Trump kills Fort Hancock group, so what will happen to Sandy Hook's crumbling buildings?

• The Trump administration has abolished the Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee, which was dedicated to repurposing the remnants for the Army base at Sandy Hook.
• The committee had been unable to come up with a plan, given the cost of a potential residential investment at the park and local opposition.
• The Sandy Hook Foundation, a nonprofit group, may attempt to pick up some of the slack.

The long, sometimes contentious debate over what to do with Fort Hancock’s stately but crumbling Officers’ Row homes at the northern end of Sandy Hook has taken a new direction under the Trump administration.

The Department of the Interior has abolished the Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee, which was established in 2012 to work with the National Park Service on how to best repurpose the remnants of the Army base, which was decommissioned in 1974.

The all-volunteer committee’s termination was announced on the National Park Service’s website. It was one of six similar panels shuttered by recently appointed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who wrote in an internal order that they “are unnecessary and have fulfilled the purposes for which they were established,” according to Politico.com.

The Fort Hancock committee (known as FACA) had meet roughly quarterly. Much of its discussion centered around the National Park Service's leasing program, which repurposed several individual buildings for various uses ranging from eateries to educational. The committee's proceedings exploded into the public eye in 2020, when New York-based developer Stillman International submitted a proposal to repurpose the 21 bayfront officers' homes into 80-plus apartments.

Blowback was stiff from various constituent groups and most notably U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., whose district includes Sandy Hook. Last year, after completing the design process on two prototypes, Stillman put the estimated price tag for the entire project at $100 million — which is $50 million more than it is willing to invest. That rendered the project all but dead.

Adding to the uncertainty about Fort Hancock’s future is the departure of Jen Nersesian, superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area, who late last year moved to another post within the National Park Service. Nersesian had stabilized the roofs of the Officer’s Row homes and had begun the process of shoring up the masonry and front porches at an estimated cost of $3 million to $4 million.

So now the obvious question is what’s next for this landmark?

"The Fort Hancock leasing program will continue even without the Advisory Committee, and Gateway will continue to work towards preserving these historic structures," National Park Service spokeswoman Daphne Yun told the Asbury Park Press.

Enter the Sandy Hook Foundation, a nonprofit that supports cultural, educational, environmental and conservation programs on the peninsula. Last year foundation chairman Pete Izzo attended the National Park Foundation Friends Alliance conference, where adaptive reuse projects — such as what’s being attempted at Fort Hancock — was a prominent topic.

"We appreciate the work the Fort Hancock Advisory Committee has done over the years to find ways to preserve and reuse many of the buildings," Izzo said. "The Mule Barn (which is now a bar and restaurant) is a great example of a success story, and it provides visitors with the opportunity to enjoy a meal at Sandy Hook, and inside of one of its historic buildings.  There is much more to be done, and the Sandy Hook Foundation is already rolling up its sleeves and getting to work."  

Izzo added: "We are working closely with the park to step up and find ways to a) stabilize the buildings and b) Do something great to activate them for visitors to enjoy for the next generation.  

There are National Park Service rehabilitation success stories that can serve as large-scale models:

• The Presidio of San Francisco, a former Army post, was converted into a recreation and convention destination, with over a dozen restaurants and two hotels on the grounds.
• At Fort Baker, a former Army base that sits just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, 20 historic buildings were adapted for use as a retreat and conference center.
• At Floyd Bennett Field on New York City’s Barren Island along Jamaica Bay, its historic hangar is now a sports center for ice skating, hockey and gymnastics.
• The shuttered bath house at Jacob Riis Park on the Rockaway peninsula in Queens, a four-structure complex dating back to 1932, is in the process of being rehabilitated as a resort with 30 hotel rooms, a pool, event space and restaurants.

All of these adaptive reuse projects were achieved with some form of public-private partnership that ensured that the historic structures were stabilized and preserved for the public to use in some sort of contemporary fashion.  

How viable is that for Fort Hancock in the current climate? Will the federal dollars for the public part of that partnership be scarce? Or will the elimination of the sprawling advisory committee streamline the process, with a more nimble facilitator like the Sandy Hook Foundation taking a leading role? These are open questions as the landmark’s next chapter unfolds.

"There are over 430 park units in the National Park Service, and many of those parks have successfully preserved and reinvented historic buildings for visitors to enjoy," Izzo said. "The adaptive reuse of historic buildings is a well-worn model within the National Park Service.  We want to preserve the Officer's Row and adjacent buildings for their historic and cultural significance, and hope to activate them for the public to enjoy them for years to come."  

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.