CAPE MAY — A project already several years in the works, there is still more to be done at Lafayette Street Park, including an official renaming.
On Aug. 18, City Council passed a resolution to officially rededicate the park under its original name, Wise-Anderson Park.
As part of the resolution, the city is applying to the Cape May County Open Space Program for nearly $1 million.
“The city of Cape May is in the process of executing various improvements to the park area located on Lafayette Street and the park, in recent years and throughout improvement, has been referred to as Lafayette Street Park,” Mayor Zack Mullock said.
The Wise and Anderson families are longstanding Cape May community members, with Mullock noting that Clifton “Doc” Anderson Sr. was an outstanding athlete throughout high school and went on to play football in the NFL. He later became a professor and coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Princess Anne College).
Councilman Shaine Meier said July 7 that the tennis court at the park was previously associated with the Wise-Anderson Park there, named for resident Charles Wise, in honor of his dedication to teaching tennis to local youth.
“I’d like to thank Councilman Meier for helping push this process along,” Mullock said. “Obviously, the park project itself has taken some time to unscramble that spaghetti mess that we’ve had regarding, well, we won’t go through all the acronyms that we’ve talked about for over a decade.”
Cape May resident Lynda Anderson-Towns thanked City Council, noting the lengthy process that began under a different administration.
“What we wanted to hold dearly is the African American community that contributed to what Cape May is today and not to forget that ever,” Anderson-Towns said. “It is a place of nostalgia, to remember the many families that worked in those houses and stood to make it become the Victorian place that we all like to visit today.”
She added her thanks to working with Meier, City Council and the residents of Cape May.
“Certainly, to have the Wise-Anderson Park to be the first park that greets you, as it did when we were children, and watching the youngsters playing basketball and, on the playground, is a sign that Cape May mattered then and still matters today,” Anderson-Towns said.
Mullock thanked her for attending and added that renaming the park was just the start.
“It was important to a lot of us, including Mr. Meier, [to make sure] that we submit these plans to the county with the right name on those documents,” Mullock said. “We thank you for your patience and we thank the whole community for their patience, because a community park like this is important to so many people.”
He added that he cannot wait to see basketball played again at the park.
On July 7, engineer Vince Orlando presented the conceptual plan for phase three to City Council.
The city had to break the project into parts, which required involving the Department of Environmental Protection, city and state historic preservation groups, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Cape May City Board of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Jersey Central Power & Light, among others.
The park is currently an active area, with the future home of the Cape May Police Department among the ongoing construction.
Construction on the long-awaited police station began Nov. 11, 2025, on the corner of Lafayette and Saint Johns streets, a former part of Lafayette Street Park.
In March 2025, the State House Commission unanimously granted approval to Cape May’s land diversion proposal, providing the space for the construction.
The approval allowed the city to exchange 6.6 acres of environmentally sensitive land adjacent to the Sewell Tract for 0.137 acres at Lafayette Street Park, which is part of the state Green Acres program.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
