Supporters of Liberty State Park,

The Friends of LSP was forced to initiate a lawsuit to stop the 9/11 memorial approved for LSP with no public hearings. The memorial, two steel walls that are 30 feet high and 200 feet long, inserted into a 10 feet high by 200 feet long hill, blocks the most important urban view in the world, the sacred and panoramic view of Ground Zero, Lower Manhattan and the entire NYC skyline from the closest place in LSP. The Friends\' and the vast majority of people who know the dimensions and location have the goal of saving the Sacred View and Public Plaza.

Today\'s front page story is at:
http://www.nj.com/hudsoncountynow/ind ... nal_front_and_back_8.html

The bids for LSP Memorial\'s walls that were estimated at 9 million came in at $22 million. The whole project was supposed to cost $13 million so total cost now is probably around $26 million.

Since the news story quotes state as saying they will get architect to cut back on costs (without changing designaccording to what reporter told me, since they know changing design would mean a new permit), we will have to rely on our lawsuit to save the NYC views and the Public Plaza.

But hopefully this news about the high bids, even if they can get their goal of getting cost to mid-teens of millions, will get citizen budget watchdog groups and legislative scrutiny because of the state\'s budget deficit. I hope that people will consider sending a check made out to The Friends of LSP to the address below to support our lawsuit. Our lawsuit contends, among other points, that the state rushed the process and got the wrong permit on purpose to avoid public comment. The State Historic Preservation Office failed to review the impact of the gigantic memorial on the historic 1889 CRRNJ Terminal.

Destroying such a powerful view of the NYC skyline and Hudson River and to demolish the popular Terminal Public Plaza is ill-conceived and is a disservice to future generations.

Background material is on the Friends website http://www.folsp.org/memorial%20design.htm

Park lovers contacting legislators and writing to the newspapers would be a great help.
Sam
Sam Pesin
president of The Friends of Liberty State Park
www.folsp.org
pesinliberty@earthlink.net
The Friends of Liberty State Park
P.O. Box 3407
Jersey City, NJ 07302
201-792-1993

Click Link

9/11 memorial hits $nag -- OVER BUDGET

The Jersey Journal
Sunday October 07, 2007, 8:33 PM




An artist's rendering of "Empty Sky'' shows how the memorial is designed to at the same time evoke the World Trade Center and draw the eye across the harbor from Liberty State Park in Jersey City to where the Twin Towers stood.

New Jersey's planned -- and controversial -- memorial under construction at Liberty State Park in Jersey City has hit a snag: Bids have come in way over what was expected, putting the whole project on hold.

Opponents of "Empty Sky,'' meanwhile, are hoping to take advantage of the stall to block its construction entirely.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OVER BUDGET

Monday, October 08, 2007
By KEENAN STEINER
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

9/11 memorial unexpectedly expensive

The state's 9/11 memorial at Liberty State Park turned out to be more costly than expected, halting construction while the memorial's designers look for ways to save money without altering the project.

Opponents of the memorial's location - who have tried to block its construction, saying it would obstruct views of the Manhattan skyline - now hope the growing cost of the project will help sway others to their argument.

But the state Department of the Treasury said the project will continue at the same location, albeit at a slower pace than anticipated, Treasury spokesman Tom Vincz said.

Phase 1 of the project - demolishing the plaza in front of the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey train terminal and preparing the ground for the steel structure - is done.

Construction was supposed to begin this fall and take 14 months, and a contractor was to be chosen this summer, but with bids coming in between $22 million and $25 million - more than double the state's $9 million estimate - the Treasury has held off awarding the bid and has instead asked the memorial's architect to tweak the project to make it cheaper without changing the original concept, Vincz said. Five contractors will then be asked to submit new bids.

Vincz said $13 million has already been committed for the project, with $6 million from state coffers and $7 million from Port Authority. But while the new bids are expected to be much lower, it remains to be seen if they will be anywhere near the state's $9 million estimate.

"I don't think the people of this state will want to pay for a memorial that's going to cost this much," said Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, who has opposed the memorial's size and location.

Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City - who also was already against the design, called "Empty Sky" - says the state would have to dip into discretionary funds to pay more toward the project, and that money could be better used elsewhere, such as children's healthcare.

Vincz said the project's cost has gone up because it's a unique concept and the price of steel has been volatile recently.

