Editorial: Debate over demolition of houses in Delaware Water Gap NRA should focus on what's truly historic
Two federal lawmakers from New Jersey have picked the wrong fight with the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett and Sen. Frank Lautenberg are calling for the DWGNRA to halt its plan to demolish 71 structures within the sprawling park. Trouble is, park service officials had informed the legislators well in advance that they planned to raze the buildings. The structures are mostly minor — sheds, rabbit hutches, long-abandoned houses that the park service, in conjunction with state preservation offices, concluded have no historic significance — and badly deteriorated.
The park service is trying to reduce and manage its more than $113 million maintenance backlog, which includes a whopping 550 buildings, mostly unoccupied, within the park. Along with the 71 on the demolition list, park officials are looking at another 121, conducting an environmental assessment and public hearings. The buildings are not historic, park Superintendent John Donahue said, but there may be other aspects worth preserving.