Today the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) joined forces with Save Sandy Hook — a grassroots group formed to preserve Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook — to oppose the proposal by Sandy Hook Partners to lease Fort Hancock from the National Park Service for an estimated 60-year term.
New Jersey is running out of natural areas and open spaces like Sandy Hook. Millions who visit the Hook every year, myself included, love it for its natural beauty. We cannot allow the Bush Administration to ruin one of central Jersey’s last remaining natural jewels.
Sandy Hook Partners hopes to execute a plan that would encompass anywhere from 32 to 78 buildings on the Fort Hancock portion of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The fort is a National Historic Landmark and the site of the country’s oldest operational lighthouse, the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Renovations would bring a bar and café, training and conference centers, and at least one bed-and-breakfast to one of the last uncommercialized stretches of land on the Jersey Shore. NJPIRG strongly opposes any efforts on the part of the National Park Service to enter into a privatization contract.
Business development would destroy the character of this rare jewel, a haven in densely developed central Jersey.
The proposed lease between the National Park Service and Sandy Hook Partners is expected to be signed this month. NJPIRG urges members of the public to contact the National Park Service right away and tell them to walk away from negotiations. Citizens can sign Save Sandy Hook’s online petition by going to www.SaveSandyHook.com, contact the National Park Service directly by e-mailing [email protected], or writing to the Northeast Region director at U.S. Custom House, 200 Chestnut St., 5th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
Sandy Hook is a wonderful place, enjoyed by millions every year who go there to enjoy its natural beaches and wildlife. The people of New Jersey have plenty of bars, restaurants, and hotels, but far too few places like Sandy Hook. We must preserve it.
Dena Mottola
New Jersey Public Interest
Research Group
Trenton