Tenafly Councilman Daniel Park lives and breathes Bergen County; between being on borough’s town council for over a decade and working full time in the Bergen County administrative office, there’s no doubt that Park serves the community at every instance he can. That’s why Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, now running for governor of New Jersey, has selected Park to run for State Assembly in the 37th district, alongside Teaneck’s Tamar Warburg and 29 other candidates across the state.
Born in South Korea, Park’s family moved to the United States when he was just 2 years old, arriving in Queens before ultimately choosing to settle in Tenafly for its stellar education system. While growing up in Tenafly, Park was not only completely immersed in the robust Korean-American community, but also became close with many Jewish and Israeli classmates in Tenafly’s schools.
“Right from the beginning, my best friend was Israeli,” Park shared with The Jewish Link. “Then by the time I was in middle school, I was attending three or four bar and bat mitzvahs a week. And in every grade, I found a new close friend who happened to be Jewish—that’s just the kind of thing that happens organically in Tenafly.”
Park recalled many other fond memories of the Jewish community in Tenafly, including hanging out at his friends’ Hebrew schools after their public school day had ended. Park also managed to get his Jewish friend’s parents to sign a letter excusing him from school to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. “One of my favorite stories,” he noted.
After graduating from Tenafly High School, Park pursued his bachelor’s degree at Rutgers University in Newark. While in college, he began teaching at an alternate school, helping troubled teens obtain their high school diplomas. “There was a lot of hand-holding there,” Park said, and it was certainly a good introduction to a life of public service.
Park’s interest in politics began in 2012, during President Barack Obama’s campaign for reelection, when Park volunteered for the Bergen County Democratic Party. He was introduced to plenty of county commissioners (then called “freeholders”) and dove head first into door-to-door canvassing to help win two seats at the county level. After the election, Park was hired by Tracy Silna Zur to be her freeholder aide.
“I spent a year with Zur learning the ins and outs of local government—what the resolutions are, how our tax money is spent—and someone thought it would be a good idea to run for office myself in Tenafly, due to the growing Korean population,” Park explained. “I thought, ‘Why not? It’s my hometown and I know it inside and out,’ and ran for Tenafly council in 2013.” Since that fateful local election, Park is now in his fourth term as a Tenafly councilman.
Even when Park is not volunteering his time for the town council, he’s still serving Bergen County: He also works as a payroll manager for the office of administration and finance, which he began doing eight years ago.
“I’m an immigrant and English is my second language,” said Park. “When I got involved in politics, I knew the way we catered to immigrant communities needed to change.” He recalled one of the first Tenafly council meetings, during which he asked a 9-1-1 operator whether services could be offered in Korean, so that someone like his own grandmother would be able to reach emergency assistance. “Those types of things always intrigued me,” he said.
Park described a “transition phase” happening within his community, from “Korean” to “Korean-American,” as participation from first- and second-generation immigrants continues to rise. “I love seeing it. I love that people I grew up with are raising their kids here, volunteering around town and it’s phenomenal. I didn’t think I had it in me to work in politics, but getting to watch this transition has lit a spark in me that just can’t be turned off.”
The public servant was enticed to join Fulop’s campaign by a friend, Janie Chung. “I respect her opinion and I became interested in Fulop’s message, so I heard what he had to say and I really liked his ideas. He opened up the whole stage for me, and here we are,” Park said of his candidacy for the 37th district.
Running alongside Warburg has made Park “excited” for the partnership between the Asian and Jewish populations in Bergen County. “Growing up Korean
in Tenafly, I felt that we were insulated within our own community,” he explained. “I can see that the local Jewish community has the same issues; no one ever communicates between our groups, but there is strength in numbers and we will do better together. We’re really all one giant team.”
He noted that the Asian community, which has faced plenty of hate since the outbreak of COVID, relates in many ways to the Jewish community in a post-Oct. 7 atmosphere. “We could really use each other as allies,” he said.
Park added that beyond his passion for integrating his own community, he has been driven to run for state assembly after observing certain “inefficient disconnects” in his 10-plus years of government experience. “There are things that people might not be aware of unless you’ve already been working for the county or state,” he shared. “There’s so much change that can be made to make the quality of life in New Jersey way better.”
For more information, email Dan Park at [email protected].
Channa Fischer is digital editor of The Jewish Link and the resident 20-something in the office. She resides in Washington Heights.
