SaveSandyHook.org News Archive is a central repository for news and information concerning Sandy Hook and it's proposed future development.
This section is an archive of press releases from Save Sandy Hook (inc) that have appeared in print and online press.
July 6th, 2008
National Park Service's
...sixth extension to
Sandy Hook Partners...
defies comprehension.
February 29th, 2008
Save Sandy Hook files appeal of federal judge ruling
September 18th, 2007
Save Sandy Hook...proposal overly commercial for Fort Hancock
September 7th, 2007
SAVE SANDY HOOK
SAVE OUR BRIDGE
FUND RAISER
SEPTEMBER 23,2007
July 30th, 2007
"this investigation will shed some light on why the agreement was signed in the first place"
July 13th, 2007
Developer must wait until lawsuit is settled, opponents state
June 30th, 2007
ASBURY PARK PRESS...time for Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.,to demand a federal investigation.
January 16th, 2007
Sandy Hook's superintendent...
seven years of misinformation...
misleading comments...Highlands-Sea Bright drawbridge.
December 5th, 2006
Claim lease deal violates U.S. law,National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Park Service Organic Act
September 24th, 2006
Mary A. Bomar, who has been nominated to head the National Park Service....
before she is confirmed...it's time for Bomar and the park service to explain why Wassel has been cut so much slack.
September 6th, 2006
Save Sandy Hook ...fundraiser at my Middletown home Sept.10 ...opposing... privatization commercialization plan.
August 15th, 2006
a fund raiser to help
SAVE SANDY HOOK
"JAZZ ON THE NAVESINK"
featuring Leif Arntzen & Company
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2006
August 12th, 2006
To help Save Sandy Hook
and/or for more information,
please send an email to
SHSBULLETIN@aol.com
or
CJDiBalm@aol.com
OR
write to
SAVE SANDY HOOK
at
Save Sandy Hook Corp.
P O Box 7547
Shrewsbury, NJ 07702-7547
August 11th, 2006
CONTACT US AT
SAVE SANDY HOOK
P O BOX 7547
SHREWSBURY, NJ 07702-7547
December 2nd, 2005
I'm pretty sure Congress never envisioned a day when we would be privatizing national parks," when it set up the guidelines that allowed for this proposal, the judge speculated.
Clearwater Gains Right To Join Suit Against Lease of Fort Hancock
October 17th, 2005
SAVE SANDY HOOK AND CLEARWATER
ATTACK GOVERNMENT FLIP-FLOP
October 11th, 2005
SAVE SANDY HOOK AND CLEARWATER
ATTACK GOVERNMENT FLIP-FLOP
August 18th, 2005
CLEARWATER TO JOIN SUIT TO BLOCK DEVELOPMENT ON SANDY HOOK
Environmental group will ask court to allow it to join other plaintiffs
July 7th, 2005
July 7, 2005
ASBURY PARK PRESS EDITORIAL
"the plan runs counter to the park service's mission to preserve the natural environment of public lands"
July 6th, 2005
Paul P. Josephson, an attorney for Save Sandy Hook, expressed disapproval that this makes a seventh extension granted to the developer
July 3rd, 2005
If this application went before a local planning board, it would undoubtedly be turned down for insufficient data.
July 1st, 2005
KEEP PARKLAND FOR PUBLIC USE
The unique value of Sandy Hook lies in the spectacular land itself.
September 20th, 2004
I will file a civil action on behalf of Save Sandy Hook in federal District Court seeking an injunction to block work on the redevelopment project and cancel the lease, said Paul J. Josephson, of the law firm Hill Wallack, Trenton. "We demand the NPS cancel its lease with the private developer immediately," said Paul P. Josephson, who also called on the state’s "entire Congressional delegation...
September 18th, 2004
National Park Service representatives will attend a forum Saturday 18th September to disuss plans for the redevelopment of Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook. The forum, to be held at 2 p.m. at Fort Hancock's Post Theatre.
Residents deserve open, honest answers.
They should head to Fort Hancock tomorrow and demand them.
August 13th, 2004
Save Sandy Hook (SSH) put the National Park Service on notice last week that it will bring suit in federal court to challenge a lease for historic buildings at Fort Hancock signed by the agency and a private developer.
July 15th, 2004
Pallone is scheduled to meet with members of Save Sandy Hook, a grassroots organization that was formed to oppose the development and any commercialization of Sandy Hook, to examine options and to address the NPS' handling of the process which, he said, was "plagued by ... unwillingness to provide all information to the public."
May 31st, 2004
The developer, The Wassel Realty Group, must show proof of funding for the entire amount of the project by June 30, 2004.
PETITION DRIVE at Sandy Hook - This weekend (June 26-27). See the relevent articles in the "What others Are Saying" Section.
May 13th, 2004
To all those that attended, donated to and worked so hard to make Save Sandy Hook's May 1, 2004 first Fundraiser a very successful event, the Board of Trustees extends their sincere appreciation and many thanks for your efforts to help save sandy hook.
March 17th, 2004
RESOLUTION PASSED: March 17, 2004
Borough of Highlands, NJ resolution opposing the National Park Service Plan to lease Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook for private and commercial enterprise.
February 23rd, 2004
RESOLUTION PASSED: February 23, 2004
Holmdel Township, NJ resolution opposing the National Park Service Plan to lease Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook for private and commercial enterprise.
October 25th, 2003
The citizens' organization Save Sandy Hook held its first annual meeting this week, and reelected Mrs. Judith Stanley Coleman of Middletown as chairwoman and Ben Forest of Red bank as vice chairman.
October 15th, 2002
The citizens' organization that recently formed to oppose the proposed commercialization of Fort Monmouth at Sandy Hook announced today that it is adopting the mission statement of the National Park Service (NPS) as its own, in fighting the NPS privatization plan.
