Assemblyman John Allen (D-32) is the prime sponsor of two separate bills crafted to preserve Liberty State Park in Jersey City in the midst of ongoing discussions for improvements at the park.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Taken together, these two important bills will ensure that we safeguard Liberty State Park from commercialization and large-scale development,” Allen said in a statement.
“I will work hard for their passage because it is essential that we protect this iconic urban park with its stunning waterfront views as public open space that people can enjoy today and for years to come.”
The Liberty State Park Protection Act, A-2488, would preserve the park as public urban green open space and put in place strong development restrictions.
The legislation would also create a nine-person Liberty State Park Advisory Committee, with includes the New Jersey Department of Environment Protection (NJ DEP) commissioner, Friends of Liberty State Park president, NY/NJ Baykeeper CEO, and two members appointed by the governor with consent of the state Senate.
As an assemblyman, state Senator Raj Mukherji (D-32), a running mate of Allen last year, had pushed for the LSP Protection Act in 2020 and 2021, but to no avail, with the bill never reaching a full vote in the legislature on either occasion.
He is sponsoring the bill in the Senate, along with state Senator John McKeon (D-27).
Additionally, The Caven Point Protection Act, A-4058, is designed to protect the living shoreline of the Peninsula, a prime habitat for wildlife and fauna. Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-35) is also a prime sponsor of the bill.
The bill was introduced by state Senator Brian Stack (D-33), also the Union City mayor, in June 2022 shortly after Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Liberty State Park Conservation, Recreation, and Community Inclusion Act, to the dismay of some activists.
Stack and Mukherji are sponsoring the Senate version of the bill in the upper house.
Allen came out in favor of the NJ DEP’s vision of the park at last night’s meeting of the Liberty State Park Task Force, noting that he would not support any private commercialization of the park.
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