Twenty-five members of the Great Falls Youth Corps reported to their first day of their summer job working at the Great Falls National and Historic Landmark District, the future home of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8), Paterson Mayor Jeffery Jones, Bill Bolger of the U.S. National Park Service and Bob Guarasci of the N.J. Community Development Corporation were among those present to welcome them as the youth workers began their eight-week summer job. 

“Bringing the National Park Service to Paterson was always one of my biggest goals as a Member of Congress, but creating the National Park was only the first step,” said Pascrell, a lifelong resident and former mayor of Paterson. The congressman sponsored the legislation signed by President Barack Obama last year that designated the Great Falls historic district as a national park.

 “Now that we have a park, the whole community must come together to make it great, and I know that the students who are participating in the Youth Corps will proudly lead that charge with the enthusiasm and exuberance that only youth can bring,” said Pascrell.

“And the young shall lead; and the city and nation shall grow, again” said Jones, the 45th mayor of the City of Paterson.  “The creation of the Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park and the experiences garnered by those youth working with this special summer job program will be talked about, with pride, for many generations to come.  We applaud the National Park Services initiative and look forward to working very closely with all involved in this awesome undertaking.”
“The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior view youth corps as an essential part of our mission,” said Bolger, the National Park Service project director for the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park. “These young people are the future of our National Parks.  They are engaged in learning about, preserving and interpreting our nation's history here in Paterson and will take an active role using that knowledge to help build the Paterson of tomorrow.”

“NJCDC is extremely excited about the Great Falls Youth Corps and the role it will play in helping to launch the nation’s newest national park,” said Bob Guarasci, the NJCDC’s executive director. “These young ambassadors will help to beautify the future park and surrounding neighborhood and serve as helpful beacons to visitors and citizens who are eager to learn more about Paterson’s unique history and natural wonder.  Thanks to a wide array of partners, NJCDC is looking forward to this innovative youth program and in helping to positively transform both the area surrounding the Great Falls and ultimately the lives of area youth who will serve.”

In October, the National Park Service and the N.J. Community Development Corporation formed an agreement to hire youth participants in the Great Falls Youth Corps for the summer and a project director for a year. The NPS gave a grant of $145,000, which was matched by NJCDC to create total of $196,000 to hire 15 full-time youth workers for eight weeks.

Later, the Community Foundation of New Jersey donated $35,000 and the Dodge Foundation gave $20,000 to all 10 additional workers to be hired full time for eight weeks.

The youth participants, who will be paid $7.75 an hour, will perform duties ranging from improving the district’s appearance, to enhancing the public’s enjoyment of the area, to fostering public knowledge of the National Parks Service’s mission.  They will also help promote public involvement in the development of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park.

The youth workers will not simply be relegated to doing ground labor at the Great Falls, although there is a lot of hard work they will be doing. The Youth Corps will also be engaged in an eight-week curriculum designed to educate them about the historic significance of the Great Falls and the process of creating a national park.

As part of their preparation for their work at the Great Falls, the Youth Corps recently travelled to Washington, D.C. and – just this past weekend – Lowell, Mass. 

The Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park will be located within the 35 acres of the Great Falls Historic District’s 115 acres. The area encompasses America’s finest remaining collection of structures representing each stage of industrial progression up to 20th century. 

The same area includes the Garret Mountain Natural National landmark, noted for its geological significance as part of the front range of the Watchung Ridge.

Accounting for historic features that surround the district, the legislation requires that the Interior Department conduct a study regarding the preservation and interpretation of Hinchliffe Stadium.  The study will consider listing the stadium as a National Historic Landmark and consider options for maintaining the stadium’s historic integrity and how to best present to the public what Hinchliffe's history represents.

Rep. Pascrell brought the Great Falls National Park initiative to Congress in 2001 when the House approved legislation that directed the Secretary of the Interior Department to determine whether the Great Falls Historic District should become part of the National Park System.  The NPS study which was completed in 2006 noted the exceptional natural, cultural and historic significance of the Great Falls National Historic District, prompting Congress to begin advancing the Great Falls National Historical Park Act.

The National Park System includes 392 diverse units administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the Department of the Interior. As of December 31, 2007, the National Park System encompassed 84.3 million acres of land.

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