Ellis Island is a place shrouded in legend, the first stop for immigrants on their way to America before and after the turn of the 20th century.
Many of the buildings that operated on the island from 1892 to 1954, where millions of foreigners were processed, still exist but are in need of repair. Just recently, the ferry that connected the island to Manhattan from 1904 to 1954 was being removed from the water where it sank in a storm in 1968 and has remained ever since.
24 acres of the island are in New Jersey.
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The Department of the Interior announced at a press conference in May that they will invest $25 million in stimulus money from Pres. Barack Obama’s economic recovery plan to refurbish two aspects of Ellis Island.
Two aspects
One aspect will be the Baggage and Dormitory Building. That building was erected in 1908 to house immigrants waiting for further processing.
Secondly, the money will help repair 2,000 feet of the island’s crumbling seawall.
Judith McAlpin, president of Save Ellis Island, Inc., the Mount Olive-based non-profit organization that has raised awareness and finances to get the buildings repaired, said $17 million will be used for completion of the restoration of the seawall starting in April.
The remaining $8 million will go to restore the Baggage and Dormitory Building, the largest of the remaining buildings on the island. Bids on that project are expected to be solicited in December.
The Jersey side
As a matter of geography, Ellis Island is 27.5 acres, 24 of them in New Jersey and the remaining acreage within New York’s borders. That’s the result of 1998 federal court ruling that settled a border dispute regarding the island.
That means Jersey City is responsible for providing emergency police and fire support. The bulk of the mail to Ellis Island goes though Jersey City post offices.
An island
McAlpin sees the Baggage and Dormitory Building project and seawall restoration as a strong demonstration of the federal government’s “commitment” to restoring Ellis Island under the Obama administration.
At the present time, only three of 33 buildings on the island have been restored, including the Great Hall that now houses the Immigration Museum.
McAlpin gets inquiries from numerous people as to when all the buildings on the entire island will be renovated, an estimated $250 million endeavor.
“We tell them it is a very complicated process, and we are partners with the National Park Service,” McAlpin said. “The government has to be very careful since the entire island is a historic landmark, and it puts pressure to do this work as carefully as possible.”
Another issue is that the island is inaccessible by foot. A bridge between Liberty State Park and the island has been closed off to the public, according to McAlpin, because of heightened security concerns and a lack of parking. There is also some opposition from a ferry company that used to have the contract there.
McAlpin looks forward to a time when the Ellis Island Institute and Conference Center are built for education and business purposes. Some time after that, visitors to the institute will be allowed to travel by foot over the bridge to the historic landmark.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.