Dark clouds over Ocean Grove. Trouble brewing, right here in River City. Paul Goldfinger photo. Soon it’s gonna rain. ©

NY TIMES:   June 29, 1986

Inspired by what Mayor Anthony Molinaro of Neptune says is ”the most reasonably priced oceanfront property left in New Jersey or New York,” local and out-of-town developers and real-estate people have been converting historic guest houses and large hotels into apartments and condominiums.

Young professionals and other outsiders have been buying and improving old homes. A three-bedroom house in fairly good condition two or three blocks from the Atlantic can be bought for about $150,000; farther from the beach, prices are lower. A rare oceanfront property that could cost $500,000 or more in some wealthy coastal towns would be about $250,000 to $300,000 here.

Along the oceanfront alone are two proposed projects that would add 350 apartments and 52 condominium units.

”Where people once came down here to get a room,” said Mayor Molinaro, ”they’re now coming down to get a condominium.”

”The place is going downhill,” Mr. Douglas  (retired merchant) said, adding that since Neptune Township started running things, police protection had decreased, motor-vehicle offenses had increased, parking had become impossible and infrastructure needs had been neglected.

Of the $3 million a year in taxes collected in Ocean Grove, Mr. Douglas said, ”very little” has been put back into the community

Watch for our next article comparing what happened in 1986 to defeat a major building project at both the North End and the South End.   What were the ingredients which produced those victories, and can such a feat be duplicated now?

THE INK SPOTS