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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Home away from home
 
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EDITORIAL: Is Liberty State Park doomed?The other shoe is dropping at Liberty State Park. Goodbye, precious parkland. Hello, cheesy entertainment venues. Gov. Chris Christie has long wanted to plow under a large swath of the park to throw up hotels and amusements and whatever else redevelopers say might generate revenue on the site. It’s all part of Christie’s euphemistic “Sustainable Parks” concept to squeeze more money out of our green spaces by destroying large portions of them. So this week the administration unveiled some ideas in an 18-page report produced by the state Department of Environmental Protection with the express purpose of examining prospects for large-scale development of the park. Do not believe a single word from anyone in the administration, including the DEP itself, trying to temper concerns of environmentalists and others wishing to preserve the integrity of the park. Do not accept anything public officials or anyone else connected with the project say in support of the wondrous ways that new construction and the remainder of the existing park will blend together for the greater good of all. A DEP spokesman went so far as to trivialize the plans as similar to “enhanced amenities” at parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone. Yosemite is more than 760,000 acres, Yellowstone tops 2 million. Liberty State Park is 1,200 — half of which are underwater. http://www.app.com/story/opinion/edit ... ark-development/76463348/
Posted on: 2015/11/28 5:19
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Home away from home
Joined:
2011/3/21 20:32 Last Login : 2017/8/9 18:01 From Bayside Park
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The first step to saving the park is to join Friends of Liberty State park. Personal outrage is one thing but only as a group can we hope to influence a better outcome.
I am joining this weekend and making a contribution, seems the best way to stay informed and influence the system http://www.folsp.org/donate/donate.html
Posted on: 2015/11/28 2:14
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Home away from home
Joined:
2011/3/21 20:32 Last Login : 2017/8/9 18:01 From Bayside Park
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You got that right Yvonne! Small price to pay for green space in such a concrete jungle
Posted on: 2015/11/28 2:10
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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It's a million times better than the one in Bayonne. I like the way the JC one is pointed directly at the footprint of the WTC. And I like that the length of it is exactly the same of the width off the original towers.
Posted on: 2015/11/27 4:29
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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as far as i am concerned, they can toss that memorial in the river. it is a monstrosity. the state should have built a memorial that is less intrusive, less obscene
Posted on: 2015/11/27 3:59
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Well we know how well the state did building the NJ911 Memorial, they destroyed the scenic view that they want to preserve now.... never had enough money to complete the exterior so it looks like a concrete bunker and did not have money to repair after Sandy. You know it will only be a matter of time before the developers will ask to relocate it to another section of the park. As Pebbles said... there is a reason why it is called a public park.
Posted on: 2015/11/27 3:29
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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I have been a supporter of Liberty State Park before Fulop was born and later moved to JC. The correct response is Fulop agrees with me. I knew Morris Pesin, the Father of Liberty State Park.
Posted on: 2015/11/27 0:46
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Wait... So you're agreeing with Mayor Fulop on something?
Posted on: 2015/11/26 23:07
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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We pay income, sales, property plus a bunch of other fees that are essentially taxes. That money should pay for our parks. It is ridiculous to say parks must support itself. I am sure if our government was able to tax the air we breathe, there would be a tax on it, too.
Posted on: 2015/11/26 20:57
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Uh huh Central Park has a zoo, two ice rinks (one which is also a pool), two restaurants, 5 cafes, a boathouse, an 1800-seat theater, a bandshell, tennis courts, and a massive museum. There are hotels and other businesses ringing the park (obviously). All in a park half the size of LSP. In 2014, Central Park hosted 1,446 events. Almost every weekend in the summer, there are big concerts, running events, bicycle races, film festivals, corporate outings, the list goes on. In 2014, CPC pulled in $12 million from contributions, $8 million from NYC, $4 million from special events, $2 million from "other" (merchandise and contributed services). It has a $380 million endowment. So yes, it would be great if philanthropists donated enough money to clean up LSP, set up a $25 million endowment, and donated $1 million per year to boot. I don't think that's realistic. Otherwise, it seems to me that what the DEP is recommending isn't too much different than what we see in Central Park today. Aren't you glad you brought it up? ;)
Posted on: 2015/11/26 3:40
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Should also hit up JC developers like Paul Fireman, Steve Hyman and Donald Trump to contribute to a trust...
Posted on: 2015/11/26 2:50
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Powerful point. The Central Parks Conservancy must bring in millions of dollars a year-Fulop/Pesin should organize a similar program to cover the relatively small deficit and leave LSP alone. Goldman Sachs and Colgate Palmolive should donate big time, it's spare change to both of them.
Posted on: 2015/11/26 2:34
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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LSP takes up nearly 9% of NJ state park revenues and over 7% of that department's deficit (around $28 million per year). That's pretty substantial for a passive park that is 0.37% of the total acreage of NJ state parks. If you're going to use numbers, use all the numbers. LSP gets 4m visitors a year, out of total NJ state parks visits of 17.8m. So that's 22% of all park visits getting only 9% of funding.
