This morning at 10:30 a.m., county and local officials held a press conference at Laurel Hill Park in Secaucus announcing plans to construct a waterfront promenade as part of shoreline restoration project designated by the Hackensack Riverkeeper to enhance the Hackensack River.
The restoration project, funded through a $1.25 million legal settlement that Honeywell International, Inc. has put in escrow for the Hackensack Riverkeeper, will have angler amenities, will increase public access to the river, and will be fully ADA accessible (Americans with Disabilities Act).
County Executive Tom DeGise, at the request of the Hackensack Riverkeeper, is seeking approval from the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders to enter into a shared services agreement that designates control of the site for the purposes of constructing the promenade to the HCIA.
“I fully support the partnership between the Hackensack Riverkeeper and the HCIA in order to build this new Hudson County public waterfront promenade,” said DeGise. “The Riverkeeper was looking for an entity with experience in the preservation and enhancement of environmentally sensitive areas of our county and no organization has more expertise in this arena than the HCIA.”
Scheduled to be on hand to discuss the benefits of the project were DeGise, Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli, Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Vincent Prieto, Hudson County Improvement Authority (HCIA) Chairman John Shinnick and Executive Director Norman Guerra, Director Hudson County Department of Parks and Community Services Michelle Richardson, as well as Riverkeeper Captain Bill Sheehan and Hackensack Riverkeeper Programs Director Hugh Carola. —Art Schwartz
Waterfront promenade plans for Hackensack River announced in Secaucus
