Need $$ for parks, pols say

Thursday, May 17, 2007
By RONALD LEIR
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Hudson County politicians yesterday called on state lawmakers and Gov. Jon Corzine to renew funding for the Garden State Preservation Trust, which provides cash for acquiring green space and developing it for recreational use.

Bayonne Mayor Joseph V. Doria Jr., who is also a Democratic state senator, was joined by Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise and NY/NJ Baykeeper representative Greg Remaud at Richard Rutkowski Park in Bayonne to press for the replenishment of the fund, which they characterized as "near empty."

But that assessment was contradicted yesterday by state Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner John Watson, who said about $170 million in "unappropriated" funding remained.

Asked for comment, Doria said: "That can't be. The fund is supposed to be virtually depleted. I wouldn't go with that figure."

Doria said Bayonne received $750,000 from the fund to help create Rutkowski Park from a 30-acre tract of compromised wetlands.

If the Legislature authorizes continuing the fund, Doria said Bayonne would seek money from it for additional green space at the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor.

Watson said that of the $170 million left in the fund, about $87 million is targeted for Green Acres land acquisition and development, about $85 million to save farmlands and about $21.5 million to preserve historic sites.

He said the GSPT board has agreed to use about $40 million for Green Acres land acquisition. Watson said Corzine has pledged to add $25 million to the $47 million balance - reserved for local loans and grants for developing recreational facilities - for one year only.

Corzine spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said the governor favors replenishing the fund but he wants that money to come from "a recurring revenue source," best derived from "asset monetization," meaning the sale or lease of state assets like the New Jersey Turnpike, a notion that has met with considerable opposition.

Hudson officials are proposing that voters decide whether to dedicate $175 million a year from the state sales tax from 2009 to 2038 for the fund.