Honoring the late Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
PATERSON, NJ – By Mark Greenbaum
Congressmembers Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ-06) today celebrated the passage of legislation to rename two prominent sites at Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park in honor of the late Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Congresswoman Pou, who represents Pascrell’s former district and is also a Paterson native, spoke during consideration of the bipartisan Bill Pascrell, Jr. Scenic Overlook Trail Bridge and Bill Pascrell, Jr. Overlook Park bill on the House floor, where it passed. The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate.
“Few public servants have shaped Paterson or New Jersey more than Bill Pascrell,” said Congresswoman Pou. “He understood the importance of honoring our past while fighting for our future. Every brick and every drop of the Falls tells a story about Paterson and America, and now those stories will include Bill. I was proud to help lead this effort on the House floor in tribute to my friend and mentor. I look forward to its swift passage into law.”
“Bill Pascrell spent his life fighting for the city that raised him,” said Congressman Pallone. “He believed in Paterson, in its people, and in preserving its proud place in our national story. Without Bill, the Great Falls wouldn’t be a national park, and the story of Paterson’s contribution to the American industrial revolution might have been lost to history. Renaming these sites in his honor is a small but lasting way to recognize everything he did to lift up his community and preserve its legacy.”
Congressman Pascrell played the pivotal role in establishing the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in 2009 and later expanding it to include the historic Hinchliffe Stadium, one of America’s few still-surviving Negro League baseball venues. Pascrell’s work ensured national recognition of Paterson’s central role in America’s birth and Industrial Revolution.
In addition to his work preserving Paterson’s cultural heritage, Pascrell was a national leader on traumatic brain injury (TBI) awareness and care. Last year, the House passed legislation championed by Congressman Pallone to rename the federal TBI program in Pascrell’s honor. Enactment of the National Program for Traumatic Brain Injury Surveillance and Registries bill expanding the program and naming it for Pascrell was blocked by Republicans at the behest of Elon Musk.
