FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2006
Contact:
Teresa Ruiz
973-621-4404
Anthony Puglisi
973-621-2542
ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES FOURTH YEAR OF
EXPANSION FOR PARKS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
29 Community Groups Collaborate with County to submit 32 Applications
Requesting a Record $20.5 million of Green Acres Funding
Roseland, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced on
Monday, April 10th that Essex County and its partner conservancies are submitting 32
applications to the New Jersey Green Acres Program that request a total of $20.5 million
in grants. This is the fourth consecutive year that the number of groups collaborating
with Essex County has increased and that the total grant amount being requested has
reached a record figure.
“Our partner agencies have stepped up to the plate and taken ownership of the parks in
their neighborhoods. With their help, we have received almost $30 million in Green
Acres funding to improve our parks and recreation facilities during the last three years.
Our children can play on new swings and slides, learn to play sports on modernized
fields, and our families can once again enjoy the vistas and open space in our parks.
This vital funding has allowed us to give our historic park system the attention it
deserves without placing a burden on our taxpayers,” DiVincenzo said. “Our
partnerships have renewed the interest and excitement about our Essex County Park
System and I am proud that our program continues to grow,” he noted.
“We have made major strides to revitalize our parks, but there is much more to be done.
I thank our community partners for their continued support and their ongoing
commitment to our parks and the community,” the County Executive added.
“This arrangement is unprecedented. Nowhere else in the State is there this kind of
partnership that we see here with the County and the public,” said New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner Jay Watson. “This kind
of partnership is fundamentally important to maintaining the quality of life in densely
populated communities,” he added.
During the past three years, DiVincenzo has been following through on an ambitious
initiative to revitalize the historic Essex County Park System, the first county park system
created in the United States. The grant applications are requesting funding to upgrade
recreation facilities, improve park land and acquire open space for a new park. These
include pruning trees and improving landscaping, upgrading park lighting and drainage
systems, modernizing baseball and soccer fields, installing new playgrounds, and
repairing basketball courts. Infrastructure projects include rebuilding the historic Octagon
Shelter in Branch Brook Park, creating additional artist studio space in Riker Hill Art
Park, upgrading the senior citizen building in Independence Park, and repairing bridges
in Eagle Rock Reservation. In addition, money is being requested to build a new Sea
Lion Exhibit and North American Wildlife Exhibit at Turtle Back Zoo, and acquire open
space off Brill Street in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood to create a new county park.
“I’m glad to be involved with this important project to make the parks better for
everyone,” Freeholder Vice President Patricia Sebold said. “Joe DiVincenzo cares about
the quality of life for the people of Essex County and he is making a positive impact by
improving the parks,” she added.
Twenty-three (23) of the 29 community groups have partnered with Essex County to
apply for Green Acres grants in the past. Six new partners are submitting grants for the
first time: the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee for Branch Brook Park,
the Council for the Arts of the Livingston Area, Inc. for Riker Hill Art Park, Above the
Rim, Inc. and the Jackie Robinson South Ward Little League for Weequahic Park, Eagle
Rock Reservation Conservancy for Eagle Rock Reservation, and the West Essex Park
Conservancy for West Essex Park. All of the groups are requesting $500,000 in each of
their applications. Essex County is submitting three applications on its own requesting a
total of $6 million: $3 million for a Multi-Park Improvement Grant for improvements to
urban parks, $1.5 million for a new Sea Lion Exhibit at Turtle Back Zoo and $1.5 million
to acquire open space in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood for a new county park. (See
the attached chart for a complete list of the applications being submitted.)
“Our parks are the County’s greatest asset. What Joe is doing is the greatest thing that
has happened to the County. It’s a model that counties and towns can follow about how
to get the community involved,” said Wally Choice of Montclair Grass Roots, which
submitted an application for improvements to Essex County’s Glenfield Park in
Montclair. “We went so long without any attention being given to the parks. It’s a
pleasure to be a part of what we are accomplishing today,” he added.
The Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee is participating in the partnership
program for the first time and submitted an application for improvements to Essex
County’s Branch Brook Park. “This is a great opportunity and a creative approach to
improve our historic park system,” said Douglas Eldridge, Executive Director of the
NPLC. “We have been concerned for the parks and now we seen new hope. We’re glad
to be partnering with the County Executive and all these groups,” he added.
The County Executive noted that the applications would be delivered to the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection by Friday, April 7th. The deadline for Green
Acres applications is Friday, April 14th.
