People are being invited to vote on the name of New Jersey’s newest state park, informally known as the greenway.
The greenway will connect eight communities across Essex and Hudson Counties – Jersey City, Secaucus, Kearny, Newark, Belleville, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, and Montclair – via a linear, multi-use corridor that supports walking, biking, and active transportation. The park is a former rail corridor that is nine miles long.
Voters may choose from among four names for the park, Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak said during a press event at the under-construction Newark segment of the project.
Over the next several months, more than 170,000 native trees, shrubs, grasses and other perennials will be planted within the nearly one-mile Newark segment of the project, the next step in transforming the former rail corridor into urban green space.
The Newark segment marks the largest single investment in state history for the acquisition and development of a new state park, with this phase of construction totaling $69.2 million. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is overseeing construction of the project and evaluating economic opportunities associated with the creation of the new state park.
The DEP acquired the property from Norfolk Southern Corp. in 2022, following years of advocacy to transform the former rail corridor into a recreational and transportation greenway. The rail line last carried passenger service in 2002, when NJ TRANSIT discontinued operations.
Four names for the park have been proposed for the public’s consideration:
• Prosperity State Park – New Jersey’s official state motto is “Liberty and Prosperity.”
• Ironline State Park – “Ironline” references the former iron rails that transported people, animals, materials and finished products from Upstate New York to the banks of the Hudson River.
• Ridge & River State Park – “Ridge & River” describes the physical geography, connecting upland ridges to lowland waterways, across Essex and Hudson counties.
• Steel Trail State Park – Steel Trail evokes the rail corridor’s industrial past and its new life as a public trail.
Votes may be cast on the DEP’s website until 4 p.m. Monday, June 29. Vote here: https://dep.nj.gov/
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