2 indicted for extortion in Lincoln Park golf course project in Jersey City

By The Associated Press
on February 12, 2015 at 8:25 AM, updated February 12, 2015 at 8:26 AM

NEWARK -- Two men have been charged with extorting payments from contractors seeking work on a golf course project in Jersey City.

The six-count indictment was handed up yesterday against Gerard Pica, 65, of Middletown, and James Castaldo, 59, of Beachwood. They're charged with conspiracy, extortion and accepting bribes.

The U.S. attorney's office alleges the two men took money from contractors in exchange for using their influence with the Hudson County Improvement Authority, which was building a nine-hole public golf course at Lincoln Park West.

The two men allegedly schemed to obtain payments from an environmental consulting firm and a recycling business that sought to provide soil and fill material for the project.

JJ piece with pictures...

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... _in_lin.html#incart_river

Quote:

(Just nine holes. I hope they let non- avid golfers rent clubs. LOL - ?with panoramic views of New York City?)
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NORTHBROOK, Ill., Oct. 22, 2013 ? KemperSports, the most trusted name in golf, announced today that it has been selected by the Hudson County Improvement Authority to manage the construction and operation of Lincoln Park West Golf Course in Jersey City, NJ. The 9-hole course, located among 130 acres in historic Lincoln Park (1905), will serve as the cornerstone for the landfill reclamation project that is adjacent to the Hackensack River.

KemperSports will serve in the construction management capacity throughout 2014 and will oversee the operation of the golf course when it opens in summer 2015.

The par-36, 3,257-yard routing with panoramic views of New York City, will provide a true test for avid golfers while also giving youth and beginner golfers the opportunity to learn the game in a world-class setting. On land that was previously used as a golf practice facility, the course will deliver a vibrant programming calendar to engage local youth golfers and introduce the game to beginners.


Full piece with scorecard HOLE / PAR/ YARDAGE

http://www.kempersports.com/about-us/ ... oln-Park-West-Golf-Course

I saw they've planted (some) grass and have the sprinklers going. Is this still on track for Spring 2015? Also anyone know if they'll have a range?

mfadam wrote: Quote:

Yes exactly. They should have just left the dang thing alone and refurbished the old one for next to nothing.

Originally it had miniature golf, a 9 hole course, driving range, and bating cages. It was a great place to go back in the day. (we had to sometimes wait a half hour to tee off) Over the years I think the County pulled the owners lease and tried running it themselves. Needless to say the miniature golf, 9 hole course, and bating cages slowly degraded and soon disappeared. The brown rabbits soon after took over the 9 hole course.

The driving range was always packed on the weekends up until its demise. I was hitting them out with all kinds of JC people from all walks of life. Yes even the DT ?interlopers? (healy?s word not mine) would show up and hit a bucket or two. Come on and who didn?t try and hit the guy in the golf ball collector tractor? Fess up.

It was a great time.

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No doubt this course will host the 2015 US Open.

Seriously this is a classic example or throwing good money after bad. They should can the project, re-install the dingy old range complete with bald golf balls and scenic 1-9 truck route views and most citizens would be 100 times happier. It was great to be able to take an hour to go hit golf balls. A third rate 9 hole course is way less valuable to the area than a driving range imho...

Another delay for $13M public golf course to be built in Jersey City

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
July 15, 2013 at 9:11 AM

A contractor helping to create the $13 million golf course in Jersey City?s Lincoln Park West has received a third extension from a county agency that is creating the long-delayed course.

Five of the Hudson County Improvement Authority?s nine commissioners voted unanimously at a special meeting on Wednesday afternoon to give Fairview firm Persistent Construction Company until Sept. 15 to deliver roughly 60,000 cubic yards of soil to the future site of the nine-hole golf course.

The long-awaited project is now set for completion by the spring of 2015, according to HCIA Executive Director Norman Guerra. In 2010, county officials had opened it would be open in 2012.

Before the HCIA commissioners approved the extension, Freeholder Bill O?Dea, who has expressed concern over the project?s delays, convinced the board to add clauses allowing the HCIA to take more control.

?It?s important to me that we control that process to make sure the (soil) gets there as quickly as possible,? O?Dea said.

Thanks to O?Dea?s involvement, the HCIA will now be the entity determining what soil goes to the site ? meaning a company besides Persistent can provide the material ? and it will now need to be notified five days prior to any soil delivery to that too much soil isn't provided.

The hold up, according to Persistent owner Anthony Grano, is that the residential-level soil his company is delivering to the site needs to be approved through an at-times lengthy process set up by state environmental officials.

The company has already delivered more than1 million cubic yards of soil to the golf course site.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ey_city.html#incart_river

Hyatt Hills looks good. I've played Ash Brook a few times, and that's really nice. Was looking to stay closer if possible.

Quote:

I don't think it's public, but if you're willing to drive to Clark, NJ (Union) you should take a look at Hyatt Hills GC. Nice little 9 hole course w/ driving range.

On a (somewhat) related note: can anyone recommend some good public courses that don't require any township/county residence cards to reserve tee times?

Anywhere in the Hudson, Bergen, Essex counties would do. Possibly even Union County.

I laughed out loud the first time I noticed the sign on the construction fencing heralding the "Persistence Construction Company." I guess if you want to make the construction of a 9-hole golf course take the better part of a decade, you've gotta be persistent!

