The USS Ling in Hackensack Makes the List of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in NJ 

photos by ArtChick 

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in NJ program spotlights irreplaceable historic, architectural, cultural, and archaeological resources in New Jersey that are in imminent danger of being lost. The act of listing these resources acknowledges their importance to the heritage of New Jersey, and draws attention to the predicaments that endanger their survival and the survival of historic resources statewide. The list, generated from nominations by the public, aims to attract new perspectives and ideas to sites in desperate need of creative solutions.

The World War II-era submarine USS Ling was announced as the area’s sole entry on Preservation New Jersey’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Places list for 2022. The nonprofit’s annual list is designed to raise awareness of threats to the state’s cultural and architectural heritage. Over the years the Ridgewood blog has chronicled the trials and tribulations of the USS Ling ,damaged by Superstorm Sandy, attacked by vandals and the attempted rescue by Louisville Naval Museum Inc. and the Submarine Memorial Association.

The USS Ling is a U.S. Navy Balao class submarine and one of five built near the end of World War II still surviving. Launched in 1943 from the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia, it came into service in 1945. With the end of World War II, it was decommissioned a few months later and became part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet until 1960. It was then used as a training submarine at the Brooklyn Navy Yard until 1971.

 

In 1972, the USS Ling was transferred to the Submarine Memorial Association, a non-profit established to save it from being sold as scrap and to interpret its historical significance. The owner of The Bergen Record, a newspaper headquartered in Hackensack, was instrumental in the transfer of the USS Ling to the Submarine Memorial Association and the Ling was towed to a riverbank site in proximity to the newspaper’s headquarters. Once in Hackensack, the submarine was operated as a museum, and listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused severe flooding along the banks of the Hackensack River, severely damaging the museum. This, combined with silt buildup on the River, resulted in full closure of the museum and submarine by 2016, and deferred maintenance. In 2018 an inspection found that the USS Ling had sprung a leak which caused significant water damage.

As a parting gift its lease was terminated by Stephen Borg, former publisher of The Record. Borg and city officials have all declined responsibility for the USS Ling. The Hackensack Planning Board approved Borg’s plan to subdivide the nearly 20-acre site adjacent to the river-bound vessel into four lots for redevelopment.

The submarine requires a full overhaul with significant costs. As one of only five remaining submarines of its class, and the only one in New Jersey, Preservation New Jersey calls attention to the need for the stabilization and restoration of the submarine for its ability to connect future generations to military history of the 20th century.