More than four months have passed since I first contacted the National Park Service (NPS), specifically Gen. Supt. Barry Sullivan of Gateway National Recreation Area, concerning the Fort Hancock Chapel, theater and 26 Hudson Street buildings. I had asked for specific information concerning the total amount of rent fees and area fees collected by the U.S. Government/NPS from Sandy Hook Partners LLC, the recipient of the bogus, improper 60- year lease awarded on July 6, 2007, by the NPS. I asked for the annual amounts received for fiscal years 2007, 2008, 2009 and to the present date for rent and area fees, which were to be calculated separately. In addition to the foregoing requested data, I also asked that the specifics of the property insurance required of Sandy Hook Partners be provided since the government was no longer the self-insurer of these buildings. I asked for the insurance company’s name and the individual insurance coverage amounts for each of the buildings.

The only response that Sullivan has provided to me is that Sandy Hook Partners “is current.” No figures were provided! No insurance company was named nor was the amount of insurance coverage stated. Upon receipt of his totally lacking response, I wrote another letter to Sullivan, expressing my disgust with his cavalier and totally inadequate reply, wherein I reiterated my original request. Despite numerous phone calls to Sullivan and his staff, I have received no additional information.

The information I have requested is general information that is not proprietary by any means, and is definitely releasable to the public. No state secrets are involved here. This surely is not the Manhattan Project. But Sullivan continues to “stonewall” my legitimate request for this information. Upon my latest telephonic conversationwith Jane Ahearn, the information officer for Gateway National RecreationArea in its New York office (718- 354-4607), she related that she believed that the data I was requesting had been provided to me because “it was not proprietary.” I readily agreed that the data requested was not proprietary, but I stated that I still had not been provided the rental data in question. Ahearn was to discuss this matter with Sullivan — that was over three weeks ago. Despite subsequent calls to her and Sullivan the week of June 2, no response(s) have been received.

If you agree with me that the public is entitled to know how much, if any, monies have been received by the government as a result of this improperly awarded, bogus 60-year lease agreement, I invite you to call or write Sullivan’s office and tell him to release this nonproprietary data. His telephone number is 718-354-4568. His mailing address is: Gen. Supt. Barry Sullivan, Gateway National Recreation Area, 210 New York Ave., Staten Island, NY 10305. If enough people do so, the public may finally find out how much has been paid to the government by Sandy Hook Partners, as well as the insurance coverage details. Inquiring minds want to know, and have every right to be provided this data, even if it is embarrassing to the National Park Service.
Peter P. O’Such
Fair Haven