Students gets a lesson in activism

BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

CHRISTINE VARNO Concerned Citizens Coalition Executive Director Avery Grant talks to students attending the Governor's School of Public Issues at Jerry Morgan Park last Thursday. LONG BRANCH - A group of students from the Governor's School of Public Issues got a lesson in more than just how to address environmental issues from the Long Branch Concerned Citizens Coalition (CCC) last week.

The high school seniors were able to see the results achieved by a community group pursuing a public cause.

Members of the CCC gathered at the remediated Jerry Morgan Park on Long Branch Avenue, one of several sites in the city contaminated by a former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site, last Thursday as part of a field assignment for a class of the Governor's School summer program held at Monmouth University

"We were asked to do this to discuss public issues and tell you how to get involved," said CCC Director Avery Grant at the meeting.

Grant told the class of 12 students that when forming a community group, the citizens "really don't need money for [the] cause if you have partners that have money.

Governor's School students at Monmouth University last week. "Another important part," he added, "is outreach. In these causes you need everyone."

The Governor's School is a four-week residential summer program held on four college campuses throughout the state for artistically or academically talented high school students who are entering their senior year, according to the Governor's School Web site.

The School of Public Issues is held at the West Long Branch campus of Monmouth University.

Professor Henry Suhr, an instructor at the School of Public Issues, said this is the third time he has brought one of his classes to hear about the CCC's efforts in addressing public issues.

"I try to bring in N.J. issues that apply to what the students are learning on the broader level," Suhr said in an interview after the Thursday meeting. "My hope with this was for the students to see it in a concrete form and put names and faces to the issues we are reading about.

"We read about environmental issues and I wanted them to see the consequences of an industrial economy and understand what prices have to be paid for the way we live," Suhr added.

The CCC formed in June 2002 to oversee the remediation of sites in Long Branch contaminated from the MGP on Long Branch Avenue, including Jerry Morgan Park.

According to Grant, the students were able to see the end result of the remediation effort at the park, which recently opened to the community with baseball fields, tennis courts, a meeting area, a gazebo and a war memorial.

The former MGP operated on a 17-acre site from about 1870 through 1961 in a residential area surrounded by three public housing complexes, two churches, a park, a day care center, businesses, private homes and a former Conrail right of way.

The site was operated by New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) and Jersey Central Power & Light Co., and NJNG donated a portion of the site to the city for use as a park in 1976.

In 1983, the city collected soil and water samples at the park that indicated the presence of coal-tar-related compounds in the park and erected a fence and closed the park.

"The city kind of backed off and that is why [the CCC] got involved," Grant told the class. "In 2002, the city began the excavation to remediate the contamination and today we have a beautiful park built by the city."

The CCC has also been working to oversee the remediation of other sites contaminated by the MGP in the city, including areas at the Long Branch Housing Authority Grant Court Housing Complex, areas on Ellis Avenue and portions of Troutman's Creek, according to Grant.

Grant explained that when a group initially forms, the members must first verify that there is a real cause to address.

"If there is just one person with one gripe, you can do something," Grant said. "But you can do more with more people, and you have to have a passion for it.

"We have public meetings. We have seminars. We reach out. You need volunteers or else you have to pay," he said.

Grant explained that other steps for pursuing a public cause or issue include education, plans of action, and keeping the organization motivated.

"We have been very fortunate through our efforts," Grant said, but added, "Right now we are in a lull. Our attendance is dropping and we have accomplished a lot of what we wanted to do. So now we have to say, 'What is next?' "

Grant added that the CCC has no plans to disband and will look at various other issues to address in the community in the future.