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Elizabeth Morrill

Eight Great Winter Walks Nearby

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American naturalist and nature essayist John Burroughs may have put it best. “I go to nature to be soothed and healed and to have my senses put in order.”

After a ten-month-long lockdown and a nerve-wracking election culminating in last week’s Capitol insurrection, we could all use a little soothing and healing.

Below are eight walks in and around Jersey City you might want to consider for lifting your spirits the next brisk, sunny winter day. Seven of them traverse beautiful wetlands and offer great birding. One is in a 2,000-acre mountain reservation. All are dog friendly. Some are near playgrounds and other attractions for young kids.

Before we begin, a note about provenance. Most of these pathways were built thanks to a 1988 state law requiring municipalities to provide public access to the state’s shorelines (a right that traces back to Byzantine emperor Justinian in 500 A.D.). Credit for developing and maintaining these paths belongs to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, private developers, local municipalities, and agencies like the Hudson County Improvement Authority. Nonprofit environmental organizations including Hackensack Riverkeeper, the Hudson River Waterfront Conservancy, and the NY/NJ Baykeeper work to promote use of the walkways, develop educational programming along them, and occasionally litigate to protect private and commercial encroachment upon them.

The walks are organized by point of origin starting with those in Jersey City.

Hackensack Riverfront Walkway in Lincoln Park West (Jersey City)

Lincoln Park West used to be home to an 80-acre landfill. Now, thanks to efforts spurred by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection in 1998, it’s the site of a .75-mile-long public walkway that’s won not one but two prestigious awards for excellence in environmental restoration.

Pennsylvania Railroad Hudson & Manhattan Railroad passenger bridge as seen from Lincoln Park West Walkway

This western part of Lincoln Park (so called because it’s on the west side of Route 440) is 120 acres in size. The walkway itself meanders through 34 acres of restored wetlands planted with approximately 100,000 plants attractive to all sorts of wildlife: raptors, black skimmers, ospreys, egrets, waterfowl, fish and aquatic invertebrates.

Edgewood Lake, which allows for fishing, is on one’s right as the walk begins. All along the route are views of the Hackensack River and two of the four bridges in the Hackensack River Vertical Lift Bridges Historic District. Just beware of errant golf balls.

Most of the pathway, while protected by bluffs, is adjacent to Skyway Golf Course.

For more exercise, options abound.

Visitors can explore a similar type of path perpendicular to the main walkway (adding another quarter to half mile round trip), meander through the rest of Lincoln Park West past tranquil ponds and scenic overlooks, or, of course, walk over the ramp to Lincoln Park East.

Those who tackle both the riverfront walkway and the loop in Lincoln Park East will log 2.75-miles. Dogs are welcome as long as they’re leashed.

How to Find It: Lincoln Park West is located on Route 440 between Duncan and Communipaw Avenues, but it can be accessed only via a ramp (for both cars and pedestrians) from Lincoln Park East. Lincoln Park East has several entrances including ones on West Side, Communipaw, and Duncan Avenues.

Parking: There is free parking in both Lincoln Park West and Lincoln Park East.

Public Transportation: Via Rideshare

Walkway Hours: 24/7

Route Length: 1.5 miles (out and back)

Activities for Kids: Lincoln Park East has a playground

Caven Point to Port Liberte (Jersey City)

Perhaps more familiar to readers but by no means more mundane is the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway section from Caven Point (in Liberty State Park) to Port Liberte.

Indeed, so beautiful is this stretch that billionaire Paul Fireman is attempting to transform the wildlife refuge within it to more holes for Liberty National Golf Course, which he owns. (Fireman is trying to block passage of the Liberty State Park Protection Act and is hoping for cooperation from Governor Murphy; ongoing—and tireless—efforts to pass the act, which would keep Caven Point public among other things, are being been led by Sam Pesin, president of  Friends of Liberty State Park.)

Port Liberte as seen from Caven Point Wildlife Refuge

The walkway itself is beautifully designed. Initially curving around Liberty National’s hilltop clubhouse, the path is bounded by tall grasses and rocky shores. Past the glass-enclosed clubhouse the walkway proceeds to the peninsula’s 15-acre bird sanctuary that itself features beautiful boardwalks, scenic overlooks, and panoramic views of New York Harbor. Local photographer and blogger Shayna Marchese notes, “It [the sanctuary] consists of upland meadow, saltwater marsh, maritime forest, tidal pools, tidal mudflats, and the longest natural beach in Upper New York Harbor and the Hudson River. It is one of the last undisturbed natural estuaries in the New York City area.”

Upon leaving the refuge (which is open from October through March), turn left onto the walkway and continue until you get to Port Liberte. Turn left and go down a few steps, and the public path will continue by heading south. (Do not enter Port Liberte as it is private.) You will now be treated to unencumbered views of Brooklyn to the east and glimpses into the backyards of Port Liberte homeowners to the west.