Only a handful of companies can build the memorial as designed, which will have 30-foot-high and 200-foot-long concrete walls covered with stainless steel. The names of New Jersey residents killed in the attacks will be etched into the steel. An employee of one of the companies that submitted bids to work on the project said the design requires an unusually high level of accuracy.

Also contributing to the cost, the employee said, is the elaborate landscaping surrounding the site and the fact that the structure is to be aligned exactly with Ground Zero.

The Friends of LSP, with 900 members, says the monument was picked by a group of 9/11 victims' families without input from the public.

The organization's lawyer, Cynthia Hadjiyannis, said the state Department of Environmental Protection improperly granted approval for the project with a general permit, instead of a waterfront development permit, which would have required public notice and comment on the project. The Friends of LSP have filed an appeal with the state's Appellate Division against the DEP in an attempt to stop the project.

Group sues state over 9/11 memorial

Posted by The Star-Ledger March 08, 2007 9:26PM

A citizens group that lobbies for Jersey City's Liberty State Park is suing the state in a last-ditch effort to stop construction of a 9/11 memorial it says will obstruct powerful views of lower Manhattan and Ground Zero.

The lawsuit, filed with the Appellate Division in Trenton on Monday and announced today, says the state Department of Environmental Protection authorized a permit that neither fit the project nor required public comment.

"There were no hearings, no newspaper notices, no public comment, period," said Cynthia A. Hadjiyannis, an attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of The Friends of Liberty State Park, an organization of 900 volunteers. "The DEP took some shortcuts that led to the public being excluded from this process."

But John Watson, the DEP's deputy commissioner for natural resources, said the department attended a summertime meeting the friends of the park held and considered comments the public made there. He also said the department found no flaws in the permit procedure.

"The entire process was open to the public," Watson said. "This was a national design competition. We feel as though there were adequate opportunities all along the way for the public to have input."

The modernistic design for the memorial, submitted by New York architect Frederic Schwartz, is known as "Empty Sky" and will honor the 691 New Jerseyans who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It consists of two parallel stainless steel walls, each 200 feet long and rising 30 feet, that symbolize the fallen Twin Towers.

It is slated for construction on a 10-foot-high mound, near the late-1800s Central Railroad of New Jersey Train Terminal and ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will pay $7 million of the memorial's estimated $15 million to $17 million cost, and much of the balance will come from private funding, officials said.

Gov. Jon Corzine said his administration had reviewed decisions on the memorial, which were made by his predecessor, and found them agreeable.

Contributed by Russell Ben-Ali and Deborah Howlett

LINK

Hi Ricardo,

Thanks!

Quote:

Hello this is JC Reporter (aka Ricardo Kaulessar from the Jersey City Reporter). Here is my recent article on the LSP Memorial. I would wait for GrovePath to post but I think GrovePath needs a break every so often from the busy job posting articles for our reading pleasure Enjoy.


Lawsuit may hinder state 9/11 memorial

Park group slams Corzine for approval of 'Empty Sky'

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer

Local residents who think the proposed "Empty Sky" statewide 9/11 memorial will block too much of the views from Liberty State Park became even more irate earlier this month when Gov. Jon Corzine gave his public approval for it to be built there.

Now, the Friends of Liberty State Park (FOLSP), a local volunteer group that has helped oversee the preservation of the park since 1988, plan to bring a lawsuit to stop construction of the 30-foot-high memorial until other designs and new locations in the park are considered.

In addition, state Assemblyman Louis Manzo will introduce a bill Monday that could stop future memorials from being built without a more public process.

A jury including victims' relatives chose the memorial out of 320 entries submitted in 2004 as part of the New Jersey Memorial Design Competition, which former Gov. James McGreevey initiated.

However, there were no public hearings at the time.

Corzine at first had been reticent to state his stance on the $12 million memorial, instead deferring to the state's Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the operation of the park.

But after many recent letters and a public hearing spurred by activists in July, Corzine had to comment.

The state received bids from construction companies by its Oct. 11 deadline, and recently leveled the mound of the dirt at the memorial site to create the memorial's base.


Defending his creation


"Empty Sky" is slated to be have two 30-foot high, 200-foot long stainless steel walls perched on a 10-foot high grassy knoll.

