The Jersey Journal
editorial
Rethink memorial, save park's view

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

There is a big uneasiness about the state's proposed 9/11 memorial that is in the process of going up at the northeast corner of Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

Those who fought for years to have the state build a park in Hudson County and then to protect it from commercial intrusion and to maintain its pastoral and historic character are now heartsick over the proposed memorial.

While not opposed to honoring Garden State residents who died in terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, many Hudson residents are shocked by the size and location of the memorial that when constructed will block the view of Lower Manhattan and part of the Hudson River from the park's central public gathering place.

Family members of those who died on Sept. 11 chose the winning design, which was selected out of a field of 320 entries. Called "Empty Sky," it features two 30-foot-high and 200-foot-long stainless steel walls perched on a 10-foot high grassy knoll surrounded by trees.

Site-preparation work has left a 30-foot mound of dirt (note - it's around 13 to14 feet high now, and will be 10 feet, about 2 feet higher than construction fence, still blocking skyline and river view) that has understandably shocked visitors, who say they cannot fathom how the state could have approved a design that would block so much of the park's unique view. Leading the opposition to the design, while trying to be sensitive to the families of those who died on 9/11, are members of the Friends of Liberty State Park, the volunteer group that acts as advisors to the state Environmental Protection Department that oversees state parks.

The dirt mound is expected to settle down to about 10 feet, but the memorial itself will still eliminate one of the important elements of the park, a world-class vista.

In 2003, Friends of Liberty State Park members and many others, including 9/11 families, gathered at the northern end of the park to plant trees on the south side of Audrey Zapp Drive, the main road leading from Jersey City, through the park to the Hudson River. They planted hundreds of a planned living memorial to the 691 New Jersey residents who were murdered by terrorists.

The Grove of Remembrance seemed a fitting memorial, but then Gov. James E. McGreevey wanted more. New York provided a more open public discussion about future plans at Ground Zero. Other than asking families of those lost on 9/11 about the memorial's design, New Jersey sought no public comment.

Now, the public is asking for a chance to comment on the memorial, and the state should provide the opportunity. There is still time.