Keep going.

The walkway again appears to end—this time at a swimming pool. In actuality, however, it continues as it wraps around the pool, parallels “Intrepid Place,” and dead ends at Chapel Avenue.

Why is Port Liberte worth the trip? Because it’s so different.

Modeled after Venice—and with architecture inspired by French fishing villages—the Disneyworld-like community consists of ornately styled homes situated along serpentine canals, many with their own boats and docks. The development is gated, so nonresidents are prohibited from entering without invitation. But the public walkway provides glimpses of the unusual domicile.

How to Find It: The entrance to the walkway is located off Morris Pesin Dr. across from the Liberty Park Diner.

Parking: While it remains closed due to COVID, Liberty Park Diner, located right at the rotary at the intersection of Burma Rd. and Morris Pesin Dr., offers the closest free parking. No-cost parking is also available in the Liberty State Park parking lot at the east end of Morris Pesin Drive.

Public Transportation: Via Rideshare

Walkway Hours: 24/7

Route Length: 4 miles out and back

Newport to Uptown Hoboken (Jersey City to Hoboken)

Yet another stretch of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway runs from Newport to Uptown Hoboken. This route showcases  spiffy urban planning and postcard views of Manhattan. And like the entire pedestrian path, it’s part of the East Coast Greenway.

Pier C Park along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway in Hoboken. 

Arguably the most enchanting part of the route is Pier C Park  in Hoboken, an irregularly shaped protrusion that sits atop stilts in the river between Third and Fourth Streets. But other appealing spots dot the four-mile out-and-back walk, too. Pier A Park, just north of Hoboken Terminal, offers an expansive lawn great for groups of people to meet (masked, of course). Maxwell Place Park, at the northern end of the walk, features similar grassy expanses plus some cool seating and a nicely designed playground and dog run.

The walk ends  a stone’s throw from the Hoboken Historical Museum. Check out their great array of memorabilia and first-rate art and historical exhibitions.

How to Find It: Heading north on Washington Blvd. in Jersey City, turn right onto Park Lane South just before you get to Target. You will see the walkway at the river’s edge.

Walkway Hours: 24/7

Route Length: 2 miles in each direction

Nearby Points of Interest: Hudson Street in Hoboken (featuring a half mile of eye candy in the form of magnificent brownstones), the Hoboken Historical Museum

Activities for Kids: Pier C Park and Maxwell Place Park have state-of-the-art playgrounds

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway Around Bayonne Golf Club (Bayonne)

Just seven miles south of Jersey City—and jutting out into New York Harbor—is a stunning section of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, arguably the most beautiful section of this fantastic 19-mile amenity. The path circumscribes the Bayonne Golf Club, features a gorgeous foot bridge, and offers dramatic views. You’ll feel as though you’re on the set of Poldark by Masterpiece Theater.

While this is a route on which dog owners (or is the polite term now dog parents?) would definitely want to keep their charges leashed, the walk offers benefits that others in the area don’t: feeling part of a larger community, lots of independent boutiques and restaurants just yards away, and wide pathways for strollers (to name just a few).

 

View of Bayonne National Golf Club clubhouse from Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. Photo courtesy of Sue Kaufmann.

Almost the entire 1.25-mile trail borders wetlands. As a bonus, two other worthwhile spots to visit—Atlas Yacht Club and the  9/11 Teardrop Memorial in Bayonne (that Jersey City didn’t want)—are a short drive away.

How to Find It: The walkway is adjacent to South Cove Commons Shopping Center at One Lefante Way in Bayonne.

 

Distance From Jersey City: 7 miles

Parking: Free parking at South Cove Commons shopping center (park near Home Goods)

Public Transportation: Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to 34th Street Station, Bayonne. This station is diagonally across the street from the South Cove Commons shopping center. The trail head is behind Home Goods.

Walkway Hours: 24/7

Route Length: 2.5 miles (out and back)

Nearby Points of Interest: Costco, Atlas Yacht Club, 9/11 Teardrop Memorial

Twin Parks: Richard A. Rutkowski and Stephen R. Gregg (Bayonne)

Two adjacent parks on Newark Bay in Bayonne offer a great combination of wetlands, fishing opportunities, jogging and bicycle paths, birding, beautifully canopied hills, historic artifacts, even a formal garden. For warmer-weather outings there are also athletic fields and tennis courts.

Historic Elco crane in Rutkowski Park

While little has changed in the stately 98-acre Gregg Park for many years, Rutkowski Park got refurbished recently as part of an environmental remediation project.

