Residents Protest Plans For Destination Sports Complex At Edison Park

EDISON, NJ – On Monday, a group of residents came together to protest the County’s plans to build a sports complex at the Thomas A. Edison Park in Edison.

Members of Edison Open Space and Parks (EOSP) gathered from 9 a.m. to noon at Mill Road and West Patrol Road on Monday for the informational protest.

The aim of the protest was to inform the public and prospective bidders on the construction contract that Middlesex County still needs to get National Park Service approval to make any changes in the Park, the group said.

“The County was having a pre bid meeting with contractors at the park and we wanted to inform them that the park has a deed restriction and the National Park Service requires an Environmental Assessment, a public hearing and a 90-day comment period before they review any proposed changes,” Walter R. Stochel Jr., of EOSP said.

“We had three residents of Edison attend who had been using the park for years before the County closed it in December 2022.

They would like to keep Edison Park as is, and not have to pay a fee to use it.”

According to the group, the National Park Service has a deed restriction on the park because the land was once part of the Raritan Arsenal, and was transferred to Middlesex County in 1964 for a park.

The National Park Service requires that any change in the Program of Utilization of the Park be approved by them, after an Environmental Assessment, a public hearing, and a 90-day comment period, the group said.

Last year Middlesex County announced the Community, Innovation, and Opportunity (CIO) Strategic Investment Plan. The plan is designed to not only transform and bolster Middlesex College and the Magnet School System, but will build a Destination Sports Complex at the Thomas Edison Park with 14 plastic grass fields, and a 11 acre, 1300 space parking lot.

To achieve this, the County is planning to demolish the park and cut down 11 acres of woods, the group said.

“The proposed change in the Program of Utilization from a free park, to a fee-based Destination Athletic Complex will result in a loss of parkland to area residents who can’t afford to pay the fees to use the park, or don’t want to pay the fees,” the group said in a statement.

According to them, the National Park Service has not given the County approval for the Change in the Program of Utilization, and work should not begin before then.

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