Dear Editor:
The massive traffic jam in Liberty State Park on the warm Sunday of April 22 was caused by the two shows of the 2500 seat Cirque du Soleil. Such delays and frustration for regular park users and Circle Line ferry tourists will be occurring on every warm weekend during the two-month circus run. The park’s Development Corporation President Peter Ylvisaker went over the head of the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the public and got former Governor Whitman to approve this commercial enterprise and order the NJDEP to fill out the necessary paperwork. The park may only make $175,000 in exchange for the selling out of the people’s convenient access to our waterfront oasis on warm spring weekends.
Excluding July 4th holidays with fireworks or free festivals, the circus is causing the worst warm weekend traffic for an admission-charging enterprise in the park’s history. I urge park users to send a letter about your circus-related experiences to Superintendent Steve Ellis, Liberty State Park, Morris Pesin Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305. I have praise for the park rangers who are handling all the additional traffic in a professional way.
Other negative consequences are the delaying of the intra-park mini-shuttle buses and the Central Avenue bus runs through the park; loud music heard for hundreds of feet away, including across the Morris Canal Basin in the Paulus Hook neighborhood and the shameful moving of Jersey City’s 27th annual Cultural Arts/Ethnic Festival (the last 16 years at the park’s CRRNJ Terminal) from the park to Exchange Place on June 10, the last day of the circus. The circus is one more strong reason to abolish the Development Corporation with its endless commercializing and privatizing plans.
Sam Pesin
President of The Friends of LSP