Dear Editor: Citizens of Hudson County beware! Your precious and irreplaceable urban open space is under attack, and by none other than an undoubtedly sincere but misguided and overzealous Board of Education together and the township of North Bergen! It seems that as a lesson in preserving open space, protecting the environment as well as the quality of life in North Bergen and the county, this board of education and its municipality have come up with the idea of placing a school building in North Hudson’s Braddock County Park. What a bizarre lesson in preservation of the environment. What an assault on the county’s Number One development goal: improvement of the quality of life (Hudson County Strategic Revitalization Plan, 1999). What an affront to the half million people who live in this county where an average square mile contains a minimum of 11,528 persons. It is important to say, right up front, that we are all concerned that the children of Hudson County, no matter in what community, have adequate space in which to be schooled. But it is ludicrous to build on even one acre of public parkland, especially in a county that needs 2,548 acres of parkland (county estimate). It is hoped that wiser heads will prevail in this matter. It should be remembered that this land does not belong to North Bergen alone but to the citizens of the entire county. If the taking of this land for the exclusive use of one town is permitted, it will create a dangerous precedent. Soon after their will be demands from Jersey City, Hoboken and other communities to use the county open space within their boundaries for equally important projects. The people of Hudson have risen up before to protect their parkland. It is unfortunate that in this day and age of keen environmental awareness that we have to do it again. If we do succeed in preventing this unwarranted taking, the children of North Bergen and the entire county will have learned a lesson in how to preserve the quality of life in this most densely populated county in New Jersey. Join the effort by writing or speaking with your County Freeholder, contact County Executive Robert Janiszewski at Hudson County Administration Building, 595 Newark Avenue, Jersey City, N.J. 07306. Write Commissioner Robert Shinn, NJ Department of Environmental Protection, 401 E. State St., P.O. Box 402, Trenton, N.J. 08625. Go on record concerning your opposition to this taking. Let the lesson begin! Helen Manogue, Coordinator Waterfront Coalition of Hudson & Bergen