Those ideas amount to a "sneak attack" on Liberty State Park and could become reality under legislation sitting on Gov. Christie's desk, environmental groups opposed to one measure in the bill warn.

But the Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the 1,200-acre state park in Jersey City, says that opponents are wrong and that there are no plans to build commercial or residential property on the site.

The dispute represents one of the latest fights between the Republican governor and environmental groups. This time, though, the disagreement arises from language added into a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature and pushed by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D., Hudson).

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, views the language as damaging for the state's park lands.

"We see this as a sneak attack on public open space," he said.

The added language says that the commission would be allowed to "evaluate, approve and implement any plan or plans for the further preservation, development, enhancement or improvement of Liberty State Park."

The eleventh-hour addition led Tittel's group to oppose legislation it had initially supported. Tittel worries that the commission's mandate could conflict with the environmental protection department's mission.

"The jurisdiction is no longer going to be the DEP but the Meadowlands [Regional] Commission," Tittel said. "They're not in the business of planning parks; they're much more in the development business."

DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese said the park would remain under the department's control. The agency wants to enhance the park's amenities and make it a destination for tourists, he said.

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'Green' groups fear what bill means for state park