New Jersey state officials have released an
The report unveiled on Nov. 24 just before Thanksgiving weekend by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection mentions the possibility of a low-rise hotel, amusement park, outdoor amphitheater, conference center and indoor sports complex being built on the 1,212-acre site. The analysis comes after the administration of Gov. Chris Christie paid $120,000 to Biederman Redevelopment Ventures to examine ways to generate more revenue for the park located behind the Statue of Liberty. Christie, who announced a Sustainable Parks initiative in 2011 that encourages self-sustaining revenues, signed a bill in July allowing the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority development bonding power at the park to go along with its previous ability to finance public-private partnerships.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop responded to the report saying he intends to fight any development plans at the park.
"Parks are a public amenity and decisions around keeping precious open space should not be based on dollars, but should be based on the quality of life," said Fulop in a statement. "We intend on fighting back aggressively to protect this jewel of a park for Jersey City."
