Slow Turnout So Far for LeGrand Fundraiser in Sewaren

The third day of a 100+ degree heat index with temperatures that have been broiling the area might be contributing to a slow start for an Eric LeGrand fundraiser.

Almost an hour after the operning, there's little evidence that anything's going on. 

The , held at the 39-acre peninsular county facility, in Sewaren Saturday, may still put the township on the map with the cool crowd.

The 100 degree heat - 105 degrees in some areas - seems to be quelling anyone's desire to be out in the sun. Aside from a big permanent pavilion, there's little shade on the entire Williams Park peninsula.

"The reaction I've gotten is that, this is going to be in Woodbridge? People are completely perplexed that anything of this magnitude is going to happen in Woodbridge," said Elliot Solop, one of the young promoters putting together the 18-band fundraising concert. 

"Nothing exciting ever happens in Woodbridge." The first band is due to play at 2 pm.

Early ticket sales have been dismal, but Solop is hoping that word of Tweet - referring to Twitter and other social media - and more traditional promotion will bring perhaps 1,000 music lovers to Sewaren Saturday.

Middlesex County Parks Administrator Ralph Albinir declined to make any crowd prediction, saying he would defer to Woodbridge Township, explaining that the township, rather than the event promoter, received the permit.

"We gave the township a permit," Albinir said. "They gave us a $5 million liability insurance bond. They are handling everything."

Not so, according to township spokesman John Hagerty.  The money raised at the concert "is going through the mayor's charity account," he said. "Other than that, we have no involvement. It's a county park. [The promoters] got the permits to use the park. We talked to the guy who is running it. He wanted our blessing, so that's fine."

Solop, a 24-year-old law school student who also works as a sports agent, said he and his fellow promoters sat down with Mayor John McCormac and county officials to thrash out the concert details.

One issue was the $1 million liability bond Middlesex County requires for such events. Solop, who said, "I've got less than $100 to my name," declined to say how it was resolved. But both Albinir and Hagerty agreed that the township had it more than covered. 

"We didn't ask for a $5 million bond," Albinir said of the township. "They gave it to us." He added that because the permit was being issued to the township, rather than a private group, the county was able to waive the usual $50 permit application fee.

"The insurance doesn't cost anything. Woodbridge is a self-insured township," Hagerty said, a member of the Central Jersey Insurance Fund (JIF), and often provides a liability coverage for charitable groups.

Most of the other concert costs are being covered by donations. All 18 groups are volunteering their efforts. Creation of the 52 Fest website - named after LeGrand's football number at Rutgers - was donated, along with the marketing and promotional materials. The concert is getting a discount on the costs of the stages and sound systems, Solop said. 

The event is also getting something of a discount on security and traffic control, which is being shared by the county and township. Albinir said that two park rangers will be posted at the Cliff Road gate, where concert-goers will pay a $20 admission fee.

The park rangers are paid $35 an hour each by the promoter. The county permit form states that "additional park security is required for picnics over 500 people." But while the promotors hope for 1,000 and Williams Park has a maximum capacity of 10,000, Albinir said all other security would be provided by Woodbridge Township, as the permit holder. 

"Woodbridge is handling it," Albinir said. 

Hagerty said the event would be covered by the township's normal compliment of police officers for a Saturday. "They will be there because they are assigned," he said. "They will be on duty anyway. There won't be any overtime or any extra police.

Several police cars were in evidence at 1:30 pm. But aside from blocking off a dead end that goes into the PSE&G Sewaren co-generation plant, passersby could move around between Cliff Road and Debra Place, the intersection that leads to the park entrance.

Solop said there will also be dozens of volunteers patrolling the park, but the organizers are happy to defer to the Woodbridge Police Department on all else, including traffic control.

Williams Park is a peninsula, accessible only by a two-lane road it shares with the PSE&G co-generation plant in Sewaren. During the recent 4th of July fireworks there, both lanes were used to let drivers in, and then later, turned around to let them out. Approximately 8,000 people attended that event, many of whom parked on the grass because the park has less than 200 parking spaces.

People who attended said it took up to 90 minutes to leave. That's because there are only two ways to exit, once a car is through the gate. One way is through Cliff Road, the narrow street that fronts the water. The other way is through what locals call "the hole in the wall" - a narrow opening under elevated railroad tracks that permits only one car to pass at a time. That road empties onto the more accessible four-lane West Ave. 

So far, though, it doesn't look like traffic will be a concern. Early into the event, all roadways surrounding the park were completely clear.

 "We're happy the Woodbridge police are handling things," Solop said. "Maybe they'll donate their services."