Upon entering the northern edge of Rutkowski Park off Route 440 South, one can pick up a gravel path on the right. Just look for the sign with a backpacker logo on it. This trail borders Newark Bay and leads to a scenic wood footbridge that meanders through wetlands for a quarter mile. Along the way are spots to fish, interpretive signs describing the area’s wildlife, and a reassembled crane from Elco Boat Works with a plaque honoring the history of the boat builder and the servicemen who served aboard their torpedo patrol units in Newark Bay during World War II.

The walkway south from Rutkowski Park leads right to Gregg Park. In fact, the only thing separating the two parks is an iron archway. Once through the gate, turn right to behold an impressive half-mile long waterfront promenade with unimpeded views of Port Newark. To the left are ball fields, and beyond them the remaining 90-plus acres that unfold as so many undulating hills. Tall trees dot the interior throughout. The vibe is gracious and relaxed.

Gregg’s winding paths, stone stairs, porticos, and monuments are a testament to the foresight of Charles N. Lowrie, who designed the park and was active in the City Beautiful Movement.

How to Find It: Stephen R. Gregg Park is located on JFK Blvd. in Hoboken between 37th and 48th Streets. Richard A. Rutkowski Park is on the water just to Gregg Park’s north. To drive to Rutkowski Park, take Route 440 South and exit on the right just past the overpass for NJ Turnpike Extension 78.

Distance From Jersey City: 7 miles (20–25 minutes by car without traffic)

Parking: Gregg Park offers free parking in the southwest corner, which is the equivalent of 37th Street and Newark Bay. Rutkowski Park’s free parking lot is at the entrance to the park off of Route 440 South.

Walkway Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Route Length: Up to 2.5 miles of combined trails

Activities for Kids: Gregg Park features playgrounds and athletic fields

Mill Creek Marsh (Secaucus)

If you want to immerse yourself in the Hackensack River wetlands with the shortest possible drive from Jersey City, the Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus is for you. The 209-acre property features a mile-and-a-half-long trail that loops around a marsh situated right in the Atlantic Flyway. Lots of ducks and birds are on view.

Waterfowl in Mill Creek Marsh Park

While you are right off both the Turnpike and Route 3, you will still make some enchanting discoveries: stumps of ancient Atlantic white cedar trees (a species that has been gone from the area since 1923,) ducks such as green-winged teals and northern shovelers, attractive wood footbridges, and thoughtfully placed benches on which to sit and reflect.

Mill Creek Marsh is one of many areas highlighted on the “Parks and Trails” page of the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Association’s website (NJSEA is essentially the Meadowlands administration). It is open from 7 a.m. to dusk.

How to Find It: The entrance to the walkway is located right next to the Secaucus, NJ location of Bob’s Discount Furniture in the Mall at Mill Creek on Route 3. The address is 3 Mill Creek Drive.

Distance From Jersey City: 7 miles (20–25 minutes by car without traffic)

Parking: Free parking available near the walkway entrance

Walkway Hours: 7 a.m. to dusk

Route Length: 1.6 miles of trails total

Richard W. DeKorte Park (Lyndhurst)

Another jewel along the Hackensack, Richard W. DeKorte Park consists of nearly 640 acres of marshes and coastal impoundments in the town of Lyndhurst in the Meadowlands. Like so many of the trails that Hackensack Riverkeeper (and its founder Captain Bill Sheehan) helped develop, it’s not crowded. So, don’t tell anyone.

 

Interpretive sign along trail in Richard W. DeKorte Park. Photo courtesy of NJSEA.

But it is important for scientific and environmental reasons. “The region is classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by New Jersey Audubon and is an area of conservation interest to the USFWS [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service], mainly due to a high diversity of wetland birds and wildlife,” according to the The Coastal Impoundments Vulnerability and Resilience Project.

DeKorte park also feeds the soul. It offers three-and-a-half miles of trails including one over a long jetty that will make you think you’re on Cape Cod (Provincetown has a jetty that’s pretty impressive).

Signs highlighting the park’s resources and wildlife are found intermittently along the pathways; other resources include an observatory for star gazing and a center for environmental and scientific education (both of which are unfortunately closed during the pandemic).

Dogs are allowed on leashes on most of the trails.

How to Find It: The entrance is located at 1 DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst.

Distance From Jersey City: 11 miles (30 minutes by car without traffic)

Parking: Free parking right inside the entrance

Walkway Hours: 7 a.m. to dusk

Route Length: 3.5 miles of assorted trails

Attractions for Kids: NJSEA.com provides information on numerous environmental education opportunities geared to children (temporarily suspended due to COVID-19).

South Mountain Reservation (Maplewood-Millburn-West Orange)

For those readers who want a nearby hike, not just a walk (and who have access to a car), South Mountain Reservation in Essex County fits the bill. Over 2,000 acres big, the complex is just 17 miles from Jersey City, but its mostly wild, forested habitat gives one the sense of being hours away.

