Eight New Jersey environmental groups are making good on their word to sue the New Jersey State House Commission for approving the Liberty State Park marina lease back in January.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“We hope the State House Commission’s lease approval will be invalidated, and that Governor Sherrill will respect the overwhelming broad public consensus of nearly 50 years against the privatization of Liberty State Park,” Friends of Liberty State Park President Sam Pesin said in a statement.
“The 60-year lease, allowing the construction of a massive boat storage warehouse, would severely damage the park’s character, openness, purpose, and legacy.”
The New Jersey Appleseed Public Law Center, through attorney Renee Steinhagen, filed the case with the state’s appellate division, on February 26th.
The plaintiffs are NJ Appleseed, the Friends of Liberty State Park, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, NY/NJ Baykeeper, New Jersey Environmental Lobby, Pinelands Alliance, New Jersey Highlands Coalition, and the Ramapough Culture and Land Foundation.
The commission voted 5-2 to approve Suntex Marina Investors LLC’s proposal without any explanation and the January 15th meeting then abruptly concluded after about three-and-a-half hours, as HCV first reported.
While the lease remains unsigned under Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s (D) administration, the project appears to be at a standstill, prompting the aforementioned groups to take legal action.
“The governor has the opportunity to direct NJDEP not to sign this lease, and to perform a more careful assessment of the value of the marina and the parkland before deciding how best to utilize this public property,” added Emile DeVito, the manager of science and stewardship at New Jersey Conservation Foundation.
“We must protect the public’s interest in Liberty State Park and the marina in a way that is consistent with the park’s master plan. The best use for the marina at Liberty State Park must be based on public input and consideration of future real estate market values, development costs, and climate projections.”
The warehouse would be 70 feet high, cover 2.3 acres, and include 500 boat dry racks.
This would be an expanded private commercial use of public parkland that violates limits on the park’s use as per a 1990 Record of Decision from the National Park Service (NPS), reaffirmed by NPS in 2008, which requires the boat storage warehouse to be no greater than one-half acre in size, according to the suit.
Additionally, the warehouse was never mentioned during the public engagement efforts for New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Liberty State Park revitalization plans that guided the new official master plan for the park.
NJDEP began the public engagement efforts in October 2020 with a series of virtual meetings and expanded these efforts over several years to include five open house-style events focused on identifying park users’ preferred improvements to the park.
The master plan was unveiled at an open house on August 7th, 2025, just two weeks before NJDEP’s first public hearing on the proposed lease.
“Liberty State Park belongs to the people — not political insiders. The Murphy Administration and State House Commission pushed through a lease with Suntex Marinas for an outsized boat warehouse, skipping the required appraisal meant to protect taxpayers,” noted NY/NJ Baykeeper Executive Director Greg Remaud.
“We join the Friends of Liberty State Park in appealing this dodgy backroom deal.”
The NJDEP has not formally appraised the 60-year lease. Since the lease extension was offered exclusively to the existing lessee, there was no opportunity to solicit alternate proposals from other potential marina operators.
Further, the State House Commission has neither memorialized its approval of the lease in writing nor stated its reasons for approving the lease, which violates the public process the state itself created for this kind of agreement, the suit contends.