Concerns raised about lack of diversity at Hook
Groups that were at
Fort Hancock no longer able to afford space there
By gloria stravelli
Staff Writer

A plan to redevelop historic Fort Hancock has eliminated a summer leasing program that brought the disadvantaged — and diversity — to Sandy Hook and the entire Jersey Shore, according to the head of a foundation for children with AIDS.

"My concern as a nonprofit is that the families we service added a wonderful dimension to Sandy Hook, and that was diversity," explained Dr. Terrence P. Zealand, founder and executive director of the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children Inc., Newark.

"The historic leasing program allowed people to come to Sandy Hook who would never in a million years get to enjoy the Jersey Shore," said Zealand, whose foundation operates St. Clare’s Home for Children with AIDS and other serious illnesses in Neptune and two other locations.

"It’s public land," Zealand said. "How better to serve the underserved in the state?"

The ARFC ran a summer respite program for children and families dealing with HIV — St. Clare’s Bed and Breakfast — for six years, at Building No. 5 on Officers Row under a summer leasing program the National Park Service discontinued in 2001 in anticipation of the historic leasing program.

The foundation also provides a supportive housing program in Newark and home health-care services to families dealing with HIV and AIDS.

Seasonal leasing of Fort Hancock buildings to nonprofits began in the early 1980s and required only a minimal maintenance investment in the buildings by the lessees. In 2000, eight buildings were used by 6,000 visitors under the summer leasing program.

"Over six years, we probably put $4,000 into the building just to make it livable," Zealand said. "More important, we had the goodwill of the Junior League and groups from Goldman Sachs and Prudential."

Some 150 children and adults attended the three-day camps each summer, during which the building was operated basically as a free bed-and-breakfast establishment with volunteers from local church groups and high school students running the program, he explained. All services, including food, were donated.

"It was a wonderful place to sit down with the kids and parents and talk to them about what they were going through," Zealand said. "We took them to the beach. These were families that could never have afforded this."

Other nonprofits that had summer leases at Fort Hancock included the Arc of Monmouth, the Monmouth County Office on Aging and Monmouth County Council of Girl Scouts.

The Arc of Monmouth leased Building No. 3 on Officers Row, according to Cindy Wiegers, director of recreation, who said the agency, which serves people with developmental disabilities, ran overnight trips for a dozen teens and adults from Friday through Sunday throughout the summers of 1998 to 2000. She said other Arc departments also used the building.

Wiegers said the Arc paid $3,000 plus utilities for the summer rental and decided not to submit a proposal for a long-term historic lease because of the high cost of the historic restoration.

"We were invited to put in a proposal but chose not to," she explained. "We felt it was more expensive than we could fund for the use we would get."

Wiegers said short-term lessees were asked to vacate the buildings by the fall of 2000 because the park service anticipated beginning renovations the following spring.

"I could understand; the proposals were going to begin, and they needed to have houses empty," she said. "But it was disappointing that the houses sat there empty last year."

Monmouth County Freeholder Theodore J. Narozanick said the county’s Office on Aging used Building No. 4 every summer from 1983 through 2000.

He explained that the county ran programs there and various senior citizen clubs booked it for their events, including the Senior Citizens Advisory Council annual lunch and the Office on Aging annual senior picnic, which brings 1,300 to 1,700 people annually to the Fort Hancock grounds.

Narozanick said the agency estimated it would have to spend $350,000 to renovate the building under the park system historic leasing program.

"We just were not in a position to do a renovation project for $350,000," he added,

Narozanick said the seniors maintained the house on Officers Row themselves, doing all the painting, patching and floor sanding. He said access for the handicapped was installed at the rear of the building.

"The appearance was lovely," he said.

Narozanick said he sympathizes with the park service’s desire to rehabilitate the deteriorating buildings.

Girl Scout troops from Monmouth and other councils leased Building No. 12 mainly for weekend stays until the summer of 1999. "Area councils took turns managing it and it really worked out well," said Patricia Kurz, Monmouth Council assistant executive director.

"It was an absolutely gorgeous spot that many of the girls could never get out to otherwise. They got not only a chance to view their own shoreline, but to work on marine biology projects with the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. They learned to respect the water and its life forms."

"It would have been great had these organizations had the money to do what needed to be done," she added.

The National Park Service received 22 proposals for the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of buildings on Sandy Hook and accepted two.

