News Release

The Fort Hancock Advisory Committee Affirms the Merits of the Sandy Hook Leasing Program

Date: May 8, 2023
Contact: Daphne Yun, 917 282 9393

Middletown, N.J. – The Fort Hancock 21^st Century Federal Advisory Committee held a virtual meeting on Thursday, April 27, 2023.  The Committee made several recommendations at this meeting, including a recommendation that Gateway continue the Sandy Hook leasing program, soliciting partners in the adaptive reuse of the nationally significant structures.

Gerard Glaser, Advisory Committee co-chair, commended the members’ commitment to stewardship of this program and their continued support of the park’s efforts to preserve the cultural resources at Fort Hancock. “Their recommendations urging the park to let the public know more about how environmental concerns are addressed and how challenges associated with adaptive re-use in a coastal region are mitigated, are critical to the success of this effort”.

Through the historic leasing program at Sandy Hook, seven historic buildings have been leased and are in use or being rehabilitated. Uses of these structures include short and long-term residential, academic support for the Marine and Science technology High School, a snacks and sundries shop, and opening this summer, a restaurant/pub. The National Park Service has preliminary agreements with potential users for twenty-four other buildings. Twenty-one of those remaining buildings are covered under a single agreement. For these buildings, design and exploratory engineering studies are underway to make sure the rehabilitation proposals conform to the park’s historic preservation, use, and occupancy requirements; and that there is a viable business model to support the high level of investment needed on these deteriorated structures. The park continues to accept proposals as backups.

The deliberations of the Advisory Committee have been and will continue to be informed by members of a special working group with subject matter expertise in areas such as environment, ecology, and cultural resources. This group was formed to explore concerns around impacts from the leasing program and inform and strengthen park management in these areas.

Shawn Welch, Advisory Committee co-chair, expressed his appreciation for the hard work of this Leasing Working Group in developing their recommendations for the Committee. “The Special Working Group’s initial recommendations have well informed the Committee’s ongoing review of the current trajectory of the Leasing Program. Without the recent and ongoing work of the Special Working Group, the Committee and ultimately the NPS would be in a much less well-informed position to continue forward movement.”

The Committee brings together experts from the scientific, education, business, cultural resources and hospitality communities and representatives from local municipalities. The Committee was formed by the Secretary of Interior in September 2012 and has had 41 meetings, all of which have been open to the public. Meeting notes and videos can be found on our website atFort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee Meetings - Gateway National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

About Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark
The National Historic Landmark constitutes the entirety of the Sandy Hook peninsula.  This site has played a major role in the defense of New York Harbor from colonial days to the present with US Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook. The peninsula was purchased by the Army in 1814 and named “Fortifications of Sandy Hook.” It was renamed Fort Hancock in 1895 and operated until it was closed in 1974 and transferred to the Department of the Interior as part of Gateway National Recreation Area.

About Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway is a large diverse urban park with 27,000 acres spanning Sandy Hook in N.J. and Jamaica Bay and Staten Island in N.Y. It offers green spaces, beaches, wildlife and outdoor recreation, all alongside historic structures and cultural landscapes. It is the 4^th most visited National Park Service unit with more than 9.2 million annual visitors. For more information about Gateway, visit www.nps.gov/gate.