Berry Lane Park

{{Short description|Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.}}

{{Infobox park

| name = Berry Lane Park

| image = Berry Lane Park (completed).jpg

| image_size =

| image_alt =

| image_caption = Berry Lane Park along Garfield Avenue

| map = USA New Jersey Hudson County

| map_width =

| type =

| location = Jersey City

| nearest_city =

| coordinates = {{coord|40|42|44|N|74|04|03|W|type:landmark_region:US-NJ|display=inline,title}}

| area = {{convert|17.5|acre|km2}}

| created = {{start date|2016|11}}

| operator =

| visitation_num =

| status =

| designation =

| open = 2016

}}

File:Berry Lane Park site.jpg

File:Photo of Berry Lane Park from Garfield Avenue, May 29 2014.jpg

Berry Lane Park is a park created on a {{convert|17.5|acre|km2}} of former brownfield site in the Communipaw-Lafayette Section of Jersey City, New Jersey. Construction of the park, which cost $38 million, began in 2012 and the park officially opened in June 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.thejcra.org/index.php?p=project-details&pid=32 |title=Berry Lane Park (Jersey City Redevelopment Agency) |author= |date=August 3, 2012 |publisher= Jersey City Redevelopment Agency |access-date=May 13, 2014}}{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/uploadedFiles/Parks%20Press%20Release2.pdf |title= Mayor Fulop Triples Annual Number of Park Projects with Nearly $6 Million in 2014 Investments; Renovations to 13 Parks Across All Wards & Accelerated Construction of Berry Lane Park |author= |date=February 24, 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2018}}{{cite news |last=Hortillosa |first=Summer Dawn |date=August 21, 2012 |title=Contaminated Land in Ward F Transforming into a Green Oasis: Berry Lane Park |url=http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2012/08/21/contaminated-land-in-ward-f-transforming-into-a-green-oasis-berry-lane-park/ |newspaper= Jersey City Independent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728161637/http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2012/08/21/contaminated-land-in-ward-f-transforming-into-a-green-oasis-berry-lane-park/ |access-date=May 13, 2014 |archive-date=2014-07-28 }}{{cite news |last=D’Onofrio |first=Mike |date=April 23, 2014 |title=Berry Lane Park to Open Next Year in Jersey City |url=https://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2014/04/officials_opening_of_berry_lan.html |newspaper= Jersey Journal |access-date=May 13, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/06/jersey_city_to_host_grand_opening_of_35_million_be.html#incart_river_home|title=Jersey City to host grand opening of $38 million Berry Lane Park Saturday|website=nj.com|date=25 June 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/06/hundreds_come_out_for_opening_of_jersey_citys_new.html#incart_river_home|title=Hundreds celebrate opening of Jersey City's new $38M park|website=nj.com|date=26 June 2016}} The park is located between Garfield Avenue and Woodward Street near the Garfield Avenue Hudson Bergen Light Rail station. Directly south of Berry Lane Park is Canal Crossing, an adjacent brownfield site slated for a future residential development. The park will be part of the greenway planned along the former route of the Morris Canal.{{cite web | title=North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority | website=NJTPA | url=https://www.njtpa.org/Planning/Subregional-Programs/Studies/Completed-Studies/2012-2013/Jersey-City-Morris-Canal-Greenway-Plan.aspx | access-date=20 April 2024}}

Berry Lane Park is one of the largest municipal parks in Jersey City. Features include two basketball courts, two tennis courts, a baseball field, a soccer field, a playground, a rain garden, 600 new trees, and a splash pad water park. New park features coexist with older existing structures that have been preserved or modified.

