The state Department of Environmental Protection Thursday announced plans for restoring and enhancing Liberty State Park, as well as expanding its amenities, including indoor and outdoor community spaces for year-round activity. The state park along the Hudson River has long been the subject of a back-and-forth between conservationists who want to keep the park free of large-scale construction and others who see it as ripe for development.
The state’s plans to revitalize Liberty State Park were released, at least in part, during a virtual conference hosted by Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.
“That includes first, the cleanup and restoration of the park’s long off-limit interior section; second, the design of active, outdoor public recreation amenities and arts and cultural spaces; and third, the development of a holistic master plan for the phased improvement of the park’s waterfront and southern end,” LaTourette said.
The People’s Park Foundation cheered the plans, but raised some concerns about flooding, saying in a statement, “We are concerned about plans to bring water into the interior of the park, which will exacerbate the existing flood risk and endanger nearby communities and residents.”
