News
TRT™ Files FOIA Request For Sandy Hook Documents
By John Burton
SANDY HOOK - In response to the U.S. National Park Service's decision two weeks ago to not make public the private developer's financial documentation for the redevelopment of Fort Hancock, The Two River Times™ has submitted a formal request to have that information made public.
The National Park Service (NPS) on March 25 announced the private developer selected to renovate and restore 36 buildings at the historic former military installation submitted his documentation detailing his ability to finance the multi-million dollar project.
However, the NPS, said under existing federal law, the service declined to make public that information as it takes up to 90-days to evaluate that information.
In response, The Two River Times™ filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking to obtain that information and to provide it to the public.
The NPS had selected Sandy Hook Partners, LLC, in 2000, as the designated developer for the restoration of the aging and deteriorating structures at the fort located at the northern tip of Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook, federally owned parkland.
The plan calls for Sandy Hook Partners to renovate the three dozen structures among the fort's approximately 100, in return for a 60-year lease to use the buildings for a variety of commercial and educational uses.
The proposal, formalized by the NPS and the developer in 2004, has been controversial and had been the source of a lengthy federal lawsuit, where opponents objected to, among other issues, the developer's failure to provide the funding information as outlined by federal regulations.
The park service had granted a series of extensions to the developer alleging the lawsuit had prevented the developer from contracting with potential financial backers, which the objectors had vehemently denied during that time.
The objectors discontinued the suit last December giving the developer 90 days to submit his financial plan.
The U.S. Department of the Interior acknowledged receiving the FOIA request last week, and, as required under federal law, will respond to the request within 20 days.
The Two River Times™ has been reporting the NPS plan to form a public/private partnership for the site's redevelopment since the NPS announced it in 1999.
