Photo by Paul Goldfinger. The girl in shorts was a happy coincidence.
SOUNDTRACK: Kristin Chenowith from Promises, Promises (Burt Bachrach and Hal David):
OG Progress Note: Prime Real Estate at Ocean Avenue and Ocean Pathway
August 20, 2012 by Blogfinger
Please don’t think I object to a port-a-potty on a work site — of course they are needed. What I object to is placing it in the flare when there is an entire empty lot on Bath Ave behind the flare owned by the same person who is building the two homes on the Pathway. The Manchester occupied three lots, two on Ocean Pathway, and one on Bath. One owner, three lots. Construction is underway only on two lots, so why not put the port-a-potty out of sight further back in the third lot?
The condos on Ocean Pathway may be large and the grand new home being built on the corner of the Pathway and Ocean Avenue (the site of the former Queen Hotel) may not be to everyone’s liking, but let’s not forget what was there before: run-down SRO hotels similar to the Warrington, which readers of this blog know was shut down by the state.
On the subject of homes, the new home on Abbott Avenue has just been painted and is looking good with its lowered porch level. Another example of new construction replacing a deteriorating structure.
As for the portable toilets on construction sites. Yeah, they’re unsightly and sometimes get in the way. I’d rather have this in the Grove than what I once saw while biking past a home renovation site that didn’t have a portable potty; a construction guy peeing against a shed. Eeewwwww!
Small inconveniences are a small price to pay for improvements that will be long lasting where people are putting large amounts of money into a project which is approved, if not accepted by you.
Plus, last time I checked, there was a really large unobstructed walkway going up the center of the great lawn from the ocean to the Great Auditorium. Use it. Gosh….keep in mind that those 22 condos were approved before 2007. It just took them this long to build them.
The home on the corner of the Pathway and Ocean meets the front porch average setback per ordinance and was not sent to the zoning board but approved by the township officials. I also have a feeling that if even if everything did conform, you would still find something to complain about…like they are all too much alike and there’s no diversity…..
Also, at the site of both fires, the sidewalk was destroyed and no longer exists
Does the builder hold a permit to obstruct the sidewalk? Waivers can be granted to do so by the town.
With the exception of the building on Ocean Pathway and Ocean Ave, none of the major construction is on a busy street
While we may not live in the city, we share multiple characteristics with a big city, including limited parking, lot sizes, traffic, and narrow roads.
As to the manner of building going on, that is the province of the building, planning, or zoning boards. The town sees new construction as a billable, and unless it impeded upon R. Bishop’s residence, they allow whatever thing people want.
If we were to post under our real names, how would that change anything? How many Joes are in OG?
Frank: I wish everyone could use their real names, but allowing pseudonyms allows people to be brave enough to tell us their opinions. We don’t care if people make foolish statements. It’s OK to say foolish things. The worst scenario is for people to say nothing. That is what we want to prevent. Paul
Hey Bullets: That’s why we live in O.G. and not the city. We do not need to deal with builders and owners that are breaking the law and have no respect for the residents.
The law states NO PUBLIC SIDEWALKS CAN BE BLOCKED BY A PRIVATE PARTY. What does this tell you anyway? Maybe the structure is too large for the property.
Mr. Aggravated Curmudgeon: I believe North Ender is right; you sound like a builder. Sure the Pathway is beautiful with new construction when :
The homes aren’t to be more then 2 1/2 story— do any new ones conform?
The 22 condo’s are massive compared to the homes in the area AND NO PARKING for any of them.
The NEW home being built on the corner of Ocean and Pathway doesn’t meet the setback along with the one next to it.
So enough of how beautiful the construction is on the Pathway. If they all conformed to code, it would be nice.
To PAUL: I wish people in Blogfinger would have to use their names. This would stop alot of brave people from making such foolish statements.
North-ender:
Since you raised the question. . .
Aggravated Curmudgeon is a 15+ year homeowner in Ocean Grove and he is not affiliated with any of the developers working in OG.
As for the construction sites on the Pathway, Surf and Bath Avenues, I still wonder about the fires that preceded the current development.
Bullets,
I am not referring to the location pictured above. They have not obstructed the sidewalks as Gosh indicated above. The locations that do obstruct the sidewalks are at Surf, Bath and Ocean Pathway (2nd block). Neptune ordinance requires sidewalks to be clear of all obstructions. The state requires parking for the 9 condos on Surf. The toilet mentioned by Carol is on Bath.
