Six Hudson County mayors, ranging from Hoboken to North Hudson, say they’ll take a “regional approach” to reopen their municipal parks after Jersey City began doing so on Monday.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“As we consider an eventual re-opening of our municipal parks, we do so knowing that north Hudson County is perhaps the most densely populated region in the nation,†Mayors Ravi Bhalla, Nick Sacco, Brian Stack, Wayne Zitt, Gabriel Rodriguez, and Richard Turner said in a joint statement.
“ … Acting as one collaborative group in our approach ensures that no park is unintentionally attracting additional residents of surrounding municipalities due to conflicting rules and regulations. This will allow our cities to take a cautious and deliberative approach that prevents the unintended spread of COVID-19, while promoting social distancing to the greatest extent possible.”
They declined to put a timeline on when exactly the parks in Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, North Bergen, Guttenberg, and West New York would reopen, though noted that everything would remain closed this week and that all playgrounds will remain closed until further notice.
Yesterday, Jersey City began the gradual opening of Enos Jones Park, Berry Lane Park, Audubon Park, Leonard Gordon Park, and Pershing Field.
Face masks are required, all playgrounds and dog runs remain closed, and municipal employees, including police, are overseeing the fields to enforce social distancing.
Since Friday, after Jersey City made their announcement, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has maintained that he doesn’t mind if mayors begin to start reopening their municipal parks, though noted county and state parks won’t be following suit any time soon.
any one of them who open before June or even July, should be removed from office!