More riverfront walkway to love

Originally appeared in the Jersey Journal on Wednesday, August 16, 2006

By PATRICK VILLANOVA

A key link in the Hudson River waterfront chain is complete.

The chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Anthony R. Coscia, joined Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise yesterday for the opening of a new section of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway in the Newport waterfront community.

The walkway, built by the Port Authority, spans 300 feet and is 30 feet wide and includes a quarter-acre park.

The walkway is a "gap site" that will connect the current 11-mile stretch of the Hudson Waterfront Walkway to a future walkway into Hoboken - and beyond.

Once completed, the entire walkway will stretch nearly 18.5 miles through nine municipalities, from the Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge.

The walkway and park will be managed by Jersey City, officials said. The project was originally scheduled to be completed in 2007, but the timetable was advanced.

"This is a happy occasion," Healy said.