The Caven Point peninsula in Liberty State Park. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)

By Terrence T. McDonald | The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY — Tucked away on the southernmost end of Liberty State Park is a 22-acre peninsula covered in reeds and ringed in part by a sandy beach.

It’s a patch of wilderness that makes visitors forget they’re in a densely populated urban jungle. You might spot yellow-crowned night herons there, or horseshoe crabs, or the American Oystercatcher, a chicken-sized bird.

“They all hang around here,” Jersey City birder Rick Cordner said on a recent trip. “This tidal flat is just an amazing habitat for birds. You see the mallards digging in the frozen muck right now for vegetation? It's just an amazing place."

The area, known as the Caven Point section of Liberty State Park, could be in for a dramatic transformation. The state Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the 1,200-acre park, is mulling whether to allow Liberty National Golf Course to lease the state-owned peninsula for an expansion of the private club.

Park advocates are opposed and predict the plan will ignite a "grassroots battle" similar to the one they are waging against a state proposal to build a marina nearby.

Paul Fireman, Liberty National’s owner, believes the expansion would attract more high-profile golf tournaments, boosting the regional economy and New Jersey’s reputation, all while affecting a portion of Liberty State Park where access is “hard to find and extremely limited.”

“The proposal is to clean the site and turn it into beautiful green space that will be great for wildlife and pleasing to the eye,” Fireman’s attorney, W. Nevins McCann, told The Jersey Journal.

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The highlighted area is the Caven Point section of Liberty State Park. (Google Maps image)

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Liberty National Golf Course as it looks today and, inset, how it looked in 2002. (Courtesy of Liberty National)

Liberty National Golf Course sits on 160 acres of formerly contaminated land sandwiched between the New Jersey Turnpike extension and the Upper New York Bay.

It opened in 2006 after Fireman spent more than $300 million turning the toxic site into one of the world's most expensive golf courses. It has twice hosted the PGA Tour's Barclays Tournament and last year's Presidents Cup, which attracted President Trump and three of his predecessors.

The course has 18 holes, and holes nine, 10 and 11 are the farthest from Liberty National’s clubhouse. They are separated from the rest of the course by Chapel Avenue.

Fireman wants to take those three holes and move them to the Caven Point peninsula, which the clubhouse overlooks. The area south of Chapel Avenue would then be home to a driving range and a headquarters for the First Tee, a nonprofit that teaches golf skills and provides mentorship to children from disadvantaged communities.

“We are thrilled by the opportunity to collaborate with the State of New Jersey to address what is an obvious and tremendous need to serve the underprivileged children of Jersey City, Hudson County and the surrounding Metropolitan area,” Fireman said in a statement. “We do not expect to create the next Jordan Spieth — although that could happen — but we fully expect to foster positive growth for young ladies and gentlemen and assist them in reaching high education to enrich their lives.”

The First Tee is active in more than 1,200 locations nationwide. Its CEO, Joe Barrow, said in a statement it would “have a profound impact” on Hudson County’s youth.

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Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal

Moving the three holes would also put them a half-mile closer to Manhattan, providing more striking backdrops for golfers.

"They just want this land because of the views of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan,” Sam Pesin, president of Friends of Liberty State Park, told The Jersey Journal.

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The Liberty National clubhouse overlooks the Caven Point beach. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)

Friends of Liberty State Park is leading the charge against the marina plan and Pesin said he will also fight the golf course expansion. The NY/NJ Baykeeper and New Jersey Audubon are also opposed.

Pesin, whose father, Morris, was a Jersey City councilman who fought for Liberty State Park’s creation, noted that when Fireman was planning Liberty National he initially wanted to build on the peninsula.

"It was stopped then and it will be stopped again,” Pesin said. “The overwhelming majority is going to be outraged by this land grab and there's no justification for the state to approve it.”

Eric Stiles, New Jersey Audubon’s president and CEO, said Liberty State Park, with its proximity to the Statue of Liberty, is a "symbol for the nation" and access to it should be a right, not a privilege.

Stiles added, "The vast majority of people don't know how to golf and can't afford to golf."

McCann called Pesin's comments "disappointing." He said he and Fireman met with Pesin and Greg Remaud, deputy director of NY/NJ Baykeeper, to explain the expansion plan.

“Although both preferred everything stay the way it is, they acknowledged that Paul Fireman did an amazing job cleaning what was one of the most contaminated and ugly pieces of property in the state that made up one mile of the Hudson River,” McCann said.

PHOTOS: Caven Point section of Liberty State Park

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Birder Rick Cordner is a regular visitor to Liberty State Park's Caven Point section. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)

The timetable for the golf course expansion is not clear.

DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said Liberty National was the only bidder to answer a request for proposal the state issued in November seeking anyone wishing to "operate public or private outdoor recreational amenities" on the peninsula. In exchange, bidders were asked to "propose replacement public amenities of greater recreational value onsite or elsewhere within Liberty State Park." The lease would run for 24 years. The amount of rent is not specified.

Hajna said Liberty National’s bid is under review. Like the marina proposal, it would need approval from the State House Commission.

“It really is too soon to speculate on how long that process would take,” Hajna said.

Remaud, while acknowledging his opposition to the expansion plan, said he believes Fireman has been a “good neighbor” to Liberty State Park and has good intentions.

"Here you have competing visions clashing,” Remaud said. “Mr. Fireman has a dream for a golf course just like Sam's father had a dream of a public park.”

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Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.