In November, the park service signed a letter of intent with private developer Sandy Hook Partners LLC, which proposed a plan to rehabilitate 36 of the historic Fort Hancock buildings under a 60-year historic lease agreement.

A public comment period, during which the park service and Sandy Hook Partners are promoting that plan, is currently under way and will extend to April 15, after which the park service may finalize the agreement.

Sandy Hook Partners, with an office in Building 26 on Sandy Hook, proposes to invest $65 million to $90 million to rehabilitate the buildings and convert them to use as private office and hospitality space.

Zealand, whose foundation submitted its own proposal for adaptive reuse of 16 of the buildings, said he had several discussions with James Wassel, president of Sandy Hook Partners, about leasing a building to the foundation six months ago but has not been contacted.

"It’s my concern that if the Wassel group doesn’t offer the nonprofits a reasonable lease, they’ll never be out there," he added. "We are looking now for at least one building to continue the summer camp program."

Zealand said discussions with Wassel included both the academy and the ARFC summer program. "I requested use of one building if the academy was not a possibility," he said.

But Wassel said conversations with Zealand focused on the hospitality program and have not included discussions about diversity or the AIDS respite program.

"Our conversations were about trying to merge our hospitality concept with his," Wassel said. "We have never had a conversation about just a summer rental."

However, he said Sandy Hook Partners is talking to a wide range of nonprofits as prospective tenants.

"We have at least a half dozen conversations going on with nonprofits like the Bayshore Jointure (eight school districts along the Bayshore), the YMCA, Rutgers [University], Brookdale Community College and other educational institutions," he said. "I would say some of their students come from inner cities. We are talking to the Bayshore Jointure about a program for handicapped children, and the YMCA is interested in running programs at all levels.

He added, "We have not had a conversation abut his summer program, but it would be really difficult for us to give a lease to someone who is just a summer program. We have a year-round obligation to the park service."

Sandy Hook Academy would be a post-secondary, two-year technical and academic training program primarily for urban youth, Zealand explained.

"Our intention was to provide broad-based training for urban kids and help them be successful," he said.

According to the ARFC proposal, Sandy Hook Academy would have helped inner-city students overcome the obstacles of poverty and achieve success in a career.

"Basically, we would run five B&Bs and students would come from throughout New Jersey," he explained. "We would train 30 students at a time in culinary arts and hospitality, and they would work in them while they trained."

Students would be housed in a residence hall during the school year and get experience in their respective fields by working at the bed and breakfast establishments during the summer season.

Zealand said the park service was very supportive of the proposal and he was surprised when it wasn’t chosen.

"The park service really liked it," he said. "But we were told we didn’t get it because we didn’t ask for all the buildings."

The park service said the proposal by Sandy Hook Partners, an affiliate of Wassel Realty Group, offered the advantage of having a developer experienced in historic restoration, and one including 36 of the 97 buildings involved its plan to redevelop Fort Hancock.

According to Zealand, commitments for $20 million in funding for Sandy Hook Academy had been secured from sources including the state’s Casino Reinvestment Authority.

The project would have been self-supporting, he said, and would have generated the same service district fees the park service would receive from tenants of the Fort at Sandy Hook, the name Sandy Hook Partners gave its proposed development.

"We were supposed to be part of the final mix. We were told we would be one of the nonprofits included by Wassel. He talked to us three times," said Zealand, adding that the foundation made clear it could pay rent.

"I’m asking if he could fit the academy into his plans and if we could rent or lease at least one building so we could continue to serve clients of our agency," Zealand continued.

"Obviously, it’s a wonderful location with a lot of wonderful opportunities," said Zealand, who was director of the Collier School in the Wickatunk section of Marlboro for ten years.

"In order to maximize the opportunities, it shouldn’t be just the people that have money. Why not open it up to people that would never get the chance to enjoy it?" he said. "For instance, the seniors had a wonderful time out there. They cherished their days there. We run a really large program in Newark for families with AIDS. The kids ask me if we’re going back. We really miss it."

Zealand said the foundation plans to comment on the Sandy Hook Partners proposal.

"I am certainly going to respond and talk about diversity being important," he said, "and the community — the whole community of New Jersey — being important. I think that’s critical."

He added, "We would still like a presence out there. The issue is what’s good for New Jersey. I’m very concerned about diversity there. It’s public property. What does it say about us if it becomes a luxury vacation resort?"