The Christie administration is hoping to bring a resurgence to some of New Jersey's most polluted waterfront areas.

Newark resident Nancy Zak says that she's spent the past 25 years fighting to improve the city's Passaic River waterfront.

"So many kids have grown up without even knowing there's even a river in Ironbound," she says.

More than $53 million in grants has been awarded to improve parks, river walks and other waterfront areas in the state in at least eight communities. The money will come from a lawsuit settlement with corporate polluters.

"They're either on the Passaic River or they are in the Newark Bay Complex," says NJ DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. "That's where all the water flows down and where all the pollution has gone."

The Passaic River is toxic from generations of factory pollution. A separate federal project is planned to dredge and cap the lower portion of the river.

Nancy Zak was happy to hear that a park, boathouse and access to the Passaic River will be built with the grants.

Construction will also soon begin in Carteret for a new marina on the Arthur Kill.