Palisades aren’t just a Jersey issue

To the editor:

I think it is very important to make it clear to your readers that when the LG representative, John Taylor, says, “With all due respect to New Yorkers, this is a New Jersey issue,” he’s WRONG.

The Palisades and the Palisades Park are owned/governed by the two states, and thus, anything that affects them IS a New York issue. The website, www.protectthepalisades.org, does a very nice job of summarizing the history of the Palisades, and the following excerpt is relevant to this discussion:

1900 — New York Gov. Theodore Roosevelt and New Jersey Gov. Foster Voorhees, convinced of the Palisades’ importance to both states, establish Palisades Park Commissions.

1900 — George W. Perkins is appointed president of the Palisades Park Commission and leads the effort to acquire the cliffs from quarry operators.
Early 1930s — Land on top of the Palisades, extending north 13 miles to the New York State border, is acquired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who donates the 2,500 acres to the Palisades Park.

1937 — By compact of Congress, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission is established, with five commissioners to be appointed by the governor of each state.
Mr. Taylor is trying to spin this as a states’ rights issue, but the above timeline shows this to be a falsehood. In any case, New Jersey’s OWN state senate has introduced a bill aimed at preventing LG and future companies from building higher than the 35-foot height limit.

In addition, four past governors of the state, as well as many other public officials, have spoken out against the project and the way Mayor Parisi of Englewood Cliffs negotiated the height variance with LG.

Residents of Riverdale and beyond should not feel intimidated into inaction by statements made by disingenuous company reps like John Taylor. Public sentiment is overwhelmingly against the LG tower, but more voices are needed to prevent this, and future developments along the Palisades, from occurring.

Erica Ilton