon see some real change.

Early signs of change were visible last week as city crews hauled away tons of trash peppered with needles used to inject drugs, empty beer bottles and discarded furniture and appliances from the 66-foot-wide rusty railroad track that separates Dundee Island Park from an elementary school, a playground and residential buildings.

"This could be the biggest thing to happen to Passaic in four decades," said Mayor Hector Lora.

The changes come after a year-long dispute about who is in control of the track's right-of-way — the buyer or the seller of the plot of land that included the track. Lora said the dispute was settled last Wednesday.

The seller, New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad, is willing to give up control of the track, which frees it to be declared abandoned by the federal government. Once it's declared abandoned, the buyer will give the track to the city of Passaic in exchange for another city-owned plot of land. City leaders want to rip up the track, clean up the area and turn the land into a riverfront park with a river walk.

Passaic Street Properties, which bought the former rail yard near the river, and unknowingly the track, informed Lora that there was an agreement with the seller. A letter from the railroad confirming the deal was received by the city on Wednesday. Just one day later, city of Passaic crews began to haul away much of the trash.

"This is the green light we were waiting for," Lora said, and it was followed by instructing Public Works Supervisor Mark Watkins to send out trucks and begin cleaning out the often chest-high piles of trash.

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The land purchase

Passaic Street Property owner Fadi Samaan bid on a 2-acre plot of land that served as a rail yard for the once-used track. His bid was accepted, but only then did he find out the purchase included 1.8 miles of track, a railway bridge and a number of abandoned trains. He said he bought the land to eventually build a mixed-use retail/residential building.

Jim Wilson, the seller, had bought it in 1996 from Conrail and named it New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad. The company used the track to haul freight out to the main line for a few local firms. In recent years, Wilson's company ran into financial difficulties.

Those difficulties ultimately resulted in the tax sale in September 2017, which Samaan won with a $565,000 bid.

Samaan was surprised to learn that even though he had bought the track, he couldn't just rip it up. First, it needed to be declared "abandoned" by the federal Surface Transportation Board. Wilson opposed Samaan's efforts to have it declared abandoned, which held up the process. The two reached a resolution. Wilson did not return calls for comment or to explain the holdup.

Samaan will give Wilson time to remove the rail cars, cabooses and assorted train-related equipment that remain on the land.

The city's plan

The track runs from Passaic over the Passaic River parallel to East Monroe Street and into Garfield, where it merges with NJ Transit's Main Line.

Known as the Dundee Spur, the track splits two city parks, the developed Pulaski Park, from the riverfront, and undeveloped Dundee Island Park.

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The plan is simple, the mayor said: Rip up the track, combine the two parks and create a walk along the Passaic River. An already-secured $10 million grant will fund the project.

In January 2017, the state Department of Environmental Protection and Passaic County each agreed to contribute $5 million for Dundee Park's development.

Designs are being drawn, Lora said. When completed, the project will mean the entire area will benefit. Dubbed the Eastside Development Plan, the project will attract developers he hopes will transform the entire area.

The process to have the Surface Transportation Board declare the track abandoned may take three to six months, Samaan said.

The future

Children who live in nearby apartments and students who attend the School 8 Roberto Elementary Annex on Wall Street spend time on a playground just 100 feet from the homeless shantytown and drug users on the other side of the track.

"The children of Eighth Street, Sixth Street and Third Street deserve to be as safe as anyone," Lora said of neighboring streets.

On Thursday morning, Watkins said, crews started bright and early with the city's heavy equipment in hauling truckloads of trash away.

The neighborhood began to breathe a small sigh of relief.

Evelyn Robinson, president of the Vreeland Village tenants association and former school board member, said the work crews were a welcome sight. Residents for too long had to look out their windows to see the trash, the failing war on drugs and the rats.

She said maybe this spring and summer, unlike many in the past, the area's residents can finally open windows without the stench of trash permeating through their homes.

"We can't have that going on with our kids," Robinson said.

She said she has long been pressing the city for action, but Lora noted that his hands have been tied because the city had no right to use the property.

The city is still waiting for official approval to rip up the track from the Surface Transportation Board, the federal entity that rules on railroad issues, but Lora said the letter from the seller dropping his opposition is an indication that approval will be given.

"We knew now where it was headed." Lora said.

Once the Surface Transportation Board approves the removal of the track, it will be "transformative" for the area, local officials said.

Not everyone is as optimistic.

Some city leaders, including Passaic City Council President Gary Shaer, remain cautious.

"The fat lady hasn't sung," he said.

Shaer conceded that a major hurdle was overcome and the city is as close as it has been to having the track removed.

Still "pieces still need to be put in place," Shaer said, adding that he commended the mayor on his persistence. If the track is removed, Shaer said, it "will be a game-changer" for the city.

The land of crime

When the rail line ceased all operations in 2012, the track and adjacent land beside the river attracted individuals who are homeless and those looking to use drugs or for an out-of-the-way spot for criminal activity.

During recent tours of the area by NorthJersey.com and the USA Today Network New Jersey, a number of illegal activities were witnessed.

On Sept. 26, 2018, Jayvette Hillman of Wallington, a grandmother who walks with a cane, was smoking with a man who declined to provide his name. When asked what she was doing in the area, she said, she had crossed the Passaic Street bridge "to hang out." When asked to explain why, she said: to smoke crack.

"You have to be careful at night," Hillman said. "You never know what you will run into," referring to those who frequent the area to use heroin.

One woman was there to have sex with a man for money.

There were usually a dozen or more individuals in the area "hanging out" or sitting on the railroad track ties. Just down the track a bit, closer to the track's span over the river, dozens of homeless shanties are set up. Some have been there for years.

Homeless shanties

During a visit to the area in January, between Wall and Passaic streets, the homeless shanties were occupied by men and women trying to keep warm.

Set up between the rail track and the run-down parts of Dundee Island Park, the homeless individuals try to shield their existence from the authorities and local residents by choosing locations behind trees and fences.

The residents know they are there.

Lino Pantoga, who lives on Passaic Street, visited the homeless last fall. He said something needs to be done and done fast.

Drinking and heroin use are rampant in the area, Pantoga said.

"Down by that corner, you can see those guys," Pantoga said, pointing to the track and mimicking the use of a syringe in his arm.

"It's bad over there," he added.

Pantoga, a roofer and line cook, said he wants the area cleaned up for his family — a wife and three children ages 12, 10 and 8.

Children often cross the track from Pulaski Park to Dundee Park to play. He tells his family to stay away. "With all the drugs, it's crazy," he said.

Lora said he knows the stories told to him by the neighbors, and that's why he has fought so hard for the area to be cleaned up. He attributes some of the success to having the track declared abandoned.

Lora said he had the support of Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., Passaic County Executive Anthony DeNova, the state's lieutenant governor, Sheila Oliver, and the city of Garfield to support the line's abandonment.

"For the first time, we have eyes on this place," Lora said. "Developers will know this isn't some politician making decisions in some silo."