January 16th, 1995
Sandy Hook's superintendent...
seven years of misinformation...
misleading comments about...Highlands-Sea Bright drawbridge
January 16th, 1995
Park Service misleads on fort project, bridge plan
This section is an archive of news articles about Sandy Hook that have appeared in print and online press.
July 8th, 2008 : PETER P. O'SUCH , ASBURY PARK PRESS
"park service IGNORED...mandatory requirement..to obtain adequate funding..."
July 7th, 2008 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
"citizens we have the right to hold our government's feet to the fire and to do the right thing..."
"this is at least the sixth or seventh extension granted the developer
...(NPS) shouldn't have given the lease out without the financing up front..."
July 6th, 2008 : EDITORIAL, ASBURY PARK PRESS
National Park Service's..sixth extension to Sandy Hook Partners..defies comprehension.
July 1st, 2008 : KEVIN PENTON, ASBURY PARK PRESS
SAVE SANDY HOOK...is challenging the use of private development to restore a public location....
June 3rd, 2008 : PETER O'SUCH, ASBURY PARK PRESS
public, rightful owners...park service...ignored its own regulations... viable lease...public, rightful owners
May 23rd, 2008 : Muriel J. Smith, TWO RIVER TIMES
opposed by citizens' group, Save Sandy Hook,and Friends of Clearwater..PRIVATE developer lease at least 36 buildings in the former Fort Hancock
May 11th, 2008 : KEVIN PENTON, ASBURY PARK PRESS
"With the case still unresolved...
developer...wants to begin making money."
April 25th, 2008 : Peter P. O'Such Jr., TOPIC OF THE DAY: Sandy Hook ASBURY PARK PRESS
estuarine land isn't being made any more....Once you develop coastal lands, they are gone forever.....
February 29th, 2008 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
Save Sandy Hook files appeal of ruling by federal judge
February 5th, 2008 : Peter P. O'Such Jr. , ASBURY PARK PRESS
Charges of Park Service procurement wrongdoing remain unanswered and unrefuted
January 31st, 2008 : Peter P. O'Such Jr. , HUB
Fort Hancock never been subjected to the scrutiny of the courts
November 29th, 2007 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
Park Superintendent says developer has until June to show financing
September 28th, 2007 : TWO RIVER TIMES, Elaine Van Develde
"Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Proving Ground Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark
September 26th, 2007 : LIZ SHEEHAN, INDEPENDENT
"arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or not otherwise in accordance with law."
September 25th, 2007 : TERRY GAUTHIER MUESSIG, Asbury Park Press
Citizens for Rational Coastal Development,Save Sandy Hook, battling redevelopment at that national park.
September 22nd, 2007 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
"It's fundamentally the wrong thing to do out there."
Save Sandy Hook...will appeal the decision rendered by U.S. District Court...concern for fragile ecology,publicly owned parklands signed over to a private developer
September 19th, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, ASBURY PARK PRESS
U.S. Department of the Interior investigates the validity of the lease agreement
September 19th, 2007 : EDITORIAL, Asbury Park Press
lease agreement..runs counter to
..commercial uses on public lands..
adverse impact on..public
September 15th, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, ASBURY PARK PRESS
"hopeful that investigation will shed some light on...agreement was signed ...had not proven the requisite financing"
September 14th, 2007 : Peter P. O'Such Jr., TOPIC OF THE DAY Asbury Park Press
Fort Hancock becoming a popular conference center must be considered DOA
September 14th, 2007 : EDITORS, ASBURY PARK PRESS
larger bridge would facilitate development on Sandy Hook...bridge can be repaired for far less money.....
September 7th, 2007 : Jennifer Francis, HUB
SHP and the park service have not made the financing information publicly available.
August 27th, 2007 : John Chimento, ASBURY PARK PRESS
traffic jams created when Sandy Hook closes its gates
August 17th, 2007 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
commercialization of lands held by the federal government for public trust...area residents and environmental activists have opposed the lease agreement...
August 16th, 2007 : HUB
Group asks court to wait for results of gov't investigation
August 13th, 2007 : Tara K. Ryan, TOPIC OF THE DAY - Asbury Park Press
Better signs would help traffic...
Sandy Hook parking lots were full...
simple, less expensive obvious solution
August 13th, 2007 : ALISON HERGET, Asbury Park Press
project will overcommercialize the property
August 9th, 2007 : Jennifer Francis, PHD, HUB - LETTERS
SHP will have to pay over $600,000 per month from rent on the buildings... unlikely,if not impossible,this kind of revenue can be generated from the education and conservation-oriented organizations
August 6th, 2007 : Peter P. O’Such, Jr, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
Any hope of Ft. Hancock becoming a popular conferencing center must be considered “DOA”,
August 6th, 2007 : P. Stilwell, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
Highlands - Sea Bright Bridge is Not Worst Bridge in the State-
Janet Peterson, PhD
August 4th, 2007 : Jennifer Francis, Ph.D., TWO RIVER TIMES
...$600,000 per month from rent on the buildings
August 3rd, 2007 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
selling off and the commercialization of public lands
August 2nd, 2007 : EDITORIAL, Asbury Park Press
lawsuit...failed to demonstrate.. financial resources,counter to the park service's mission, violates federal law
August 2nd, 2007 : - Gloria Stravelli, hub
funding is one of numerous pivotal shortcomings...public has the right know
August 2nd, 2007 : Peter P. O’Such, Jr, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
DOI (DEPT. OF INTERIRO INSPECTOR GENERAL)...attempt to narrow the scope...to “lack of funding.”
