On Jan. 15, the State House Commission will vote on the sellout of Liberty State Park

Liberty State Park belongs to all of us — not to yacht owners, not to private developers, and certainly not to Suntex. This is our people’s park. For decades, this park has been under constant attack from those who want to privatize and commercialize it. But the latest scheme — a massive warehouse for millionaires’ yachts — is one of the worst in the park’s history.

What makes this proposal even more shameful is that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is backing it, and Commissioner Shawn LaTourette is trying to push it through. The DEP is supposed to be the steward of our public land, not a broker for private corporations. Its job is to protect Liberty State Park — not sell it out.

Now they are trying to ram this deal through during the lame-duck period. Governor Murphy, in his final days, is pushing this shameful warehouse deal. There are plenty of places to build warehouses, but there is only one Liberty State Park.

A dirty deal, rushed through in the dark

On January 15, the State House Commission is meeting to vote on whether to authorize this disastrous project. We need the governor and the DEP commissioner to take it off the agenda, or we need the commission to block it.

At the meeting, the DEP will try to get the state to sign off on a 60-year lease that would allow Suntex to build:

• A 75-foot-high industrial warehouse
• With 500 dry racks for storing luxury yachts
• On three acres of precious parkland along Audrey Zapp Drive
• At the northern entrance of Liberty State Park

This land belongs to the people, not to Suntex’s million-dollar yacht customers.

We must call on Governor Murphy to block this deal and stop the DEP from undermining the incoming administration. Governor-elect Sherrill and her future DEP commissioner should be allowed to decide the fate of Liberty State Park, not have it carved up on their first day.

A national treasure — not an industrial zone

Liberty State Park is a symbol of our freedom and our democracy. Named for the Statue of Liberty, it serves as a gateway to the United States and welcomes more than five million visitors each year from every community, background, and corner of the world. It is one of the most diverse and beloved parks in America.

Liberty State Park is the gateway to America. This is a park — not an industrial park.

Industrial land in Jersey City sells for $12.8 million per acre. That means the land Suntex wants to take — about three acres for the warehouse plus the ten acres they already control — is worth more than $165 million. If this were private property, they would be paying more than $3.7 million a year in taxes.

Instead, the state is preparing to hand over priceless public land for pennies and allow it to be desecrated by a private warehouse the public will never use.

A 40-year battle to protect the people’s park

For more than four decades, New Jersey residents have fought again and again to keep Liberty State Park public, open, and free. We have defeated proposals for water parks, golf courses, amphitheaters, hotels, a Formula 1 racetrack, and many other inappropriate developments.

Now the threat is a yacht warehouse — a massive industrial box that has no place in a state park.

This warehouse would destroy the park’s character, violate its history, and permanently alter its openness. It would also violate a 1990 National Park Service ruling that limited development on this land to a half-acre because it was purchased with federal Land and Water Conservation Fund money designated for public outdoor recreation.

We didn’t stop a billionaire’s golf course only to allow a million-dollar yacht warehouse.

This deal is illegal, immoral, and indefensible.

Blood money and blackmail

Suntex is trying to buy public approval with a $30 million offer for the marina bulkhead, something they already benefit from and should pay for without any quid pro quo.

They are also holding ten acres of public lawn hostage, land that was wrongly included in their 1987 lease and should have been returned to the people years ago.

If Suntex refuses to give back this land unless they get their warehouse, then the DEP should use eminent domain and take it back. The public should not be blackmailed into surrendering parkland for a private corporation’s profit.

A violation of the public trust

New Jersey’s Public Trust Doctrine is clear: public land is held in trust by the government for the people.

John Muir said it best: “The government is the trustee for the people of the nation in all public matters.”

Commissioner LaTourette and the DEP must uphold that duty, not violate it.

We must stop this deal now

Liberty State Park is our Yellowstone, our national park in the heart of an urban landscape. It is irreplaceable. It is sacred. And once it is lost, it is lost forever.

The people of New Jersey must speak out and stop this warehouse:

• Call Governor Murphy and tell him to block this dirty deal
• Demand the DEP reject the warehouse and return all 10 acres to the public
• Show up and speak out on January 15 before the State House Commission
• Tell Suntex: no more blackmail, no more giveaways, no more privatization and industrialization

Liberty State Park is our park — the people’s park. We must not allow this dirty deal to happen or allow a mega yacht warehouse to be built on public land.