Win for Liberty State Park – Fireman Gives Up on Golf Course

It has been reported that Paul Fireman will “halt” his effort to expand Liberty National Golf Course into Liberty State Park. He has been pushing legislators and lobbying to get his ultra-exclusive golf course expansion onto the Caven’s Point area of Liberty State Park. Last year, a so-called environmental group calling themselves the Enhance Liberty State Park Coalition circulated a petition that would have undermined the Liberty State Park Act and allowed privatization on public land.

“This is a win for the protection of Liberty State Park. Paul Fireman has finally learned that the word ‘no’ is no. Because of public pressure and public outcry, he’s giving up on his golf course. He is finally saying that he isn’t going forward on expanding his Millionaire’s Golf Course onto Caven’s Point. Liberty State Park represents both the Statue of Liberty and the gateway to our country. This is an important day for protecting Liberty State Park from privatization,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This is a victory for the protection of Liberty State Park and all parks, but we have to stay vigilant. We need to make sure that no one else swoops in to try to privatize Liberty State Park, especially with the park privatization language that was added to the state budget bill. We were the ones who found the budget language, and that public outcry may have helped lead to Paul Fireman finally giving up.”

A few weeks ago, the state passed a budget bill that has language that lets the DEP issue a solicitation to engage the private for-profit and nonprofit sector in reducing backlogs for state parks through leaseholds. Senate bill S20 (Sarlo/Cunningham) specifically states, “on or before September 1, 2020, the Department of Environmental Protection shall issue a solicitation to engage the private for-profit and non-profit sector in reducing maintenance and capital investment backlog and environmental remediation at state parks in order to facilitate enhanced cultural, recreational and local economic opportunities for New Jersey residents through appropriate means including leaseholds.”

“Paul Fireman has given up because he finally realized that no one supports what he wanted to do. In spite of all his arrogance and bullying, he realized that he couldn’t win. However, we need to keep fighting to make sure that this park belongs to all of us,” said Jeff Tittel. “Over the years we have fought against a hotel, millionaire’s golf course, private marina, shopping malls, a 25,000 seat amphitheatre, water parks, and more. We need to make sure that the Liberty State Park Protection Act is still passed to prevent harmful privatization proposals in the future. This is especially important because of the park privatization language that was snuck into the budget bill a few weeks ago. We need to get that language out of the bill and we need to pass legislation to protect LSP for future generations.”

There is currently legislation in the Legislature that would protect Liberty State Park from privatization. The Liberty State Park Protection Act, or A2189 (Mukherji), would prohibit the DEP from considering any proposal to commercialize, develop, or privatize Liberty State Park, except as provided in the bill. The bill would prohibit any concession, conveyance, or lease within the 235-acre natural restoration area in the interior of Liberty State Park, and at Caven Point Peninsula. The bill would require the DEP to develop a management plan for Liberty State Park in consultation with the established committee within three years.

“This is great news, but we must keep fighting to protect Liberty State Park. We need to make sure that the Liberty State Park Protection Act is passed because we have been fighting to stop privatization and development of Liberty State Park. It will help protect the park from inappropriate privatization. This land is held in the public trust doctrine. This land is held in the public trust and belongs to all of us. We must make sure that the park that is named after the Statue of Liberty belongs to all of us and stays open to all of us. Vigilance is the price of stewardship,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.