August 1st, 2007 : George Moffatt, Asbury Park Press
Park service officials...less than honest as they press to privatize and commercialize Fort Hancock
July 31st, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, Asbury Park Press
"potential for a conflict of interest in an investigation by the Inspector"
July 30th, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, Asbury Park Press
Unlike at Fort Hancock, the Park Service in the past year has required proof of financing
July 14th, 2007 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
Developer must wait until lawsuit is settled, opponents state
July 14th, 2007 : Peter P. O'Such, Asbury Park Press
"answers are within the public domain should be released for all to review"
July 13th, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, ASBURY PARK PRESS
filed for an injunction...bar any work on the buildings
July 12th, 2007 : HUB
"the National Park Service should have never signed this lease agreement"
July 12th, 2007 : Matt Lynch, TWO RIVER TIMES
Citizen group joins in challenging Highlands bridge decision
July 11th, 2007 : Asbury Park Press EDITORIAL
review should not be done by anyone connected with the Department of Interior
July 8th, 2007 : Patricia A. Stilwell, Asbury Park Press
trendsetter for national parks
..Highlands-Sea Bright bridge replacement..dangerous..fly in the face of endangered species,environmental issues.
July 8th, 2007 :
lawsuit came more than four years after the decision...Wassel didn't have firm evidence of backing, partners,usage in his proposal...still doesn't today.
July 6th, 2007 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
In September 2004...Save Sandy Hook...
filed a federal lawsuit...fifth or sixth extension the NPS Sandy Hook Partners
July 5th, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, Asbury Park Press
Fort Baker..prove to the federal government they had the money to do the job.
July 4th, 2007 : LIZ SHEEHAN, HUB
Lawrence Lutrell,attorney for SSH...
to seek the injunction to stop the work
July 4th, 2007 : LIZ SHEEHAN, HUB
Sea Bright and Highlands have passed resolutions opposing the bridge's replacement
July 3rd, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, Asbury Park Press
Rep. Frank J. Pallone Jr.,D-N.J., wants U.S. Department of the Interior to investigate controversial lease agreement
July 3rd, 2007 : REP. FRANK PALLONE, ASBURY PARK PRESS
investigate a lease agreement that was signed three years ago between the National Park Service (NPS) and Sandy Hook Partners
July 1st, 2007 : Sunday Letters to the Press
Sandy Hook and the shoreline are New Jersey's most valuable resources
June 30th, 2007 : EDITIORS, ASBURY PARK PRESS
APP...."demand a federal investigation."
June 29th, 2007 : KEVIN PENTON, ASBURY PARK PRESS
Wassel never turned in loan documents to the federal government
June 30, 2008, to provide the federal government with loan documents
June 28th, 2007 : LIZ SHEEHAN, hub
NPS allows developer to work on historic buildings
Why is developer at work on Sandy Hook?
letters/oped
Peter O'Such
June 28th, 2007 : LIZ SHEEHAN, hub
hub Letters June 28, 2007
Public opposition high to new Highlands span
Nick Evangelista
June 27th, 2007 : JOE REYNOLDS, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge is the gateway to Sandy Hook...grass-roots group... to fight for this landmark.
June 23rd, 2007 : Matt Lynch, TWO RIVER TIMES
"..deviation between the original goals for the park when created - wildlife refuge and outdoor recreation,"Lawrence Luttrell, who represents Save Sandy Hook
June 22nd, 2007 : TERRY GAUTHIER MUESSIG, Asbury Park Press
Judith Stanley Coleman...the bridge would make it easier for developers to redevelop Sandy Hook.
June 20th, 2007 : EDITOR, Asbury Park Press
why isn't the National Park Service putting that work out to bid instead?
developer...shouldn't be involved in any...work until the court case is resolved.
June 15th, 2007 : Matt Lynch, TWO RIVER TIMES
"structure..some 30 feet higher..Citizens for Rational Coastal Development to fight construction of a fixed-span structure"
June 15th, 2007 : Matt Lynch, TWO RIVER TIMES
"...legal challenger Save Sandy Hook, the project is referred to as "a thinly disguised corporate office park."
"...financial details private, even from open public record requests"
June 11th, 2007 : EDITORS, Asbury Park Press
Highlands and Sea Bright councils should go to court to stave off the wrecking ball...unconscionable...hasn't justified the need for the planned replacement bridge to be more than double the current height
June 8th, 2007 : Matt Lynch, TWO RIVER TIMES
borough...to partner with Citizens for Rational Coastal DevelopmenT opposition group based in Highlands
May 21st, 2007 : PAM BELLUCK, NEW YORK TIMES
Sandy Hook..environmentally essential sand dunes..value per acre per year, $42,000.
May 9th, 2007 : TIMOTHY WILLIAMS, NEW YORK TIMES
threatened species...330 species of birds,peregrine falcons,71 species of butterflies,piping plovers, terns, diamondback terrapins
April 30th, 2007 : PEER, PEER - PUBLIC EMPLOYEES for ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
“employee satisfaction and engagement.. BLM (BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT) ranked 157th, the National Park Service ranked 160th and the Interior Solicitor’s Office ranked 218th.
January 22nd, 2007 : LIZ SHEEHAN, HUB
arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or not otherwise in accordance with law...appeal would be filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
December 21st, 2006 : LIZ SHEEHAN, HUB
Wassel proposal...will damage the unique environment of Sandy Hook and add more traffic to the already overcrowded roads
December 20th, 2006 : Donna O’Callaghan Betty Buchanan, HUB
what the DOT did was illegal...
Protect history when it’s mine, he... (WELLS)...says, but demolish it when it’s my neighbor’s.
December 14th, 2006 : GEORGE MOFFATT, ASBURY PARK PRESS
5,036 cars are permitted at the Hook...