Wooded trail in South Mountain Reservation. Photo courtesy of All Trails.

Your sojourn will be handsomely rewarded. Visitors will find numerous trails ranging in length from less than one mile to over 30 miles. And the preserve has an impressive pedigree: According to Essex County Parks, renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted visited the reserve and considered it amongst “the most beautiful and promising terrain he had ever seen.” While Olmstead did not design the reservation himself, he delegated the job to his stepson’s firm, and it was eventually finalized by Olmstead’s two sons, both prominent landscape architects in their own right.

South Mountain Reservation is also known for having a pretty snazzy dog park. Pooches from far and away get their humans to take them there because of its agility courses and equipment.

How to Find It: South Mountain Reservation is located in parts of Millburn, Maplewood, and West Orange. Best to find directions to the trail of your choice.

Distance From Jersey City: Approximately 17 miles (30–40 minutes by car without traffic)

Parking:  Free parking lots are sprinkled throughout the complex. For just a few dollars one can also Park N Ride.

Park Hours: dawn to dusk

Route Length: The complex features a range of trails from less than one mile to over 30 miles in length.

Nearby Points of Interest: The reservation’s popular dog park with an agility course.The towns of Maplewood, Millburn, and West Orange offer a variety of shops and restaurants.

Attractions for Kids: Numerous offerings including a zoo and an award-winning 19-hole safari golf course (all unfortunately closed during COVID)

Correction: A previous version incorrectly stated that Paul Fireman was no longer pursuing privatizing Caven Point.

City Hall of Jersey City
Sally Deering

COUNCIL VOTES TO PROTECT PARK

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Call the Guinness Book of World Records. The Jersey City Council’s virtual meeting Wednesday night set its own record at nine hours and 20 minutes with 175 callers dialing in with concerns about Liberty State Park and defunding police. Callers voiced support for the Liberty State Park Protection Act and demanded the $159 million designated for police personnel in the FY2020-2021 municipal budget get reduced by half with the balance going to programs that support the needs of the Jersey City community.

In an 8-1 vote, with Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson dissenting, the City Council passed the resolution to support the Liberty State Park Protection Act. Before the 175 callers were invited to speak, Council President Joyce E. Watterman motioned for the resolution to be deferred to an early vote prior to the call-in speakers. 

“The City Council has done this before, moved things up to the top of the agenda, when there are a large number of speakers,” Council at Large Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr., said. “It’s been done in the past. Still, I’m going to vote no in this instance. I think we should hear from the speakers.”

The council voted 6-3 to move up the vote with Councilmen Lavarro, James Solomon and Jermaine Robinson dissenting. Before the vote, Councilman Solomon made a motion to amend the resolution, seconded by Councilman Lavarro, to include a provision for “the communities of Ward F and A which deserve fair and equitable treatment in the decision-making in the future of Liberty State Park”.   

“We are trying to make things better,” Councilman Solomon said. “Amendments will make it a better piece of legislation.”

Last week, Councilman Robinson held a public forum for his Ward F constituents to express their concerns about having a voice in the Liberty State Park Protection Act. Although more than 200 residents tuned in to the Zoom meeting—with many callers hoping to air concerns about saving Liberty State Park’s Caven Point wildlife estuary from privatization—the moderator turned off their computers’ audio, and the callers were completely muted. In the time since, Councilman Solomon drew up the amendments with input from Councilman Robinson, but according to Councilman Robinson, the amendments did not go far enough.

“We all agree Caven Point should never be touched,” Robinson said of the possibility of additional privatization, “but I do have deep concerns over the bill in Trenton right now. I want to send a stronger message.”

Councilman Robinson was referring to the bill in the New Jersey Legislature to pass the Liberty State Preservation Act. In January, the bill passed in the New Jersey senate, but when it came time to post it for a vote in the assembly, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) refused, and it died on the final day of the 2019-2020 legislative session. The next day, three Hudson County assembly members reintroduced the bill. 

Meanwhile, just yesterday, billionaire Paul Fireman, who owns Liberty National Golf Course and who has expressed interest in turning Caven Point wildlife estuary into three holes for golfers, issued a press release stating he is not going forward with his intention to obtain Caven Point. Councilman Lavarro says it’s a temporary pause.

“Fireman’s not saying he’s out of the business,” Councilman Lavarro said. “We need to stay vigilant, redouble our efforts, and fight back against these billionaire interests.”

