The half-mile path opened on June 15, part of an 18.5 mile walkway from Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge being coordinated by the Conservancy and the Dept. of Environmental Protection. It was paid for by the Liberty National Golf Club, as part of the land redevelopment agreement between the club and the State of New Jersey. "It's part of a long term strategy of waterfront preservation and something we gladly did," said Martel Meyer, general manager of the club. 

Approximately seven linear miles have yet to be built, mostly in Bayonne and Edgewater, although the next short sections to open will be in the vicinity of Hoboken. "We're trying to get all these gaps closed," said Ms. Manogue as she dashed off to a meeting about walkway maintenance. "We just started a new project with the DEP," she said. "There are not really sufficient numbers of DEP investigators so we are doing a lot of the legwork checking on maintenance of the walkway. There's bad erosion in some areas and the walkway is starting to wash away."

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy cuts the ribbon on the new section of the Hudson River Walkway. The Liberty National Golf Clubhouse is in the background.

From left: HRWC board members Monica Dua, Donald Stitzenberg, President Helen Manogue, Ed Rogaski; Liberty State Park Director, Josh Osowski; Friends of Liberty State Park President Sam Pesin; Tali MacArthur, NJ DEP Coastal Zone Management Program; HRWC board member Bill Neyenhouse. The Liberty National Golf Clubhouse in the background reflects the Manhattan skyline.