CAMDEN, N.J. (KYW Newsradio) — Judge Robert Johnson Park in Camden is being revitalized with the help of a $1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The nearly 15-acre site was home to a former junkyard and, as a result, the soil is contaminated with semi-volatile organic hydrocarbons, PCBs, metals and pesticides.
Olivia Glenn, EPA chief of staff and a Camden native, said money invested in public spaces like this is money well spent.
“I’m so glad all of us have come together, doing what we need to do as government, supporting our communities to remedy this really important issue,” she said. “This $1 million is going to go a really long way.”
The plan is to revitalize the park similarly to Whitman Park’s restoration.
This project is one of 267 across the nation chosen for the EPA’s brownfields initiative. The agency is spending $215 million in all, with a focus on minority communities that have been overburdened by industrial pollution, to help improve the quality of life in these communities.
Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen is thrilled to see this federal investment in Camden’s youth.
“This ambitious endeavor will pave the way for a safer and more vibrant park for our youth,” he said, “families in the Liberty Park neighborhood that they truly deserve.”
Related
