Iam writing in response to comments by Jim Fitzmaurice on my letter that appeared in the Aug. 9 issue regarding the financing of the Sandy Hook Partners’ (SHP) proposed development of Fort Hancock. I stand by my numbers, and they still don’t add up.
Assumptions had to be made about the proposed plan because SHP and the park service have not made the financing information publicly available.
Various news articles and Web sites report that the project will cost somewhere between $65 million and $85 million to renovate between 100 and 120 buildings, which Mr. Fitzmaurice characterized as “a few.”
In all likelihood the financing will not be acquired in one lump sum as Mr. Fitzmaurice points out, but does that matter? It still has to be paid back along with a large interest bill that must come from rent on the buildings at a rate not attainable from nonprofit occupants alone.
Mr. Fitzmaurice is right about one thing, and that is that I do have an agenda. It is to voice my opinion that what needs protecting is Sandy Hook’s uniqueness as an unspoiled, natural habitat for thousands of migrating birds and a wide variety of indigenous flora and fauna, not “a few” human-built structures that have little historic importance. The development – as best any citizen can tell from available public information – will also restrict access by the tax-paying owners of the property. If Mr. Fitzmaurice has more accurate numbers to the contrary, I hope he shares them with us.
Jennifer Francis
Middletown