Ex-State Senator, Wyckoff Mayor Henry McNamara, 83, Dies

WYCKOFF, NJ — New Jersey might not be as green as it is if not for Henry McNamara.

McNamara, a longtime state senator from Wyckoff who fought to protect the environment, died Monday. He was 83.

He served in the state Senate from 1985 to 2008.

As chairman of the Senate's Environment Committee, McNamara introduced the creation of the Garden State Preservation Trust Fund. The fund provides millions of dollars a year to municipalities to protect open space, farmland, parks, and historic sites. His work led to the way for a Brownfields law and have private investors clean up polluted industrial sites so they could be used again.

McNamara also championed laws regarding underground storage tanks and toxic waste clean-up.

"Hank dedicated his life to the people of New Jersey," Assemblyman Kevin Rooney, R-Wyckoff, said in a statement Monday. “I hope to continue to honor Senator McNamara’s memory and continue his legacy in my service to New Jersey.”

The New Jersey Sierra Club, a grassroots organization dedicated to preserving the environment, issued a statement regarding McNamara's death.

"When you look around New Jersey and see toxic sites being cleaned up, open space preserved, and clean water protected in the Highlands, you know that Senator McNamara helped make that happen," said Jeff Tittel, the organization's executive director. "Henry McNamara’s legacy has led to a better environment for all of New Jersey. He lead major efforts to clean up contaminated sites and put them towards productive uses under re-development, especially in urban areas."

McNamara was mayor of Wyckoff in 1979 and deputy mayor in 1980. He served as a Bergen County freeholder from 1984 to 1986.

McNamara served in the Army in 1957 and in the New Jersey National Guard Reserve from 1957 to 1963.

"Senator McNamara has acted as a mentor for me in my public service, but has also been a close friend to my family and myself," Rooney said. "My deepest condolences go out to his wife Joan and family. He will be greatly missed, but he has made a lasting impact."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: State Senator Henry McNamara (New Jersey State Legislature website)