TOTOWA - Demolitions are complete in a neighborhood along the Passaic River that has long drawn attention, largely unwanted, for its diminutive, cottage-like homes.
Four flood-damaged houses were torn down on Norwood Terrace, dubbed “Midgetville” years ago by a local magazine. The term is considered offensive by many locals.
The tear-downs started Dec. 6 and were completed on Dec. 12, according to Mellissa Vargas-Osorio, a Norwood Terrace resident. Construction trucks and emergency no-parking signs remained on the street in the days afterward, as workers removed what was left of the homes and their foundations, then leveled the dirt.
TOTOWA: Borough plans to raze "Midgetville" houses
The homes at 23, 31, 43 and 61 Norwood Terrace were removed with money from a grant the borough received from the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program. A home at 416 Riverview Drive, a few blocks away from Norwood Terrace, was also part of this program.
Construction workers were at the site of 416 Riverview Drive completing the demolition on Friday.
Vargas-Osorio said the construction workers were kind, caring and sensitive to the neighbors, given the situation.
“It went deeper than it’s just a job,” said Vargas-Osorio. “That meant the world to us.”
The street had experienced severe flood damage over the years. Linda Horn, whose home was among those torn down, lived through the devastating flooding of 1984. Horn and other neighbors at the time were evacuated, and their homes took on water.
More recently, residents suffered through Tropical Storm Irene, which ravaged the neighborhood in 2011.
Through it all, residents have endured ridicule from thrill-seekers drawn to the neighborhood by apocryphal tales of small-statured residents. The notoriety is fueled in part by articles in Weird NJ, a magazine dedicated to New Jersey folklore.
A gate was installed at one end of Norwood Terrace in recent years to deter gawkers. Twice in 2008, residents were attacked by teens shooting paintballs from cars.
But those who live on Norwood Terrace treasure their close-knit neighborhood where, they say, everyone treats each other like family.
The Borough Council in 2013 bonded $1.25 million to buy the five properties, from a combination of federal housing funds and state Blue Acres program money. Control Industries Inc., based in Bayonne, completed the demolitions. Jurgensen Trucking LLC, also based in Bayonne assisted with the project.
