Gov. Murphy Closes All Union County Parks Amid Coronavirus

UNION COUNTY, NJ — Many residents, too many, have been flocking to the parks amid the coronavirus quarantine. As a result Gov. Phil Murphy announced that all state and county parks will close.

In Union County parks will close as of 8 p.m. and include:

• Ashbrook Reservation in Scotch Plains
• Black Brook Park in Kenilworth
• Briant Park in Summit
• Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield and South Plainfield
• Echo Lake Park in Mountainside and Westfield
• Esposito Park in Clark
• Green Brook Park in Plainfield and North Plainfield
• Kawameeh Park in Union
• Lenape Park in Cranford, Kenilworth, Springfield, Union, Westfield
• Mattano Park in Elizabeth
• McConnell Park in Cranford
• Milton Lake Park in Clark and Rahway
• Nomahegan Park in Cranford
• Oak Ridge Park in Clark and Edison
• Passaic River Park in Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Summit
• Stanley Avenue Park in Summit
• Ponderosa Farm Park in Scotch Plains
• Phil Rizzuto Park in Union and Elizabeth
• Rahway River Park in Rahway
• Meisel Avenue Park in Springfield
• Washington Avenue Park in Springfield
• Sperry Park in Cranford
• Unami Park in Cranford, Garwood and Westfield
• Warinanco Park in Elizabeth and Roselle
• Watchung Reservation in Berkeley Heights, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Springfield, Watchung
• Wheeler Park in Linden

"We have seen far too many instances where people are gathering in groups in our parks erroneously thinking since they are outside ans social distancing doesn't matter. Nothing could be further from the truth," Murphy said during his press conference Tuesday. (you can watch it here).

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Additionally all permits in Union County including: athletic fields, picnics areas, special events, Maskers Barn rentals, archery group lessons and scouting areas are postponed until further notice.

Union County facilities that are closed until further notice include: Warinanco Sports Center, Trailside Nature and Science Center, Watchung Stable, Galloping Hill and Ash Brook Golf Courses, Dog Parks and restroom facilities within the parks.

For any Union County parks questions or concerns, e-mail parksinfo@ucnj.org.

This order follows Murphy's announcement that New Jersey once again had its deadliest day during the coronavirus outbreak: 3,361 new cases and 232 more deaths.

The total number of cases has risen to 44,416, and 1,232 people have died. The state did not provide a county-by-county breakdown of cases on Tuesday, but Patch has kept track of the overall numbers. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

Murphy said the state will allow each municipality to decide whether to close local town-run parks. He suggested that people can go to those parks for recreation, or "take a walk or bike ride in your neighborhood."

As of Tuesday Union County has 4,358 positive COVID-19 cases and 95 deaths.

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