A new North End plan? What else will wash up on the shores of Ocean Grove? Blogfinger photo © 2015.
By Paul Goldfinger, Fake-News Editor @Blogfinger.net
The headline on May 7, 2018, by Austin Bogues of the Asbury Park Press reads, “Ocean Grove’s Asbury Park border to get new hotel, condos and beachfront homes.” The piece was based on essentially the same information which the Camp Meeting Association recently doled out in a press release published on Blogfinger.
CMA announces new North End plan on 4/26/18. Blogfinger link
In the APP piece, CMA President Michael Badger said, “The organization has reached a development deal with a group of investors to bring a new 40 room hotel, 39 condominiums, 10 single family homes along with new retail space to the area.”
The reporter mentions that the tract of land is 5.6 acres and that the plan includes a 150 car parking garage.
But there is no mention of the “area in need of redevelopment” that was passed into law by Neptune Township in 2008 along with the blanket permission to erase the existing single-family zoning that was then in effect and recommended by the Master Plan.
The ordinances to approve a Redevelopment Zone and the North End Redevelopment Plan are still in effect, and if the CMA wants to change all that and begin a “development plan,” then it will have to start over from scratch, including reverting back to the original zoning, and that would involve the Neptune Township Committee.
Of course, the CMA and the mysterious new “group of investors” may have reached some sort of secret agreement with our elected officials to smooth over these zoning concerns once again. Maybe this is coming from the Aurora playbook (or visa versa.)
Badger said that “permits for construction will take nearly a year.” Well that sounds slow but smooth, however there are no details about all the issues and questions that are hanging out in space. It’s like a sort of fake news asteroid breaking up and showering down upon the citizens of Ocean Grove.
In the article, Ocean Groaner-in-chief Barbara Burns, President of the OGHOA, revealed that she can read minds. She said, “I think everybody is happy there’s an agreement.” Wow! The Groaners should open a kiosk at the North End—a branch of Madam Marie’s.
As for the Asbury Park reference in the APP headline, Grovarian real estate maven Jack R. Green is quoted saying, “The new development will help Ocean Grove compete with tourism in Asbury Park.” But did he survey the residents of Ocean Grove to find out if they desire more tourism, especially the kind that would compete with A. Park?
However CMA President Badger seems to have a different vision for the new North End. He said, “The flavor of Ocean Grove is different from that of Asbury Park.” No kidding! But there seems to be a nascent identity crisis brewing over the A. Park relationship to the Grove’s new “development.”
It should be fun watching how Neptune Township will react to all this, after all, the word “Neptune” (the planet or the town) wasn’t mentioned once in this big fake-news story.
MEGHAN TRAINOR: We propose this song as the theme for the New South Asbury Development (at the OG North End)