Public Debate Over Private Development Of Sandy Hook Rages On

HIGHLANDS, NJ – Eileen Pabon has vivid childhood memories of making an annual summer trek to Sandy Hook, where she and her family would take in the peninsula’s beauty and get glimpses of neighboring New York City while soaking in the rich history her surroundings had to offer.

Now at age 54, Pabon is among the opponents of a National Park Service proposal that would allow a private developer to turn 21 existing structures at the Gateway National Recreation Area into residential apartments. On Monday night, Pabon was one of more than 200 people who joined a virtual Fort Hancock public open house about the project, which still remains in the conversation stage but that the National Park Service officials say would help cover nearly $800 million in deferred maintenance on Sandy Hook.

Opponents of the project say that the national historic landmark should remain something for the public to continue to enjoy. But proponents of the plan that would allow Stillman Development international to convert the structures into 93 apartments while other buildings on the grounds to be turned into restaurants, bars and event space, insist the project is needed to help preserve buildings that have been decaying for years.

National Park Service officials have been working on a revitalization plan for seven years now, but have struggled to find a partner that would preserve structures on Sandy Hook as deferred maintenance costs continue to grow, officials said Monday night.

But for local residents like Pabon, transforming Sandy Hook into a residential community would not only change the peninsula's physical landscape, but would change the park socioeconomically as well.

“(Sandy Hook) should be for all kids throughout the state of New Jersey for them to be able to come experience what I experienced and what many other children experienced," Pabon said during Monday's meeting, which lasted more than two hours and included a time for public comment, most of which opposed the plan. "(If changed), it would become one class, a higher class, higher-economic scaled people forcing us, the lower-economic scaled people out of that public area.”

Roy Stillman, the president of Stillman Development, called the project that is “of great intrigue and interest” to a firm that has a history of undertaking complex preservation projects involving properties of historical significance that are in state of physical distress.

The Sandy Hook project, and specifically transforming the structures along Officer’s Row into modern-day apartments, is one, Stillman said Monday night, that he is confident his firm could take on and preserve the historical intent of the buildings while also providing commercial viability for leasing opportunities.

“The definition for success of the project, as I see it, is one which begins with study, collaboration between the National Park Service and the public in order to achieve a common definition of success from a design and use perspective,” Stillman said. “It goes to stabilization, protection, preservation and reconstruction.”

The process would be done, he said, to maintain the architectural and artistic design of the exterior of the buildings while restoring the interior for residential use.

The project would also be beneficial to Sandy Hook visitors, Stillman said, who could continue to enjoy the grounds as they have in the past without having to see the decay that the structures are currently experiencing.

However, opponents – including the Sierra Club and other environmental agencies and advocates – maintain that the proposal would drastically change an area that was never intended to become a residential community. While private residents would have control of the places they live, they would not have a say in what happens to the public access areas on Sandy Hook like beaches and other park space, park service officials said Monday night.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ6) said during Monday's meeting that he opposes the Stillman proposal because the National Park system was designed to be one that does not allow private development to take place and that allows for private financial gain.

“I don’t see that as a function of the National Parks,” Pallone said.

Instead, park space should be preserved for the public to enjoy beautiful open spaces, not for residential purposes. While acknowledging that the structures were used as residential spaces for officers during Sandy Hook’s military use, it was never intended that those structures should be “enshrined” for that purpose,” Pallone said. Instead, Pallone hoped in the past to see the buildings used for educational and not-for-profit use, which, he said would not be accomplished under the Stillman plan.

Pallone understands that a lack of federal funding and donations have kept the structures from being properly maintained, but he does not feel like turning them over to a private developer for the intent of leasing and the area becoming a permanent residential neighborhood is not the solution.

“I don’t think it would be very long before these permanent residents seek to limit the hours of day for visitors, they say there’s too many people in the park, they don’t like have concerts or festivals,” Pallone said. “They would put their imprint on the park.”

Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, agreed. While the Stillman project would not include new construction, Tittel said that the proposal does call for the work to tap into existing sewer lines, stormwater and electrical systems and would have an impact of the National Park. Tittel said that according to plans, 45 apartments, also known as the Lieutenant’s Quarter’s, will be leased out for $2,100/month, 30 apartments of the Captain’s Quarter’s, will be leased out for $2350/month. The unit size of each apartment will be determined by market demand.

Like Pallone, Tittel maintains that the project will have a direct impact on the public's ability to enjoy the space.

“We have serious concerns that Stillman is relying on the existing utilities at Fort Hancock to meet the demand of 300 people or more. This may have been okay in the 17th century, but not today. There will have to add new sewer hookups to the site which may become a loophole for Stillman to be able to lease out more homes and apartments," Tittel said in a statement. "This development will mean more cars, which means more traffic, and more air pollution. The traffic is bad enough during the summer season on Ocean Ave in Highlands. More people will mean more cars, more maintenance for roads, emergency service responsibilities, and higher taxes for nearby towns, like Sea Bright, Highlands, and Atlantic Highlands.

"In order to bear the maintenance cost for the private development, NPS will resort to jacking admission fees up for the park. This will shut out the public even more.”

Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry, who serves on the Fort Hancock 21st Century advisory committee that is working with the National Park System, disagreed, saying she sees a lot of flaws in Pallone’s perspective.

She said that Monday that county officials have committed $14 million to restore two buildings on Sandy Hook, which are now under reconstruction. But at a time when there is so much economic uncertainty, Burry said that allowing a developer to restore the Fort Hancock structures would help to maintain the property’s long history.

The committee’s charge is to reverse the deterioration that is taking place with many of the buildings, Burry said, and to restore and revitalize the structures, which, she said, makes Stillman the perfect partner to carry on the project.

“To those that would say, ‘do nothing’, that ‘do nothing’ is what has brought us to this point,” Burry said Monday night. “The continuation of passive neglect would be nothing less than dereliction of our duty. If there are better ideas with concrete proposals, they should be brought forward at this time. If there are not, we should move ahead with the understanding that failure to do so will come with consequences that are both adverse and predictable.”