Update On Petition To Stop 2nd Schmidts Woods Playground

SECAUCUS, NJ — A petition has now been started to try and stop a new playground from being built in Schmidts Woods.

Here is the petition: https://www.change.org/p/halt-...

If it gets built, this will be the second playground in Schmidts Woods; there is one there already. The new one will be a 3,200-square-foot playground, and is meant for children with special needs, such as kids with mobility issues.

The town of Secaucus plans to submit an application Wednesday, Feb. 5 to get Green Acres funding to build the playground. Town administrator Gary Jeffas is leading the project and he said late Tuesday afternoon the town still intends to submit the application Wednesday for the Green Acres money.

"The town will be submitting the grant application, which is just the very initial stage of the process," he said.

Jeffas previously said the town sent out a community survey a few months ago on the second proposed playground, and received no negative feedback. However, one resident said to Patch anonymously that survey was very vague and it was not quite clear at the time what the town was proposing.

And now, it appears not everyone wants this second playground.

The woman who started the petition actually works for the town of Secaucus; she works for Secaucus park patrol, which monitors Secaucus parks after dark.

She does not want to be named for this article, but her name is on the petition as its creator (which she said she is fine with) and she spoke at length with Patch about why she is against the playground. She said she plans to present the petition to Mayor Mike Gonnelli once it gets more signatures.

"There are only about 10 (it's actually 12) signatures on there now, but we want to get the word out," she said. "Please share this article on Facebook."

Here's why she's against the second playground:

"There are already six playgrounds within three quarters of a mile of Schmidts Woods. I patrol them all and counted them: Mill Creek Point, which is right around the corner. The playground on the hill at Mill Creek Point. And the one next to Mill Creek school. And there's one on Koelle Blvd. by the basketball courts, and another one about a half mile away. And the existing playground that's already in Schmidts Woods that is very spacious and doesn't even get used that much. I know because I patrol the park. Why don't they just add something to the existing playground — modify it — for special-needs kids?"

"Also, they (the town) say they aren't going to take down big trees to build this, which is great. But they will be covering the roots with rubber matting, which might not be good for the trees. And there also might be a problem with tree branches falling down, which has happened before," she warned, saying children should not be playing in a playground in the middle of the woods with large, old-growth trees with heavy branches.

Finally:

"This will be built in woods: It's not just squirrels there, of which there are many. There are deer in Schmidts Woods that have been pushed there due to all the other development in town. That could bring in ticks. There are owls, skunks, foxes and raccoons in Schmidts Woods — it's full of wildlife. Why have children near all this? There are hazards being so near the woods, and they are are ruining nature."

Schmidts Woods is used by people for walking, including members of NJ Audubon, which just led a guided bird walk in Schmidts Woods this past weekend. She said NJ Audubon may be writing letters to Gonnelli saying they are against the second playground.

This woman is a longtime Secaucus resident and was one of the people who led a successful effort a few years ago to stop the gun hunting of muskrats and ducks in Mill Creek Park. She was concerned about the safety of families and young children who use the park.

Last week: Town Of Secaucus Is Building A New Playground In Schmidts Woods (Jan. 29)