WOOD-RIDGE – Senator Paul Sarlo announced today that he will introduce legislation next month amending the current statute governing the New Jersey Hall of Fame to allow for the Hall to exist in multiple locations.
“The New Jersey Hall of Fame should be more than just a single building housing a museum – it should be an institution that reaches out to the citizens of New Jersey to expose them to our state’s rich heritage,” said Senator Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge and an original sponsor of the legislation creating the Hall of Fame. “By allowing the Hall of Fame to expand to more locations, we can help people connect prominent figures of New Jersey’s past and present with their contributions to our state.”
Senator Sarlo’s bill would amend the “New Jersey Hall of Fame Act,” to authorize the New Jersey Hall of Fame Board of Commissioners to establish and operate the New Jersey Hall of Fame project at a site anywhere within the State of New Jersey including but not limited to the Meadowlands complex, that is determined by the Commissioners to be appropriate to meet the requirements of the project and to best serve the interests of the public.
Senator Sarlo said he began drafting the legislation after talking with Bart Oates, former New York Giant center and current Chairman of the New Jersey Hall of Fame Board of Commissioners about having satellite exhibits hosted in facilities apart from the main Hall of Fame building.
Mr. Oates explained, “We’re pleased that Senator Sarlo is taking the lead on this important amendment. When approved, it will not only give us the ability to open a permanent museum in the best possible site, but also open satellites in South, Central, as well as North Jersey. Schoolchildren from Cape May and schoolchildren from East Rutherford will all have access to the inspirational and educational stories the great New Jerseyans in the Hall of Fame can impart.”
The New Jersey Hall of Fame was created to celebrate the state’s rich history by honoring those New Jerseyans who have made invaluable contributions to society in a number of fields, including the arts and entertainment, journalism, science and technology, education, sports, business, religion, philanthropy and the military. The original legislation was approved and signed into law in 2005.
On Sunday, May 4th at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, a red carpet celebration for the inaugural class of the Hall of Fame will take place. The first class of Hall of Fame inductees will include Buzz Aldrin, Clara Barton, Yogi Berra, Bill Bradley, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Malcolm Forbes, Robert Wood Johnson II, Vince Lombardi, Toni Morrison, Norman Schwarzkopf, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep and Harriet Tubman. For more information about the Hall of Fame, visit www.njhalloffame.com.