NEWARK — Last week, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. and Gov. Chris Christie stood together on the banks of the Passaic River in Newark. They heralded the start of construction for amenities like a synthetic soccer field and breezy waterfront walkways along the river in the city’s Ironbound section. But Ironbound residents have heard it all before....
Work begins on Essex County Riverfront Park in Newark. Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. announces plans to redevelop 12.33 acres of waterfront property in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood into urban parkland.NEWARK — Last week, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. and Gov. Chris Christie stood together on the banks of the Passaic River in Newark.
They heralded the start of construction for amenities like a synthetic soccer field and breezy waterfront walkways along the river in the city’s Ironbound section.
But Ironbound residents have heard it all before.
Riverfront Park, however, is expected to deliver the long-promised park after a complex history that intertwines with larger plans to transform Newark’s waterfront.
Meanwhile, DiVincenzo and Christie seized the opportunity to again display the Democratic county executive’s alliance with the Republican governor.
"This project would have been dead on arrival with anybody else in the position but (Christie’s) done it," DiVincenzo declared Tuesday, citing more than $3 million in state Green Acres funds awarded for the project. A $7.7 million grant came from the Port Authority.
The allies gathered at the project site that’s been plagued by delays for years. The Ironbound, a neighborhood that boasts a cultural affinity for soccer, has long clamored for more field space.
"We’ve doubled up, tripled up or even sometimes (had) four teams on the field to practice," said John Soares, director of operations for the Ironbound Soccer Club.
Joseph Della Fave, executive director of the Ironbound Community Corporation, said the park’s history dates to the mid-1990s.
At that time, the Newark Bears planned to build a stadium in place of Riverbank Park on Market Street. The similarly named Riverfront Park was proposed as a replacement.
"It clearly was a promise made, not kept," Della Fave said. "It’s a very complicated story to say the least."
Ironbound residents protested the stadium, but voters approved the project in 1997. However, questions arose about whether a sports stadium fit guidelines for urban parks and the National Parks Service stepped in. Deterred by the red tape, the stadium was moved to Broad Street, where it is today.
Then, preliminary site work revealed that Riverbank Park was contaminated with heavy metals. Riverbank closed from 1998 to 2003 and reignited the push for a new park. However, the plan lost steam.
Then, two years ago, the Essex County Improvement Authority, under DiVincenzo, got the property condemned. Gone were the shipping containers that had been stacked on the property for years.
Gov. Chris Christie, center, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. and other elected community leaders participate in the ground-breaking event in Newark.With waterfront access, the new Riverfront Park will boast tennis and basketball courts, two playgrounds, and turf baseball and soccer fields. DiVincenzo said the $15 million park will open by June 2012.
"The kids are bought up playing the game," said Soares, who coaches one of the 60 soccer teams for the Ironbound club’s 1,200 youth. "Whether Portuguese, Brazilian, Salvadorian, Honduran, Ecuadorian — it doesn’t matter what ethnic group it is."
Riverfront Park, however, is just one piece of a larger puzzle. Stefan Pryor, Newark’s deputy mayor of economic development, said the city, county and state are working on a "unified waterfront vision" for that stretch along the Passaic River.
Currently, Newark is working on a $10 million project just west of Riverfront Park. The three-acre stretch from Van Buren to Somme Street — slated to open next year — will feature a floating dock and a boardwalk, Pryor said. Eventually, he said, the plan is for a walkway to link the city’s portion with the county’s park.
Della Fave said Riverfront Park has brought a renewed hope for the waterfront’s future.
"Every great city has a great riverfront and Newark didn’t have one, and we certainly saw that as part of our vision," he said.