A new park and plans for increased waterfront access seek to reintroduce Newark's residents, and even tourists, to the Passaic River, the longtime industrial dumping ground that flows through the city, writes Sharon Adarlo.
With the opening of the 12-acre Essex County Riverfront Park and plans for increased environmental cleanup and expansion of riverfront access, the Passaic River, once seen as "a metaphor for all that went wrong environmentally in Newark," now reflects the, "larger forces that have brought development and jobs to the city" more recently.
"Now, Newark is billing its long-defiled section of the state's longest
river as a tourist attraction, heralding the opening of a new park on
its shores and lengthening its city-run boat tours of the waterway to
include views of new parkland and a burgeoning wildlife population," writes Adarlo of the transforming relationship between Newark and its waterfront.
FULL STORY: Newark Reintroduces Itself to River

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