Kean seeks NJDEP funding for Allaire Village

WALL TOWNSHIP — State Assemblyman Sean Kean announced Tuesday that he has formally requested financial assistance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for The Historic Village at Allaire, in a letter addressed to DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.

The announcement comes a week after the village, located inside Allaire State Park, shared news of its temporary closure until Aug. 7, leaving multiple events on its original 2024 calendar cancelled. This was in part due to “the economy, rising inflation costs, unprecedented weather and limited grant funding,” a statement said.

“Given the current financial constraints that have led to the temporary closure of this important site, I am seeking your assistance in determining whether there are any discretionary funds or other financial resources available through the (DEP) that could be allocated to support The Historic Village at Allaire,” the assemblyman wrote in his letter to LaTourette. “Such funding would be instrumental in helping the village to continue its vital work of preserving New Jersey’s history and providing educational programs to the public.”

The village’s executive director, Hance Sitkus, told The Coast Star last week that it needed to raise roughly $1.5 million per year to stay open, which has become increasingly difficult due to rising costs of village materials. The historical site takes a step back in time to the 1800s, sharing details of and way of life of James P. Allaire, the 19th-century mogul who made the village his workplex for his iron empire. Since the new year, the village reduced its hours from four days open a week to three, operating Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Kean represents the state’s 30th legislative district, which encompasses Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar, Farmingdale, Howell, Lake Como, Wall Township and Lakewood in Ocean County.

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