NorthJersey.com

The USS Ling submarine deserves more respect. A number of entities are involved in the fate of the World War II-era submarine that is berthed in the Hackensack River, including the City of Hackensack, the state, and the owner of the land where a now-closed naval museum devoted to the Ling stands. None of these entities are legally responsible to preserve the Ling, but collectively they have a moral obligation to try to save it.

The Ling is near and dear to us. For many years, that was literally true. The Ling has long been has been long a part of the Hackensack waterfront, having been anchored off the riverbank for more than 40 years behind the former headquarters of The Record and the North Jersey Media Group, which was sold to Gannett in July. The New Jersey Naval Museum was established in a trailer on the property in 1974 under a $1-a-year lease negotiated by the grandfather of Stephen Borg, former publisher of The Record, and now the developer of the site.

Time has taken a toll on the Ling, which weighs 2,500 tons, is a bit longer than a football field and was which once was host to Pearl Harbor Day commemorative events. The Ling has been is inaccessible ever since after Superstorm Sandy destroyed the pier connecting it to the shore in 2012. That prompted the museum to close, and earlier this year, Borg terminated the lease. Museum officials say they will relocate, but no plans have been announced.

In the meantime, Borg and the city have made progress in redeveloping the property where The Record once had its headquarters. The Hackensack Planning Board earlier this year subdivided the 20-acre property into four lots. Redevelopment could include a hotel and 700 residential units.

Just how would new development mesh with an aging submarine stuck in the mud, perhaps literally? We do not know.

But perhaps doing something with the Ling would enhance whatever gets built. We do not suggest that would be easy. But this is where creativity is needed. And we aren’t seeing any of that.

Borg told The Record that the Ling is not on his property and that his only concern is the removal of the museum artifacts. He also said he is willing to offer financial assistance for doing just that. Fair enough.

John Labrosse, the mayor of Hackensack, said that, “the city’s responsibility ends at the shoreline.”

The Ling has been on the Hackensack waterfront for about two generations. It is part of North Jersey history, as much as it is a part of U.S. history. Perhaps state and federal officials can lend some assistance. Perhaps there are incentives to making preservation part of a new development plan. Once the Ling is dismantled, it will be gone for good. There is little possibility of moving it, and once it is taken apart, reassembling it would be costly.

We just commemorated the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Ling may have had no direct attachment to Pearl Harbor, but it was built during World War II and has been in Hackensack since 1973.

Perhaps in the end, it cannot be saved. It is mired in the mud and in need of expensive restoration. But unless more people see its historical value and significance, it most assuredly will not be saved.