The memorial will be placed at the northeast end of Liberty State Park, in the plaza area near the old Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal.

The designer of the memorial is New York City architect Frederic Schwartz. Schwartz is also the designer of another 9/11 memorial in Westchester County, as well as the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.

Assemblyman Manzo recently complained that the memorial is not a "tribute to victims of 9/11 but to the artist," but in an interview last week, Schwartz disagreed, saying it is "a fitting tribute."

"I am doing this project not for the governor," he said, "but for those who lost loved ones on 9/11 - the mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, and children."


Manzo's bills

Manzo on Monday will introduce, in front of the State Assembly's Environment and Solid Waste Committee, a bill requiring the state to hold a local public hearing prior to any major development in a state park.

Manzo said the bill came about as a result of the 9/11 memorial being placed at its current location. The only hearing was held recently after activists complained.

"Governor McGreevey signed an executive order that pushed the project through with very little public notice," he said, "creating the problems we have now."

The bill will be introduced, then go before the state Assembly and Senate.


Friends becoming legal foes

Sam Pesin, of the FOLSP, said last week. "It is a sad failure of Governor Corzine's leadership that he did not listen to the heartfelt opposition. He's sending a terrible message about the democratic process."

He said the lawsuit will be filed either at the end of the month or in mid-November, but he couldn't offer any further details until it is filed.

Pesin said he still "urges people to continue to write their local officials" about their opposition.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

The governor said he wants this new memorial but I say it must go. Sam Pesin is requesting that we fight this by writing directly to the Govenor:

Please click on this website link http://www.state.nj.us/governor/govmail.html which will get to "Electronic Correspondence to Governor Jon S. Corzine".
Step 1 Please choose the topic by scrolling down to "T" Topic not listed/other
Step 2 Please type in your contact information (your email address is optional) and type in Subject and your message before hitting submit.

It would be appreciated before submitting your message to the Governor, if you copied it into an email to the Governor's Deputy Chief of Staff, Patti McGuire who is from Hudson County, at patti.mcguire@gov.state.nj.us and to copy the Friends of LSP at pesinliberty@earthlink.net



TO URGE ALL OF YOU TO WRITE THE GOVERNOR NOW I AM POSTING THIS PHOTO. Does anyone think this should have been at Exchange Place? Lucky for us Bayonne got it. For more photos of the gift from Russia to Bayonne visit: http://danfalcon.dotphoto.com/CPViewAlbum.asp?AID=3961434

Neither FOLSP nor anyone else could stop Christie Whitman from turning one of the last huge expanses of green into a marina/drydock/parking lot. 9/11 "helped" as the rest of the grass was turned into a park-and-ride lot in record time for thousands of bus and ferry commuters who never came. McGreevey's win over Schundler kept LSP from being turned into a water park. So why does anyone think they're going to win this one?

It's a state park and the Gov gets what the Gov wants.

It's all about the money and how Corzine will look if he back pedals. Millions spent already. His handlers are thinking of what the press will write if he makes a stink about where this memorial is located - PERIOD. You can already read the headlines. "Corzine upsets 9/11 victims......"

MEMORIAL CLASH
Gov says 9/11 monument will be built on LSP site

Saturday, October 07, 2006

By ALI WINSTON
Jersey JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Despite opposition from local lawmakers and residents, Gov. Jon Corzine says he wants the state's 9/11 memorial at Liberty State Park to go ahead as planned.

But the president of the volunteer Friends of Liberty State Park said he would file a lawsuit to prevent the construction of "Empty Sky" as planned.

Corzine, who met Wednesday with Hudson County lawmakers to discuss the controversial project, declared he wholeheartedly supports "Empty Sky" as it was drawn up.

The memorial will consist of two 30-foot high, 200-foot long stainless steel walls inscribed with the names of more than 700 state residents killed in the terrorist attacks. The memorial would sit on a 10-foot high hill on the park's waterfront next to the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey train terminal.

The proposed memorial has drawn opposition from the Friends of Liberty State Park and others who say it would block the spectacular views of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty and New York harbor.

Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, called the memorial a "massive monstrosity" and said the governor was making a "colossal mistake" by supporting it despite the opposition of the park's users.

"This decision shows total disregard for the democratic process, Liberty State Park, and the people who use it," he said, adding his organization would file a lawsuit later this month to try to block the project from going forward.

