Environmental Advocates Slam Plans For NJ State Park

NEW JERSEY—The development of about 225 acres in the middle of Liberty State Park in Jersey City is the focus of pending legislation in Trenton, legislation that would also provide $250 million in funding for improvements.

And the legislation has fired up the ongoing cause to protect Caven Point at the park, a 22-acre nature preserve on a peninsula outside the development area.

The legislation is scheduled for votes in the Senate and Assembly Wednesday, according to the Office of Legislative Services.

Advocates have weighed in at hearings on how best to balance public use of open space at the 1,200-acre park with environmental preservation goals.

With a view of the New York City skyline, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, the area to be developed is home to both wetlands and wildlife, according to Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park.

"I just hope that the park will live up to its potential in the greatest way," said Pesin, who is the son of the "Father of Liberty State Park" Morris Pesin, and who has continued his work, advocating for limited development of the park.

But the stakes in this battle have been magnified - not quelled - by the state legislation making its way through committees this month, Pesin said. Environmental groups feel the bill won't protect the park from large-scale development, creating a "Meadowlands lite," as one environmental group put it.

On June 16, the state Senate Environment and Energy Committee released Senate bill S-2807 (the Assembly counterpart is A4264), the Conservation, Recreation and Community Inclusion bill.

The bill would establish a Liberty State Park Design Task Force within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The task force would have 17 members. State Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson) is the main sponsor of the Senate bill.

Both bills have been fast tracked for action before the end of this month, the end of the fiscal year for the state, environmental groups say.

Different Visions For Liberty State Park

But environmentalists say they don't support the legislation in its current form. The New Jersey Conservation Foundation and the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters are among those calling for an amendment to protect Caven Point from development.

Environmentalist groups say they are mainly on board with a plan to develop 60 acres of the 225-acre site for recreational space with limited commercial use, such as sports fields, a small concert site and food vendors. But the site should be primarily free and open to the nearby community, they say.

Meanwhile, other interests, such as the advocacy group Liberty Park For All, have a more commercial vision that would bring in cultural and business interests on a larger scale that might expand opportunities for the area, the group's website says. An email to the group for comment has not been responded to as of yet.

And a neighbor of the park, Liberty National Golf Course, at one time openly sought to acquire Caven Point for the expansion of three golf holes. Caven Point has a sandy beach and juts out into the Hudson River, with that dramatic skyline of Manhattan in view.

Paul Fireman, a wealthy Floridian and former Reebok executive, is the owner of Liberty National Golf Course. Pesin and other environmentalists say he is behind the push for greater commercial development, although he said in 2020 that he was halting plans for the golf course extension. A call to the golf club for comment has not been returned as yet.

Gov. Phil Murphy has not commented on the bill, but he was quoted in an NJ.com article about a recent radio call-in show in which he referred to the park: "It’s a gem, but it can be much, much, much better, especially for the folks who live right around there.”

The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups say the golf course proposal would threaten Caven Point's natural state and wildlife, including migratory birds. They are urging that Caven Point be formally protected in an amendment to the legislation.

According to the statement of the bill, the 17-member task force would assist the DEP in developing short-term action items designed to improve public use and enjoyment of conservation areas and recreation facilities within the Liberty State Park.

It also calls for a long-term master plan that:

• improves park facilities, programs and amenities.
• creates new transportation and mobility services to the park to ensure equal access for all community residents to the park and within the park.
• further preserves the park’s natural resources and wildlife and protects against climate change.

The bill would appropriate $250 million from the General Fund to the DEP "to support activities identified by the Liberty State Park Design Task Force to improve recreational activities and maintain and upgrade scenic and wildlife habitats and areas at the park," according to the bill statement.

Urban Parks A 'High Priority'

But specific protection for Caven Point isn't in the bill, even as amended.

Nine environmental groups in New Jersey, including the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters and other groups such as The Friends of Liberty State Park and the NY/NJBaykeeper, on June 27 signed onto a letter to legislators outlining their thinking on the bill and offering proposed amendments to the legislation.

"We remain hopeful (the committees) will make further edits to support recreation but also protect environmentally sensitive areas," said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the NJ League of Conservation Voters, in an interview.

He said Jersey City is the most diverse city in America and New Jersey the most densely populated.

"Urban parks are a high priority - and they should be," he added.

But the current bill, while amended to prohibit a casino in the park, falls short in certain ways, the environmental groups say in their statement:

"In its current form, we continue to oppose this bill. However, we wish to be clear on the nature of our opposition, and potential amendments to address them. The groups ... support active recreational opportunities for residents, particularly those who live in close proximity to the park. We support investment in the park, creation of more active and passive recreational opportunities, and increased public access. However, protection of critical natural spaces and habitat areas and additional active recreation are not mutually exclusive," the letter says.

