PATERSON, NJ - On March 27, 2024, the City of Paterson’s Westside Park was among 14 cities across the nation to receive federal funding from the National Park Service’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) program. The $4.9 million grant is the final missing piece of the funding puzzle for efforts to rehabilitate the City’s 27-acre Westside Park. 

The major rehabilitation of Westside Park, a flagship park that serves residents from across the City and beyond, will include a complete overhaul of the recreation facilities, including the tennis courts, baseball field and the Totowa Oval complex, which will be used for football, baseball, and cricket. There will also be a new park circulation system that favors pedestrians and cyclists, which will include the extension of a riverwalk along the Passaic.

Mayor Andre Sayegh said, "This grant represents a major investment in the future of Paterson and underscores our commitment to providing quality recreational spaces for all residents. Westside Park holds a special place in our community, and this funding will enable us to revitalize it into a vibrant hub for outdoor activity and community engagement.” 

New City Parks (NCP), a non-profit organization founded in 2019 to address the lack of thriving urban parks in neighborhoods of need, has been working closely with Mayor Sayegh, the City’s staff, the New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), other community groups, non-profits, and local residents on the redesign of Westside Park for 3 years. In addition to helping the City prepare and submit the ORLP grant application, NCP also secured $2.9 million in funding from the NJ DEP Green Acres program for the project. With this latest grant award, the City and NCP have raised over $14 million for the rehabilitation of Westside Park.  

“We are both proud and galvanized by the significant funding provided by the National Parks Service to restore and rehabilitate legacy Westside Park,” said Rose Harvey, Executive Director of New City Parks. “NCP owes profuse thanks to Mayor Sayegh’s leadership and his incredible team, and the $5 million funding commitment the City has made to match this grant. Mayor’s Sayegh’s vision and dedication to rebuilding and revitalizing underserved parks in Paterson have spurred other parks projects throughout the City, including two more that NCP is assisting with: Vera Ames and Barbour Parks.”  

Mayor Sayegh praised NCP’s team for the skill they bring, not only in participatory design, engineering, costing and budgeting for parks projects but also for their public finance expertise. “NCP’s process of working closely with local groups and members of the community means that Westside Park truly reflects the communities’ wishes and visions. It will be a place where they can bring their families to walk, to play sports, to get fresh air, and to gather socially. The City of Paterson is fortunate to have them as a close partner in this transformative work.” 

Bob Guarasci, Executive Director of the NJCDC, the nonprofit organization that started the planning for the park in 2016, said “This is enormously important... this closes the loop on the finances for this massive rehabilitation that will return the park to its former grandeur.”  

Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland announced a total of $58.3 million in new ORLP investments across the country. “The ORLP program, established in 2014 and funded through the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), enables urban communities to create new outdoor recreation spaces, reinvigorate existing parks, and form connections between people and the outdoors in economically underserved communities.” The ORLP program also helps advance the Biden Administration's Justice 40 initiative, which aims to ensure that 40 percent of the benefits of federal funding flow to disadvantaged communities. 

“Safe, clean spaces are the foundation of any society,” Congressman Bill Pascrell said in announcing the funding locally. “Government works best when it uses resources to make daily lives better. Here it is happening for our great city.” 

“As an organization established specifically to address the glaring gaps in high quality, accessible parkland in our small and midsized cities, New City Parks is enormously grateful to the Biden Administration, the NJ Congressional delegation, Department of the Interior, NPS, Land & Water Conservation Fund, and -- most especially – the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program,” said Harvey. “ORLP is truly the nation’s only dedicated funding source to create and rehabilitate city parks – providing critical investments to help bring access to the outdoors and all of its benefits to those who have for so long been left behind.” 

Harvey added, “Parks build both mind and muscle. Children and families in every corner of America deserve spaces to recreate and enjoy the outdoors. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Mayor and the City of Paterson to rebuild Westside Park so another generation of children and their families can enjoy sports and the beautifully re-visioned green spaces that Westside will offer.” 

NCP's work in Paterson has been made possible by the Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and an anonymous major donor.  

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