Monmouth Officials Eager To Reopen, But Parks Closed Thru May 15

In a news conference Monday morning, April 27, Monmouth County Freeholders said that while they are personally eager to re-open parks and golf courses, all county parks, libraries and golf courses will remain closed through May 15.

However, Monmouth County Freeholders said they will continue to pressure Gov. Phil Murphy to re-open state and county parks.

“I want to reiterate that I do not support the indefinite closure of all county parks in New Jersey,” Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone said on Monday. “The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholds understands how important these parks and open spaces are for our residents’ mental health and wellness."

"We are going to be increasing our efforts to open the parks and golf courses," he vowed.

However, all public access to county buildings and programs remains closed through Friday, May 15, he said. This includes all Monmouth County Library branches and the Monmouth County Park System buildings.

"We've hit a saturation point where residents have almost every single ounce of movement and activity unilaterally restricted," said state Senator Declan O'Scanlon (R-NJ13) on April 9, joined by fellow Monmouth County state lawmakers Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger, both Republican.

"As soon as the weather turns nice you're gonna have people going stir crazy, and by keeping the parks closed you are going to have exactly the opposite of what you want: Concentrating too many people in drastically smaller spaces. That is exactly the opposite of what we should be encouraging right now," said O'Scanlon, who lives in Little Silver. "I've been out; I've seen people in parks and open spaces and the overwhelming number of people are abiding by social distancing."

"I'm a Democrat who uses Liberty State Park a lot," Jersey City business owner Aaron Morrill told Patch. Morrill also wrote this this op-ed asking Gov. Murphy to re-open New Jersey state parks. "I've seen no danger there of too much closeness. There were measure they could have taken short of closure."

As Patch reported last week, Monmouth County $108 million Monmouth County received in federal stimulus money through the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act.

Eight other counties in New Jersey were given the federal stimulus money, and how exactly it will be distributed and used in Monmouth County is still being worked on, said Arnone.

Keep reading: Republican Lawmakers: Murphy Should Re-Open State, County Parks

Monmouth County Gets $108 Million In Coronavirus Stimulus Money

Also, the Freeholders announced that the "Take Out in Monmouth initiative" has been a success, with more than 13,000 unique visitors to the www.takeoutinmonmouth.com website, which lists restaurants and eateries that remained open for business during the the shutdown.

"Monmouth County residents are showing their support for these small businesses and their employees during this difficult time," said Arnone.