Mayor Steve Fulop and city officials held a grand opening ceremony Saturday for the city's first new municipal park in decades, Berry Lane Park, the largest open park owned by the city.
To further commemorate the opening of the $38 million, 17.5-acre recreational area, the Bergen-Lafayette park between Garfield Avenue and Woodward Street was the location of a family day festival, which was attended by hundreds of residents on Saturday.
Fulop thanked everyone who came out to the opening of what he called "the most significant park opening in Jersey City, probably in decades."
"It's going to further energize this area, creating more opportunity for children and a place to go to, and create just a better environment for everybody," Fullop said.
Fulop also announced that the city received a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation and also will begin plans on building "one of the best skate parks in the United States."
Berry Lane Park, which sits on a former industrial site that had chromium remediation, features several basketball and tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields, a playground, and a splash pad.
The project resulted in an 11 percent increase in the amount of useable open space in the city, according to officials.
During the opening, hundreds of residents enjoyed delicacies from various food vendors, such as a Newark-based Australian pie truck, the Flying Pie Guy, and Jersey City's Milk Sugar Love Creamery.
Live DJs, music, bouncing castles and face-painting were also available for the attendees.
Local athletics coaches including Hall of Fame St. Anthony High School basketball coach Bob Hurley, and Hudson Catholic High School rugby's Terry Matthews put on free demonstrations clinics throughout the day.
According to the Fulop administration, Jersey City paid roughly 15 percent of the $38 million spent on the park. Private funding, including payments from PPG Industries, federal funding and grants from the state and Hudson County also funded the project.