Amid Debate Over Liberty State Park In Jersey City, Assemblyman Sponsors Protection Bills

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Debate has been raging over how to best preserve and program the 1,212-acre Liberty State Park on the Jersey City waterfront, with activists saying developer Paul Fireman may have too much influence over its future.

The park has nature programs, open space, wildlife, playground, and even Caven Point Beach, with a view of the New York City skyline beyond the sand and water.

On Wednesday, Assemblyman John Allen announced he'll sponsor what a spokesman called "two important Liberty State Park Protection bills."

The announcement came the day after the latest state Department of Environmental Protection hearing about the park.

The two proposals will be called the Liberty State Park Protection Act and the Caven Point Protection Act.

The Liberty State Park Protection Act, A2488, would preserve the park as public urban green open space and put in place strong development restrictions, the spokesperson said. It would also create a Liberty State Park Advisory Committee, one that is independent, objective, and focused solely on the public good.

The Caven Point Protection Act, A4058, is designed to protect the living shoreline of the Peninsula, ahabitat for wildlife and fauna.

“Taken together, these two important bills will ensure that we safeguard Liberty State Park from commercialization and large-scale development,” Allen said. “I will work hard for their passage because it is essential that we protect this iconic urban park with its stunning waterfront views as public open space that people can enjoy today and for years to come.”

Allen testified about his legislative initiatives at the NJ DEP Liberty State Park Design Task Force hearing on Tuesday (read more about it here.)

Elected to his first term in the Assembly in November, John Allen represents Hoboken and parts of Jersey City.

Hoboken Mayor Bhalla Speaks, Addresses 'Misinformation' In Texts

Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla also spoke at the hearing, saying he wants to protect the park from "commercialization" in the form of a football stadium and concert venue. He also blasted what he called a "misinformation campaign."

He said, "I stand here today to restate my emphatic support for the Department of Environmental Protection’s well-researched plans to revitalize Liberty State Park in a way that maintains its charm and character, while adding much needed recreation and entertainment spaces. But what I’d like to directly address is the misleading misinformation campaign by special interest groups regarding the DEP’s proposals.

"I can certainly appreciate diverse viewpoints as to the direction of the park, including the proposed amenities. What we cannot, and must not accept in any way, shape or form are the grossly misleading, and factually incorrect text messages received by Jersey City residents regarding claims that the park will be 'flooded' due to the DEP’s park designs...

"The DEP’s plans include green infrastructure to absorb rainwater, and in fact mitigate flooding, not exacerbate it, in local neighborhoods...Let’s also be clear that this misinformation campaign is an attempt to distract us from what is really
being pushed by special interest groups. Their proposed 7,000 seat concert venue and a 5,000 seat football stadium represents large-scale commercialization that should be rejected by the task force as out of scale with the community’s vision for the park. "

Background

The Friends of Liberty State Park, a longtime nonprofit group to preserve the park, said before Tuesday's meeting, "Please critically continue to express your views in this crossroads planning process on evolving DEP consultants' proposals and to keep zealously opposing billionaire Fireman's Sports and Entertainment Complex."

Liberty State Park opened during the bicentennial year 1976. Over the years, activist groups have attempted to steer the park away from potential overdevelopment and commercialization.

The Friends of Liberty State Park have posted, on their website, more than a dozen recent news stories about ongoing controversies regarding development at the park, including the involvement of billionaire Paul Fireman. (Fireman has responded with an editorial.)

See a map of the park here.