finally tonight the second smallest town in New Jersey is now home to the highest percentage of green space out of any community here officials recently cut the ribbon at the East Newark Riverfront Park a 5acre scenic oasis on the banks of the Payic River developed on a former industrial site as senior correspondent Brenda Flanigan reports the project is the result of a years'sl long effort to both remediate pollution and transform the property into a model that can be used elsewhere one two three officials snip the ribbon to officially open East Newark's Riverside Park it's a transformation from the scar of an old factory site engineers created five acres of passive green space including a playground and a thousand foot boardwalk along the Payic River it's the only park in a tiny burrow with a heavy industrial legacy and not much greenery so lots of local excitement i can't wait to sit in traffic at this light and look over there's the county executive to and look over and instead of seeing a dirt space see a new mom with a stroller but Riverside's more than just a park it's a prototype a new way to speed up benefits for communities harmed by toxic super fun sites like New York's Diamond Alkali plant that dumped deadly dioxin into the Payic River and mercury pollution in nearby Berries Creek about a hundred companies share potential liability for cleanup and one of them BASF offered to help build Riverside Park in exchange for future credit basf helped part pioneer a new model for this type of work one that prioritizes early community benefits while meeting the goals of the trustees why did BASF reach out as opposed to circling the wagons the way I've seen so many other companies do it it's important to BSF to be uh part of the community we we work in communities we're part our people live in communities it's critical for us to see our responsibility and react appropriately doug Reed Green helped design the park it doesn't fix pollution problems along the Poseic the river remains a toxic mess that'll require a massive $1.8 8 billion dredge and cap cleanup project spanning years meanwhile legal disputes continue over who owes what and how much when you are a chemical company and you have liabilities that have been created from past actions or that you have inherited right sometimes that's just the red side of the balance sheet but D Commissioner Jean Laterret praised BASF for its proactive approach which also earned the company a $73 million credit towards any alleged liability federal officials involved in the project said they hope it sets a new standard i think that for a company to come forward voluntarily and do this kind of thing is extremely unusual and it's something that we want to encourage in the future absolutely uh and we hope will continue to happen again but that's uncertain a former Department of Interior staffer who worked on Riverside Park noted no one from the Trump administration attended this event because of the views of the current administration in contrast to those of the Biden administration there was no federal presence whatsoever on that podium and appreciating acknowledging proudly taking credit for a role in developing this park no one from Interior replied to a request for comment riverside Park will remain under stewardship for 30 years as a rest stop for birds a garden for native plants and a gathering place for families it's really about environmental justice and the opportunity to breathe in healthy spaces to my burough residents we are the guardians of this great gift um let's make the most of it the park is open to everyone from surrounding communities in East Newark i'm Brenda Flanigan NJ Spotlight News [Music]