Court approves complaint amendment in fort suit

BY LIZ SHEEHAN Correspondent

BY LIZ SHEEHAN
Correspondent

Save Sandy Hook (SSH), a grassroots local organization founded to block the commercial development of historic Fort Hancock, has been given the green light to proceed with an amended complaint aimed at overturning a 60-year lease granted by the National Park Service to James Wassel, a Rumson developer, for at least 36 buildings at the fort.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary L. Cooper has approved the request by SSH for permission to file an amended complaint.

In July, Cooper issued a decision dismissing a suit filed by SSH and Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater, an environmental group formerly based at Fort Hancock, that sought to block the Wassel lease.

The judge said that the two organizations had not proved they had standing in the case.

“Assertions of a generalized and alleged violation …,” the judge said in her opinion, “does not communicate how the plaintiffs have been individually injured by the defendant’s action.”

Cooper gave the plaintiffs 60 days to appeal her decision. When the appeal was delayed because of a change in lawyers by SSH, a new extension was granted.

Lawrence Luttrell, Atlantic Highlands, the attorney now representing SSH, has drawn up an amended complaint that he said had three separate counts: the violation of the National Historic Preservation Act, the violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, and the violation of the acts establishing the national parks and Gateway National Recreation Area, which includes Sandy Hook, where Fort Hancock is located.

Wassel’s plan calls for renovations of the fort’s buildings and use of them for restaurants, overnight accommodations, offices, conference centers and educational and environmental facilities.

The park service chose Wassel’s proposal in 2000 and since then has given him a series of extensions to prove he has the financial ability to carry out the project.

In September, Palisades Financial, based in Fort Lee, said that it would provide funds for the project, but Billy Procida, the CEO of the company, later said it would hold off until after the legal matters are settled. He said, “We have to wait until the appeal is over.”

The controversial proposal has attracted supporters who say that the park service does not have funds for the renovations and so it must turn to private investors, and opponents who say that the commercial development will harm the unique atmosphere at Sandy Hook and worsen the already bad traffic conditions in the surrounding towns created by the park.

Supporters include some local and state elected officials, the Monmouth County Planning Board and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Opponents also include some local and state elected officials, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), the N.J. Environmental Federation, the N.J. Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the N.J. Public Interest Group (PIRG).