St. Lucy’s Parish is latest to support 9-mile greenway project

St. Lucy’s Church of Newark has become the 100th agency, organization, or corporation to endorse the Essex Hudson Greenway Project.

For walkers, runners, cyclists, hikers, and others, the proposed Essex-Hudson Greenway would create nearly nine miles of linear park, connecting Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, Kearny, Secaucus, and Jersey City.

Open Space Institute, along with the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition and September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance, made the announcement last week.

Residents of communities all along the proposed length of the linear park have been campaigning for more than a decade to create a greenway that would serve as a “shared-use path” for people walking, riding a bicycle, running, rolling, or just relaxing along this corridor. In July 2020, the Open Space Institute (OSI) reached a preliminary purchase and sale agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway Company for property in Essex and Hudson Counties for the Greenway. The purchase agreement has a sale deadline of January 2022.

“Projects that serve the community inspire many citizens. The Essex-Hudson Greenway Project will benefit not only families and other citizens, but all living beings – big and small – with whom we share this piece of good earth – Mother Earth – who supports us and our joy of life. This project re-establishes some harmony between people and ecosystems already supporting this area,” said Father Paul Donohue, pastor of Saint Lucy’s Parish. “As Pope Francis suggested in his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Sí, we have a moral obligation to decipher the sacredness of the natural world, since we are part of nature. It is time to take action! As Laudato Sí mentions, there is an urgency to respect Mother Earth, our common home.”

“In Saint Lucy’s Church, we are ready to act seriously in favor of Mother Earth. I am delighted to be part of this community and to address benefits that will enrich our neighborhoods through this project,” continued Father Paul. “Saint Lucy’s Church supports the Greenway Project, and I would like to encourage others to take action on behalf of our Mother Earth by promoting this project, which is mostly self-sustainable.”

The Encyclical Letter of the Holy Father Francis on Care for Our Common Home, also known as the Laudato Si’, is the 2015 encyclical and appeal from Pope Francis addressed to “every person living on this planet” to begin an inclusive dialogue about the future of our planet. Pope Francis calls on the Church and the world to acknowledge the planet’s environmental challenges and work towards a new path. The encyclical is written with hope and resolve, looking to the common environmental future with candor and humility. The encyclical is divided into six chapters, which together provide a thorough analysis of human life and its intertwined relationships – God, neighbor, and the earth.

Since 1891, the community of St. Lucy’s Church has been transmitting the divine presence to the next generation. St. Lucy’s was the third Italian parish established in Newark. Incorporated in September 1891, the cornerstone was laid the following December on the Feast of Saint Lucy, hence the name, but the brick and stone church structure of today was not built until 1925-1926. The structure of St. Lucy is a Neo-Renaissance Church, which was inscribed on the State and National Registers of Historical Places in 1998.

Spanning an average of 100 feet or more in width throughout its route, an Essex-Hudson Greenway has the potential to offer significant benefits, especially in light of the current health and fiscal crises. The Open Space Institute and its partners have already begun investing in planning, surveying, environmental assessments, and more. The project offers the potential to reduce traffic and stormwater runoff in towns along the rail line, improve transportation options for residents, and allow for improved infrastructure connectivity for things like broadband and emergency response.

Featured image: A screenshot from Essex-Hudson Greenway’s Facebook page.