In a letter to the editor, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla takes the position that elected leaders in Trenton must pass the Liberty State Park Protection Act.
Dear Editor,
As a strong advocate for a public green open space urban waterfront, I urge all of New Jersey’s state elected officials to pass the Liberty State Park Protection Act.
Hoboken’s waterfront is a “sister” waterfront to Liberty State Park. Both are priceless open space areas that offer immeasurable quality of life benefits, and must fully belong to us and to future generations.
A core part of my administration’s vision has been to fulfill the longtime goal to reclaim the last few pieces of our waterfront for the public’s use.
Thanks to a continued collaboration with Governor Murphy’s office, we were able to secure a commitment to preserve Union Dry Dock, a former industrial site, for a waterfront green park and greenway.
We’ve also been able to prevent large-scale residential development at the uptown waterfront Monarch property; instead preserving it for public, open space.
As a precious piece of our waterfront in Hudson County, we must treat the protection of Liberty State Park with the same type of urgency.
Because the park has continuously been threatened with privatization plans throughout its history, I join our local elected officials in strongly urging the passage of the essential and overdue Protection Act.
The time has come to put an end to privatizers’ land grab attempts and their monetary promises for what is absolutely priceless.
I applaud the decades of efforts of advocates who have dedicated themselves to protecting our waterfront at Liberty State Park.
I strongly support the mission of reclaiming and protecting our waterfront, which belongs in perpetuity to people of all ages, colors, religions and cultural backgrounds.
In a world where public, outdoor space has never been more important due to the pandemic, it remains critical to fight for the continued preservation of Liberty State Park.
Sincerely,
Ravi S. Bhalla
Mayor, City of Hoboken
The Mayor should spend some time at Liberty State Park to truly understand what it needs. I am in the Park at least four days a week. I have seen Sam about four times a year other than his planned protests. The Mayor could not name one major accomplishment by the Friends. They only like to protest about the golf course that is not in Liberty State Park. Sam has been protesting that since they announced it under Mayor Schundler. Read the legislation. It puts Sam and his cohorts in charge of everything permantly. What if a previous Mayor in Hoboken did that? Would that be in Hoboken’s interest? Sam has microscopic experience in development of anything and we should rely on him. If you would not do it in Hoboken, you should not get involved in Jersey City. That Park was owned by the City. The purpose of the park was not to dump hundreds of thousands of tons of contaminated waste in the Park that the State of New Jersey allowed. Would you do in Hoboken? Sam sat by and did nothing about it except complain about a golf course.
Get in touch with the person who makes your letters coherent. They really let you down here. Ask they how they would like it if you let them down in Hoboken. Or whatever.