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A portion of Liberty State Park is shown in this file photo. A controversial bill could pave the way for private development there

(Frances Micklow/The Star-Ledger)

TRENTON — A last-minute addition to a bill critics say could open Liberty State Park to private development was inserted at the insistence of Gov. Chris Christie's administration, according to one of the bill's sponsors.



At issue are three sentences regarding Liberty State Park – a 1,200 acre area of land, water and marshland in dense Jersey City with sweeping views of the New York City skyline — that were inserted into an 80-page bill shortly before it passed the Legislature last month.



The main purpose of the bill, which is awaiting Christie's signature, is to combine the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission into a new agency. It would also allow the 14 Meadowlands towns to put in place a 3 percent hotel tax to replace a system in which towns that benefit from development pay into a fund that goes to towns that have severe development restrictions.



The controversial provision allows the newly created commission to "evaluate, approve, and implement any plan or plans for the further preservation, development, enhancement, or improvement of Liberty State Park."



"I was advised by the Christie administration that this was important to the Department of Environmental Protection," said state Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), the bill's sponsor in the upper house. "As the Senate sponsor, I was opposed to having that language inserted into the bill... But in an effort to move a piece of legislation together that would get rid of the tax sharing and create a better redevelopment agency in the region, it was made clear that this was an important part, the DEP needed this, and I relented."



The changes upset the park's backers and Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.



Currently, the park is operated by the state Department of Environmental Protection. But the bill says the new commission created by the bill "may avail itself of any plans under review by the Department of Environmental Protection from any source that may promote expanded and diverse recreational, cultural, and educational opportunities for visitors to Liberty State Park and provide greater access to park facilities."



A spokesman for Christie did not return a request comment, nor did Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) — the bill's biggest champion — or Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester).



Prieto told the Jersey Journal last week that the legislation "does not change any state laws of how the park is governed or how anything is regulated there."



But Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, said he wasn't convinced. Pesin said there was no reason to give a new commission authority over park projects but to open it up to some form of private development, which he said has been attempted sought by "a hell of a lot of people."



"For a dozen years there was a fight to use the open space for a golf course. A commercial waterpark. A commercial amphitheater," Pesin said. "This is really prime real estate. Right behind the Statue of Liberty and the best views of the skyline."

Pesin said that while the Christie administration requested the changes, the bill's sponsors – including Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) – "shouldn't be let off the hook."



"The people who wanted the bill sacrificed the park to get their hotel tax. It really exposes the park to a very dark chapter of privatization battles," he said.



One legislative source who asked to remain anonymous when discussing negotiations with the Christie administration said the governor is expected to conditionally veto the bill to more narrowly tailor the commission's authority over the park, eliminating parts that would also give it authority over "related" structures.



Pesin said he hopes the spotlight on the issue will help Christie change his mind and veto the entire provision.



"It's terrible. But I still have hope that he may veto it," he said.

During his first term, Christie sought to privatize some aspects of the management of state parks and forests, though the plans never came to fruition.

Greg Remaud, deputy director of the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper – which works on the park's preservation -- said he wondered whether any proposed developments sparked the change to the legislation.



"This is a tremendous reach, both geographically and then on top of that I believe it to be unprecedented that a state park has been turned over to another agency that is not in the business of managing parks," he said.

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Matt Friedman may be reached at mfriedman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattFriedmanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.