No 'Friends' of State's 9/11 Memorial

Liberty State Park will host public hearing on placement of 30-foot design
Ricardo Kaulessar Reporter staff writer

The state will hold a public hearing on Aug. 16 so residents can comment on the prospect of a 30-foot high 9/11 memorial in Liberty State Park in Jersey City.This past spring, the Friends of Liberty State Park (FOLSP), a volunteer organization dedicated to the park's preservation, requested a public hearing on the state memorial, to be erected at the northern end of the park.Last week, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees state parks, notified FOLSP President Sam Pesin that the group could hold a public hearing on Aug. 16 in the park at 6:30 p.m. near the memorial site.In case of rain, the meeting will be held in the CRRNJ train terminal a few hundred feet from the memorial site.The memorial, titled "Empty Sky," will be made up of two 30-foot high and 200-foot long stainless steel walls perched on a 10-foot high grassy knoll. A jury chose it out of 320 entries submitted in 2004 as part of the New Jersey Memorial Design Competition, which former Gov. James McGreevey initiated.

Wants more choices

New York City architect Frederic Schwartz designed the memorial, and its construction cost $10.5 million.The memorial has met with opposition because the 10-foot high knoll portion blocks the Manhattan skyline."It's a sacred view of downtown New York City, especially in light of what happened on Sept. 11," said Pesin, pointing out that the park was a center to medically treat those who were injured in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. Pesin said the lack of public input in choosing the memorial will be addressed at the meeting. "We think a resolution could be found by the state revising the design or convincing state officials to revisit the eight final designs that were narrowed from the 320 submissions," said Pesin. "Then out of those eight, the public can choose two or three that would then be given to the victims' families for a final choice."

The public have their say

Pesin intends to invite Gov. Jon Corzine (who lives in Hoboken), DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, and other state officials to the public meeting. He also will invite representatives for the families of 9/11 victims."The families want this built as soon as possible but we hope they are patient," said Pesin. "There should not be a rush, there should be a consensus."Pesin also remarked on the progress the public has made in this issue."At the end of February and March, when we started to contact state officials, they never showed any intention to hold a meeting," said Pesin. "I think they are now open to getting more public input." Tanya Chauhan was among the members who wrote to the state asking them to hold a hearing.Chauhan lives with her husband and daughter a few blocks from Liberty State Park. In an April 27 e-mail to the state, Chauhan mentioned that she was a "Jersey City resident, a 9/11 survivor, and a frequent user of Liberty State Park" who was "greatly disturbed at the plan for a hill in the front of the park."She added, "First the Twin Towers were taken away, and now the great view of downtown New York is being taken away."

Politicians ask, but state backs it

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy and State Assemblyman Louis Manzo (D-31st Dist.) also sent letters to Corzine addressing the need for a public meeting. As a result of the uproar over the lack of public input, Manzo drafted legislation to ensure that there will always be public meetings on any changes to a state park.DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson e-mailed a letter to Pesin on Thursday reiterating her support for the memorial to continue being built as planned. Jackson stated that "Based on my review of the process and the project design, I have decided to support the completion of the memorial as presently designed."Jackson pointed out that the day after the June 13 meeting, there was another meeting with a memorial committee of 9/11 survivors and families of victims to review the design, discuss the current status of construction, and gauge if family members willing to accept changes to the design.She states in the letter, "It was the consensus of those family members present that this project should move forward as designed and that they did not want to delay this Memorial to their loved ones and the many victims of September 11, 2001 any longer."Pesin took Jackson to task for making her decision before the public meeting takes place."The Friends formally disagrees with the commissioner's position is now asking the governor directly to listen to public input and reverse this decision," said Pesin. "Lisa Jackson's premature decision violates the spirit of democracy."

For more information on the meeting and about the memorial controversy, check www.folsp.org or call (201) 792-1993.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com