Preserving the People’s Park

Sam Pesin, the president of the Friends of Liberty State Park refers to Liberty State Park as the ‘people’s park.” In 1976, Pesin’s father, Morris, helped found the park. Since his father’s passing, Sam Pesin has followed in his dad’s footsteps, devoting his time to his non-profit, the Friends of Liberty State Park (FOLSP) which has thousands of supporters. His petition to support the Liberty State Park Preservation Act has 18,000 signatures. He called in to the council meeting to offer his thanks to the City Council for passing the bill and to warn the council against Fireman’s land grab. 

“For 44 years, the people have put democracy into action and have fought for this people’s park behind Lady Liberty,” Pesin said. “The overwhelming majority strongly opposed park privatization every time, no matter what revenue was promised in return for sacrificing park land. From the time of its opening, the park has sustained overwhelming public support for green and open space and overwhelming opposition to privatization and commercialization proposals as expressed by people in public hearings, countless public comments, petitions and a series of coalitions of local, regional, and state-wide groups.”

Supporter Jill Posterino said protecting Liberty State Park from privatization is intrinsic to the Jersey City community. She said land should not be given away because wealth and privilege demand it.

“The golf course owner has inserted money and arguments into this democratic process in such a way to sow division and muddy the issue at hand,” Posterino said. “It is a strategy we have seen used time and again by those who want exemptions carved out only for themselves and who want to take ownership of something that doesn’t belong to them.”

Steve Krinsky, a retired school teacher warned that the work is far from done. 

“The fight moves to Trenton,” Krinsky said. “I hope you’ll stand up for this issue. We should be appalled at things like this and speak out against them.”

Defunding the Police

The City Council held a public hearing on the FY2020-2021 municipal budget and heard from many Jersey City residents demanding the $159 million allocated to the Jersey City police department be cut in half with the balance used for social services and community programs. Elena Thompson, a member of Solidarity Jersey City, said the diverted funding should be invested in services like affordable housing, youth programming, and access to quality healthcare. 

“Downtown Jersey City is safe not because it has the most police,” Thompson said. “Downtown is safe because it has the most resources. Decrease the JCPD budget by 50 percent. This is the civil rights movement of our time.”

Ward F resident Andrew John, a member of Solidarity Jersey City, agreed that the police should be defunded with the money re-allocated to housing, and health and human services.

“We’re all in agreement that the vulnerable need resources,” John said. “We need to look beyond this to what the community needs. This money is spent on police salaries. Since 2013 the force has nearly doubled in size. $50 million could create more youth programs, better mental health programs, initiatives like the ‘I love Greenville’ plan.”

CEO of Hudson Partnership Care Management Organization Robin Gorman called in and spoke to the council about the work she does with Hudson youth. Gorman works regularly with approximately 800 young people, and she receives most referrals from Jersey City where children are traumatized by gun violence, domestic violence, physical abuse, and addiction. 

“When I look at the youth of Jersey City, I feel we are shortchanging them,” she said. “The average age of youth that come to us are 15. By the time they come to us, they’ve experienced a lot of trauma. They’ve been disconnected from the educational system. If we had a handle of identifying their needs sooner, we could intervene in an impactful way. We choose to fund police, probation officers, the courts, detention centers, and prisons. If we’re going to put our money where our mouth is and be invested in anti-violence efforts, we need to move this money away from public safety and put it into kids’ programing.”

The next City Council meeting will be held Wed., Aug. 12 at 6 p.m.

 

Jersey City Times Staff

Fireman “Halts” Caven Point Effort and Launches Blistering Racially Charged Attack on Pesin

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Paul Fireman, through his public relations firm Kivvit, issued a statement today that he is “halting any efforts to pursue a public private partnership at Caven Point.”  For several years, Fireman has been engaged in an effort to convert Caven Point, a 21 acre piece of land that park advocates and environmentalists consider an important nesting area for wildlife, into three holes for his Liberty National Golf Club.  A vote to support a state law protecting Liberty State Park from privatization is scheduled for tonight’s city council meeting.

The statement reads as follows:

“For decades, Jersey City’s minority communities have been systematically shut out of the decision-making process on Liberty State Park. No one asked the communities’ opinions or cared about what was truly needed, and decisions were made for them. Meanwhile, 40 years later the Park is still incomplete.

“This fight for social justice is the most important fight taking place at Liberty State Park today. Those who do not want to empower minority communities are using me in an effort to distract from the real issue of who gets to make decisions. If people are serious about listening to minority voices, then we need a new effort that lets those voices be heard.

“I will not be used as an excuse for inaction any longer. That is why I am halting any efforts to pursue a public private partnership at Caven Point. I am doing this to force the supporters of the Liberty State Park Protection Act to address the social justice problems connected to Liberty State Park without using me as an excuse to keep ignoring minority communities.