17 percent reduction in recreational parking would bar 3,348 BEACHGOERS
December 13th, 2006 : Dean Benson, HUB
(NPS SUPERINTENDENT) Wells...for demolishing the historic bridge down the street...better traffic flow to his own facility
December 12th, 2006 : EDITORIAL, ASBURY PARK PRESS EDITORIAL
redevelopment deal violates the National Historic Preservation Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Park Service Organic Act
December 12th, 2006 : George Moffatt, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
NPS’s questionable privatization and commercialization plan.
17 per cent reduction in recreational parking would bar 3,348 beachgoers a day
December 12th, 2006 : Patricia A. Stilwell, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
National Park Service’s Superintendent Wells...wants the HISTORIC HIGHLANDS BRIDGE torn down
December 7th, 2006 : Chris Francy, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
Sandy Hook still won't have enough parking on a hot summer day and Rt 36 thru Sea Bright still will only have one lane
December 6th, 2006 : Peter P. O’Such, Jr., ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
Sandy Hook Partners still lacks the financial capacity
December 5th, 2006 : Kevin Penton, Asbury Park Press
Claim lease deal violates U.S. law,
National Historic Preservation Act, National Environmental Policy AcT,National Park Service Organic Act
November 30th, 2006 : BY LIZ SHEEHAN, HUB
Would add violations of historic preservation, environmental acts
November 9th, 2006 : George Moffatt, TWO RIVER TIMES
protect all our parks from being invaded by businesses, including all of Sandy Hook
October 26th, 2006 : LIZ SHEEHAN, hub
Plaintiffs in suit have retained new counsel...U.S. District Court has given ...extension of time...to appeal
October 17th, 2006 : Peter P. O'Such Jr., ASBURY PARK PRESS
Irregularities sully agreement
Sandy Hook Partners
October 2nd, 2006 : PETER P. O'SUCH, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
Sandy Hook Partner’s..financing..
made known..7 years too late.....
September 26th, 2006 : CAROLE BALMER - OPINION, Atlantic Highlands Herald
Concerns about Bomer as Head of National Park Service....flawed procedures for the review...under the watch of the Northeast Regional Director Mary A. Bomer
September 25th, 2006 : Kurt Repanshek, NATIONAL PARKS TRAVELER
Mary Bomar's nomination as the next director of the National Park Service...
explain(ing) why the park service has granted James Wassel seven extensions to obtain financing for the project
September 24th, 2006 : ASBURY PARK PRESS EDITORIAL, Asbury Park Press
Bomar...has promised transparency in her stewardship of the agency...
before she is confirmed... explain(ing) why the park service has granted James Wassel seven extensions
September 14th, 2006 : DAN AND PATTY CHASEY, HUB
the trade is the environment for some buildings.
September 13th, 2006 : GLORIA STRAVELLI, HUB
Save Sandy Hook (SSH) raised more than $18,000
September 7th, 2006 : Danny and Patty Chasey, Atlanticville
we cannot afford both...let the environment stay ...let the buildings go.
August 10th, 2006 : LIZ SHEEHAN, HUB
proposal does not fit in with the goals used for the establishment of national parks.
two grassroots organizations that sued the National Park Service..."are planning to go ahead" on an appeal of a decision
August 7th, 2006 : PETER P. O'SUCH, ASBURY PARK PRESS
Why should taxpayers subsidize a developer to take an asset away from the public for 60 years?
August 4th, 2006 : CAROLE BALMER, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
In light of the insufficient notice, the misleading link...an extension for the comment period is appropriate.
August 3rd, 2006 : JOE REYNOLDS, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
Although the deadline of July 30 has passed, I encourage you to continue to send your comments to these email addresses.......
August 3rd, 2006 :
... It certainly doesn't set the record straight on what the environmental concerns are...doesn't set the record straight on the traffic concerns...
August 2nd, 2006 : ASBURY PARK PRESS EDITORIAL, ASBURY PARK PRESS
"..the general public, will be harmed by this plan because it fails to ensure that taxpayer-owned federal park land is preserved for the use and enjoyment of the public."
"....U.S. District Judge Mary L. Cooper's decision acknowledged many of the concerns raised by Save Sandy Hook."
August 1st, 2006 : P.A. Stilwell, Asbury Park Press
If this park tumbles into developers' control, will the other national parks be far behind?
July 27th, 2006 : CAROLE BALMER, Atlantic Highlands Herald
all the Hook's species.....are endangered/threatened by placing public lands in private hands
July 20th, 2006 : GEORGE MOFFATT, hub
.... Sandy Hook is home to more than 300 species of wildlife, some endangered, the NPS has refused to do an environmental impact study .....
July 18th, 2006 : THE EDITORS, ASBURY PARK PRESS
The plan is neither workable nor in the best interests of preserving a precious resource.
July 14th, 2006 : TWO RIVER TIMES
"the process...was fatally flawed, violating several federal statutes and National Park Service regulations"
July 13th, 2006 : GEORGE MOFFATT, Asbury Park Press
It's time the Park Service refocused on conservation and recreation.
Park Service has refused to do an environmental impact study of its commercialization plan
July 3rd, 2006 : PETER P. O'SUCH, ASBURY PARK PRESS
....government is seeking to dismiss Save Sandy Hook's complaint
June 22nd, 2006 : Peter O'Such, the hub
NPS proposal for Fort Hancock is
flawed, flawed, flawed.
