Press release from National Parks Service

Members of the public will be able to learn about and comment upon the efforts to preserve the historic structures at Sandy Hook’s Fort Hancock area, during a meeting of the Fort Hancock 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee this Friday morning, May 13.

Scheduled for 9 a.m., and hosted in the auditorium of the Middletown Arts Center at 36 Church Street, this will be the first meeting after the signing of the first residential lease at Fort Hancock Historic Post (Building 21, pictured), and the last meeting before an Open House takes place of select leasing opportunities on Sunday, May 22.

Members of the Advisory Committee, a board that includes citizens with expertise in many fields, will be joined by representatives of Gateway National Recreation Area for the public-welcome meeting, to be followed at 11:30 a.m. by a regularly scheduled public comment period. The Committee regularly consults with and advises Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit on the best ways to preserve historic structures at the former Fort Hancock through adaptive reuse.

Fort Hancock, a former U.S. Army base located on the Sandy Hook peninsula, protected lower New York Harbor from invasion by sea. Established in 1898 and decommissioned in 1974, the fort and dozens of historic buildings were included within Gateway National Recreation Area. Today, the Landmark District covers the entire peninsula, including all of Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit, which offers recreational, natural and historic opportunities.