The park takes its name from Berry Lane, a small thoroughfare created from property acquired by the city from the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1955 and named for then-Mayor Bernard J. Berry.{{cite news |author= |date=February 2, 1955 |title=Jersey City Soon to have New Street, 'Berry Lane' |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0AD385859798414899C69BC34F4E3415&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A1243C89DEE4DC187%2540EANX-NB-161958241FEAFD8C%25402435141-1617577798DB9E97%25402-1617577798DB9E97%2540/hlterms%3A%2522berry%2520lane%2522%2520 |format=fee required |newspaper= Jersey Journal | page=3 |location=Jersey City |access-date=September 29, 2023}}

The Berry Lane Park project site includes 11 properties formerly used as rail yards, auto repair shops, industrial facilities, and warehouses. The site required significant environmental investigation and remediation due to petroleum and heavy metal contamination. A former chromium processing plant operated by PPG Industries caused substantial Hexavalent chromium contamination on the Berry Lane Park property and other adjacent properties, but PPG Industries agreed to remove 700,000 tons of hazardous waste from this and several other sites in the area.{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Terrence |date=March 6, 2011 |title= More than 50,000 tons of soil removed from chromium site in Jersey City |url= https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2011/03/more_than_50000_tons_of_soil_r.html |newspaper= Jersey Journal |access-date=May 13, 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Navarro |first=Miyera |date=April 5, 2011 |title= Better Cleanup Planned at Former Chrome Plant |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/nyregion/06chromium.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 13, 2014 }}{{cite web |url= https://www.state.nj.us/dep/srp/siteinfo/chrome/ppg/Frohling.pdf |title= Morris Canal Associates/Proposed Settlement Agreement Between PPG and the City of Jersey City |last1= Frohling |first1= John B. |date=April 15, 2009}}{{cite news |last=Murray |first=Brian T. |date=June 12, 2009 |title= N.J. Delays Decision on Setting Stricter Limits on Carcinogen Chromium |url= https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/nj_delays_decision_on_setting.html |newspaper= Star-Ledger |access-date=May 13, 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Arrue |first=Karina L. |date=October 21, 2010 |title=Jersey City is Only New Jersey Recipient of $2.3 Million in Federal Grant Money to Fund Planning for 7,000-unit Development on 111-acre Wasteland Currently Being Cleaned of Toxins |url=http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1287642380197790.xml&coll=3 |newspaper=Jersey Journal |access-date=May 13, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304062446/http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1287642380197790.xml&coll=3 |url-status=dead }}

Post-environmental remediation construction began on Wednesday August 22, 2012. The first and second phases of the project included final environmental remediation of contaminants and grading of the land as well as construction of the baseball field, and irrigation systems.{{cite news |last=Reyes |first=Daniel |date=August 23, 2012 |title=Jersey City Breaks Ground on Berry Lane Park, First Section to Open This Year |url=https://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2012/08/jersey_city_breaks_ground_on_b.html |newspaper= Jersey Journal |access-date=May 13, 2014 }} The third phase of the project, which included installation of over 100 high-efficiency lights throughout the park, began in April 2014. The fourth phase of the project, which included completion of the turf baseball and soccer fields as well as construction of event spaces, began during the summer of 2014. The final phase of construction, which included concessions facilities, restrooms, basketball courts, a dog run, and other smaller park features, began after the fourth phase is complete. In October 2014, Jersey City received a $5 million grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority that will facilitate completion of a large portion of the park in a single phase.{{cite news |last=Hortillosa |first=Summer Dawn |date=October 24, 2014 |title=Jersey City Gets $5 Million in State Funds for Berry Lane Park |url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2014/10/jersey_city_gets_5_million_in_state_funds_for_berry_lane_park.html |newspaper= Jersey Journal |access-date=November 3, 2014 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2015/01/10_million_construction_to_begin_next_week_to_comp.html|title=$10 million construction starts next week to complete Jersey City's Berry Lane Park|website=nj.com|date=28 January 2015}} The park officially opened to the public in June 2016.

Funding for the project includes grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Hudson County, a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).

At the grand opening of the park, Jersey City, New Jersey mayor Steven Fulop announced a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation to build a skate park. A new baseball field opened in October 2016.{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/11/jersey_city_opens_new_baseball_field_at_berry_lane.html#incart_river_home|title=Jersey City opens new baseball field at $40 million park|website=nj.com|date=6 November 2016}} The skatepark opened in August 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://hudsonreporter.com/2020/08/07/jersey-city-opens-new-berry-lane-skatepark/|title=Jersey City opens new Berry Lane skatepark|date=7 August 2020}}