"I thought that once he read about the sensible reasons for the opposition, he would realize how right it would be to relocate the memorial. I really am surprised and extremely disappointed," Pesin said. "This is like a slap in the face to the Statue of Liberty."

Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City, who has said he's in favor of a 9/11 memorial but in another location so as not to obscure the view, expressed disappointment with Corzine's endorsement.

The unobstructed views of where the Twin Towers once stood, Manzo said, would be the "most fitting way to remember the victims of Sept. 11." He suggested the memorial be placed alongside the park's Grove of Remembrance, also dedicated to the state's victims of 9/11, which is along the cobblestone road (Audrey Zapp Drive).

Manzo, Pesin and others also have complained about the lack of public input in the process. Though "orientation meetings" were held during the open submission stage of the memorial design in which 350 proposals were submitted, once the six final designs were chosen by a jury of 12 family members of 9/11 victims, there were no further public hearings until the final design was announced.

Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is overseeing the project, welcomed the governor's support.

"It's been five long years and we need to remember the residents of New Jersey who died on this tragic day," she said.

Asked whether enough public hearings were held to discuss the placement of the memorial, Makatura said she "didn't want to rehash old issues," but that "this has been an open process all along."

Unhappy with state 9/11 memorial

250 attend public meeting in Liberty State Park

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer 08/19/2006

About 250 people attended a public hearing and rally Wednesday in Liberty State Park regarding a proposed statewide memorial for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Some feel the project will be too big and block precious views of Lower Manhattan.

The memorial, titled "Empty Sky," will be made up of two 30-foot high and 200-foot long stainless steel walls on a grassy knoll. A jury of 9/11 victims' family members chose it out of 320 entries submitted in 2004 as part of the New Jersey Memorial Design Competition initiated by former Gov. James McGreevey.

The memorial will be dedicated to the more than 700 New Jersey residents who died in the attacks.

The nearly $12 million memorial has met with opposition because the 10-foot high knoll portion that is already on the memorial site blocks the Manhattan skyline. The site is located close to the Hudson River near the ferries that transport park visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

It is also the area where survivors of the 9/11 attacks on Lower Manhattan were brought to receive medical care, and where people viewed the World Trade Center crumbling. Wednesday's meeting was organized by the Friends of Liberty State Park, a Jersey City-based volunteer group that is not opposed to the memorial itself, but to its design and location. They received state permission to hold the meeting.

Tanya Chauhan, who lives with her husband and her two children in Jersey City's Bergen-Lafayette section, worked at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

Chauhan looked back on that day when she lost co-workers and friends.

"My feeling upon seeing the hill is one of loss," said Chauhan. "First the Twin Towers and so many friends were taken away, and now the great view of Downtown New York [is] being taken away."

Local resident Jean Ward was very blunt about her feelings. She called upon Gov. Jon Corzine to "tear down this mound."

Officials opposed

Officials on city and state levels also weighed in on the negative aspects of the memorial.

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said he used to bring his kids to play on the field near the memorial site and to look out at the Hudson River.

"This has always been a natural attraction, a place to see the Hudson River, the city skyline," he said. "There's not a vista like this anyplace on Earth. Put the memorial where no view is obstructed."

State Assemblyman Louis Manzo (NJ-31st Dist.) said that he has spoken with NJ Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts about fast-tracking a bill through the Assembly and State Senate that would require local hearings prior to any major development for recreation, conservation and construction purposes at any state park.

Father of victim supports it

Englewood resident Bruce Kane lost his son Howard, who was the comptroller for the Windows on the World Restaurant on 9/11. Cain exhorted the audience to see the value of the memorial to help him and others families of New Jersey 9/11 victims to cope with the pain and loss of that day. Kane was among the victims' family members who chose the "Empty Sky" design.

"Please, two things to have in your hearts - compassion and understanding," said Kane. "This is all that these people have, there are 727 names going up on this memorial. It's taken roughly five years to get to this point, and it has not been easy."

John Watson, Deputy Commissioner for the State's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which oversees Liberty State Park and the memorial project, told the crowd that the project would go ahead as planned, prompting considerable booing.

After his speech, he was cornered by two longtime Jersey City residents who disagreed with his stance.

