ELIZABETH, New Jersey (WABC) — Residents in Elizabeth, New Jersey are fed up with a persistent foul odor that they say has been a problem for months.<\/p>\n
If you closed your eyes on the way to Del Porto Ristorante and opened them when you arrived at its outdoor patio, you might think you’re standing in a courtyard along the Mediterranean Sea. If you got a whiff of their shrimp or meatballs or clams, you might think you found a slice of heaven in Italy.<\/p>\n
The problem is the authentic cuisine isn’t what you would be smelling.<\/p>\n
“We expected a lot of business from the World Cup but because the smell is so unbearable, people couldn’t sit outside on the patio,” said Del Porto Ristorante general manager Larissa Coelho.<\/p>\n
“The smell is horrible. It smells like rotten eggs. All day long. Every day,” said Vinicios Silva, a body shop employee.<\/p>\n
The auto body shop employees down the street haven’t been spared either.<\/p>\n
City officials say that putrid stench is coming from the Edward P. Decher Secondary Wastewater Treatment Facility, a waste treatment plant.<\/p>\n
It’s owned and operated by the Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties.<\/p>\n
It serves several communities. The city of Elizabeth is one of its tenants.<\/p>\n
The city’s Department of Health and Human Services says that since April it has been inundated with complaints.<\/p>\n
“I would describe the smell as if you were sitting on your own toilet and decided to put your head in it,” said Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage.<\/p>\n
The mayor says the city is ready to take legal action and levy substantial daily fines against the facility.<\/p>\n
“The odor that has been emanating over the last couple of months has been the strongest it’s ever been in the history of our city,” Mayor Bollwage said.<\/p>\n
The mayor said the joint meeting has not done what is necessary to control the odors.<\/p>\n
“For the joint meeting to say it depends on which way the wind is blowing on what area is affected is frankly a really poor answer for a governmental agency,” Mayor Bollwage said.<\/p>\n
The mayor says if the city can’t resolve this problem, he’s ready to get to ask the governor’s office to get involved.<\/p>\n
Eyewitness News reached out multiple times to the Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties but have not heard back.<\/p>\n
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