New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak released the following statement in response to a bill concerning Liberty State Park that was passed by the Legislature today:

While advocates are united in agreeing that Liberty State Park needs investments, the bill that passed the Legislature today falls short on several key fronts.

First, it fails to include strong enough protections against privatization. Our state parks are not revenue-generating theme parks, and they should not follow that same business model.

Second, it fails to provide permanent protections to Caven Point, an ecological treasure that is particularly vulnerable to commercial development.

Third, it dramatically reduced promised state investments by 80%, seemingly a legislative bait and switch that will make it that much harder to deliver the much-needed recreational opportunities for local residents, while still leaving the door open to large-scale privatization.

We are pleased by a number of amendments that increased community representation on the Liberty State Park Design Task Force while further enhancing protections against the privatization of the park.

However, we will be closely watching the process as it unfolds to ensure that the concerns of the community, and not powerful corporate interests, guide the future of Liberty State Park and ensure robust active and passive recreation without large-scale commercialization.