Nearpara Rubber Company: From Tire Reclaiming to Toxic Brownfield

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The Last Days of Nearpara Rubber I smelled it before I saw anything worth photographing. That warm, faintly sweet bite of old rubber, the kind that hits you somewhere between a tire shop and a summer highway, drifted through the first building the moment I stepped inside. The structure was burned out, charred and broken, rubble underfoot. But the smell was alive. And then I saw the pile. In the corner of the room, faded brown and heaped maybe two feet high, was a mound of baby bottle nipples. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of the small rubber tips, just sitting on the floor of a collapsed industrial building in Trenton, New Jersey. I stood there for a moment, genuinely confused, and then kept moving. Nothing like the smell of warmed-over rubber. Twenty minutes later, I understood even less. Through another door passage, I found the main source of the smell: six open metal trailer containers, still loaded with bagged baby bottle nipples, sitting in open air. Bags of them, mountains of bagged n...
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Certified Concrete Industries Plant




Crisscrossing the tracks of the abandoned Long Island Railroad Penny Bridge Station, I found myself drawn to a towering relic of industrial might—a colossal metal structure that once belonged to Certified Concrete Industries of Queens. This behemoth, still standing tall over the rail line, piqued my curiosity and beckoned me closer. As I snapped photos, I scanned the perimeter for potential entry points, eager to explore the secrets of this imposing edifice. Unfortunately, I had no luck finding any entries in the well-maintained fence. 


The site is currently utilized for parking and storing concrete pumping trucks, though concrete mixing is no longer conducted on-site. Despite its diminished role, surprisingly, few have documented this site from within; most photographs are taken from the Newtown Creek waterway, offering a distant view of the rusting tower. It was a rare sight, even more so now that the tower has been demolished, a fact that escaped my notice until recently. The current owner likely prioritized the need for parking space over the hulking apparatus swallowing up prime real estate.


Nestled discreetly in one corner of the historic First Calvary Cemetery, this structure was once a hub of activity. Concrete trucks would drive under the plant, where sand, stone, and cement were stored and meticulously measured. The final mixture, a custom blend of wet concrete, was then loaded into the trucks, ready for delivery to various construction sites across the city.










The old and new Kosciuszko Bridge in the background from the rail line.



Comments

  1. truck195@yahoo.comNovember 26, 2025 at 8:09 PM

    I came across your post through ChatGPT while searching about Certified Concrete. I worked out of that plant driving one of the concrete mixers for several years. After the plant closed down, I was able to get inside and photograph it. It was a special place to me as my Father drove there as well and as a kid I would go to work with him any chance I could. I'd be happy to share some of my pictures with you. Please reach out if you'd like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kareem KingNovember 28, 2025 at 9:25 AM

      Thank you so much for sharing this—what a wonderful bit of history and personal connection to the place. I’d absolutely love to see the Certified Concrete photos. It’s amazing how deeply the plant was tied to your family, and it means a lot that you’d offer to share those memories.

      Also, I’m genuinely surprised (in the best way!) that ChatGPT led you to my site. I’m really glad it brought you here.

      Please feel free to reach out—I’d be grateful to see the pictures you’d like to share.

      Delete

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