Posted on: 2015/11/26 2:10
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Here's the actual report.
http://dng.northjersey.com/media_serv ... /24dep/dep_lsp_report.pdf While my initial gut reaction was negative, the recommendations are actually quite modest. They aren't making concrete recommendations anyway, just a few general suggestions. The real recommendation is that the DEP should hire a master planner to develop plans for the park, and consult with all the stakeholders (including JC residents). After reading it, I think they make some good points. LSP takes up nearly 9% of NJ state park revenues and over 7% of that department's deficit (around $28 million per year). That's pretty substantial for a passive park that is 0.37% of the total acreage of NJ state parks. Most of the areas they want to develop already have something built on them -- namely the terminal (whose exterior won't change), the train yard (which isn't in use, and is falling apart). They also discuss developing the southern section, which is hardly an undeveloped paradise. There are no plans to build a massive high rise hotel anywhere in LSP, or to change the core of the park. I don't think DEP should be given carte blanche to turn LSP into Six Flags. At the same time, we are not talking about building a 40-story skyscraper in the middle of LSP, let alone Stokes State Forest. I'm also curious what FOL proposes, other than LSP running deficits that drain resources from the entire NJ state parks system.
Posted on: 2015/11/26 0:31
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Posted on: 2015/11/25 23:24
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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For the record, I'm sorry Christie didn't veto the Prieto bill and oppose much of this proposal-OK with the hotel and restaurant, not OK with the plans for the southern end of LSP.
Posted on: 2015/11/25 22:42
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Not a hater, but we shouldn't like it when someone pisses on us and tells us it's raining.
Posted on: 2015/11/25 22:32
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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There you go, a perfect catch-22 of the hater. Damned when you do and damned when you don't. FWIW, while I'm long on record saying the bridge is terrible idea, none of the above are actual commercial developments IN the park. Pebble, that's a pretty good question. Time was, parks were open space, free to use, a public good supported by the public funds. I guess it's part of the demise of agreement that there even is a "public good", like maintaining roads, public transport or schools. Sadly, we apparently don't even think brand new neighborhoods like up by the Cast Iron Lofts need parks.
Posted on: 2015/11/25 22:23
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Good questions. On a quick read, the report doesn't seem so bad. I'm skeptical about an amusement part at the south end of LSP, but the idea of turning the train shed into a low rise hotel makes sense. It seems the shed is: 1) falling apart, 2) constructed of asbestos laden concrete. Consequently, 3) it would cost $100M to repair. That's a LOT. Why not restore part of it and build something useful on the rest of the area? What I worry about is getting traffic to the area and parking.
Posted on: 2015/11/25 21:50
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Just when you think Fulop can't be more hypocritical or self serving (going after Trump before talking about the murder/shooting wave) he does.
Is the Fulop who opposes this the same Fulop who building a bridge to extend Jersey Avenue into the park? The same guy who supports a 90 story tower adjacent to LSP, a hundred yards away from the migratory bird sanctuary? The same Fulop who practically gave away a parcel across the street from LSP for a school and another hotel near the Liberty Science Center?
Posted on: 2015/11/25 21:45
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Home away from home
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2013/3/29 21:43 Last Login : 2023/9/5 18:27 From Bergen Hill
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Excuse me for missing the memo, but when did it become a thing that public parks are supposed to be self-sufficient?
Posted on: 2015/11/25 19:41
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Dos A Cero
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Re: Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Liberty State Park ideas 'a recipe for destroying' park, mayor saysBy JERSEY CITY — Mayor Steve Fulop came out strongly against a report released by the state yesterday that suggests boosting revenue at Liberty State Park by adding a hotel, restaurant, amusement park and more. The ideas are "a recipe for destroying not just this park, but any park," Fulop said in a statement released by his spokesman. The mayor said the city will be "fighting back aggressively" to protect the 1,200-acre state park. "An attack on Liberty State Park like this is really an attack on the quality of life for all residents," he said. Bob Considine, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the park and issued the report, noted to The Jersey Journal that the ideas Fulop is opposing are "modest enhancements" and would be located "mostly in areas that have not been accessible to the public since it opened." Read more: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _attack_on_liberty_s.html
Posted on: 2015/11/25 19:32
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Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State Park
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Hotel, marina among proposals for Liberty State ParkBy JERSEY CITY — The state Department of Environmental Protection Tuesday released a report outlining proposals intended to make Liberty State Park a "world class destination" with a hotel and restaurants boasting stunning views of Manhattan. The proposals are part of Gov. Chris Christie's plan to bring the state's park system closer to financial self-sufficiency, which he announced in 2011. Liberty State Park, the report noted, gets only $1.5 million of its $3.5 million annual operating budget from revenue generated at the park, with the rest coming from public coffers. Read more: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... r.html#incart_river_index
Posted on: 2015/11/25 19:30
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