Business View Civil and Municipal | May/June 2022

72 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 5 planning board and their idea is to be off the highway quickly, but in an area where people can shop and eat and walk while their car is being charged.” As they move into the future, the goal for the Borough of Pompton Lakes is to keep seizing the opportunities for development as a way to return the glory of its past. “I’d like to see the owners of the older buildings either do some really significant rehabilitation, or join the club of rehabilitation so we can get more mixed-use buildings downtown,” Silverstein says. “We are a great walking town and if we could get that downtown to revitalize itself, I think we could go back to what we were in the mid-century, which was the focal point of Passaic County.” With all the growth ahead for the Borough of Pompton Lakes, Serr says he wants to do it in a way that ensures the small three-square-mile community keeps its heart and small-town feel. He admits, “It’s hard to move forward with development because it’s a change of what people are used to. Our town has been around a long time and some people don’t like to see change, and I understand that. I want the change to happen and make it a vital, bright downtown, but at the same time I don’t want to lose the charm of what we have here in town, which is saying hello to your neighbors.” PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Capodagli Property Company, LLC “Since 1970” www.capodagli.com 201 S.Wood Ave, Linden NJ 07036