Opposition Prevails, O&G Abandons Move Of Rock Crushing Plant To West End

Following community opposition, O&G Industries has ended efforts to move its asphalt and concrete processing center to the West End, according to Vice Chairman Raymond Oneglia who writes in a letter, “Given Bridgeport’s resistance to moving the facility, O&G has decided to abandon efforts to relocate the facility to Bridgeport’s Eco-Park.”

A coalition of neighborhood activists formed No To O&G as a rallying point of opposition. Then in March, Superior Court Judge Dale Radcliffe delivered a blow to the company, issuing an order for O&G to “immediately cease and desist from the use and maintenance of a recycling, concrete crushing, storage and stockpiling facility at 1225 Seaview Avenue” in the East End, a facility the company wanted to move to the West End.

Radcliffe also ruled that “compliance with the Order to Comply, and this court’s decision, is in no way contingent upon any relocation of the O & G operation, or the approval of one or more municipal land use bodies, concerning that relocation.”

Mayor Joe Ganim at the time described the company as a poor corporate citizen who must clean up its act immediately declaring “It’s an affront to the residents of the city, it is a clear violation of the laws … it’s gonna stop and it’s gonna stop now.”

Letter from Oneglia:

After reading Mayor Ganim’s oped (“Bridgeport must lead in sustainability” Connecticut Post, June 7), I realized the mayor did get a few things right. Sustainable solutions do “increase efficiency, reduce energy costs, reduce carbon output, and improve quality of life.” And in the mayor’s own words, “there are many obstacles to success.”

O&G has engaged in a year-long struggle with the mayor and the city to relocate to Bridgeport’s Eco-Park our permitted Seaview Avenue Asphalt and Concrete Processing Center.

At the facility, O&G takes in only material that meets the state of Connecticut’s definition of “clean fill” and turns it into road base and structural fill. By doing so, O&G minimizes the energy-intensive mining of virgin material and the city benefits by not having to deal with unwanted piles of material left on dead end streets and in abandoned lots.

Given Bridgeport’s resistance to moving the facility, O&G has decided to abandon efforts to relocate the facility to Bridgeport’s Eco-Park. Not only will this affect the ability of area contractors to legally dispose of, and stage these materials for reuse, but it will also indefinitely delay the productive use of a long-blighted former industrial site.

Another consequence of Bridgeport’s current posture with O&G relates to the company’s effort to establish a new green manufacturing facility in the City. O&G and its New York-based partner are now looking at sites outside of the city and state to establish a new glass processing operation expected to create 25 or more new jobs.

It’s disappointing that in a State so desperate to attract new businesses and grow its existing employment base that we’ve been met with such resistance to expand our footprint in the City.