Bank is no substitute for town's heritage, quality of life

I must respond to the comments of Fred Azrak, attorney for the application before the Milltown Zoning Board of Adjustment to destroy the Forney House and Clinic for a Valley National Bank across Main Street from Provident Bank ("Bank Postpones Hearing on Forney Clinic Plans," Sentinel, Nov. 16).

Reacting to the state's recent declaration that the house is eligible for New Jersey and national historic registers, Azrak wondered what had happened since the 1978 survey to "make it historic," as if this were some creative concoction.

The house was under no threat in 1978, housing the medical and dental practices of Norman N. Forney and Charles T. Forney. They were sons of Norman Forney Sr., who established his Milltown practice in 1907. Note also that the 1978 survey was incomplete, focusing mainly on architectural features of the structure.

Although hastily done, it was an important start. Hunter Research could have engaged in more active discovery during its 2005 preparation of a required historical review, perhaps asking the Milltown Historical Society for documentation. But then, that might have been counterproductive to the developer's desires.

Additional information provided by the Environmental Commission and Historical Society, as well as a staff site visit, prompted the State Historic Preservation Office to recognize that the Forney House may very well be a significant piece of local, state and national history, in large part due to its medical role, for which it is used to this day.

It is true that due to the inaction of the current owner, the home needs repair. Dilapidation is a convenient excuse for removal of a structure that is "inconveniently located." Remember the Kuhlthau Fuel and Feed Company? However, nowhere in the testimony at the Zoning Board is it stated that this house is structurally unsound or unsalvageable.

There are other issues - traffic, pedestrian safety and environmental - that make the Valley National Bank application a wrong decision for Milltown.

Were you born or treated at the Forney Clinic? Then come out on Jan. 3 and speak on its behalf. Now it needs your care.

Michael Shakarjian

vice chairman

Milltown Environmental Commission