June 15th, 2006 : LIZ SHEEHAN, ATLANTICVILLE
Judge Mary Little Cooper of the United States District Court will determine if ....groups seeking to nullify a lease ...to a private developer will proceed in that court
June 15th, 2006 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
grant Wassel's group use of a minimum of 36 buildings for educational and commercial use for 60 years...we have a project that is being proposed here that will have detrimental effects
June 9th, 2006 : JANEEN JONES, ASBURY PARK PRESS
the lease does not ensure the preservation of historic property, violates federal law by leasing them for less than fair market...the National Environmental Policy Act...National Historic Preservation Act
June 1st, 2006 : PETER O'SUCH, HUB - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Let's hope that our U.S. Federal District Court system recognizes
that national park land belongs to us, the people
March 25th, 2006 : Joe Reynolds, Atlantic Highlands Herald
The Piping Plover....species has suffered greatly due to...development...the task to set aside places for small, sensitive birds
March 24th, 2006 : JUDITH STANLEY COLEMAN, ATLANTICVILLE
"14,000 acres of federal and state-owned land in Monmouth County are at risk...Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook...danger of privatization and commercialization"
March 9th, 2006 : PETER P. O'SUCH, ASBURY PARK PRESS
plan must be in keeping with the original Park Service mission statement to protect and preserve national park land
February 27th, 2006 : NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL, NEW YORK TIMES
air quality and wilderness are especially at risk
underfinancing the parks could create the necessary cover for opening the parks to more commercial activity
February 20th, 2006 : ASBURY PARK PRESS
Waived U.S. fees
"public is being told that the federal government cannot...fund our national park system "
Write your federal representatives
February 6th, 2006 : NPCA - PRESS RELEASE
$100-million budget cut likely means that Americans will pay higher entrance fees.......
cuts overall funding for national parks by $100.4 million......
February 3rd, 2006 : NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL, NRDC PRESS RELEASE
SAFEGUARDS PROTECTING OUR HEALTH AND OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN CUT .....
MOST DRASTIC CUTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND, WHICH CREATES PARKS AND PROTECTS WILDERNESS AREAS......
OUR NATION'S WILDLIFE AND WILD PLACES AREAS ARE IRREPLACEABLE.....
STOP SHORTCHANGING IMPORTANT WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS THAT BENEFIT US ALL......
February 2nd, 2006 : GEORGE MOFFATT, ASBURY PARK PRESS
"Jersey Shore Partners......tout tourism when pillaging the public trough.........privatization deal ...
eliminate(s) up to 1,813 beachfront (public) parking spaces..."
January 20th, 2006 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
"U.S. Attorney's Office......filed a 40-page motion with the United State District Court.....seeking to have the suit filed by members of Save Sandy Hook dismissed."
January 19th, 2006 : Liz Sheehan, hub
Judith Stanley Coleman said the commercial development of Sandy Hook was “exactly” what President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir “tried to guard against
January 1st, 2006 : Ed Dlugosz, the hub
The national parks were set aside for citizens like you
December 30th, 2005 : EDITORIAL, NEW YORK TIMES
If Congress wants to help the chronically underfinanced national parks, the answer is simple. Send money, and leave them alone.
December 29th, 2005 : Ed Dlugosz, ATLANTICVILLE
"visions of commercial development
have remained only in developers’imaginations — until now.”
December 16th, 2005 : Guest Column Patricia A. Stilwell, Editorials Your Turn hub December 15, 2005
These new constructions and additions are for the developer.....control....
of our national park for 60 years.
December 15th, 2005 : Patricia A. Stilwell, Asbury Park Press TOPIC OF THE DAY
parks are geologic gems set aside for the public to use and enjoy
Rep. Richard Pombo of California wants to sell off land from a minimum of 14 national parks to developers
December 13th, 2005 : GEORGE MOFFATT, COMMENTARY - ASBURY PARK PRESS
....."we lose 2,749 recreational parking spaces....."
....."could total 10,996 citizens being barred from their beaches."
December 12th, 2005 : see below, The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees
Beginning in 1918, when Director Stephen Mather drafted NPS policy subsequently signed by Interior Secretary Lane (often referred to as the "Lane Letter"), policy has undergone periodic revision, while remaining consistent in its intent to implement the Organic Act and subsequent legislation to ASSURE THAT PARKS ARE LEFT UNIMPAIRED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
December 11th, 2005 : Peter P. O'Such Jr., Letters to the Editor Asbury Park Press
Nov. 30 -
U.S. District Judge John H. Hughes.
"I'm pretty sure,
Congress never envisioned
a day when we would be
privatizing national parks."
December 10th, 2005 : Peter P. O’Such. Jr., Atlantic Highlands Herald
Judge Hughes, after hearing pretrial motions stated:
“I’m pretty sure Congress never envisioned a day when we would be privatizing national parks…”
December 9th, 2005 : Joe Reynolds, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
Sandy Hook Bay watershed region are harsh places to live.
the vast forests of cedar that once sheltered the Bayshore region have been largely wiped out due to human development activities
the Raritan Bay estuary used to be dense, expansive stands of Eastern Red Cedar and within wetlands were dense, sizeable acres of Atlantic White Cedar trees.
December 8th, 2005 : BY LIZ SHEEHAN Correspondent, Atlanticville December 8, 2005 Front Page
Monmouth County Friends of
Clearwater (MCFC) to join other plaintiffs in a suit seeking to block commercial development at historic Fort Hancock.
December 2nd, 2005 : Patricia A. Stilwell, Atlanticville
new constructions and additions are for the developer who desires to have control of that part of our national park for 60 years.
December 2nd, 2005 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
"I'm pretty sure Congress never envisioned a day when we would be privatizing national parks," when it set up the guidelines that allowed for this proposal, the judge speculated.
December 2nd, 2005 : John Burton, TWO RIVER TIMES
"I'm pretty sure Congress never envisioned a day when we would be privatizing national parks," when it set up the guidelines that allowed for this proposal, the judge speculated.
October 21st, 2005 : NEW YORK TIMES Editorial,
On Tuesday, the Interior Department released a new draft........
the new draft would still undermine the national parks.....
