Photo by Jordan Coll / SOC Images.
“Keep some of the existing character and history of the park,” was one of the messages written out on a neon green sticky note left on a board full of development designs for a revitalized Liberty State Park (LSP), which many locals consider a Hudson County natural crown jewel.
The Open House showcased four distinct projects under the “Liberty State Park Revitalization Program,” a proposal ushered in by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The Saturday, Jan. 25 event was a culmination of four other meetings held since the fall of 2023.
The park’s revitalization plans aim to balance ecological restoration efforts with increased accessibility and recreational use at LSP. Funding for LSP in the past has been allocated by federal and state appropriations funds, including an additional $35 million investment by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and the state legislature.
The talking points of the Open House centered on renovations for the Audrey Zapp Drive corridor, including improvements on the marina green, the ongoing renovations to the interior of the park and future plans for the southern athletic hub.
The project is estimated to cost approximately $1 billion, according to the DEP.
At the meeting, a mixed optimism and vigilance could be seen among locals, as Slice of Culture spoke to members who attended the event.
“I am really excited about potentially having a running track added to the park,” said Carly Ciricillo, a resident of Jersey City who moved three years ago from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
One of the comments she left on her sticky note was related to making her own running path apart from the potential “public track and field center” and “support facilities” set to be placed on the southern athletic hub of the park under the new provisions of the park’s revitalization plan.
“The walking trail I think a lot of people are actually going to enjoy,” said Connor Hill, a Bergen-Lafayette resident and bike owner. He could be seen looking over the park’s designs for the Interior Phase of the park.
Other sticky notes asked whether the translucent roof canopy proposed under the Audrey Zapp Drive Gateway Project would have “protection from the sun,” according to the note written by an individual who has skin cancer. The project would have outdoor amenities for the area including bike rentals, restrooms and parking.
Conversations on the park’s future comes after nearly five years of public engagement with over 5,000 public comments addressing the direction the park would take, which would be built off of public interest dating back to 2020.
“It’s really important that we hear everybody, that we make this a place that speaks to everyone,” said Shawn LaTourette, the commissioner for the NJ DEP, who spoke in an exclusive interview with Slice of Culture.
“We are at the point where we bring it all together [Revitalization Plan] into one cohesive plan.”
He added, this year, three priority projects under the revitalization program would take place at LSP:
- The Interior (in between Audrey Zapp Drive Corridor and Morris Pesin Drive)
- Audrey Zaap Drive Corridor
- The Morris Pesin Drive Corridor plus the Waterfront in the southern region of LSP
In past years, developers, such as Paul Fireman, proposed to build a stadium complex in the interior of the LSP; Fireman currently owns a 160-acre golf course, called Liberty National Course, adjacent to the Hudson River.
But the idea for the 5,000-seat stadium, or amphitheater, reportedly stems from the old Roosevelt Stadium, which used to sit at the southwest section of Jersey City’s Greenville section, PPF said in a previous interview. This 24,500-seat stadium held games for Dickinson, Ferris, Lincoln and Snyder High Schools and even served as home for the MLB’s Brooklyn Dodgers, which saw the debut of trailblazer Jackie Robinson. Now, Society Hill is there.
In February 2024, PPF held a meeting at 902 Brewing Co. in Jersey City, where locals, students and parents–mainly from Greenville–voiced their opinions on how local student athletes don’t have good indoor and outdoor facilities and are forced to drive far to Newark or Red Bank, which are more adequately equipped. Attendees emphasized how LSP can be used for community events and recreational activities, to name a few.
One attendee had questioned, “How is a kid out of Greenville going to be successful?”
“I am more interested in proper utilization of a portion of the park so we can address some of our local recreational needs,” Bob Hurley said at last Saturday’s event, who is the current president of the People’s Park Foundation (PPF), a non-profit organization who focuses on “elevating the voices of the community who deserve and continue to demand a modern, 21st century park,” according to their site.
The PPF previously proposed to the DEP that of the 240 acres that has been closed off for decades, 85 of that should have active and passive and recreational spaces; at the time, the DEP only approved of 60 acres, which PPF considered a step in the right direction and Sam Pesin, the son of Morris Pesin and president of Friends of Liberty State Park (FOLSP), supported as long as it was free.
While Hurley and PPF expressed their proposal is rooted in concerns of the recreation needs of the youth and other local residents, Pesin and FOLSP advocates for the over 1,200 acre state park to continue to serve as an oasis for wild habitats and native species such as the Belted kingfisher and Great Blue Herons.
Animal activists and residents oppose what they view as commercial and privatization development efforts. Hurley previously told Slice of Culture that LSP was already being privatized: there’s fine dining (Liberty House on Audrey Zapp Drive), the Liberty Landing Marina and a parking lot and picnic areas that require payment; instead, he suggested a partnership between public and private.
Both Hurley and Pesin are on the revitalization project’s design task force.
Back at Saturday’s event, other residents described the process of LSP and the final plans introduced at the Open House for the park, to be “carefully thought out” and “inspiring,” in the direction of the park’s future developments.
“For the most part I am absolutely thrilled and encouraged with the vision and the community engagement process it took to get here,” said Joshua Foss, a resident of Jersey City who spoke to Slice of Culture. “It’s incredible to see how much integrity there is in upholding some of the ecological functions of the park, and not giving way to too much development, from developers.”
Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore said that he was satisfied after Saturday’s meeting.
“I am pleased with the recent DEP plans as they relate to park improvements. However, I hope these plans come to fruition sooner rather than later,” he said.
Members of the public who wish to provide public comment on any aspect of the development phases of the park can do so online until Feb. 8 on the NJ DEP site.
