TRENTON - A bill that opponents feared would open the door to the privatization and commercialization of Liberty State Park was signed into law by Gov. Christie on Thursday, but it is expected to be revised soon by new legislation to protect the site.

The measure's sponsors, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and State Sen. Paul Sarlo, said in a statement that they would write legislation to address concerns about development of the site, a popular gateway to the Statue of Liberty.

Christie says the law will help make government smaller and more affordable by merging two agencies - the Meadowlands Commission and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority - into the new Meadowlands Regional Commission.

That commission, according to the law, "shall evaluate, approve, and implement any plans for Liberty State Park."

Prieto (D., Bergen) and Sarlo (D., Bergen) on Thursday tried to allay those fears by offering to tweak the law.

"Liberty State Park and what it means to our heritage holds a special place, and, as has always been the case, we will stand ready to protect the park," Prieto and Sarlo said in a statement.

"To that end, we will be introducing legislation to clarify that the Meadowlands Regional Commission may only review plans for Liberty State Park at the request of the Department of Environmental Protection, and that nothing in state law shall be construed to transfer ownership of any Liberty State Park property to the commission or anyone else," they said.

Though having unspecified issues with the bill, Christie signed it based on bipartisan negotiations and agreement with Prieto and Sarlo, according to a statement from his office.

"Though this legislation is imperfect in its current form, I believe it is important that we act to move forward with this commonsense consolidation of government to deliver savings to New Jersey taxpayers while we move forward with bipartisan agreement to address concerns with the current bill," Christie said.

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N.J. lawmakers to revise law affecting Liberty State Park