WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—When Woodcliff Park opened to several hundred cheering residents in May 2025, Mayor Carlos Rendo described its purpose in a single word: community.
Barely more than a year later, the borough’s first and only municipally owned park is beginning to bear out that promise.
The 2.1-acre space at Werimus Road and Woodcliff Avenue has become a regular destination for concerts, festivals, holiday observances, children’s activities and informal gatherings, transforming a former commercial property into what Parks and Recreation Director Ryan Magee calls Woodcliff Lake’s central meeting place.
“What began as a vision to create a vibrant downtown destination has quickly become one of the borough’s greatest community assets,” Magee said.
The park’s rise followed nearly a decade of planning, property acquisition, environmental remediation, funding efforts and construction. The borough purchased the former Galaxy Gardens nursery and service-station property in 2018 for $1.65 million.
Approximately $500,000 was later spent cleaning up the environmentally affected site, followed by $2.75 million in construction. Including a $1.5 million legal settlement related to the acquisition, the borough’s investment totaled approximately $6.4 million, excluding soft costs.
Bergen County awarded Woodcliff Lake more than $746,000 in Open Space Trust Fund grants between 2015 and 2021, including $500,000 toward the land purchase.
The resulting park includes a one-sixth-mile walking track, a veterans monument area, gazebo, bandshell, restrooms, benches and broad central lawn designed for both scheduled events and everyday use.
Families began testing that vision immediately at the May 3, 2025, opening, filling the lawn to toss balls, fly kites and explore the borough’s newest public space.
Since then, Magee said, the park has become much more than an attractive green.
“Families, neighbors, local organizations and visitors have embraced the park as a destination where the community comes together to celebrate, connect and create lasting memories,” he said.
That role has been especially visible during this year’s Woodcliff Wednesdays Summer Concert Series. Although attendance has varied with the weather, the weekly programs have consistently brought residents together for music, food, children’s activities and conversation.
More than 100 people attended Teenage Garage Band Palooza on June 24. Nearly 300 turned out for a July 1 Team USA FIFA World Cup watch party despite temperatures approaching 100 degrees.
Nick DiBari Music drew approximately 75 people July 8. When threatening weather forced Woodcliff Lake resident Lucia Wehr’s July 15 opera performance indoors to the Senior Community Center, approximately 50 people followed the program to its new location.
Gerard and Diane Barros performed for approximately 75 attendees July 22. A week later, about 80 people gathered to hear local band 10 Nickels, even though heavy rain had ended only about an hour before the concert.
The borough anticipates crowds of more than 100 for each of the series’ final two performances. RockSkafari, led by Woodcliff Lake resident Stephen Bushell, will close the 2026 season Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Magee said the number of performers with direct connections to the borough has made this year’s programming particularly meaningful.
“That was intentional,” he said. “The goal has always been to create programming that showcases local talent while giving residents an opportunity to gather, reconnect and celebrate together.”
The July 1 World Cup watch party also demonstrated how readily the park can be adapted for different uses. Instead of a traditional concert, residents gathered on the lawn to follow Team USA on a shared screen.
The experience reflected the larger purpose behind the property, Magee said: not simply to create open space, but to give Woodcliff Lake a place where many parts of community life can meet.
The park’s cultural offerings will expand again Friday, Aug. 21, when True Blue Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at 6:30 p.m.
The borough’s first Shakespeare in the Park production grew out of a local connection. Director Ellie Falanga, a Woodcliff Lake resident, approached the borough shortly after the park was completed and worked with members of True Blue Theatre Company to organize a Broadway cabaret performance for Woodcliff Wednesdays.
Falanga and Magee continued working together over the following months to bring a full outdoor Shakespeare production to the borough.
Magee said the partnership represents an effort to broaden Woodcliff Lake’s arts programming while giving residents access to new cultural experiences close to home.
The park calendar now stretches well beyond summer. Woodcliff Park has hosted the borough’s Easter egg hunt, SpringFest, Christmas tree lighting, menorah lighting and other civic and seasonal gatherings. OktoberFest is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26.
Each event builds upon the ambitions expressed at the park’s opening, when borough and county officials said the property would provide recreation, connection and community programming for generations.
The site itself reflects a substantial transformation. Once home to a nursery and service station, the property required extensive environmental cleanup before it could safely welcome residents. Today, its track, lawn, bandshell and gathering areas accommodate everything from solitary walks to borough-wide celebrations.
Magee said that range of uses is central to the park’s success.
“It has fostered a stronger sense of community, provided a venue for local musicians, performers and organizations, encouraged residents to spend time outdoors, and become a place where people of all ages come together throughout the year,” he said.
He added, “In many ways, the park has become a reflection of our community itself, and these performances have exemplified that spirit.”