Dedication of the “Richard J. Sullivan Natural Area”
The 40 acre natural area by LSP’s South Cove, which includes the salt
marsh.
Nov. 22, 2005
Remarks by Sam Pesin, Friends president
As the son of the late Morris Pesin, LSP’s “father”, and as the
president of the Friends of LSP, I welcome you all on this historic day in the
park’s history. It’s an honor to be speaking about Mr. Sullivan, a great
conservationist who is a LSP hero” in the words of Audrey Zapp, who is known
as the park’s “godmother.
Richard J. Sullivan, the Friends and all park users past, present, and
future, owe you tremendous
gratitude for your work in establishing this urban waterfront state park behind
Lady Liberty. Dedicating the natural area in your name is a perfect tribute. It
is an honor for the park to have your name on one of its special features.
You played a leading role in creating this spiritually uplifting park,
that God willing, will bring enjoyment to millions of people for hopefully
centuries to come.
LSP is one of our nation’s most inspiring public spaces. The park’s
green open spaces and harbor breezes are a welcome relief in this crowded
region.
People of all colors and ages enjoy this park behind the world’s
greatest symbol of freedom. As Senator Bernard Kenny once wrote, “Liberty
Park’s vistas, majesty, history, and beauty render it sacred”. Commissioner
Campbell stated, “The events of Sept. 11, 2001, further consecrate the
value of Liberty State Park to the state and reinforce the DEP’s commitment to
making sure those values are honored.”
My father, Audrey Zapp, and LSP pioneer Ted Conrad told me of how
crucial Mr. Sullivan’s role was, as the DEP’s first Commissioner, from 1970
-1974, in working hard for the
passage of a 1972 Green Acres Bond Act, and in his using that money to help
acquire parkland. He negotiated with railroad officials, industrial property
owners, individual property owners, and Jersey City to purchase the land for LSP.
He went around NJ urging people to vote for that Green Acres Bond Act,
and if it had failed, it would have been a terrible blow to the park and to open
space in NJ. Developers had started to want the unused railroad land, and so
Com. Sullivan’s getting the Bond Act passed and pushing hard for the park’s
creation was essential.
Mr. Sullivan shared the extraordinary optimism, determination, and faith
in the vision of the early citizen
pioneers to transform a waterfront wasteland into a beautiful park. They
all were believers in pursuing what seemed impossible to the naysayers. Their
forging a better path to the future reflects the magic and soul of America. That
spirit is symbolized by
immigrants to this country – immigrants who came in the past through
nearby Ellis Island, and today’s immigrants who come from everywhere to use
the freedom and opportunity in our diverse land to make a better life for
themselves and their families.
After Mr. Sullivan’s Commissioner’s work in acquiring land for the
park, he
continued to help in the park’s early years by working with my father
and Audrey to develop the Public Advisory Commission model for public
representation in park decision-making. The Commission’s successor, the Park
Advisory Committee, chaired by Frank Gallagher, has moved the park’s Interior
251 acres forward, with several public hearings. The Interior, with woods, fresh
and salt water wetlands, and nature trails, will be one of the nation’s
largest nature restoration projects. Com. Campbell, Marc Matsil, Frank Gallagher
and Greg Remaud have led the way in obtaining $11 million and the project now
needs federal matching funds which we hope that another park champion,
Congressman Robert Menendez will secure.
Mr. Sullivan guided NJ over the years in enhancing the park, and he had
the foresight to see beyond the contamination issues, knowing that the true
potential of a park for people and nature could become a reality. In the
1980’s, Mr. Sullivan worked to get funding to create interpretive programs and
exhibits at the park.
LSP’s history since 1976 has been a series of grassroots statewide
battles against commercialization and privatization plans. The People have
fought passionately for a free park behind Lady Liberty, and will continue to be
vigilant. The only time before today that I met Richard Sullivan was when he
spoke in opposition to one of those destructive plans, the golf course plan, at
a Trenton public hearing on Aug. 25, 1994. He was the only former Commissioner
to oppose the golf course.
In his powerful statement, he spoke of the day in 1971, when, after he
and his wife visited his father in the JC Medical Center, they drove down
Johnston Ave.(and in his words) “to see the Jersey Central Railyards and the
future of LSP. Of course, it had, (as he described) the ghostly Terminal,
immense piles of industrial debris, decaying structures, and a pack of wild dogs
to give the final flavor of the place.
We agreed, my wife and I, that the messy landscaping we’re looking at
needed the big vision in order to become the kind of park that we thought it
could be.”
Mr. Sullivan then continued, “In 1971, the DEP was poor and we muscled
and we foraged and we scrounged for the resources to get movement at LSP, and
freeloaded at the Port Authority to get free engineering services. We had
haggled with JC on the final boundaries of the park. I can say that the planning
that I had in my head were grand plans. The golf course would be a great
mistake, giving the wrong direction, wrong emphasis, and wrong structure to this
special place. I think the price would be the total lost opportunity to make
this place the kind of cultural and recreational center it can be for this big
metropolitan area.” Mr. Sullivan ended his testimony by saying that this urban
land must be “built into a park
that the community can respect and enjoy.”
The park has come a long way. A positive era began when Com. Campbell
and Gov. McGreevey abolished the park’s DevCorp. FOLSP now has a garden
volunteer program and we just bought $9,000 of trees. We hope to see group
picnic pavilions and an athletic field funded. We hope that the new Gov. is a friend of this park and
increases funding for staff at this and at all state parks. This Spring,
FOLSP will have our 10th annual salt marsh clean-up in the Richard J.
Sullivan Natural Area. We hope you
will all return to the park in the Spring, to celebrate the park’s 30th
birthday.
On today’s anniversary of
President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, we know that
Mr. Sullivan did ask himself what he could do for his country, and he
did it and he
did it well.
Again, thank you Richard Sullivan.