“A new effort must be launched on Liberty State Park that will allow Jersey City’s minority communities a seat at the table AND ensure no actions are taken until there is community say in the decision-making process. When the Park was created 40 years ago community leaders, faith groups, politicians and business leaders were brought together. Their recommendations, after a thorough process, became the Liberty State Park Master Plan. This plan remains active today and is still being ignored. Its principles and ideas should serve as the basis of a new effort and a new plan.

“Sam Pesin should have been the leader of making that original plan a reality. Instead, after 40 years, Sam has done nothing to implement the grand vision for Liberty State Park. Pesin has reinforced a do-nothing policy and shut out minority communities from the decision-making process. This exclusion would continue under the Liberty State Park Protection Act.

“Sam Pesin and the Friends of Liberty State Park do not support proper decontamination of the interior 235 acres of the Park, which sits next to a minority neighborhood. Pesin wants this land to be a preserve, not a park. The toxic contaminated land currently sits behind a chain link fence where recreational opportunities – which were promised to minority communities – should exist. This contaminated land should be cleaned and converted into a swimming pool, arts and recreation center, ballfields, basketball courts, picnic areas and natural habitat restoration. There was also supposed to be a transportation system at the Park, which would help minority communities get there. That has not happened either. The fact that none of this has happened shows Pesin has been focused more on control of the process at the Park, rather than making Liberty State Park a better place for all.

“I have never advocated for privatization of Liberty State Park. I do believe the reality is our parks need public and private support to be great. It is a model used across the world. But I am halting efforts around Caven Point so there can be a real discussion about empowering minority voices to have their say about the future of Liberty State Park and the 235 acres of the Interior.”

Fireman’s statement comes on the heels of a controversial “Ward F Community Conversation” hosted on Zoom by Councilman Jermaine Robinson, Arnold Stovell and Bruce Alston.   Neither invited panelist and president of Friends of Liberty State Park, Sam Pesin, nor any of the approximately 200 guests were permitted to speak.   The “conversation” was preceded by the dissemination of a racially charged flyer that made many of the same allegations contained in Fireman’s press release today. Some observers of the Zoom meeting had suggested that Fireman was behind the flyer and Zoom meeting.

In response, Pesin and FOLSP released the following statement.

All supporters of a free public park behind Lady Liberty will be relieved to read about Paul Fireman claiming to give up his relentless self-serving false narrative about the park and his goal of privatizing and destroying the Caven Point natural preserve and urban environmental education resource to relocate exclusionary golf course holes closer to the bay for a better view for his millionaire members.

Paul Fireman is in a long line of would-be LSP privatizers who have met with consistent, overwhelming opposition in 44 years of grassroots battles. Over 85 groups are in the current “Coalition to Pass the LSP Protection Act”, and over 18,000 citizens have signed an onlne petition without the opportunity to engage the public during the pandemic.

Most importantly, the LSP Protection Act is needed now more than ever to end privatization assaults on LSP. We urge the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate President to post the legislation championed by Senators Brian Stack and Loretta Weinberg and Assemblypersons Raj Mukherji. Angela McKnight so that the Governor may sign the essential and landmark law to protect, once and for all, our urban, state and national treasure behind Lady Liberty.

Without the Protection Act, Paul Fireman will come roaring back with his disinformation, political contributions, and lobbyists under a new governor for his ultimate goal of a land grab of Caven Point.

Minority communities and all park visitors would of course benefit from park improvements including active recreational offerings (which our group has always supported, and the NJDEP, which manages LSP,  is open to collaborating on) and the Protection Act requires comprehensive public participation.

If Paul Fireman actually cares about minority communities in Jersey City and about LSP, we hope his offers of philanthropy and a First Tee youth golf academy  will not go the way of his privatization proposal now that no quid pro quo is attached by way of seizing public parkland.

The Protection Act must become law to once and for all protect this priceless park, and establish a peaceful and positive era of collaboration with the public, elected officials and the NJDEP to make this great park even better!

We thank all park supporters who have fought once again against LSP privatization plans, including the main sponsors of the Act  – Asm Raj Mukherji, Asw Angela McKnight, Asm Nick Chiaravalloti, and Sen Stack and Sen Weinberg. We also thank the media for their news coverage and the editorials which informed the public about Paul Fireman’s privatization land grab of Caven Point. Thank God for the People, whose involvement is still needed until the Act is signed into law, for advocating for a free park behind Lady Liberty and thanks for our nation’s free press!

It should be a no-brainer for the legislature and the Governor to protect LSP for future generations as a free park for all to enjoy behind Lady Liberty.

