Monday, May 08, 2006
By STEVEN LEMONGELLO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
After years of fighting off plans for amusement parks, a water park, a golf
course and even a doll museum, the Friends of Liberty State Park honored those
who have helped preserve the park as "open, green, and free for all people
to enjoy," said Greg Remaud of New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, at a
"30th birthday party" yesterday for the crown jewel of the state park
system.
At yesterday's luncheon at the Liberty House Restaurant, which doubled as a
fund-raiser for the group, several were recognized for working to keep
commercial development from intruding on "an oasis in an urban
setting," said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-Hoboken.
Menendez, recipient of the Champion of the People's Park Award, said he would
often recount the history of Liberty State Park as a way of showing how
individuals and groups can take control of their own destinies.
Menendez said the group's founding in the 1950s by private citizens Morris Pesin,
Audrey Zapp and Ted Conrad "reminds us of the power available to us as a
democracy."
"It's an example for the nation," said Executive Director Andy Willner
of NY/NJ Baykeeper. "It all starts at someone's kitchen table, two or three
people saying 'enough's enough, we have to do something about it.' It's the
epitome of the American spirit. Nobody here waited for the government to do
anything."
The Morris Pesin Free and Green Advocacy Award was awarded to John Tichenor,
co-founder and former president of Friends of Liberty State Park, who reminded
those present that the park is "surrounded by powerful developers, all
asking 'What would I do if I had that space?'"
He added that in "the most densely populated county in the country, to have
green space, you have to fight for it."
Also receiving awards were Richard J. Sullivan, the first commissioner of the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Maria de Wakefield, the
park's horticulturist; Ethel Pesin, wife of the late Morris Pesin and mother of
current FOLSP President Sam Pesin; as well as Zapp and the late Conrad.
Even today, with all the success the FOLSP has had, they must be "always
vigilant," according to Sam Pesin. "We hope the DEP never allows a
commercial plan on the table again, because the DEP should know the broad public
consensus is against it. Why waste people's time with another negative
battle?"