"The thrust of these changes is to diminish the historical, and legally upheld, premise that preservation is the central mission of the park system"
"Privatizing the government's core responsibilities - like the national parks - is unacceptable, and so is the p...
October 21st, 2005 : Gloria Stravelli, the hub
Attnys counter gov’t motion to block Clearwater from joining plaintiffs
“Clearly, SSH and Clearwater and the thousands of users they represent will be injured if SHP proceeds to privatize,”
the motion continues,
“especially under this ill-conceived and economically untenable plan.”
October 19th, 2005 : Patricai Stilwell Fair Haven, NJ, Star Ledger
The National Park Service does not own the park.
The citizens of the United States do.
October 16th, 2005 : Mason Wye Highlands, Asbury Park Press LETTERS
SANDY HOOK A BIRTHRIGHT,
NOT ANOTHER CONEY ISLAND.
LEARN WHERE OUR 11TH DISTRICT
ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES —
STEVE CORODEMUS,
SEAN KEAN,
JIM REILLY
AND MATT DOHERTY —
STAND ON THE ISSUE OF
PRIVATIZING SANDY HOOK
October 13th, 2005 : LAYLI WHYTE staff writer, the hub
Candidates urged to speak to Sandy Hook, eminent domain
"The Sierra Club opposes this project because the preservation of these buildings should not come at the price of the recreational and conservation objectives of Sandy Hook," the press release states. "If the current proposal is accepted, developers will hold the lease to the Fort Hancock buildings for the next 60 years and could exp...
October 11th, 2005 : BY ALEXANDER LANE Star Ledger Staff, Revival of Shore park flounders
a Star-Ledger review of his proposal shows Wassel embellished his credentials, and submitted few of the financial bona fides the park service requested
October 6th, 2005 : Mason Wye Highlands, NJ, hub October 6, 2005 LETTERS
We also have the right to know where our state Assembly candidates - Steve Corodemus, Sean Kean, Jim Reilly and Matt Doherty - stand on the issue of privatizing Sandy Hook.
September 29th, 2005 : MICHELE BYERS - NJ CONSERVATION FOUNDATION, THE HUB
The revision (a draft revision to the NPS management plan) would sweep away the balance between public access and stewardship that has been so carefully crafted by opening the parks to uses that would degrade or destroy park resources.
September 22nd, 2005 : Gloria Stravelli, the hub
The suit seeks to overturn the NPS award of a 60-year historic lease to private developer Sandy Hook Partners to redevelop 36 historic Fort Hancock buildings and lease them out for a mix of uses.
August 29th, 2005 : BREAKING NEWS, NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL
THIS IS NOT A POLICY FOR PROTECTING THE PARKS. IT IS A POLICY FOR DESTROYING THEM.
Within national park circles, this rewrite of park rules has been met with profound dismay, for it essentially undermines the protected status of the national parks
August 25th, 2005 : ANDREA ALEXANDER - KEYPORT BUREAU, Asbury Park Press
Joins opponents of developer's plan
August 24th, 2005 : Glotia Stravelli, Independent
Environmental group will ask court to allow it to join other plaintiffs
August 18th, 2005 : Gloria Stravelli, the hub
Environmental group will ask court to allow it to join other plaintiffs
August 1st, 2005 : Michael McLean, ASBURY PARK PRESS
the National Park Service is bending over backwards to make sure this deal for the private commercialization of Sandy Hook rolls through.
July 27th, 2005 : ARTHUR Z. KAMIN, Home News Tribune
Sandy Hook may be federal property. But it's a New Jersey treasure......
REACTION RUNDOWN ON
WHAT KEY PUBLIC OFFICIALS
HAVE TO SAY ......
National Park Service "fish or cut bait" .......
seventh extension to secure financing for a business park venture that could endanger Sandy Hook's environmental exquisiteness ........
July 21st, 2005 : ARTHUR Z. KAMIN, Asbury Park Press
"plan to have a private developer rehabilitate 36 historic buildings at Fort Hancock in a $75 million project with a sweetheart 60-year lease is fatally flawed"
July 20th, 2005 : Anthony P. Vaccaro SEA BRIGHT, NJ, Asbury Park Press
It's our property and it is being sold without our consent,
July 17th, 2005 : JOE REYNOLDS ATLANTIC hIGHLANDS, Atlantic Highlands Herald
OLD OAK TRAIL
by Joe Reynolds
AH Environmental Commission Member
"It is clear now that the developer’s initial financial statement was either an error at best or a fabrication at worst"
July 15th, 2005 : By Sheilagh Casey, Two River Times The week of July 8 - July 15, 2005
Action grants developer another year to secure financing for Fort Hancock development.
July 14th, 2005 : Peter O'Such Fair Haven, the hub Red Bank, NJ
"the original deadline imposed by the NPS for all competing offerors to have locked up the funding needed to perform all the work called for in their respective offers was Nov. 8, 1999"
"more than five years
to obtain financial capacity "
July 13th, 2005 : Peter P. O'Such Jr. Fair Haven, Asbury Park Press
unwarranted extension to obtain funding for the Park Service project to renovate, and then lease for 60 years, 36 buildings at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook.
July 7th, 2005 : EDITORIAL ASBURY PARK PRESS, Asbury Park Press July 7,2005
"The problem is the plan,
not the lawsuit."
"the plan runs counter to the park service's mission to preserve the natural environment of public lands"
July 7th, 2005 : Scott Silver, ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS HERALD
READER'S WRITE
NPS HELPS COMMERCIALIZE SANDY HOOK WITH EXTENSION FOR DEVELOPER
July 6th, 2005 : RODNEY POINT-DU-JOUR, Published in the Asbury Park Press 07/6/05
Developer gets new extension to secure necessary financing
"Paul P. Josephson, an attorney for Save Sandy Hook, expressed disapproval that this makes a seventh extension granted to the developer."
