New Jersey officials said Friday they will not participate in a Senate hearing Monday in Trenton on the Christie administration’s plans to bring more private development to Liberty State Park, Scott Fallon reports in The Record.
The hearing was called after the state Department of Environmental Protection repeatedly denied requests by legislators and advocates, as well as The Record and other news organizations, to release a report by a contractor that assessed privatization possibilities for the state’s most visited park.
Although the report was submitted almost a year ago to the DEP, the agency has said it is not subject to the state’s Open Public Records law because it “has not been finalized, is in draft form and deliberative.”
Bob Considine, a DEP spokesman, said Friday that the report will not be released for Monday’s hearing by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee in Trenton.
“We have been invited to the hearing, but declined because, as we’ve said repeatedly, there are currently no plans for development or amenities at Liberty State Park to discuss,” Considine said.
“When and if there are plans for any kind of enhanced amenities at Liberty State Park, the public will be part of the process.”
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