DiVincenzo created the grassroots partnerships in 2003 as a way to maximize the
amount of Green Acres funding that the Essex County Park System was eligible to
receive. Partnerships were formed with 11 conservancies the first year and grew to 17
groups last year. To date, Essex County has been awarded an unprecedented $29.2
million in Green Acres grants.
Year
2003
2004
2005
Total
# of Groups
11
17
22
Total Grant Award
$6.9 million
$11.9 million
$10.4 million
$29.2 million
Another important partner has been the Essex County Open Space Trust Fund Advisory
Board, which has provided matching grants for the Green Acres awards.
Essex County’s Open Space and Recreation Master Plan recommends $125 million
worth of improvements are needed to restore the historic Essex County Park System to
its original luster and modernize its recreation facilities. The Master Plan provides a
comprehensive outline of improvements needed for every park and has been used as a
guide to identify projects that will be undertaken in the parks.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system
in the United States. It has been expanded to include more than 6,000 acres of land.
There are 17 parks, four reservations, a zoo, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three
public golf courses, golf driving range and miniature golf course.
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2006 Green Acres Applications
“Putting Essex County and Our Parks First”
Park, Non-Profit Group, Project Description, Request
Anderson Park, Green Fields Foundation, Trees and landscaping improvements, $500,000
Becker Park, Becker Park Conservancy, Fencing and drainage improvements, $500,000
Belleville Park, Essex County Parks Foundation, Lighting, landscaping and drainage improvements,
$500,000
Branch Brook Park, Branch Brook Park Alliance, Rebuild Octagon Shelter, $500,000
Newark Preservation & Landmark Comm., Rebuild Octagon Shelter , $500,000
North Ward Center, Rehabilitation of four baseball fields in Branch Brook Park Extension, $500,000
Roberto Clemente Little League, Rehabilitation of four baseball fields in Branch Brook Park Extension,
$500,000
Brookdale Park, Montclair United Soccer Club, Soccer field improvements, $500,000
Eagle Rock Reservation, Eagle Rock Reservation Conservancy, Inc., Repair four bridges, upgrade
drainage and landscaping, restore meadow, $500,000
Glenfield Park, Montclair Grass Roots, New playgrounds, field restoration, drainage and pathway
improvements, $500,000
Grover Cleveland Park, Grover Cleveland Park Conservancy, Continued park and pond improvements,
$500,000
Independence Park, Down Neck Sports Community Group, Baseball scoreboards, senior citizen building
upgrades, $500,000
Irvington Park, Irvington Amateur Radio Team, Lighting and pond house improvements and pond
stabilization, $500,000
Ivy Hill Park, Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association, Drainage, back wall and various park improvements,
$500,000
Riker Hill Art Park, Council for the Arts of the Livingston Area, Inc., Upgrade and add studio space, improve
lighting, add plantings, $500,000
Riverbank Park, SPARK, Installation of synthetic grass surface on baseball field, $500,000
South Mountain Reservation, South Mountain Conservancy-Friends of Essex County Parks, New
plantings, tree replacement, meadow restoration, drainage upgrades, $500,000
Turtle Back Zoo, Zoological Society of New Jersey, New Sea Lion and North American Wildlife Exhibits,
$500,000
Essex County, New Sea Lion Exhibit, $1,500,000
Vailsburg Park, New Canaan Community Development Corporation, Building restoration and park
revitalization, $500,000
Verona Park, Verona Park Conservancy, Continued park improvements, $500,000
Watsessing Park, Watsessing Park Conservancy, Continued park improvements, $500,000
Weequahic Park, Above the Rim, Inc., Refurbish basketball courts, installation of synthetic grass on
baseball field, $500,000
Jackie Robinson South Ward Little League, Refurbish basketball courts, installation of synthetic grass on
baseball field, $500,000
West Essex Park, West Essex Park Conservancy, Landscape and drainage improvements, $500,000
West Side Park, West Side Park Conservancy, Continued complete rehabilitation of West Side Park,
$500,000
United Community Corporation, Continued complete rehabilitation of West Side Park, $500,000
Boys & Girls Club of Newark, Continued complete rehabilitation of West Side Park, $500,000
Tri-City Peoples Corporation, Continued complete rehabilitation of West Side Park, $500,000
Acquisition (Newark), Essex County, Essex County Riverfront and Recreation Facility acquisition,
$1,500,000
Acquisition (Newark), Ironbound Community Corporation, Acquire open space in Ironbound neighborhood,
$500,000
Multi-Park Improvements, Essex County, Urban park improvements, $3,000,000
TOTAL, $20.5 million
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