Posted on 01/02/2005 3:33:04 PM PST by flitton
PENNSAUKEN, N.J. (AP) - The oil company that owns Petty's Island wanted to donate it to the state as a nature preserve while local officials and a land developer were planning on building homes and a golf course on it.
When the state rejected the donation offer, it was partly at the behest of southern New Jersey Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross III, according to a report in Sunday's editions of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The newspaper obtained a copy of a Sept. 29 fax in which Norcross asked state Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell to ``please review'' a memo describing development plans for the island in the Delaware River between Pennsauken and Philadelphia.
Norcross, the former chairman of the Camden County Democratic Organization, is not an elected official, but he has fundraising clout that has helped shape elections not just in his home county but across New Jersey. He's also the president of the insurance arm of Cherry Hill-based Commerce Bank.
On Sept. 30, the Natural Lands Trust, a state board, voted 5-4 to accept Petty's Island from Citgo Petroleum Corp. But because all four state representatives on the board rejected the gift, it could not be realized.
Campbell urged those board members to vote against accepting the island, saying ``the conservation merits were weak.''
Campbell told the Inquirer that the role of Norcross, who grew up in Pennsauken, in his decision to reject the gift was minimal.
But months before Norcross' fax, Campbell appeared to support preserving the 392-acre island.
The Inquirer also acquired an e-mail between two Natural Land trust staff members in March. It read, in part, ``The commissioner is thrilled about the acquisition; so much that he wants this to be an Earth Day announcement that we've read an agreement in principle with Citgo, regarding the donation of Petty's Island.''
There was no announcement on Earth Day. And in May, Pennsauken officials and Raleigh, N.C.-based Cherokee Investment Partners announced a $1 billion plan to redevelop the township's waterfront and the island.
The future of the island has been the center of an intense battle.
Some environmentalists say the land should not be redeveloped in part because a pair of eagles have a nest there. But last week, Cherokee announced the eagles have been seen building a new nest on the mainland in Camden.
And last month, the Camden-based African-American Commission asked state lawmakers to support preservation of Petty's Island for history's sake.
The group said their research indicates Petty's Island was once used as a Native American trading post and later as a place where Africans being sold into slavery were detained.
NJ is the black hole of corruption. I have a feeling that when they start really digging many heads will roll up and down the East Coast.
Nothing's going to happen.
I have to say I don't know anything of the back story to this, but it seemed particularly blatant given the paper trail there must be.
As one who wades into the muck of NJ politics every few years, I can say that Norcross is insanely powerful. He's the South Jersey Democratic boss (yes, such a label can be used w/o irony in the Garden State). He decides who stands for elections to the state legislature and who gets to run for open Congressional seats. He doesn't like the sitting acting governor 'cause he's a corrupt Democrat from NORTH Jersey. I sh!t thee not. It's that bad.
If they're going to build houses on it and develop it, they're going to have to build a road across Beck's Channel in the Delaware River. All things considered, it's probably best left undeveloped.
Nothing gets built in NJ without the right people getting greased. It's really disgusting. I have seen prime land sit vacant for years because the owner could not get a curb-cut permit. Then the land flips to the "right" developer, and permits are granted without so much as a cursory review.
The land development process in New Jersey is corrupt, top to bottom. State government has been suborned to the interests of connected real estate developers, and there does not appear to be anything anybody can do about it.
BTTT!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.