Future plans


Sam Pesin, President of the Friends of Liberty State Park, said Thursday that a transcript made of the public meeting will be sent to Gov. Corzine and DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson. He also said that a meeting is being organized for October to update people on this issue.

In the meantime, those who want to know more about the issue can call (201) 792-1993 of visit www.folsp.org.

Pesin also expressed disappointment that the Friends group were billed for nearly $1,000 for the use of the field, two park police officers, and a maintenance person to keep bathrooms in the nearby CRRNJ Railroad Terminal open for the public.

"The DEP told us we had to pay like any other group," said Pesin. "I would say if we had a meeting to agree with the commissioner, then we would have not had to pay,"

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

Not wanting to condone acts of vandalism, but some time ago in Melbourne Australia, the City Council erected a 'monument' at great cost in the city square to a lot of peoples disapproval.
The 'monument' was hit by graffiti and eggs so often that the maintenance costs got out of hand and it was removed.
It now sits out of public view and kids use it to skateboard on.

On another note, when I look at the proposed memorial / monument for the 9-11 tragic event then look at the memorial for the Korean War Veterans where is the parity?

If contracts haven't been signed to erected the memorial, who is moving all the dirt and who is paying? It really sounds like the 'horse has bolted' and it could be too late!

Quote:

Wow. They aren't wasting any time. I was at the rally Wednesday night and I figured that with all the politicos that were there exhibiting rather strong objections to the memorial (to which we cheered), that ONE of them would have actually done something to actually stop this from happening. Sigh.

Trenton is trying to make LSP into a dumping ground for monuments! If they build this one -- expect more.

STATE MOVES AHEAD WITH 9/11 MEMORIAL
Friday, August 18, 2006
By JACK HERMAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The state has no plans to alter the 9/11 memorial it is building at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, even as local opposition mounts.

On Wednesday night, hundreds of residents, politicians and park enthusiasts gathered in front of the construction site for the memorial, in the northeast corner of the park, saying it will obscure the park's "sacred" view of lower Manhattan.

Jay Watson, deputy commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, which is overseeing the project, told the crowd he was there to listen, but later said the project has been "vetted enough," and the state has no plans to hold a public hearing.

State Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City, said yesterday he has introduced legislation which would require the state to hold a hearing and also wrote a letter to DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson asking questions about the project's funding and construction.

Others, including the Friends of Liberty State Park and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, have written letters asking Gov. Jon Corzine to intervene.

Calls to Corzine's office were not returned yesterday.

Bruce Kane, who lost his 40-year-old son in the World Trade Center attack and was on the committee that picked the memorial, said the idea to build a memorial in Liberty State Park has been in the works since the victims' families met for a candlelight vigil two weeks after Sept. 11, 2001.

A group of artists and architects whittled down 352 selections to 16, which a group of victims' families chose from.

Most of the ideas were impractical, environmentally unsound or too expensive, Kane said. They eventually decided upon two 30-feet tall, 200-feet long stainless steel walls, which will be cut into a gently sloped hill and be perpendicular to the water.

"The twin walls are focused on Ground Zero and provide a powerful, contemplative space for the names," according to the Web site of architect Frederic Schwartz. "The memorial's strength lies in its simplicity and ability to resonate as it honors not only those lost but also New Jersey's witnesses, survivors and volunteers."

Almost everyone attending Wednesday night's three-hour, open-air meeting - including many local politicians - hope to see the memorial moved somewhere else in the park. The Friends of Liberty State Park suggested moving the monument, redesigning it or having a public meeting to discuss it.

"People should not have to walk up or around a 10-foot high hill that is a couple of hundred feet long, or walk through walls that are 30 feet high and 200 feet long just to see the powerful open vistas," said Friends of Liberty State Park President Sam Pesin. "It blocks the sacred view of Ground Zero, lower New York City and the Hudson River."

Pesin also said he objects to the fact that the DEP charged his group the normal $1,000 fee for holding the meeting there.

