County makes bid to purchase historic farm
Residents hope Van Dyke property will be preserved and not used for houses
BY CHRIS MURINO Staff Writer
Middlesex County officials have made an offer to William Pulda to purchase the historic Van Dyke farm on Davidson Mill Road in South Brunswick, which has its slave quarters still intact and may be the burial site for these slaves.

Middlesex County Parks Director Ralph Albanir declined to say how much the offer was for, citing that he wanted to wait until he received notice that the owner got the offer.

"It was based on the two appraisals done by the county," Albanir said. "It was the average of the two appraisals. The appraisals were done a number of months ago and were recently updated."

Although the offer was made to the owner of record, William Pulda, it is not known if he will be making the decision on whether or not to sell the property. Joe Morris has a contract with Pulda, giving him legal rights to the farm.

"I don't know what the contract is between Pulda and Morris," Albanir said.

The 300-year-old, 191-acre farm was owned for years by the Van Dykes until it was sold to another farming family, the Puldas, in the 1950s. The farm is currently owned by William Pulda, but because of illness, he gave power of attorney to his brother,Walter Pulda. He then turned over development rights to Joe Morris.

In 2005, Morris tried to change the zoning of the land to build a warehouse, but the township did not approve the zoning change due to outcries from residents. In October 2005, Morris came up with a plan to build 76 luxury houses, which prompted the county to begin its efforts to preserve the land.

In addition to the county, it is expected that the state Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres Program and the township will chip in money for the purchase.

"The township has indicated that it would participate in the purchase," Albanir said.

In the past, Mayor Frank Gambatese has supported the purchase of the farm, but said that the town would not be putting up the majority of the money. The town has $4 million left in its Open Space Trust Fund.

Green Acres will also be involved. "We will be a contributor in terms of providing funds," said Karen Hershey, DEP spokeswoman, although she would not say how much they would be contributing.

Members of the Eastern Villages Association (EVA) have been pushing for this purchase for quite some time and its members are quite happy with the effort from the county.

"I am very happy that the county has forged ahead in the effort to preserve this farm," said Bill Klimowicz of the EVA. "The process is tedious and most difficult. I hope for a positive outcome that will save this special place."

"I am certainly hoping the owners of the land will look seriously at the offer and enter into negotiations to sell to the county," said Jean Dvorak, another EVA member. "Everyone, including residents, state, county and local officials have put their heart and soul into the efforts to save the Van Dyke farm. I would hope the developer would now look into his heart and soul to realize that selling the farm for open space preservation would be a good and gracious thing to do for the people of New Jersey."

Are officials and EVA members optimistic things will work out?

"We hope so," Albanir said. "The town is backing the purchase. Green Acres is supporting it.

"I'm not an incurable optimist about this, but I do have a good feeling about the outcome," Dvorak said. "This is one of those things that is so right I just want to believe it's going to be a success."