By Frank Gallagher, Claus Holzapfel and Jennifer Krumins
Liberty State Park is a globally visible, prime example of how a post-industrial landscape can be converted to open space. After approximately 50 years of development all of the major elements will be in place with restoration of the park’s interior section. This restoration has the opportunity to articulate in a concrete way the importance of urban ecology while honoring the site’s historic legacy.
This unique site can accomplish both, if planned for accordingly. The people of Jersey City and their long struggle to protect the park deserve such a plan.
Any plan for the interior should reflect two basic understandings.
First, that various plant communities have re-colonized much of the site. Like the surrounding community of people, these assemblages are diverse and have origins throughout the world. Hence, there is ecological and aesthetic value in some of the existing natural communities.
Secondly, the soils of the area consist of fill brought in by the railroad companies between 1860 and 1919 to stabilize the surface. It is classified as historic fill and has some limitations, but also has potential for use.
The problem with the proposed plan is not in what is being created but in how these elements connect and, most importantly, what is being lost. For example, the new plan calls for the creation of approximately 27 acres of freshwater wetlands. However, it also fills approximately 20 acres of existing wetlands. While there is no net loss, there is no real gain. Why not set an example of how to improve existing urban wetlands while creating new ones?
The landscape of the interior should also reflect the history of the park as well as foster a connection to the harbor/estuary. This loss of history could easily be remedied by designing a trail system that approached the site thematically. Several of the old railroad tracks could be rehabilitated and serve as walking or biking trails. The park’s Nature Center and the Liberty Science Center could be directly connected with a path that demonstrates the hydrologic cycle while smaller wildlife habitat-oriented trail could focus on the various natural communities. Why erase the site’s history?
The proposed conceptual plan calls for the creation of over 300 parking spaces to facilitate access. The question is, with over 2,000 parking spaces and the associated asphalt already existing, much of it within easy walking distance of the interior, why should critical green space be converted to parking? Maximizing green space over hardscape should be a priority.
Several people asked about the diversity of the plants and animals that currently exist in the interior section of the park during the public meeting. Basically one foot of clean fill will eliminate all forms of life that currently exist. This is an interesting position that results from the perception of risk rather than an understanding of the science. We have published over35 peer reviewed papers in various scientific journals documenting not only the diversity but also the productivity and most significantly the risk posed by the relatively high concentration of metals in the soil. The findings have helped to define what urban ecology is all about at an international level.
The site has become a leading example of what is now being called “4th Nature.” This kind of novel nature allows a plethora of uncommon flora and fauna to thrive, species that are typically not found in the metropolitan area. It is possible to save at least some of the existing habitats.
Finally, no mention was made of maintenance. The 14-acre Grove of Remembrance along Zapp Drive was completed in 2004. Since then, the maintenance of the 700 trees that were planted to honor the New Jersey victims of the 9/11 tragedy has been taken on by the NJ Tree Foundation. They have donated millions of dollars' worth of volunteer hours and materials to maintain the site. Without a significant increase in the operational budget of the park, the maintenance of 235 new acres of parkland will be impossible. The proposed plan with all new plantings for the entire site will take an incredible amount of maintenance. Conversely, the design could target the development of self-sustaining landscape that a 4th Nature approach would bring.
The proposed plan is solid and includes much needed elements. Liberty State Park and the people of Jersey City deserve a great plan one that honors the sites history while providing for a new ecological identity.
Frank Gallagher, Ph.D., is a former assistant director of the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry and now an associate professor and director of the Environmental Planning Program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Claus Holzapfel, Ph.D., is an associate professor and former chairman of the Federated Department of Biological Sciences at Rutgers, Newark. Jennifer Krumins, Ph.D., is an associate professor of biology at Montclair State University.
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