NPS allows developer to work on historic buildings While lawsuit pends, developer renovates Fort Hancock sites BY LIZ SHEEHAN Correspondent The superintendent of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area said last Thursday that he had been "assured" by the U.S. Attorney's Office that there was no barrier to having developer James Wassel work on three buildings in historic Fort Hancock. Superintendent Richard Wells said the work can proceed despite the federal lawsuit that seeks to overturn Wassel's 60-year lease with the National Park Service to commercially develop at least 36 buildings at the fort. Wells said the judge had not yet ruled on the suit, which was brought by Save Sandy Hook (SSH), a local grassroots organization founded to block the Wassel proposal. Wells said Monday that Wassel, of Rumson, was doing preservation maintenance work on the buildings. They are the post theater, chapel and former park service headquarters. Last June, Judge Mary Lou Cooper of the U.S. District Court in Trenton heard oral arguments from the U.S. Attorney's Office and plaintiffs Save Sandy Hook and Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater SSH and Clearwater asked the court to overturn the lease granted to Wassel by the National Park Service in 2004. In July, Cooper dismissed the suit and gave the plaintiffs 60 days to appeal her decision. Lawrence Lutrell, the attorney now representing SSH, filed an amended complaint, which is now being considered by Cooper. James Coleman Jr., a plaintiff in the case and an officer in SSH, said Monday that his organization is discussing what steps to take concerning Wassel's work on the buildings. Wassel has been given several extensions of time to prove his financial ability to carry out his plan since the park service selected it in 2000 after a competition for proposals. Last September, Palisades Financial, Fort Lee, announced it would provide funds for the Wassel proposal but later, Billy Procida, the company CEO, said it would hold off until the time that any legal matters were resolved. "We have to wait until the appeal is over," he said. Wassel plans to renovate the buildings and use them for offices, restaurants, overnight accommodations and educational and environmental facilities. Wassel's firm, Sandy Hook Partners, has operated out of a building at Fort Hancock for several years while he attempted to secure the financial resources to carry out the plan and wait for resolution of the court suit. The controversial plan to commercialize the fort has had both opponents and supporters in the area. Those against it say the commercial development will damage the unique environment at Sandy Hook and worsen the already acute summer traffic problems in the surrounding towns. Opponents include some local and state elected officials like Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6), the N.J. Chapter of the Sierra Club, the N.J. Environmental Federation and N.J. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). Proponents of the proposal say the park service has no funds to maintain the buildings at the fort so it must be done by private investors. These include some local and state elected officials, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Monmouth County Planning Board.