New Jersey Shuts Down Beaches and Fun as Holiday Weekend Begins

The cars came by the hundreds to an entrance of Liberty State Park and, without exception, each was politely waved away by New Jersey state troopers. The waterfront park, on the Jersey side of New York Harbor, was closed because of a dispute between Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic leaders in the state Assembly over whether to take revenues from a nonprofit health insurance company and use them for state programs.

After the shutdown on Friday night, essential services like police, hospitals and NJ Transit continued to operate, but more than 40 beaches, museums and recreation areas were closed to the public. Unless a compromise is reached, Monday is likely to be more of the same.

The issue at the heart of the argument seemed impossibly abstract to holiday-makers who had traveled to the park, some from hundreds of miles away, for the chance to arc a fishing line over the harbor, or catch a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. "I'm a little pissed," said John Arrigo, who'd driven with his son from the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania to do some bicycling while taking in the views. He thought about it some more and then added, "Actually, I'm very pissed."

Over the weekend, the governor and the legislature alternately negotiated and blamed each other for ruining countless holiday plans. The governor insisted the legislature pass a bill that would take money from the state's largest health insurer, but Democrats said doing so would destabilize the health care industry.

Gov. Christie called the state Assembly back into session on Sunday and offered the possibility of a compromise. "If they come to me with a bonafide counter-offer on a major public policy initiative that I've presented, but has not yet been adopted, I will consider that offer," he said at a news conference.

Christie's own weekend plans were relatively undisturbed by the shutdown. He and his family stayed at a state-owned house at Island Beach State Park along the Jersey Shore, and took a state helicopter to Trenton and back to hold the news conference. When asked earlier why his family should get to visit the park while members of the public could not, Christie responded, "Run for governor and you can have the residence."

The deputy majority leader in the state Assembly, Reed Gusciora, a Democrat, said that as the stalemate stretched across the weekend, the Republican governor seemed to be losing the public relations war. "I'm just reading Twitter and some posts out there," Gusciora told WNYC. "I think the public gets it. They know that the shutdown is squarely on the governor's shoulders."

Arnoldo Diaz agreed. He and his wife Jami had stuffed their SUV full of children, coolers, and fishing gear before heading to Liberty State Park in Jersey City. But when they got there, they found orange traffic cones blocking the entrance. No picnicking for them, and that made them mad. 

"There's no better place than in front of the Statue of Liberty to see the Fourth of July," Arnoldo said. "And now they're taking that away from us? Christie's gotta go." To which Jami chimed in, "I agree!" When asked what the family would do now that their plans had been thwarted, Arnoldo said without missing a beat, "Definitely not voting for him." 

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said that if a deal isn't reached in time, he'll move Liberty State Park's annual Fourth of July festival to city-owned land near Exchange Place. This year's festival headliner is Kool and the Gang, whose members grew up in Jersey City.