Newhouse News Services contributed to this report

Attacks-Memorial


JERSEY CITY, N.J. (2006-08-17) Hudson County officials say a memorial
to New Jersey's nine-eleven victims will ruin the view of Manhattan's skyline and ground zero. During a Friends of Liberty State Park meeting in Jersey City yesterday, the officials urged Governor Corzine to redesign or relocate the monument. "Empty Sky" was selected by a panel of family members nearly two years ago. Two stainless steel walls would stretch 200 feet long and rise 30 feet high. It will display the names of the more than 700 New Jerseyans who died on nine-eleven. Supporters say the memorial is designed to focus on the void left where the World Trade Center towers stood. Assemblyman Louis Manzo has introduced a bill to require a public hearing on the project.

http://publicbroadcasting.net/thenigh ... CLE_ID=955823§ionID=1

======================
also
=====================
'PILE OF DIRT' CAUSES STIR
Thursday, August 17, 2006
By JACK HERMAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

9/11 memorial site irks residents

Dozens of New Jersey residents told state officials last night that a planned 9/11 memorial for Liberty State Park would block views of the Manhattan skyline.

"We were just shocked when we saw this pile of dirt," said John Seborowki of Jersey City at the open-air meeting held at the park, referring to the mound upon which the planned memorial would sit.

"Nothing against the memorial," added Seborowki, who lost two friends on 9/11. "They should do something. But it is a shame that people make these decisions without consulting the public."

The proposed memorial is to feature two stainless steel walls 30 feet tall and 200 feet long on top of a hill at least 10 feet high. It is to fit near the Central Railroad of New Jersey Train Terminal.

The Friends of Liberty State Park held the meeting because it felt the state's Department of Environmental Protection, which is overseeing the project, failed to take the public's concerns into account.

DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson said before last night's meeting that state officials met with 9/11 family members in June and decided to keep the current plan in place, because even though the memorial might "impact the view from some portions of the park," the park's walkway is more than a mile long.

Last night, DEP Deputy Commissioner Jay Watson said he was there "to listen."

"We believe this is a great monument," Watson said. "We really believe this a feature to bring people into the park."

To the cheers of many in the crowd, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy also weighed in last night.

"There's not a vista like this any place on earth," said Healy, referring to the Manhattan skyline in the distance. "We're asking you to put the memorial some place else." Newhouse News Service contributed to this report.

Ah yes, you are all thinking that grieving should be a quiet and reflective practice in The Grove of Remembrance in Liberty State Park. A tree for each and every victim can be added and therefore the entire park can be a memorial or alternatively it can be an enjoyable park for families and cyclists, etc.

This monument is clearly not designed to be a memorial but is in fact designed to be a ghoulish tourist attraction conveniently located as near to the car parks and concession stands as possible.

Quote:

As I said before, for some reason they need a memorial as large, ugly and out of place as the towers were themselves.

Another thing that I picked up from one of the speakers was that it being able to be seen from lower Manhattan was one of the architect's main goals. That architect is Manhattan based, and said one spot in LSP is as good as another, so why should we care. So why should he?

The speech by the father of a victim who was on the design committee was heatfelt, but someone should have led him to the plaque in the Grove and shown him that he's ignored the place to grieve for several years now, so he can stop trying to guilt us into giving up so he can have his memorial.

Alternatively, a win-win would be the state putting the memorial in one of the still toxic areas of the park, after putting in the money to abate it and landscape. They don't have the right to take the best part of the park and leave us with part of it still a toxic dump.

Quote:

There already is a place called The Grove of Remembrance in Liberty State Park that has a tree for every New Jersey victim. It also has a large plaque with every NJ victim's name and I think it is very tasteful.

We don't need ANOTHER memorial. What is the Grove of Remembrance then? Chopped liver?

Perhaps more trees should be planted to account for every victim. But that's it.

How many 9/11 memorials do we have now in JC?

I say we have an individual memorial for each and every person.

A tree should be planted in the park for each victim.

The 9/11 families have their own private memorial and the park gains much needed trees.

Simple.

I was a friend of Jon Schlissel, a neighbor and former president of the VVPA who perished in the attacks of 9/11.

I think the memorial and its location suck. So am I entitled to your deference now?