Photo of Red Tailed Hawk at Caven Point by Shayna Marchese

 

Aaron Morrill

Editorial: Do What’s Right Councilman Robinson

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Thursday’s Orwellian “community conversation” about the future of Liberty State Park marked a new low even by the already low standards of Jersey City politics. Promoted by Ward F Councilman Jermaine Robinson, “moderated” by Arnold Stovell, and featuring “panelist” Bruce Alston, the Zoom meeting was anything but a conversation. The tireless Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, who was also billed as a “panelist,” wasn’t permitted to speak—at all. Nor were the approximately 200 people who logged on in the mistaken belief that they would have a chance to participate in a meaningful discussion. Instead, what ensued was a shameful exercise in faux democracy that would make Vladimir Putin blush. The microphones of all but Stovell, Alston and Councilman Robinson were silenced, and listeners were treated to a misinformed diatribe apparently calculated to sow division and pave the way for the conversion of a pristine wildlife habitat into an expanded golf course for billionaires.

It’s hard to know where to begin. Let’s start with the timing. According to local observers, Mssrs. Robinson, Stovell, and Alston had never before expressed interest in Liberty State Park. So why now?  As they say, timing is everything. The current offensive appears to have begun a month ago. On June 9, Assemblywoman Angela McKnight announced that her charity Angela Cares had received a 10 thousand dollar donation from The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation.  McKnight, whose district includes Ward F, is a sponsor of the Liberty State Park Protection Act against which Fireman has fought a multi-year battle. We would hope and expect that Ms. McKnight won’t be influenced by this money, but greasing important political hands is apparently nothing new for Fireman. According to the New York Times, Fireman, who lives in Massachusetts, has given out $420,000 to New Jersey Democrats and Republicans. It would be nice—though unlikely—if all of our local pols would be as transparent as McKnight.

On June 30 an unknown legislator slipped a provision into New Jersey’s “stop-gap” budget that would allow businesses to submit proposals for development in state parks. Observers say the provision could only have been written with Caven Point in mind. Directing Fireman’s offensive against wildlife is the Trenton lobbying firm River Crossing Strategy Group, which boasts that it is “a powerhouse with institutional reach.” Its founder, Eric Shuffler, worked on both the Fulop and Murphy transition teams.

On July 1, Alston posted a slick race-baiting flyer to his Facebook page entitled “Broken Promises of Liberty State Park.” Stamped at the top and bottom was the Black Lives Matter slogan “White Silence = White Violence.” It included among a plethora of misstatements and half truths the straw man that amenities “important to Black and Latino communities” included in a 1977 master plan for the park had not been built. Not long after, these scurrilous flyers began appearing on car windshields in Ward F.

It’s hard to imagine a more cynical, Trumpian strategy than that dreamed up by the creators of the flyer and its disseminator and agent, Bruce Alston. To attempt to divide Jersey City residents along racial lines is bad enough. To do so by co-opting the social justice message of Black Lives Matter in order to destroy a wildlife refuge and provide three scenic holes of golf for billionaires is as surreal as it is vile.

The flyer’s claim, adopted by Alston, that Friends of Liberty State Park has stood in the way of active recreational amenities in the park was and is baseless. First, as Pesin points out today, it is the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that manages the park and is responsible for collaborating with the community. As to the role of FOLSP, Pesin recalls his father’s hope that Liberty State Park would have a “Central Park-type future,” i.e., that it would include athletic fields and small concessions. Pesin and FOLSP have always supported that vision.

Thankfully other voices from Ward F have spoken out against Fireman and his surrogates. Among them is Daoud David Williams, 77, a lifetime resident of Jersey City,  army veteran and member of the NAACP. He put it bluntly: “It is disgusting that they want to racialize this. They are co-opting Black Lives Matter. They want to pretend that they are representative of the community.” 

That it’s come to this is sad, indeed. Liberty State Park should not be a cause for division but, on the contrary, a place in which we all take pride. At this very moment, it is a place where people from all walks of life and every neighborhood mix. Tomorrow, the Jersey City Municipal Council will vote on Councilman James Solomon’s resolution in support of the Liberty State Protection Act. In 2019, Councilman Robinson supported a similar resolution. We hope he will chalk up this ill-conceived “community conversation” to experience and that he and the rest of the council will vote to approve the resolution. All communities in Jersey City should gather together to protect and improve the precious land we call Liberty State Park.

 

 Photo from Caven Point by Shayna Marchese

 

Joanna Arcieri

Community Rallies in Support of Liberty State Park and Caven Point

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A rally against the expansion of Liberty National Golf Club drew hundreds to Liberty State Park on an unseasonably warm January morning. Led by the Friends of Liberty State Park and the NY/NJ Baykeepers, protesters called attention to the Liberty State Park Protection Act, which is currently stalled in the state legislature. The Liberty State Park Protection Act would limit development in the state park and protect Caven Point, a 22-acre salt marsh and migratory bird habitat.