The equipment parked in the fire zone was left there by the developer of these construction sites, not the one pictured above with a mailing address of Ocean Ave. The sidewalk obstruction on Surf is going on 2 years – is that short term?
Looks like a Victorian built up in Newport during the gilded age. Not your typical Ocean Grove type.
North-Ender
What is your life like that you can clearly work up a righteous indignation about something so trivial? From the picture posted above, the port-a-potty is behind the sidewalk, and there is no vehicle or equipment in the corner fire zones. What state laws are they violating? What ordinances are they violating? If anything, the fences prevent people from entering the work site and hurting themselves or stealing equipment.
Spend some time in NYC and you will find sidewalks closed for construction all the time. Cross the street and use the sidewalk over there, I am sure a few extra feet isn’t going to kill you.
Please go to the prosecutors’ office and tell them this; then tell us how you got laughed at… Do you really think they will take a complaint about an active work zone seriously? When the workers are actually working, they use the space they need and pull back the fence at night
Get over it, short term inconvenience is little to pay for long term improvements to the overall development of the community.
Aggravated Curmudgeon –
You must not live in Ocean Grove or you are affiliated with the developer/builder.
There are Neptune Township ordinances and state laws that are being ignored for this developer. The police allow his bulldozer and construction equipment to park all day in the yellow fire zones while at the same time give tickets to other vehicles illegally parked. WHY? I will ask the question again. WHY?
The Home Owners Association should be getting the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office involved and the State Attorney and find out WHY!!!!
Ocean Grove residents have a right to walk down a block and be safe. We have a right to park our cars next to these projects and not have our children exit into the street because of construction equipment and a toilet.
Space is limited in Ocean Grove, which makes construction a little more inconvenient. Instead of complaining about the port-o-potty and fences, or noticing an inconsequential position of the foundation, why not focus on all the beautiful new properties going up in the area of the Pathway.
Many replace the dilapidated Manchester. No one wanted to see it burn, but isn’t the new construction an improvement? This is beneficial for everyone — more rateables and higher values. The housing stock could be improved and further enhanced if we had fewer building restrictions and more reasonable historic preservation.
Appreciate this new house, it will be beautiful.
What part of the pictured house is supposed to be Victorian? Seems you can slap a porch and a small turret on anything these days and pass the litmus test with the HPC. So much for symmetry….The construction issues are not permanent…the structure will be. This house has definitive English Tudor lines. Mish Mosh.
We are also bothered by the fencing blocking the homes being built on the Pathway. It is a problem to watch the elderly try to negotiate the street, trying to get up to the beach. Calls have been made to Neptune, but to no avail. The house up near the beach has a tidy construction fence, enabling easy access.
Did the developer ever seek construction permits for the Bath Ave. lot? I thought he only received approval and permits for Ocean Pathway.
Mayor Bishop can you please help the residents that live only a few blocks from your home/hotel. Since Neptune doesn’t seem to care about its residents, how about removing the obstructions for the tourists.
How does this developer get insurance for these properties when he is putting people in danger?
How about a port-a-potty that looks and smells like a rose bush? Win-win
What about the port-a-potty sitting next to the sidewalk in the flare on Bath Ave. for the workers at the Ocean Pathway site? Why is this permitted? There’s plenty of space behind the flare where it would not block the view or the ocean breeze.
If my rose bushes grow higher than 30 inches in the flare, I could receive a violation notice. I’d much rather look at a 7-foot-tall rose bush than a port-a-potty.
One developer has the sidewalks obstructed on 3 blocks – Ocean Pathway, Bath Ave., and Surf Ave. I am sure that if I put up a fence and blocked off the sidewalks code enforcement would be at my door the same day. So why is this developer allowed tp put our lives in danger and make us walk in the street and not on the sidewalk? The Mayor lives two blocks away – he should be ASHAMED for allowing this to occur!
The home being built is constructed with overkill on foundations and structure. This is a good thing; not many builders use this quality for materials.
This home will last a very long time and I happen to see some materials being delivered, and there are no Home Depot quality materials being used on this job.
Two quick notes: If you notice, all construction and materials are on the property owners property, including the construction fences. Others in town are allowed to use public sidewalks for their own gain. If someone should trip walking in the street, Neptune would be liable along with the homeowner for blocking public property, ( Only in this town)
Second. If you look at the setback from the foundation of the new home AND the home next to it, you will see they are in line ( no setback again— Neptune has turned their backs and allowed this to happen.) Who is responsible for this? And why do they spot enforce?
This looks like it will become one of the grandest homes in OG. Hope it’s open for one of the OG house tours, although I wouldn’t count on it!