LSP Public Meeting on
Skyline-blocking 9/11 Memorial Design
This design separates instead of connects us to where the tragedy occurred.
Wednesday August 16 6:30 pm to dark
Organized and hosted, with respect and dignity, by The Friends of LSP

Park Users? Participation is Urgently Needed
It is not too late if the public comes tonight and/or writes the Governor. Mayor Healy and Assemblyman Manzo are against this design that blocks sacred views of Ground Zero, lower Manhattan and the Hudson River. People power is needed tonight. Three letters to Jersey Journal today at http://www.nj.com/opinion/jjournal/letters/

Location of the Public Meeting:
The chairs will be in the ?North Field? near the CRRNJ Terminal in LSP?s NE corner, next to the parking lot at end of Zapp Drive, the cobblestone road, and next to the Memorial Hill which blocks skyline, Ground Zero, & river views.

The design includes the Hill, that will be 10 ft high and two stainless steel walls, 200 ft long and 30 ft high, next to historic Terminal. All people who care about LSP are urged to attend this important meeting. Transcripts of public comments will be sent to Trenton. The Friends had asked and patiently waited for NJDEP Commissioner Jackson and Governor Corzine to hold a public meeting, but they haven?t, so we?re holding this approved public meeting so people can express their opinions and learn about this memorial. Please attend to speak and/or hear fellow park users.

This controversial 9/11 Memorial ?Hill and Walls? design blocks sacred and important NYC skyline/river views. The design was undemocratically approved with no public input. It isn?t too late for the Governor to terminate this obstruction of the ?national shrine? of the NYC/river view, and to revise this design or have a DEP public meeting on the 8 finalists chosen by the ?expert jury?.

Background Material : www.folsp.org click on 9/11 Memorial
Sam Pesin, president
The Friends of LSP

Do we all agree that we live in a world where the main goal of a terrorist is to inflict casaulties more so against the civilian population, regardless where on this planet we live?

Hopefully we will never experience a repeat of 9-11, but we did have a scare with the Holland Tunnel just a month ago.

If the terrorists are successful, are we then going to build another memorial for that tragic event.
Will it (the memorial) be bigger and how many lives will it take to qualify for a memorial to be built?

War memorials should not be confused with my point of view, but we should look to have a significant memorial only where the incident took place and financially supporting it.

>>DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson e-mailed a letter to Pesin on Thursday reiterating her support for the memorial to continue being built as planned. Jackson stated that "Based on my review of the process and the project design, I have decided to support the completion of the memorial as presently designed." Jackson pointed out that the day after the June 13 meeting, there was another meeting with a memorial committee of 9/11 survivors and families of victims to review the design, discuss the current status of construction, and gauge if family members willing to accept changes to the design. She states in the letter, "It was the consensus of those family members present that this project should move forward as designed and that they did not want to delay this Memorial to their loved ones and the many victims of September 11, 2001 any longer." Pesin took Jackson to task for making her decision before the public meeting takes place. "The Friends formally disagrees with the commissioner's position is now asking the governor directly to listen to public input and reverse this decision," said Pesin. "Lisa Jackson's premature decision violates the spirit of democracy."<< That is exactly the problem. The victims' families wield way too much political clout. First they get $1 BILLION (now reduced to $1/2 billion) Ground Zero Memorial (an obscene amount of money for a memorial), and then they insist on putting this monstrosity in our faces. And the politicians like Lisa Jackson kow-tow to them. Politicians need to listen to all their constituents, not only to the victims' families. Have we lost our collective marbles here? Do the victims' families really want to honor their loved ones with a Memorial design to which there is a widespread opposition? Or they don't care about what the public which uses the LSP thinks?

Instead of spending all of the money on a giant steel slab, I would like to see a smaller, less ostentatious memorial that does not obstruct views. Spend the savings on scholarships and groves of trees in memory of the victims. I don't understand how a huge memorial will assuage people?s grief.

I still remember the comment made by a JCLISTER a while back [paraphrasing]:

"It's like Jersey City has a big sign planted on the shoreline that reads-- Put Your Ugly Memorial Here."

WTF.

Editorial from the Jersey Journal:
Friday, August 04, 2006

Spare us this ugly memorial
What have you done to my park?

They were the first words I spoke when seeing the mound of encased dirt that took away the breathtaking views of the New York skyline.

This mound is massive, visually blocking, from the left, the skyscraper with the patina-pointed spire to the tip of Manhattan Island. When looking left, from the right, that patina and the only other green-pointed spire, near the Winter Garden, are seen. No Empire State Building, no Citibank building. Nothing.