Liberty State Park is frequently the target of privatization, most recently in 2018 when developers sought to build a second marina at the southern end of the park; the state Department of Environmental Protection rejected the plan. In the latest land grab, Liberty National owner, Reebok founder Paul Fireman, seeks to relocate three of the golf course’s holes and expand into Caven Point, seeing the expansion as a potential economic boon for region and the state.

Mayor Steven Fulop and Freeholder Bill O’Dea were among the elected officials who spoke in support of the bill at Saturday’s rally. FOLSP president Sam Pesin, Liberty State Park’s longtime advocate, reiterated, “The essence of our history is that people put democracy into action as you’re doing today and have fought for this people’s park behind Lady Liberty. We have the same message today from 43 years of battles, that the people own this land.”

Header: Photo by Joanna Arcieri

Aaron Morrill

Editorial: We Must Save Caven Point

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On January 11 at 11 a.m. the Friends of Liberty State Park together with NY/NJ Baykeeper will lead a rally to protect a magical piece of land at the southwestern corner of Liberty State Park called Caven Point.  At issue is a billionaire’s proposal to turn one of the last remaining salt marshes in the New York metro area into three holes of a nearby luxury golf course. If this sounds like a bad joke, it isn’t.  This proposal is deadly serious and it must be rejected.  We wholeheartedly support this grassroots effort to stop the wanton destruction of this precious natural habitat.

It was thought that this issue was settled in 2018 when the DEP rejected this privatization plan.  The Liberty State Park Protection Act, which has been under consideration by the legislature since January of 2019, would protect the park, and specifically Caven Point, from privatization and commercial development.   The Act is now finally coming up for a vote, but lobbyists for the golf course have asked that it exempt Caven Point.  Such an exemption would make it possible to destroy this one-of-a-kind habitat in order to provide multi-millionaire golfers with a better view of lower Manhattan.

In her stunning photos, local photographer and blogger Shayna Marchese (shaynamarchese.com) has documented the cornucopia of wildlife that calls Caven Point home.   According to Marchese, approximately one hundred species of birds make their nests at Caven Point; close to two hundred bird species have been observed there.  The profusion of wildlife includes falcons, egrets, herons, kingfishers, wrens, swallows, owls and seals, to name just a few.  As you stand on the boardwalk and take in the upland meadow, saltwater marsh, maritime forest, tidal pools, tidal mudflats, and the longest natural beach in Upper New York Harbor and the Hudson River, a visitor to Caven Point can only think, “This is what New York harbor must have looked like before it was settled.”  That it exists at all in 2020 is truly remarkable.  Yearly, Caven point serves as a living classroom for hundreds of local kids who learn about wildlife and the environment.

Alas, Caven Point has the misfortune of lying next to the most expensive golf course in history, Liberty National Golf Club.  Built in 2006 by billionaire Paul Fireman, the club boasts an on-site helicopter pad, yacht services, a spa, and a restaurant.  Should you have the $300,000 required to join, you may rub elbows with members Rudy Giuliani, Eli Manning and Mark Wahlberg.   It is a club by, for, and of the uber rich. It could be worse however. Fireman previously sought to build a gargantuan ninety-five-story Las Vegas style hotel and casino next to Caven Point.   A company called Suntex tried to build a massive marina a stone’s throw from Caven Point.   Fortunately, those potentially calamitous efforts were resisted and came to naught.

Now, in a cynical attempt to peel away opposition to his current proposal, Fireman has told State Senator Sandra Cunningham, “first prime sponsor” of the Act, that he will fund a golf school for disadvantaged kids if he is given the right to destroy paradise.  Senator Cunningham has said there should be room for “compromise.”   But there is no “compromise” short of allowing Fireman to bulldoze this priceless, unspoiled spit of land.   Simply put, his three-hole golf course and Caven Point cannot co-exist.   If Fireman is sincere in his concern for urban children, he can use the golf course as it exists for his school or build a facility somewhere else in Jersey City with his billions.   If he wants to move three holes of his golf course, he can ask Jersey City and the state to make other land available for his golf course expansion.    An unused twenty seven-acre parcel of land, owned by the federal government, sits idly next to the golf course.   There are options that don’t involve the devastation of this pristine habitat.

Caven Point is a small, ecologically sensitive twenty one-acre piece of land.  It is unique, precious and fragile.  There isn’t room on it for herons, falcons, seals and golfers.    It’s time for Governor Murphy and Senator Cunningham to stand up and affirm that Liberty State Park will not be sacrificed at the altar of the ultra wealthy.  They need to tell Mr. Fireman that if he and his fabulously rich buddies want good views on their golf outings, they can get them from their helicopters.

Details on the rally and how you can reach our elected officials can be found at: https://www.folsp.org/preservation/support_rally_governor.html

Header: Photo courtesy of Shayna Marchese

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