Asbury Park Boardwalk, May 2012, just north of the Casino, close to the border with Ocean Grove. This image is from our “Asbury Connection” series—a positive view of our northerly neighbor. Paul Goldfinger photo ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
As reported by us before, members of the Asbury Park Council have expressed negativity towards Ocean Grove in a way that was surprising and inappropriate in the context of our struggle to rebuild the OG boardwalk. While considering a resolution to support Ocean Grove in its bid for a FEMA appeal, members of the AP Council attacked Ocean Grove regarding matters that have nothing to do with the issue at hand. So, instead of a solid expression of support, we got irrelevant tirades having to do with gay rights and locked bridges. They refused to support the Grove by one vote.
Later they reversed their decision on the resolution, but not without a peculiar statement by Mayor Johnson who, commenting on the relationship between the two towns, said, “I wholeheartedly agree that there are some concerns and issues we need to address.”*
What do you suppose are the concerns and issues he wants to address ? Does he really consider gay rights in Ocean Grove to be a matter of public policy in Asbury Park? And is he going to fuss about the locked bridges when that topic hasn’t caused any real problems between the two towns? Mayor Houghtaling of Neptune Township says that the subject has never come up during his tenure on the Neptune Twp. Committee.
You would think that the AP Mayor might have plenty of concerns in his own town to keep his Council busy without creating problems between our two communities.
Meanwhile, if you want to know what is going on in Asbury Park, you can check the Asbury Park Sun, a very interesting online “paper” at Asburyparksun.com. There you will see the kinds of real problems that AP ought to be focusing on. Murder and mayhem are a lot more scary than midnight tourism and what goes on in our Pavilion.
Note: Three of the five councilmen contributed to the fog by mentioning locks and/or gays during the public discussion, but, in the end, all but Councilman Bruno voted to support the resolution to help Ocean Grove. Mayor Johnson said, “We need to stick with our neighbors” But despite the final vote, none of them retracted their hostile remarks about Ocean Grove which were left on the table like a dead fish from Wesley Lake. In fact, one of them called Grovers, “Riff raff.”
* Quote from the Asbury Park Sun
GOLDFRAPP: From the movie Jack Goes Boating:
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Can you imagine the gall? Perhaps a police crime activity report is in order. Also, camera work showing Asburian’s parking in the Grove. I’d be willing to sit in the car and record them if anyone else wants to set up shifts. Proof and substantiation might shut them up.
Reblogged this on Blogfinger and commented:
Jack mentioned this incident to me (2013) in discussing how indifferent the Asburians are to our current problems including Wesley Lake pollution and the invasion of the Asburian snatchers who snatch our parking spaces, especially at the North End.—Paul @Blogfinger January 15, 2019.
Hobe: According to the Asbury mayor, it is not “over and done with.”
What’s new is that Mayor Johnson has publicly declared that “there are some concerns and issues we need to address.” Thus he is letting us know that his town council will be raising two Ocean Grove topics in the future: the Pavilion discrimination subject and the 15 year old locking-the-bridges situation.
I think it is good to let our readers know that Asbury Park officials plan to tangle with us over two matters that most Grovers would rather not argue about.
If the Mayor hadn’t laid down that challenge, then this article would not have been necessary.
I don’t undertand why BF is belaboring this story. It is over and done with! Lets move on.