Surrounded by environmental officials and their nonprofit partners gathered by the Passaic River in Newark, Janétza Miranda strummed her guitar and sang a song for the occasion.
“I will come to the river and wash my soul,” Miranda sang in “River,” by the duo Ibeyi.
Applause followed from representatives of the Lower Passaic River Urban Waters Federal Partnership, who gathered Tuesday at Newark Riverfront Park to celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary. The city opened the ribbon of grass with a waterfront walkway in 2013 across the river from Red Bull Arena in Kearny.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency leads the partnership, which includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the Newark City Parks Foundation and the Ironbound Community Corporation. The partnership was formed to enhance communication among local, state and federal agencies involved in the river’s cleanup and incorporate community input into projects and programs the effort enables.
Riverfront Park, for example, which includes docks for canoeing, is being developed in stages with input from members of the partnership.
Tuesday’s event was supposed to include canoe rides for Newark elementary students from the Louise A. Spencer School to emphasize the benefits of enhanced river access thanks to the Passaic’s cleanup and related projects, though a late bus meant the rides had to be postponed.
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