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Save Ellis Island
Menendez and Cunningham Join Save
Ellis Island! Board
Save Ellis Island!, a publicly
supported, non-profit foundation dedicated to rescuing 29 decaying buildings
on Ellis Island, announced today that New Jersey Congressman Robert Menendez
and Jersey City Mayor Glen Cunningham have agreed to join its Board of
Directors.
Congressman Menendez is currently
serving his fifth term as Representative of New Jersey's 13th Congressional
District. The 13th district includes the 22.5 acres on Ellis Island that a
1998 U.S. Supreme Court ruling awarded sovereignty over to the State of New
Jersey. As Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, Menendez is the
fourth-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first
Hispanic ever elected to a leadership position in Congress. Menendez has
utilized his power in the House of Representatives to fight for federal
funding to stabilize Ellis Island's decaying buildings and seawall. He also
strongly supported successful grant applications to the White House Save
America's Treasures Program for funds to restore the first two of the 29
decaying buildings in Ellis Island's South Side Hospital Complex.
"Ellis Island stands as a constant
reminder that the United States is a country of immigrants. This unique
historic and national monument served as the gateway to a new life for
millions of immigrants, and we owe it their memory and sacrifices to
preserve its legacy for generations to come," said Menendez. "This is why I
continue my fight in Congress to secure federal funding for the upkeep and
restoration of this precious landmark. I am deeply honored to join the Board
of Directors of Save Ellis Island! and will continue my efforts on behalf of
this invaluable piece of American history."
Though owned and operated by the
National Park Service, as part of its Liberty National Monument, sovereignty
over Ellis Island is shared by the states of New York and New Jersey. The
22.5-acre New Jersey portion of the island falls within the jurisdictional
boundaries of Jersey City. Jersey City has long included Ellis Island in its
strategic plans for creating a global visitor destination in the region.
Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham,
who is well versed in local history, acknowledged the historical
significance of Ellis Island to America noting that it served as the major
corridor to what has become the most diverse nation in the world.
Cunningham's enthusiasm for history spirited him to write and narrate Hidden
Footprints, a cable television documentary that traces the history of
African Americans in Jersey City. In July of this year, Cunningham wrote
history himself in becoming the first African American to be elected mayor
of Jersey City.
"In preserving our history, our
footprints of the past, it not only pays tribute to the pioneers and the
sacrifices made by so many, but also serves as a reference guide for the
future," Cunningham said.
Save Ellis Island! has been recognized
by the National Park Service as its primary fundraising partner in seeking
the estimated $300 million needed to restore the 29 decaying buildings in
Ellis Island's South Side Hospital Complex. The foundation plans to launch a
national fundraising campaign in 2002, once the National Park Service has
completed its current Development Concept Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement process for determining preferred reuses for the restored
structures. Save Ellis Island President Judith McAlpin stated that the
foundation's efforts will be significantly bolstered with the assistance of
its two new Directors.
"Save Ellis Island's grasp of public
sector interests and priorities will be greatly enhanced by the involvement
of Congressman Menendez and Mayor Cunningham. Congressman Menendez, together
with his staff, both Washington, DC and New Jersey, has been tremendously
supportive of our efforts so far and we look forward to even greater
interaction going forward. Jersey City, with its growth and vitality,
ensures that the reuse planning for Ellis Island will have significance and
impact as our huge project progresses and we look forward to continuing the
partnership begun several years ago thanks to the support of the Office of
Mayor," explained McAlpin.
Ellis Island served as the national
immigration center from 1882 until 1954. Nearly 12 million immigrants
entered the United States through its portals and it is estimated that 40%
of today's Americans are related to someone who came through Ellis Island.
Currently, only three of its 33 buildings have been restored. One of these
structures houses the nationally acclaimed Ellis Island Immigration Museum
that receives over two million visitors a year. The rest of the buildings on
the island have been empty and unused since 1954 and were in varying states
of severe decay before recent stabilization efforts began.
Ellis Island Ferry Building Exhibit
Save Ellis Island!, a publicly supported, non-profit
foundation dedicated to rescuing the un-restored buildings on Ellis Island,
announced today the receipt of a $10,000 grant to aid in the research for
the design of the first exhibition to be installed in the newly restored
Ferry Building on Ellis Island. The planning for this exhibitory was made
possible in part by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities,
a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Ferry Building - the first of the buildings on the
portion of Ellis Island under New Jersey sovereignty to be restored,
physically links the current Immigration Museum to the un-restored buildings
on Ellis Island’s South Side. The exhibit will explain the history of the
South Side Hospital Complex and the role the activities undertaken in these
buildings played in the immigrant arrival experience and in public health,
beginning in the late 19th century through the closing of Ellis Island in
1954. The exhibit will show the intersection of immigration policy and
public health, specifically how immigration policies and public attitudes
affected the health services on Ellis Island. The exhibit will also raise
public awareness about the preservation and restoration plans, which include
such reuses as historical and educational facilities.
