THE RECORD
N.J. Symphony could summer by Lady Liberty
Friday, April 25, 2003

By COLLEEN DISKIN
STAFF WRITER
        
Liberty State Park could one day be the summer home of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, state officials said Thursday as they unveiled a new vision for the state's version of Central Park.
"This would just be a beautiful spot for us," said Lawrence Tamburri, president of the orchestra, which holds most of its events at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark and has long sought a location for summer concerts.
Proposals to build a large commercial concert hall at the waterfront park, several hundred feet from the Statue of Liberty, have met with public protests in the past, as have plans for a golf course and water park.
But since a Sept. 11 anniversary symphony concert at Liberty State Park was spoiled by high winds last year, many state and local officials have expressed interest in establishing a small outdoor amphitheater for the orchestra to hold regular concerts, said Bradley Campbell, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.
Although a funding source or a specific design is still to be found, the DEP and orchestra officials have been in discussions for months.
"We're not talking a major performing arts center," said Campbell, who suggested the amphitheater could mean nothing more than building a stage and placing chairs on the grass.
Campbell floated the possibility as he announced that his agency would reclaim authority over the Jersey City park and establish a public advisory committee to prevent some of the fierce battles that have raged for decades over its potential uses. To the cheers of park advocates, Campbell followed through on a threat made last spring and signed a termination agreement Thursday with the Liberty State Park Development Corp.
The much-maligned non-profit agency was created by the state in 1984 to raise money for park improvements, but most of its proposals were met with opposition from environmentalists and parkgoers concerned that the public space was being co-opted by private interests.
While final decisions on the park's future now rest with the DEP, citizen groups will have a greater voice through the advisory commission, Campbell said.
"We have wasted so much time fighting plans for golf course and water parks and other attempts to turn the park over to commercial, private interests," said Sam Pesin, president of the Friends of Liberty State Park. "Now we're finally going to get the chance to work together to make this into a Central Park-type park, something that everyone can enjoy."
Pesin and other advocates are buoyed by the fact that the DEP has already embraced a citizen-initiated plan to restore wetlands and build nature trails on a 190-acre segment while also reserving another 50 acres for ball fields and recreation. Work on those projects could begin by year's end and take about five years to complete, Campbell said.
As for the possibility of a permanent stage for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Pesin thought park advocates would be open to the idea as long as it didn't cause any environmental or traffic problems.
"We certainly favor bringing cultural events to the parks that are of a non-commercial nature," he said

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