DEP Holds Liberty St. Park Recreation Plan Hearing
DEP Holds Liberty St. Park Recreation Plan Hearing
The NJDEP is holding a virtual meeting on Thursday, January 21st at 6pm regarding the multi-million-dollar investment to restore 234 acres of Liberty State Park’s interior. The plan would use money from the Natural Resources Damages (NRD) fund to restore natural resources and create access to the interior of the park that is currently off-limits to the public.
“We believe protection of the interior of the park is key to the cleanup and transformation of Liberty State Park. The interior contains sensitive ecosystems and wetlands that can be restored. There is a push to put 50 acres of active restoration in this area and we believe that is wrong. It will undermine and destroy the whole point of restoring this part of LSP. We believe this push is part of Paul Fireman’s plan to get his millionaire’s golf course. Fireman is trying to pay for this active recreation in exchange for getting his golf course at Caven’s Point,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We support active recreation for LSP however it must be built in appropriate places outside of the interior or along its edge.”
Utilizing funds DEP has recovered in lawsuits and settlements for natural resource damages, the proposed design would restore natural resources and create access to the interior of the park that has been off limits to the public for decades due to historic environmental contamination.
“The recreation plan for LSP can have a balance of both active and passive recreation. With 50 acres of the going towards active recreation, it’s important that these activities are developed outside of the interior. Things like baseball, soccer fields, bathrooms and more should be closer to the parking lots and streets and near existing facilities. It’s critical that the interior recreation plan include restoration of natural systems and for passive recreation like hiking and bird watching. More importantly, this plan is supposed to remediate and provide the public with green spaces and public facilities. NJDEP need to make sure these amenities are accessible to all. All parts of the park should be free to use because the they belong to the people,” said Tittel.
Liberty State Park consists of 600 acres of land, with 234 of those acres in the undeveloped interior, and 600 acres of water. The redesign of the interior currently includes seven miles of trails and sidewalks for walking and jogging, along with bike racks and fields. The redevelopment would also build two new parking lots in LSP. Additionally, 50 acres would be devoted to tidal wetland, non-tidal wetlands would make up 27 acres, and 133 acres would be designated for animal habitations and recreation. Twenty-five acres of land would be devoted to parking and trails.
“As DEP moves forward with its remediation and recreation plan, we need the Liberty State Park Protection Act even more. Commercial enterprises may come in to try to get their hands on parts of the park by offering to fully clean up the park. We have been fighting to protect Liberty State Park from privatization for decades. We have fought against luxury hotels, private marinas, shopping centers, golf courses, Grand Prix races, a cricket stadium, a waterpark, and many more,” said Tittel.
The DEP recreation plan will incorporate several different access points to facilitate usage for all New Jerseyans, including from the surrounding communities in Jersey City, patrons of the Liberty Science Center and other day-use visitors. Based on community input, plans are already underway to enhance active recreational facilities, such as athletic facilities, and improve food services to better serve the public.
“It’s critical that DEP work with all stakeholders and the community in a balanced recreation plan for LSP. We must require public hearings and ample scrutiny on these proposals to ensure they uphold the Public Trust Doctrine and are good for the public. We must avoid private commercial development. It will only limit public access and turn it over to private vendors that will over charge the public rather than actually run the park like it should run for the people of New Jersey. For almost 40 years the New Jersey Sierra Club has had a long history in protecting Liberty State Park from privatization. We will keep on fighting to make sure that LSP is an open space for the public benefit,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