"In its current form, this bill has no protections for Caven Point, a natural area, migratory bird habitat, and nesting area. This serves as salt marsh and wetlands habitat for migratory bird species. Once gone, it cannot be replaced. Therefore, we urge the committee to amend the bill to create permanent protections for Caven Point," the letter continues.

In suggested amendments, the groups say "active recreation should be designated within 50 acres in the interior, with no more than 62 total active recreation development throughout the park. This would allow for a combination of active recreation, passive recreation, unstructured recreation, and preserved lands."

Proposed amendments by the groups also call for "prescriptive language outlining how the $250 million will be allocated, specifically for free public access to recreational opportunities, habitats, park staffing, shuttle buses, and for remediation and renovation of the Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal sheds." (Pesin noted the site had been contaminated from railroad fill, which is the subject of a state cleanup plan.)

It also makes suggestions revising the makeup of the Liberty State Park Design Task Force to include "local representation, such as the Jersey City Parks Coalition, the Urban League of Hudson County, Communications Workers of New Jersey, and statewide conservation organizations."

According to the bill statement, language in the proposed bill does call for the task force to "reflect the diversity of the Hudson County and the Jersey City community; give due consideration to the creation of recreational, cultural, and economic opportunities and access to the park for all residents; and consider how the local community, especially minority and local small business owners, can participate and benefit from the improved park."

Another voice in the debate about the park is the Liberty Park For All group, headed by Arnold Stovell. Its website recounts its mission:

"Since 1977, Jersey City families have waited for the promise of Liberty State Park to become a reality. Now is the time to fulfill that promise. New Jersey elected officials are taking the next step toward giving our Jersey City community the park it deserves and needs."

Supporting the legislation under consideration, the group's website cites it when it says it will:

• Address the need for environmental clean-up and improvements throughout the park;
• Give all community members a voice in the future of the park;
• Provide ample recreation and sports facilities for the entire community;
• Create wildlife and habitat management to protect native species and migratory birds;
• Create cultural and business opportunities to enrich the community;
• Provide local transportation to improve access to the park; and
• Develop resiliency from future flooding and sea level rise.

According to the bill statement, it would address such issues as the need for environmental justice and social equity to ensure equal access to the park. It would also take measures to preserve natural resources through a resiliency plan that allows the park to withstand rising sea levels and future flooding.

The bill would also direct the task force to have three public meetings and, six months after the bill is enacted, produce a master plan.

Creating A Most Popular Park

In a paper on the Conservation Foundation's website, it refers to the overall park as the “people’s park.”

It is "1,200 acres of land and water along the Hudson River waterfront with sweeping views of the New York City skyline, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

"Liberty State Park was created on a former industrial site of abandoned rail yards and decrepit piers. Thanks to the vision and perseverance of the late Morris Pesin, a Jersey City community activist, it opened to the public in 1976 as the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial.

"It’s been a hit ever since," the foundation website says.

According to a citation in untappedcities.com, the 20-acre Caven Point peninsula was, in the mid-1600s, called “Kewan’s Point” by Dutch settlers.

Pesin said in 1649 people of the Lenape nation, which had populated the area, were massacred at what is now Caven Point, adding historical significance to the area. Lenape descendants said the site should be preserved, Pesin said.

Caven Point remains the only beach New Jersey has on the Hudson River, said Emile DeVito, Ph.D., manager of science and stewardship for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.

But Caven Point's future is uncertain, DeVito said.

New Jersey, he said, has designated the site "worthy of being designated with Natural Area status," but it never has actually done so, leaving it open to development pressures, such as the golf course idea.

Giving Caven Point Natural Area status would "add special protections," he said. A Natural Areas Council would have to approve any changes, for example, he said.

The area's importance to nesting migratory birds makes it "irreplaceable. It shouldn't be subject to political high jinks," DeVito added.

Potosnak, too, noted how the Caven Point site is unique. One of the last places in the area a member of the public can pull up to "In a kayak or a canoe."

They both are strongly opposed to any expansion of the Liberty National Golf Course.

For Potosnak, Caven Point is "one of the most treasured areas in Liberty State Park." If it doesn't get protection in the bill, he added, "I'll wonder why."

The Liberty State Park Natural Resource Restoration Project is already underway, part of the DEP's Office of Natural Restoration, according to the DEP website . That has provided ongoing environmental cleanup by the DEP of the larger tracts that at one time had commercial and industrial sites, Potosnak said.

According to a project summary, it will feature the "creation/enhancement of 27 acres of freshwater wetland, the addition of 50 acres of saltmarsh, and dramatic enhancement of 133 acres of upland maritime habitat transforming this area into an ecological gem within Jersey City. The project includes an extensive complementary and fully integrated system of trails, paths, wildlife observation structures, and accompanying interpretive signage to provide for responsible and suitable public access to various habitat areas."

And the addition of recreations fields, bandstand and support facilities like food stands and bathrooms are appropriate uses, Potosnak said.

But any plans for more extensive development are not.

"We don't want a Meadowlands lite," he said.