WHEREAS the State of New Jersey has designed an official 9/11 memorial for Liberty State Park in Jersey City near the Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty Ferry Terminal and the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Train Terminal; and
WHEREAS the memorial, entitled “Empty Sky,” features a 10-foot hill supporting two parallel 30-foot high and 200-foot long stainless steel walls with the names of the 691 New Jersey residents who perished in the 9/11 attacks; and
WHEREAS the Friends of Liberty State Park, a park advocacy group, has expressed concern that the planned memorial has not been adequately integrated into Liberty State Park and that it will block the views of the downtown New York City skyline and of scenic and historic landscapes along the Hudson River; and
WHEREAS the Friends of Liberty State Park have filed a lawsuit in the Appellate Division against the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which oversees State parks, for failure to obtain appropriate permits and to provide for adequate public notice and comment for the Liberty State Park 9/11 memorial project.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders supports the efforts of the Friends of Liberty State Park to allow for adequate public notice and comment on the Liberty State Park 9/11 memorial project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Board urges County Executive Thomas A. DeGise to move to intervene in the lawsuit filed by the Friends of Liberty State Park against the DEP for the purpose of allowing additional public comment on the Liberty State Park 9/11 memorial project.