just days after the state's top Democratic lawmaker sent a letter criticizing design plans for Liberty State Park the controversial task force who wants more say in the project abruptly scrapped a public meeting scheduled for last night the task force says it's being rescheduled because of significant public interest but Advocates of the park claim the cancellation is part of a larger political Ploy senior political correspondent David Cruz reports there is no commercialization there is no privatization there could never be State D commissioner sha larette is the bane of the existence of well-funded forces bent on turning Liberty State Park into a waterfront Sports Mecca with large scale Sports and performance Arenas and other commercial Ventures the department has started work on a recovery plan for the park which includes pollution and flood mitigation and Recreation facilities like basketball courts spts and soccer pitches but that plan just hit a potential roadblock this letter from assembly speaker Craig Coughlin and Senate President Nix gatari warning larette that the plan isn't taking into account the views by certain members of the Liberty State Park task force created by the legislature further deviation from the statute and legislative intent may cause us to action warned the letter such as extending the time frame for the task force to perform its duties restrict future funding or a combination thereof I don't want to just accuse them of being bought off they've been lobbied by a fireman's gang who have been pushing lies and smear attacks for years fireman's gang refers to Paul fireman owner of Liberty National Golf Course right next door and sold funding source of the People's Park Foundation led by this man former Jersey City high school basketball coach Bob Hurley he makes $200,000 a year as executive director and sole employee of the foundation his family Foundation has also received around half a million dollars from the fireman Family Foundation in fact fireman has been spreading money around Trenton for a decade contributing funds directly to Mayors lawmakers would be Governors and their nonprofits he and his wife have contributed to speaker Craig Coughlin directly and have hired a lobbying firm that employs Kevin mccab the chairman of the middle sex County Democratic organization which is coughlin's political base larette fired back with his own 12-page letter there appears to be some misunderstanding regarding the restoration and resilience elements of the Park's interior which will provide deeply needed flood and climate change resilience measures for both the neighboring community and the park itself when you have an impervious surface like concrete like asphalt or whatever material that doesn't allow water to percolate into the ground or go back as it should with natural you know currents go back to the to the Bay Area or to the ocean right so it just floods state parks are not intended to provide for active Recreation notes Senator Raj mcgie who represents much of Jersey City that doesn't mean that we shouldn't take advantage of acres and acres of land to expand upon what is available for the community and we've agreed on that you have 61 acres worth of of active Recreation being developed that these are opportunities that weren't there before so it's a good plan it's a good plan and it most importantly the process has been a small D Democratic one neither fireman nor Hurley could be reached for comment and no date has been set for the next meeting of the task force the governor's office meanwhile has been mum on the exchange of letters or the latest flare up between the forces that see Liberty State Park as a waterfront Crown Jewel or a pot of gold I'm David Cruz NJ Spotlight News [Music]