Fact Check

Just the facts, ma'am.

The Preserve Graydon Coalition instructed pool supporters Oct. 26 to focus on the cold hard facts when discussing the potential pool renovations.

"We need to provide factual information—not how much you love Graydon, but facts," coalition co-chair Suzanne Kelly said in a meeting at the Old Paramus Reformed Church.

Recently, the group that opposes transforming the village pool into a concrete-bottom facility hired an environmental lawyer to make the facts work in its favor. Stuart Lieberman agrees with Kelly's sentiment.

"Only facts are important with this issue. It can't be a colloquy on emotions," he said.

In a presentation to a crowded gathering of pool preservation supporters, Lieberman outlined his strategy for success.

The Princeton-based attorney from the firm Lieberman & Blecher, P.C listed several strategies the group should employ to keep Graydon as is, including:

• noting the increased flooding problems with a concrete pool;
• securing Grayon on a national historic registry;
• debunking health misnomers;
• ensuring proper facility management; and
• linking the pool's financial shortfalls with the global economy.

Trying three cases before the state supreme court, Lieberman owns a lengthy environmental background.

"When I drive with my kids down the turnpike, I can point out projects that didn’t happen, to parks that are still there because of me," he said.

In fact, Lieberman worked on a case for the village against Shell Oil Company 15 to 20 years ago.

For the pool, though, Lieberman said certain issues have been glossed over.

"The aggregate affect of paving more and paving more and paving more is more flooding," Lieberman said.

He explained that Graydon, as a natural pool, absorbs rainwater during intense storms. A concrete bottom pool totaling nearly three acres would not.

"There is already a flooding problem in Bergen County," he said. "We don't need to exacerbate the issue."

Although Lieberman appreciated people's fond feelings toward Graydon, he emphasized getting it on the national or state historic registry would "entitled Graydon to certain protections" and cause a bigger stir than words.

As for health issues, Lieberman affirmed that a natural pond is murkier than a concrete pool. However, arguments stating that fact are misguided, he said.

"There's nothing wrong with natural water," he said. "The ocean's aren't concrete either. Maybe we should pave over them."

Lieberman pointed out that clarity isn’t the only factor involved in water quality—a bacteria count is, as well. "Time and time again, Graydon has exceeded state standards," he said.

He blamed mismanagement for poor ratings in 2007. He noted the Department of Environmental Protection says the pool has the capability to be properly managed.

"Don't allow them to kill this pool by neglecting it," Lieberman said.

His final point was to link Graydon's financial woes to the global economic crisis.

"People in Ridgewood are affected by the recession," he said. "And discretionary spending is the first thing to get cut."

Kelly and her co-chair Marcia Ringel preceded Lieberman in speaking and outlined several tactics individuals can employ, including:

• speaking at Village Council meetings;
• writing letters to the editor;
• contacting people via a telephone tree;
• speaking at local clubs;
• welcoming new residents; and
• gathering petitions.

The group's Information Technology Director Alan Seiden, a Ho-Ho-Kus resident and Graydon member, also read results from online petitions. People from 35 states and Washington, D.C.—from Alaska and Hawaii to Nevada and Michigan—and five countries (Argentina, Germany and France among others) signed petitions and provided letters.

In Ridgewood itself, Ringel said 1,683 residents supported Graydon with 1,389 being adults.

Currently, Mayor David Pfund and Councilman Pat Mancuso have organized a committee to discuss the future for the village's pool. Members from both pro-renovation and anti-renovation groups sit on it.