PASCACK VALLEY—Bergen County’s Open Space Trust Fund’s Public Advisory Committee is planning to award slightly over $600,000 in historic preservation and park improvement grants to six Pascack Valley towns — including $175,000 to Park Ridge — according to the trust fund’s executive director.
Ken Aloisio, director, said an Oct. 1 public hearing at the County Commissioners Public Meeting Room, 7 p.m., will propose the 2026 funding allocations as detailed in a two-page list attached to a public notice dated Aug. 25. Generally, the allocations are approved for funding at the meeting, officials told Pascack Press.
Pascack Press requested information on the grants but did not hear back from the county. Instead, we found the proposed appropriations list included on another town’s September council agenda.
Last year, Park Ridge’s historic Wortendyke Homestead, 12 Pascack Road, received a $232,000 grant from the county’s Open Space, Recreation, Floodplain Protection, Farmland & Historic Preservation Trust Fund to support the acquisition and preservation of the Frederick Wortendyke Jr.’s house, a historic Dutch-style homestead built between 1750 and 1755 and listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
This year, the proposed $175,000 county Open Space grant was for the “Wortendyke House Preservation Plan & Restoration,” according to the public notice.
“It’s wonderful to see that our county officials agree with our vision for this homestead and the timing with our nation’s 250th anniversary is perfect. This homestead is an important part of not only our local history but that of the county’s and country’s,” Mayor Keith Misciagna told us.
Misciagna said local staff worked with the county administration and historic preservation commission on the grant and thanked them for “this sizable grant.” He said he’s excited to see the home’s restoration to its former glory, which was likely to start in spring 2027.
Following a tri-boro 250th celebration of America’s independence on July 4th, parade marchers and spectators gathered around the historic Wortendyke Homestead to eat and rest, while tours were offered informally by the mayor and other local historians. The mayor told a Pascack Press reporter then that officials had big plans for the historic home’s restoration and future uses.
Also earlier this year, Misciagna told us the borough was seeking funding to protect the Wortendyke home as historically significant, with a goal of safeguarding the site for future generations and creating opportunities for community education. At the time, Misciagna said the project was intended to complement the nearby Pascack Historical Society Barn, described as one of New Jersey’s few remaining Dutch farmer barns.
While county Open Space funds funds are allocated to River Vale for a park improvement project, the county trust fund awarded $200,000 to the county’s Division of Historic & Cultural Affairs for its “support and design” of the Baylor Massacre Historic Burial Site ahead of the site’s 250th anniversary on Sept. 28, 2028. Last year, the Division received a $100,000 grant for archaeology monitoring at the site.
Baylor Massacre, in which the British surprised a force of Third Continental light dragoons at night, occurred in September 1778 in River Vale. Approximately 11-15 dragoons who died there were believed buried in tanning vats along the Hackensack River, Some remains of Continental soldiers were discovered in 1967 buried in the river. The remains were reinterred later onsite.
Here’s a list of towns in line for county Open Space park improvement grants:
- Emerson: $75,862 for Ackerman Park pavilion, new playground picnic tables and swing components
- Hillsdale: $107,062 for Memorial Field ADA-compliant and inclusive playground equipment
- River Vale: $75,000 for renovation of basketball courts at Mark Lane Athletic Complex
- Washington Township: $107,062 for ADA-compliant walking path, bleachers and parking space at Memorial Field
- Westwood: $71,176 to install new rubber safety surface at Westvale Park children’s playground
It was not immediately clear whether Montvale and Woodcliff Lake applied for county Open Space grants. The public notice states anticipated project commencement dates are on or about Nov. 24, 2026 and anticipated completion dates are on or about Nov. 24, 2028.
Last year, all eight Pascack Valley towns received county Open Space grants, snagging $861,006 in total funding. See “Towns awarded nearly $900K in open space funds,” by Michael Olohan, Sept. 7, 2025, thepressgroup.net.