July 3rd, 2005 : Carole Balmer, Asbury Park Press JULY 3, 2005
The plan to commercialize Fort Hancock is the primary factor for derailment.
July 1st, 2005 : Judith Stanley Coleman, Asbury Park Press 07/1/05
TOPIC OF THE DAY Sandy Hook development
June 23rd, 2005 : Judith Stanley Coleman, Atlantic Highlands Herald
Save Sandy Hook is an all volunteer, non-profit organization that believes the unique value of Sandy Hook lies in the spectacular land itself, first and foremost.
May 8th, 2005 : Patricia A. Stilwell, Asbury Park Press
In July 2003, I suggested in a letter to the Press that someone follow the
money regarding what was being pushed on the public by the National Park Service in the name of "historic rehabilitation" at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook. Almost two years later, on April 28, in an article titled "Lawyer accused of hiding financing," there it is again - questions about the money.
The Park Service want...
May 1st, 2005 : Editorial, Asbury Park Press
The National Park Service and Sandy Hook Partners, the developer selected to rehabilitate 36 buildings at Fort Hancock, are petitioning the courts to keep the financial records pertaining to the project confidential.
Give the central role those documents played in the selection of a developer from among 22 applicants and the decision by the Park Service to extend the deadline to Sandy Hook P...
April 29th, 2005 : RODNEY POINT-DU-JOUR, Asbury Park Press
Request involves Sandy Hook developer
SANDY HOOK — An attorney representing the National Park Service and Sandy Hook Partners LLC is seeking a court order to shield financial records pertaining to the redevelopment of Fort Hancock from public scrutiny, as another attorney accuses the park service and the developer of trying to keep the public in the dark.
Ronald P. Heksch, an attorney for...
April 3rd, 2005 : Peter P. O’Such, Asbury Park Press
After having read the March 26 letter “Fort Hancock project worth pursuing,” I felt compelled to respond to the writer’s pro-developer stand and to people who may share his point of view. Unfortunately, the writer is not correct in his assessment of the National Park Service’s proposal for Fort Hancock. He bases his position on the premise that the Park Service knows and understands what is b...
March 16th, 2005 : SUE M. MORGAN, hub
Superintendent asks for slot after council votes opposition to development plan.
SEA BRIGHT — Mayor JoAnn Kalaka-Adams says she will gladly welcome a superintendent from the National Park Service (NPS) to speak to the Borough Council about a proposal between the federal government and a private contractor to rehabilitate Fort Hancock.
But that does not mean she will support the controve...
February 10th, 2005 : RODNEY POINT-DU-JOUR, Asbury Park Press
Richard E. Wells, the superintendent of the Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook, presented a developer's proposal to preserve 36 historic military houses at Fort Hancock to the Planning Board on Wednesday.
Sandy Hook Partners LLC, the developer for the proposal, signed a 60-year lease with the National Park Service to restore the buildings - most of them unused for years - and bri...
February 9th, 2005 : SUE M. MORGAN, Atlanticville
Councilman wants local input on discussions on developing fort.
SEA BRIGHT — The Borough Council is flexing its muscles to preserve the pristine nature of its neighbor to the north that is the Sandy Hook unit of Gateway National Recreation Area from any development that could prove detrimental.
Without discussion and by a unanimous vote at its Feb. 1 meeting, the council approved a resolut...
January 21st, 2005 : Liz Sheehan, The Two River Times
MIDDLETOWN - According to Planning Board Secretary Rosemary Minnear, the township's planning board attorney, Lawrence Carton III, has advised board chairwoman Judith Stanley Coleman and member Mary Lou Strong not to participate on the board at its Feb. 9 meeting, when Richard Wells, the superintendent of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway national Recreation Area, makes a presentation on the park s...
January 13th, 2005 : Joe Reynolds, Atlantic Highlands Herald
If you are not bothered by making a private developer rich at the expense of degrading our national parks, then please do not read this article.
January 12th, 2005 : Peter H. Simpson, The HUB
I read with utter disbelief the report that real estate speculator James Wassel has been granted yet another extension in his quixotic attempt to secure financing for his scheme to commercially develop public land at Sandy Hook's Fort Hancock.
January 12th, 2005 : Front Page, Atlanticville
The Middletown Planning Board will hear a presentation on redevelopment plans
for historic buildings at Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.
January 7th, 2005 : Bill Ward, Asbury Park Press
Plans to preserve fort forget that park belongs to people
Like most people, I have a vested interest in what my government is proposing at Fort Hancock--not only because I'm a taxpayer and New Jersey resident, but also because I am an American citizen and part owner of the property in question.
January 7th, 2005 : Scott Silver, Asbury Park Press
Wild Wilderness is a 14-year-old recreataion/conservation organiztion with supporters in all 50 states. We focus on issues involving public land management and strive to dissuade wayward land managers in the ideologically driven National Park Service from commercializing and privatizing our beloved "crown
jewels."
What is planned for the Fort Hancock area on Sandy Hook with the James Wass...
December 23rd, 2004 : editorial, Asbury Park Press
It's been nearly three years since concerns first surfaced about the financial viability of Sandy Hook Partners' plan to rehabilitate 36 buildings in Fort Hancock. It's been more than two years since the National Park Service promised that a lease would be in place within three months that would address those questions.
We're still waiting for answers. And the wait will apparently continue....
December 23rd, 2004 : RODNEY POINT-DU-JOUR, Asbury Park Press
SANDY HOOK -- As National Park Service employees boarded up a third-story window of a historic building in the Fort Hancock Historic District, Louis Hansen grinned at the scene. "I can remember when those buildings were occupied," said Hansen, who has worked for the park service at the Gateway National Recreation Area's Sandy Hook Unit since 1969.
