Frustrated by the closure of the Pershing Field Park Ice Rink, a group of rink advocates is calling on their neighbors to go to City Hall on Wednesday at 6pm to register their displeasure at the regularly scheduled Jersey City Council meeting.
As reported by the Jersey City Times, council members are expected to confer with Lucinda McLaughlin, director of the city department of Recreation and Youth Development, before tonight’s caucus on how to use a $1 million state grant to improve the rink.
Beyond its use by recreational skaters, the rink has also been home to several local hockey organizations including the Jersey City Capitals, Hudson Catholic High School Hockey, Hoboken High School and Weehawken High School teams, St. Peter’s Prep of Jersey City, a squad sponsored by New Jersey Youth Hockey and the Jersey City Police Department and Jersey City Fire Department hockey teams.
The group is calling on the Department of Recreation and Youth Development and Mayor Fulop to publicly post a concrete action plan to reopen the rink, “including full plans for the repairs/renovations, timeline for the project, budget and obstacles for reopening the rink” by Fall 2024. In addition, the group is asking for the creation of “an oversight committee including Jersey City officials and community members to ensure the project moves forward with urgency and transparency.”
To that end, Mike Mariniello, President of the Jersey City Capitals, said he is “committed to working with Jersey City officials.”
Ward D Councilman Yusef Saleh told the Times that city experts have concluded that the grant money in hand “is not nearly enough” what is needed to fix the rink and that the price tag could be as much as $5 million. The city is exploring other options such as laying down “another type of ice” or issuing vouchers that city residents can use at other rinks in the region.