ASBURY PARK PRESS, April 10, 2002

A Park Needs No Development

The McGreevey administration wants to end a private nonprofit group's contract to operate Liberty State Park, the crown jewel of New Jersey's park system. It's about time.

The group's name -- the Liberty State Park Development Corp. -- speaks volumes about the problem. The park doesn't need developing. It needs to be preserved as an oasis of open space across from lower Manhattan and a stone's throw from Ellis Island.

Last year, the development corporation was rebuffed in its efforts to build a commercial water park within Liberty State Park. Earlier plans for the park -- all, thankfully, rejected -- included an 18-hole golf course and other forms of active recreation.

More than four million people a year visit the 1,100-acre Liberty State Park, which is just off the New Jersey Turnpike in Jersey City. The view of the Manhattan skyline and of the Statue of Liberty are unparalleled. Ferries to the statue and to Ellis Island depart from a dock in the park. Some day, visitors may be able to walk across a pedestrian bridge to Ellis Island. The park is also home to the Liberty Science Center.

The development corporation is a relic of the misguided notion that private entities should handle public responsibilities. The state Department of Environmental Protection does a fine job in operating every other state park. It needs no help managing Liberty State Park.

In any case, the new DEP commissioner discovered that taxpayers had to cover $833,328 in payments the past two years on state bonds for which the development corporation is supposed to be responsible. The corporation has had trouble collecting money due from the private company that manages paid parking at Liberty State Park. The two parking lots were built with state bonds.

The development corporation has 60 days to respond to the state's bid to end its contract. However well meaning its members may have been, their time has past. Liberty State Park's open space should remain, and the state should make sure the parking fees are collected. If any park in New Jersey is capable of being self-sustaining, it's this one.