Township Considers Redevelopment of Crystal Lake

On any given day, fishermen can be seen testing their luck with Crystal Lake's bass. Runners traverse the trail that surrounds the area and visitors can see through the clear water to the bottom of the lake. But, it's the future of the lake, which sits behind the Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center on Boland Drive, that may be a little murky.

West Orange Mayor Robert Parisi told Patch that paddle boats and a new walking path are just some of the initial ideas for redeveloping the lake in the next year or two. If the project is approved, Parisi said he would look for financial help from the state's Green Acres fund, an open space fund that aids in open space projects in municipalities throughout the state.

"There is nothing specific at this point, other than we think it's an area that we could choose to invest resources in. Other sources think it's a project we don't want to allocate resources to if we can't get other funding resources right now," said Parisi. "We are going to sit on that right now and develop a complete plan for that area. It's an area a lot of the neighbors and a lot of people around town utilize. We're just figuring out what we want to do, exactly what the cost will be and what the funding source will be."

During the beginning of the 20th century, Crystal Lake was home to a sprawling amusement park, picnic grounds, a hotel, boating and ice skating. In the 1940s, the complex sported a swimming pool, which claimed a filtration system that made "the water you bathe in as pure as the water you drink."

But then Crystal Lake's glory days came to an end. By the 1950s and into the 1970s, the lake was overgrown, derelict and unattractive.

Now, the lake sits in the shadows of Eagle Rock Lanes and a housing complex made up of condominiums.

Joe Pelosi, West Orange's superintendent of parks, and his crew is in charge of maintaining the lake and the area surrounding it. This includes cutting the grass, emptying trash cans, trimming the brush along the shore and providing oxygen to the lake. Pelosi said he hires the company Aquatic Analysis to perform checks on the algae and weeds in the lake every two weeks.

Although Pelosi is intrigued by the idea of redeveloping the area, he also has some reservations.

"I know with the way the economy is, I wouldn't want to burden the taxpayers with fixing it … I don't know if people realize, but when you try to do something with a body of water like that, putting paddle boats in there or something like that or make it look like a scene from a golf course, it's a lot, a lot of money," he said. "The Department of Environmental Protection frowns upon you breaking ground around these bodies of water and they make you take out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of permits before you even start doing something like this."

Bill Kehoe, director of recreation in West Orange, said redevelopment of the lake would be great for the town, but understands it may carry a hefty price tag.

"I would like to see Crystal Lake become a more active facility for our residents. I think it's underutilized," he said. "I would like to see the walking path completed so that people can walk around the lake for exercise or push a baby carriage. I'd like to pursue way down the road, the possibility of a boathouse or beach, but that's kind of out of our reach right now for this economy."

But not everyone seems to think the lake needs a change.

The local fishermen who frequent the lake have mixed views when it comes to changing the landscape.

A West Orange fisherman who chose to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity to the subject, said redevelopment could ruin the fishing environment.

"I think it's pretty good. They sprayed it three times already for algae and weeds. You can see the bottom, it's nice and clear," he said. "I would rather they leave it like this. If they improve it, I think they are going to take away from the quality of fishing. They are going to take away the brush; that's where the fish hide."

Jean Nau, of Bloomfield, another fisherman who frequents the lake, said the it could use some sprucing up.

"The condition is OK," said Nau. "Except sometimes, people come here, they fish, they have a beverage and they throw it in the water instead of the garbage disposal."

The topics of miscellaneous trash and the rule of catch and release also were popular with many of the fishermen. They said they felt these two aspects of the lake were the top priorities the town should focus on rather than redevelopment.

"We need to sit down with the recreation department and some interested friends of the park and figure out what's best for that and what makes more sense," said Parisi. "There's nothing concrete yet."