I don't care that the 22 feet of dirt settled into 15 feet, which will settle into 10 feet, before the "Empty Sky" memorial fills the skyline. It is an ugly platform for an ugly monument.

"Empty Sky" actually fills the sky with two huge slabs jutting upward. It is not beautiful and delicate, like the two blue lights that have shone, mimicking the lost towers. Adding those blue lights to this so-called memorial does not make it any less foreboding.

I won't settle for losing the Grand Plaza: where people gathered before entering this historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, taking in the breezes along the Hudson River; and where classic cars and other exhibits were displayed and musical acts performed during the 2002 and 2003 Jersey Central Railroad Heritage Festivals - at which I was employed part-time as fund-raiser, co-producer and promoter. I won't settle for any monument obstructing, obliterating and obscuring the beautiful architecture of the historic railroad terminal.

And "Empty Sky," which is adjacent to the railroad terminal, still fills the sky.

What's even more incredible - the historic marker describing the CRRNJ Terminal on Liberty Walk faces the magnificent brick building, yet the terminal CANNOT BE SEEN. "Empty Sky" destroys its view. Built in 1889, the terminal served the many "tired, poor huddled masses" coming from Ellis Island to board trains that populated our great country's expanses of land. When did the historic railroad terminal cease to be a monument, in and of itself?

What have you done to my park?

No matter who is talking about Liberty State Park - whether it's a park-lover or an advertisement for the Liberty Jazz Festival - the comments always include, "with views of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline." Why in the world would those bureaucrats entrusted with Liberty State Park sacrifice the New York skyline while at the same time use it as a promotional come-on?

That's the equivalent of "biting the hand that feeds you" and just as ridiculous, when the hands feeding and the mouths biting come from the same creature.

Now, what will you do to my park?

You will remove this monstrosity of a dirt mound. You will not erect this outsized and ill-conceived monument. You will rebuild the Grand Plaza.

There already is a monument at Liberty State Park commemorating those who perished on 9/11. It is called the Grove of Remembrance. Its shady area is simpatico with the mission of Liberty State Park, so that it remains a "free and green urban state park." The Grove of Remembrance is the perfect monument at Liberty State Park to contemplate the severity of that horrific event and the souls of those who lost their lives that day.

MICHELE M. DUPEY

JERSEY CITY

I lost a relative who worked at Canter Fitzgerald -- I don't see how ruining Liberty State Park helps.

This thing is dumb!

Not wanting to be rude or disrespectful but the patronage to the Korean War Memorial isn't huge. I would guess that there are a number of memorials that don't get much patronage neither. (except on memorial day or a day that is significant to the memorial)

'Park' = an area of land set aside for public use, as for recreation.

Downtown Manhattan is where the disaster occurred and is where people will expect to see a memorial to reflect.

As this was not a military disaster I believe a NJ memorial should be at a NJ cemetery with a donation given to the authorities in NY with their memorial on behave of the NJ people.

Manzo: Not too late to change memorial
Monday, August 14, 2006
By BONNIE FRIEDMAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Assemblyman Louis Manzo, D-Jersey City, sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, D-Brooklawn, asking him to "fast-track" a bill that would require the state to hold a public meeting to discuss the controversial Sept. 11 memorial slated for Liberty State Park.

"The site where it is currently slated to be constructed will prospectively obstruct the majestic views of the New York skyline," the letter stated. "Furthermore, the sentiment that the sight of the skyline should be available to radiate the spirit of those that perished on that fateful day remains popular."

The 9/11 memorial, called "Empty Sky," features two 30-foot high and 200-foot long stainless steel walls perched on a 10-foot high grassy knoll.

Members of the Friends of Liberty State Park, an advocacy group, say it's not too late to re-think the design, which family members of Sept. 11 victims chose out of a field of 320 designs.

The Friends of Liberty State Park are holding a meeting Wednesday to discuss the issue

I have always thought a PARK is a fun place for children to play and families to enjoy like riding a bike, a bbq or flying a kite.

I can hear the cries from people now when a child kicks a ball that goes near the memorial.

The tragic event occurred in NY and thats where the memorial of any significance should be - donate some of the funds to their memorial.

Why not have a MODEST memorial where we put most of our deceased by natural causes or conflict - A CEMETERY, and while we are their, visit the grave site of family that have passed - when was the last time people did that! (I don't see a queue there!)