The Jersey City, N.J., club has submitted plans to relocate three of its holes onto Liberty State Park, and develop a headquarters for The First Tee. Park advocates oppose the plan, calling it “outrageous” that the state would try to lease land used by children in environmental education programs.
Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., wants to expand onto a piece of Liberty State Park that park advocates say is used by hundreds of schoolchildren each year to learn about nature along the Hudson River, NorthJersey.com reported.
Liberty National GC has submitted plans to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to relocate three of its holes onto a 21-acre peninsula called Caven Point that juts out into the river near the Statue of Liberty, NorthJersey.com reported.
The plans were the only ones submitted in response to a public bid request last month in the waning days of the the Christie administration to lease the land. Former Gov. Chris Christie had tried for years to bring more large-scale private development to New Jersey’s most-visited park including a hotel and conference center, but those efforts failed, NorthJersey.com reported.
Park advocates said it is “outrageous” that New Jersey would try to lease land used by children in environmental education programs. The site has marshlands and a sandy beach where 500 to 600 students each year capture and release fish, crabs, seahorses and other marine life found in local waters, NorthJersey.com reported.
“Caven Point is public land with tremendous ecological and environmental education value, that must remain that way,” said Greg Remaud, who sits on a state advisory board for the park.
Liberty National GC owner Paul Fireman said in a statement that he would look to work with park advocates and environmental groups “to fully ensure that the natural resources and environmental sensitivities are responsibly resolved,” NorthJersey.com reported.
The state’s bid request requires bidders to “preserve and enhance” the area and “minimize any impacts” to public access to marshlands, NorthJersey.com reported.
Part of the expansion is to bring The First Tee to the club “to serve the underprivileged children of Jersey City, Hudson County and the surrounding metropolitan area,” Fireman said.
“Liberty National is proposing to develop a headquarters for The First Tee, plus a designated practice facility and golf holes to significantly contribute to the effort of The First Tee’s mission within the local community,” he said. “We do not expect to create the next Jordan Spieth—although that could happen—but we fully expect to foster positive growth for young ladies and gentlemen and assist them in reaching higher education to enrich their lives.”
Despite Fireman’s assurances, the Friends of Liberty State Park, NY/NJ Baykeeper and the New Jersey Sierra Club all voiced strong opposition on January 24 to the proposed plans and urged Murphy to reject them, NorthJersey.com reported.
A spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would not release details of the proposal on Wednesday. “It’s still in the preliminary stage,” said Larry Hajna.
The proposal would need to be vetted by the DEP. The final say on the plan rests with the Statehouse Commission, a legislative body that controls the sale and leasing of state-owned land, NorthJersey.com reported.
Liberty National Golf Club was built adjacent to the park on a former landfill and industrial wasteland. The course, which opened in 2006, had its highest profile event last year when it hosted the Presidents Cup. Along with some of the world’s top golfers, the event drew President Donald Trump along with former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, NorthJersey.com reported.
The golf course proposal comes more than a year after the Christie administration dropped an effort to bring private development to the park. The plans faced strong local opposition, and former DEP Commissioner Bob Martin announced that the state was not going to pursue them at a legislative hearing in 2016, NorthJersey.com reported.
Tell Us What You Think!
You must be logged in to post a comment.