On Wednesday, a crew of about 27 park empl...
December 22nd, 2004 : RODNEY POINT-DU-JOUR, Asbury Park Press
The National Park Service has granted a third extension to Sandy Hook Partners LLC to secure up to $14 million in investments to begin rehabilitating Fort Hancock buildings, after the private developer said it won't have first-phase funding in place by the Dec. 31 deadline.
James Wassel, president of Sandy Hook Partners LLC, and park officials cited ongoing litigation filed by Save Sandy Ho...
December 13th, 2004 : Editorial, Asbury Park Press
There appears to be only two things that can derail plans by the National Park Service and a private developer to turn Fort Hancock into a corporate campus largely off- limits to the public: a judge and the questionable economics of the project.
Last week, Save Sandy Hook filed a lawsuit that seeks to block the Park Service's plan to grant a 60-year lease to Sandy Hook Partners to rehabilit...
December 10th, 2004 : Liz Sheehan, The Two River Times
The suit, filed on Dec. 1 by Save Sandy Hook's attorney, Paul P. Josephson, Princeton, also asked the court "to enjoin any construction," by Wassel at the fort and to order him to pay the plaintiff's cost for the suit and attorney's fees and to grant "such other relief as the court deems just and equitable."
The plaintiffs are the Save Sandy Hook Corporation and James M. Coleman, Jr., both o...
December 9th, 2004 : George Moffatt, Atlantic Highlands Herald
Re-elected Leaders say "pseudo-lease" is not a lease.
MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The citizens’ organization fighting the privatization of Fort Hancock recently held its second annual meeting, where Mrs. Judith Stanley Coleman of Middletown was reelected chairwoman and Ben Forest of Red Bank was reelected as vice chairman.
The group, Save Sandy Hook, was founded two years ago to oppose the National ...
December 9th, 2004 : George Moffatt, Atlantic Highlands Herald
The National Park Service (NPS) has mislead the public over its plan to rehabilitate 36 and perhaps up to 78 Fort Hancock buildings when it announced a 60-year lease with a real estate speculator, because the lease isn’t a lease.
The NPS in July announced the signing with James Wassel of Rumson. Sandy Hook’s superintendent insisted the lease was valid, but he was recently contradicted at a h...
December 8th, 2004 : GLORIA STRAVELLI, the hub
Save Sandy Hook charges terms altered to favor developer.
A grassroots group has taken its fight to preserve Sandy Hook as a natural refuge for all citizens to the federal courts.
In a suit filed last week, Save Sandy Hook (SSH) is seeking to stop the National Park Service (NPS) from leasing historic Fort Hancock buildings to private developer Sandy Hook Partners LLC (SHP).
The suit...
December 8th, 2004 : Bill Ward, the hub
Like most people, I have a vested interest in what my government is proposing at Fort Hancock, not only because I’m a taxpayer and New Jersey resident, but also because I am an American citizen and thus part owner of the property in question.
Everyone should be reminded Sandy Hook does not belong to the National Parks Service (NPS), it belongs to the people of the United States. We should all...
December 8th, 2004 : Peter Hancock Simpson, the hub
Open letter to the park superintendent and area director responsible for the Sandy Hook Unit of the Gateway National Rec-reational Area:
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.You can call the referenced project an historic preservation, but it’s still what it is — a real estate speculator’s grab of public land. What do we get in return for this Faustian bargain turning a bunch o...
December 3rd, 2004 : Liz Sheehan, The Two River Times
In early December, 1999, Michael Adlerstein, associate regional director of the Northeast Region of the park service, sent out letters to 10 people inviting them to interviews in Philadelphia the following January with a five-member panel.
Those invited were told they had submitted "proposals considered to be among those most advantageous to the National Park Service," for "historic leasing ...
December 3rd, 2004 : Peter Hancock Simpson, Asbury Park Press
You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. You can call the Fort Hancock Rehabilitation and Preservation Project historic preservation, but it's still what it is: a real estate speculator's grab of public land.
December 3rd, 2004 : RODNEY POINT-DU-JOUR, Asbury Park Press
SANDY HOOK -- In an effort to halt what it fears will be the commercialization of Sandy Hook, a grass-roots environmental group has filed a lawsuit to block a developer's plan to rehabilitate and reuse 36 historic military buildings at the Fort Hancock National Historic Site.
Save Sandy Hook and James M. Coleman of Middletown are suing the developer, Sandy Hook Partners LLC and the affiliated...
November 28th, 2004 : JENNIFER FRANCIS, Asbury Park Press
I attended the public forums to discuss the redevelopment of Fort Hancock hosted by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. on Sept. 18 and Oct. 26 at Sandy Hook. The objective was to provide an opportunity for the public to question representatives from the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation about the plan by Sandy Hook Partners to preserve Fort Hancock.
After listening...
November 25th, 2004 : Patricia A. Stilwell, Atlantic Highlands Herald
Yes Sandy Hook Proving Ground and Ft. Hancock are on the National Register of Historic Places and they are of some significance. That significance pales in comparison to the Liberty Bell, Gettysburg, The Old North Church and the like.
Why does the National Park Service (NPS) profess now that it has responsibilities regarding the buildings? Why haven't they been taking "responsibility" seriou...
November 24th, 2004 : Gloria Stravelli, the Hub
SANDY HOOK — A national watchdog group told the National Park Service (NPS) this week it has failed to adequately study the environmental impact of a proposed development on Sandy Hook and has relied, instead, on an assessment that is slanted in favor of the developer.
In a letter to park service officials, Scott Silver, executive director of Oregon-based conservation group Wild Wilderness,...