‘Big J’ coming to JC? Campaign building to bring Battleship New Jersey to LSP

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Ripple effects
Port Authority decision throws water on hopes to move famed ship to Jersey City
by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer
Jun 24, 2012

A recent funding decision could mean rough water for a nonprofit group spearheading a campaign to relocate the USS Battleship New Jersey from its current home in Camden to Jersey City.

Earlier this month, the Delaware River Port Authority extended a $900,000 loan guarantee, which will prevent the Battleship – which now operates as a museum – from defaulting on a loan from TD Bank. The decision allows the entity that runs the museum in Camden and maintains the ship to have another three years to strengthen their operations and become financially viable. Momentum that had been building to relocate the Battleship New Jersey to Jersey City could be lost in that three-year period, although those who support relocation say they have no plans to abandon ship.

(Read the full article)

[MCA™]

‘Big J’ coming to JC?
Campaign building to bring famed Battleship New Jersey to Liberty State Park
by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer
Jan 22, 2012

A behind-the-scenes campaign to relocate the U.S. Navy’s most decorated war ship from Camden to Jersey City is now underway, a campaign that threatens to revive an old tug of war between north and south Jersey.

A decade has passed since the Battleship USS New Jersey sailed around the U.S. and landed in Camden, after Jersey City, Bayonne, and Camden waged a bitter battle over where the ship would be docked. At the time, many were surprised that Camden won out over Jersey City and Bayonne. But it was assumed the ship, which was turned into a museum, would help vitalize Camden’s waterfront and feed off of tourism in Philadelphia.

That hasn’t happened. Disappointing tourism along Camden’s Delaware River waterfront, according to some sources, has made the USS New Jersey a forgotten relic tucked behind the city’s underutilized aquarium.

“This is a national treasure. It’s been given its best shot in Camden,” said one source. “But it simply isn’t viable [as a tourist attraction] where it is now.”

Thus, there’s now a move afoot to build political pressure to bring the ship north to Jersey City, where tourism traffic is greater. But Camden, south Jersey, and Philadelphia are sure to mount their own campaign to keep the battleship docked where it is. (Read the full article)

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