The research project will make use of the extensive
archives on Ellis Island, the artifact collection maintained by the National
Park Service on Ellis Island, photographs in the Library of Congress and
information in the archives of the National Public Health Service in
Washington, DC. Additionally, contemporary photographs of the buildings on
the South Side before stabilization work began will be incorporated into the
exhibit.
The exhibit will interpret immigrant health inspection
and treatment on Ellis Island as it intersected with, and informed,
immigration policy in the late 19th century and early 20th century being the
first venue to complete the story of Ellis Island by focusing on the medical
inspection and public health aspect of the immigrant arrival experience.
This project will link New Jersey history, through its
sovereignty over the South Side hospital buildings, to national events
surrounding immigration and its impact on society and culture. The proposed
project will also expand public understanding and awareness of historic
resources by introducing the public to the buildings on Ellis Island’s South
Side and the plans for their restoration and reuse.
New Jersey State Legislators
Tour Ellis Island
New Jersey State Legislators
tour Ellis island to observe massive Stabilization and Restoration Project
Underway on "Gateway to America"
Over 50 New Jersey State legislators
traveled to Ellis Island today to tour and learn about the Ellis Island
stabilization and restoration project one of the largest projects of its
kind in the nation. The tour was sponsored by New Jersey State Assembly
Speaker Albio Sires and New Jersey State Senate Majority Leader Bernard F.
Kenny.
"Ellis Island is our primary symbol in
New Jersey and America of the fact that our nation’s strength has come from
the diversity of its people and their heritage. I have invited my fellow
legislators here to learn more about this important project and ensure that
New Jersey continues to lead the nation in efforts to restore this national
icon for the benefit of generations to come," said New Jersey State Assembly
Speaker Albio Sires.
New Jersey State Senate Majority
Leader Bernard F. Kenny added, "The restoration of this national icon, right
here off the shore of Liberty State Park, is a critical component of the
restoration and beautification efforts which have been so successful along
the entire North Jersey shoreline in the past decades. This project is one
of the most important efforts taking place in the State of New Jersey today
and the New Jersey State Legislature has strongly supported it since its
inception."
Legislators toured Ellis Island
buildings under restoration, those which had been stabilized and those
awaiting stabilization They toured the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and
learned about the history of the Ellis Island Stabilization and Restoration
Project from Diane H. Dayson, National Park Service Superintendent of the
Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island and Judith McAlpin,
President, of Save Ellis Island!
"I am pleased and honored to welcome
so many members of the New Jersey State Legislature here to Ellis Island
today," said Diane H. Dayson. "The National Park Service has had an
excellent partnership with the State of New Jersey on Ellis Island and looks
forward to working with New Jersey and the rest of the nation to restore
this critical piece of our America¹s history."
The National Park Service owns and
operates all of Ellis Island as an historic national monument. The New
Jersey portion of the island houses 30 vacant buildings that used to make up
the South Side Hospital Complex, the Ferry Building and the Baggage and
Dormitory Building. Currently, the un-restored portion of the island is
off-limits to the public.
New Jersey has donated nearly $3.5
million towards the estimated $8.6 million stabilization of these buildings.
The rest of the funds have been secured from Congress and the National Park
Service. New Jersey has spent $3 million to help restore the Ferry Building
and the Laundry and Hospital Outbuilding so that they can be opened to the
public. Save Ellis Island! is now seeking an additional $1 million in state
funds to restore the Interior Pedestrian Passageway which links these two
buildings. The New Jersey Council for the Humanities has just recently
provided a $10,000 grant for planning the exhibitory for these structures
that will tell their history and that of the other buildings in need of
restoration.
Save Ellis Island!, a non-profit
foundation dedicated to saving the vacant buildings on Ellis Island, is the
official partner to the National Park Service for raising the estimated $300
million needed to complete the restoration. Once the National Park Service
has issued its preferred reuse plan for the buildings, due out in late
summer, Save Ellis Island! will launch a national awareness-building and
capital fundraising campaign to restore the structures.
"The State of New Jersey has been
unfailingly supportive of this important project since it began," said
Judith McAlpin, President, Save Ellis Island! "This strong showing from the
legislature today makes it clear that New Jersey is committed to remaining
in the forefront of efforts to reopen all of Ellis Island to the public."
Ellis Island was the "Gateway to
America" for over 12 million immigrants during its peak operating period
from the 1890’s to 1920’s. The majority of those who came through Ellis
Island then traveled to the Liberty State Park Railroad Terminal, from which
they took trains all over America to settle and begin their new lives.
Currently, nearly 40% of Americans can trace their ancestry to those who
passed through Ellis Island. Ellis Island is located off the shores of
Liberty State Park in the Hudson River.
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