Edited September 24, 2020
As detailed last year, park advocates continue to work to get the Liberty State Park Protection Act passed. Liberty National Golf Club continues lobbying to have the Caven Point Natural Area exempted from the Protection Act. The Jersey City Council, which had previously unanimously voted on a resolution to support the Act, on June 24 instead tabled a vote on a renewed resolution.
More than 40 people spoke in the public comments part of the council meeting (held virtually) in favor of passing the resolution to support the Liberty State Park Protection Act. The meeting began at 6pm and went past midnight before it was decided to not vote on the resolution until the next meeting. You can read more about the council meeting at jcitytimes.com/council-pauses-liberty-state-park-protection-act/
(Edit: The resolution was voted on at the following City Council meeting on July 15; the resolution passed with only one vote against. There were so many speakers signed up to speak that the council voted ahead of the meeting.)
Here’s the statement I gave on June 24:
People are looking to nature as a symbol of hope during this pandemic. Those who grow up in urban areas are exposed to nature less than those who grow up elsewhere, which makes the preservation of existing urban wild spaces so very vital. I urge the Council to pass the Liberty State Park Protection Act Resolution, which is especially important because Liberty National Golf Course wants to privatize and destroy the park’s Caven Point natural area.
Why is Caven Point so important and unique? It’s 22 acres of varied habitat made up of upland meadow, saltwater marsh, maritime forest, tidal pools and mudflats, and the longest natural beach in Upper New York Harbor and the Hudson River. It’s one of the last undisturbed natural estuaries in the New York City area and is an important stop on the Atlantic Flyway, which is a major north-south bird migration route. All those habitat types work together to provide an important nesting area for many species of conservation concern, from shorebirds like American Oystercatcher and Spotted Sandpiper to songbirds like Orchard Oriole and Eastern Kingbird, to the secretive marsh bird, the Clapper Rail. Young birds show up every year at Caven Point ahead of their first migration–including Black- and Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron, Cooper’s Hawk, and Common Tern. Birds of prey like Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles can be seen year-round. There are also Diamondback Terrapin turtles, horseshoe crabs, Atlantic sturgeon, harbor seals, and American beavers.
Preserving Caven Point as it is–with its multiple habitat types–is absolutely crucial. Otherwise you lose what makes this place ecologically so important. Also, healthy estuaries help protect surrounding areas when there’s a storm surge or a flood.
Educational and interpretive programs bring hundreds of people to Caven Point each year and are open to all. Also, I’m one of thousands of people who go to Caven Point on my own to enjoy its beauty, wildlife, and serenity. The Protection Act is about preserving the park against large-scale privatization. It’s not against making improvements, it’s about keeping the park that exists now intact and not letting it fall into private hands. The golf course wants part of the park so it’s offering to help “improve” other parts to get its way. It’s divisive. Nature is for everyone. Liberty State Park is for everyone. We must protect this park–in its entirety–from these continual assaults and threats of destruction.
If you haven’t already done so, please sign the petition at change.org to support the Liberty State Park Protection Act.
Read more in the following articles:
Golf course move on Caven Point is obscene, Jersey Journal, June 12, 2020, by Agnes de Bethune
nj.com/hudson/2020/06/golf-course-move-on-caven-point-is-obscene
Visit to LSP confirms it’s a park for all, Jersey Journal, June 18, 2020, by Colin Egan
nj.com/opinion/2020/06/visit-to-lsp-confirms-its-a-park-for-all
Language in NJ budget could allow golf course to expand into Liberty State Park, NorthJersey.com, June 30 2020, by Terrence T. McDonald northjersey.com/story/news/hudson/2020/06/30/nj-budget-allows-liberty-state-park-plan
Buried in N.J.’s Budget Cuts: a Break for a Billionaire, New York Times, July 2, 2020, by Tracey Tully
nytimes.com/2020/07/02/nyregion/liberty-state-park-nj-golf
Do What’s Right Councilman Robinson, Jersey City Times, July 14, 2020, by Aaron Morrill
jcitytimes.com/editorial-do-the-right-thing-councilman-robinson
Caven Point must remain protected parkland, Jersey Journal, July 14, 2020, by Elaine Hansen
nj.com/hudson/2020/07/caven-point-must-remain-protected-parkland-utilities-getting-pandemic-rate-hike-letters
Golf course owner halts bid to expand into wildlife area at Liberty State Park — for now, NorthJersey.com, July 15, 2020, by Terrence T. McDonald northjersey.com/story/news/new-jersey/2020/07/15/liberty-state-park-golf-course-expansion-bid-halted-by-owner
Billionaire offered the state ‘peanuts’ in 2017 for Liberty State Park land to expand golf course, Jersey Journal, July 31, 2020, by Joshua Rosario nj.com/hudson/2020/07/billionaire-offered-the-state-peanuts-in-2017-for-liberty-state-park-land-to-expand-golf-course
Special Report: Whose Park is it Anyway? Jersey Journal, August 24, 2020, by Margaret Schmidt
nj.com/hudson/2020/08/njs-long-fought-battle-whose-park-is-it-anyway
Shovels in ground next summer for 234-acre cleanup in Liberty State Park? Jersey Journal, by Margaret Schmidt, September 3, 2020
nj.com/hudson/2020/09/shovels-in-ground-next-summer-for-234-acre-cleanup-in-liberty-state-park
Birders, unite to keep LSP from wrong kind of ‘birdie’, Jersey Journal, September 11, 2020, by guest columnists Eric Stiles and Tykee James
nj.com/opinion/2020/09/birders-unite-to-keep-lsp-from-wrong-kind-of-birdie-opinion
Speakers at Rally Call on Trenton to Pass Protection Act, Jersey City Times, September 12, 2020, by Aaron Morrill
jcitytimes.com/speakers-at-rally-call-on-trenton-to-pass-protection-act/
Liberty State Park Rally – September 12, 2020, City of Jersey City
video.buffer.com/v/5f6a6e4c0ae45e42c836c627
Liberty State Park advocates keep pressure on legislators, Gov. Murphy, Jersey Journal, September 14, 2020, by Adrienne Romero
nj.com/hudson/2020/09/lsp-protesters-want-gov-murphy-to-protect-jersey-city-park
Billionaire-funded group says state’s plan to clean up Liberty State Park is not enough, Jersey Journal, September 24, 2020, by Peter D’Auria
nj.com/hudson/2020/09/billionaire-funded-group-says-states-plan-to-clean-up-liberty-state-park-is-not-enough
Important natural habitats like this deserve to be protected and preserved.
Thank you for posting this. I found your website from the Audubon store and as a former resident of NJ and an avid birder, I am so happy to hear that this land is protected (for now). I hope to visit Caven Point the next time I am able to get back to NJ.