CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Graffiti, weeds as tall as small trees, and mounds of trash make for an unpleasant scene at the old U.S. Petroleum station on Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Camden.
It’s why the city of Camden began cleanup at the station on Tuesday, and officials like Mayor Vic Carstarphen said his team will continue to issue fines to the station’s owner, California-based company Pontus Capital Shell, if it continues to ignore its maintenance.
“You can’t do that. We won’t allow it, no matter how small or how big the situation is, the City of Camden will take care of its business with these owners that aren’t doing their thing,” said Carstarphen at a press conference held on Tuesday to put the owners on blast.
This isn’t PC Shell’s first encounter with New Jersey officials. Earlier this year the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and Attorney General Matt Platkin cited the company for abandoning a gas station in Voorhees. They say the tanks were at risk of leaking into the soil near a creek.
Beyond the environmental hazards of the station in Camden, Carstarphen said it also paints a poor picture of the city for thousands of drivers that go by it on a daily basis.
“It’s become a haven for trash, it’s become a haven for crime, and it’s become a haven for negative activity,” the mayor said.
KYW Newsradio reached out to Pontus Capital Shell for comment, but has yet to hear back.