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Damnit! Any chance Mayor Fulop can speed this up? (I sure like typing Mayor Fulop.)

I live less than a mile away on Duncan Avenue and have been excited about this course since i heard it was green-lighted in 09. Every 6 months or so I do a search to see what I can find.

I found this article today. It explains some of the delays. It also addresses one posters question about what's going up in the surrounding area.

Unfortunately, It should come as no surprise that the delays are corruption related.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... insider_did_anyone_t.html

Anyone hear any updates on this course? Its long overdue at this point. They should have just left the range up if they were never going to get the course done.

What are they making in the water behind the hudson mall?
Actually its clolser behind toys r us in the river, digging or it looks like they are filling in the water with dirt.

no idea, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

I really miss that driving range, beyond moronic that they tore it down...

Any chance the 9 hole golf course will be open for business next summer?

Ha. I guess that's your way of telling me that nothing has been done over the last 2 years? That sucks, but I can't say I'm all that surprised.

you might have a better chance of getting a teetime at Augusta...

Does anybody have any new updates on the status of this course? Any chance it will be open for the 2012 season?

I look down from the skyway on my way home from work every night. Although the site actually looks like it's beginning to take shape ,there is still a huge pile of sand or dirt that has to be spread out, and there's nothing that looks remotely green, chromium or otherwise. I would be surprised at this point to see the course ready for next spring.

So best case at this point is probably summer of 2012, right? I hope to see some progress this summer.

This is the April 2010 announcement of the Lincoln Park golf course. This is outrageous, they are dumping 42 million cubic yards of toxic sludge (enough to fill a football field 5 miles high) dredged from the bottom of the Kill Van Kull on top of a former landfill and they call that wetlands restoration and a golf course. The Federal, State, County, and City government are congratulating themselves - have any environmental groups approved this?

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Like I said someone posted the below link on the golf thread...they are actually making it better for "birdies" (no pun intented) Cleaning up the soil. See the picture in the link below.

"The Lincoln Park Wetland Restoration Project, along the proposed new course?s south border, is almost completed. It will restore approximately 31 acres of wetlands, create 4,500 linear feet of tidal creeks, and initiate a new walking trail near the Hackensack River. "

hudson reporter piece

Are you kidding me? I cannot believe they drained the lake and there was lots of wildlife over there. Unbelieveable.

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Look for the Lincoln Park golf thread....it a big Wetlands Restoration Project in Lincoln Park West (not just the golf course)

This is from the thread...

Lincoln Park West Hudson?s First Public Golf Course

The first stages in the construction of a new Executive Nine Hole Public Golf Course ? the first in Hudson County?s history ? are underway. The course, located in Lincoln Park West, will be designed on approximately 55 acres of available, underutilized land, adjacent to Duncan Avenue, Routes 1&9 and the Hackensack River in Jersey City.

Hudson County, in conjunction with NJ DEP and the US Army Corps of Engineers, has undertaken a major Wetlands Restoration Project in the area, near the site of the former Lincoln Park Driving Range. In addition, the NJ DEP has approved the county?s plan to address closure requirements for a former residential waster landfill adjoining the restoration project.

Work has begun to complete the environmentally-responsible remediation and redevelopment plan, with delivery of large quantities of sand to the site to be used for both the wetlands restoration and landfill closure. The landfill closure plan requires capping of the site, with the top portion of the capping consisting of the golf course.

It is anticipated that the duration of both projects will be between 18-24 months. The course itself will contain 3 par five holes, 3 par four holes and 3 par three holes, with a total yardage of approximately 3200 yards.

I'm guessing they're clearing it for the 9 hole golf course they are building. Not totally sure where you are talking about but I do know that a course is under way assuming they continue to get funds....

For anyone who experienced the beautiful placid lake opposite the parking lot (not the one directly across 440 the next parking lot beyond) there was acres of green with a good sized lake with Crane (birds) and other woodland animals.. it didnt seem like you were in the middle of a city. Apparently, it all got bulldozed and the lake drained. I have some pix I will post later. Can anyone shed some insight as to why we needed to destroy that much green and wetlands...in of all places a county park? I dont remember seeing anything about this in the papers... like ever..

http://www.hudsonreporter.com/pages/f ... Routes+1-9-%20&id=9036906

this is an article from August, but it's the most information I've been able to find. Looks like it should be open in 2012, so definitely not this spring, but hopefully next.

Construction crew in Lincoln Park West in Jersey City finds bones that may be human

Published: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 10:10 AM
Ron Zeitlinger/The Jersey Journal

A construction crew working on a nine-hole golf course in Lincoln Park West in Jersey City discovered what appears to be human bones this morning, Hudson County Sheriff Juan Perez confirmed.

The Hudson County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene and has turned over the investigation to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office and the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office.

The area the bones were discovered is near the Hackensack River north of the Carson-Nguyen bridge, also known as the Lincoln Highway Bridge. It is also west of the ballfields where St. Peter's College baseball and softball teams play their home games, west of Routes 1&9.

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From www.nj.com (JJ)

Buy the paper copy of the Jersey Journal (you don?t know what you are missing!)


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Reminds me of the story about the group of kids playing ice hockey on a frozen pond in the back of Lincoln Park West. One side of their makeshift goal was a stick/pipe with a rag on it. It was already sticking out of the ice. After a few hours of play they looked down in the now clear ice and saw a face looking up at them. The stick with the rag on it was the guys arm!!!!