Ocean Grove boardwalk. June 30, 2018. Blogfinger.net photo. ©
We know that the Camp Meeting owns the boardwalk, but Federal funds paid a large portion of the rebuilding, and Neptune Township calls OG the “Neptune Township Historic District.”
And Neptune police patrol the area, and most Grovers do not identify with the CMA. Although the CMA has the State authority to manage the beach front, it does not own the beach or the Ocean.
And, to identify the town as “God’s Square Mile at the Jersey Shore” is to give the wrong impression as to what Ocean Grove is all about. As it is, the media always gets it wrong by presenting the town as a religious enclave. Certainly the CMA has an important presence, but most of the census population (over 3,000) would be considered to be secular.
So why does the sign refer to the “Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association” when it should properly introduce visitors to the “Neptune Township Historic District?”
Is this a trivial issue? Not if you appreciate that, as time goes by, Ocean Grove is evolving and changing. We spoke to a young business owner in town who told us that he considers OG to be in the midst of important mutations, and we have written about those variables: demographics, short-term rentals, religion, parking, grid lock, zoning, gay rights, and attitudes towards Neptune Township, The Camp Meeting, and Asbury Park, among others. So, how is the town to be defined in the future?
And hey, here’s Bob Dylan singing “As Time Goes By.”
OK So if OG is named the “Ocean Grove Historic District” that doesn’t answer the original question of “Who gets to welcome visitors to the beachfront where the CMA has erected signs welcoming visitors?”
Maybe the people of Ocean Grove should do the welcoming?
This distinction goes to the fundamental question of what official function does the CMA perform? They are not part of the Neptune government.
Separation of church and state must be maintained, and the official roll of the CMA should be formally defined.
The Neptune website refers to Ocean Grove as the Ocean Grove Historic District. National Register Districts are usually named (appropriately enough) after the local neighborhood/area in which they are located rather than the larger municipal designation.
Thus, the National Park Service website also refers to the Ocean Grove Historic District. This makes sense, since a number of towns and cities have more than one Historic District.
While I love the beach and am there on every day off – weather permitting – I do believe the beach should remain closed on Sunday AM. We are already attracting far too may people here for the infrastructure. I wish it were still God’s square mile, but there is no tranquility here any more
PG: Regarding the Sunday beach closure—-well said. Times are different now. 99% of the people waiting for the beach to open are not at all interested in sitting in the hot Auditorium for a church service. They advertised for people to come, and they have come. You can’t have it both ways.
And, is it fair to people who have to check out of their hotels by 11:00am the latest, to have to wait on the boardwalk with all their gear for the beach to open?
Appreciate your bringing this conversation to Blogfinger.
Linda: The Sunday morning beach closure is an anachronism and should be discontinued. There was a time when the town of Ocean Grove was painted with a broad religious brush on Sundays. No cars were allowed in town, and one could not go to the beach all day or even ride a bicycle. So there was a consistency that made sense to those who came here.
But this morning beach rule, by itself, now makes no obvious sense to many.
Even though the closure is not actually a Township law, there is a major frown-factor as beachgoers are strongly discouraged by the CMA from going on the beach on Sunday mornings.
Some say that it encourages church-going instead of beach-going, but in this day and age, even mildly coercing people to go to church would never pass a referendum.
Another possible reason is to provide Sunday morning street parking for those who attend religious services at the Great Auditorium. Many beachgoers won’t drive into town before the beaches open at noon.
It’s ironic, but Blogfinger has said many times that the key to our parking glut is to reduce the number of cars coming into town. So it seems that the CMA has set this up just that way, but no one else can avail themselves of this approach, certainly not at the hands of the Home Groaners parking mavens.
And there are those who like the Sunday morning beach closure because it adds some welcome temporary quietude to the beachfront, but it also encourages many to go to Bradley Beach or Asbury. The CMA talks about its “welcoming” style, but this doesn’t seem to fit.
But for many, the closure is appreciated as a largely symbolic tradition of a bygone era, but one can’t evoke symbolism when the closure materially affects so many adversely.
Ken,
There are both religious and non religious organizations that are tax exempt.
Also, the Beach, Wesley Lake, and Fletcher Lake have always been riparian lands under State jurisdiction since 1776.
It is the Township Committee and the two Lake Commissions I am worried about.
They have already confiscated both lakes and a large section of the North End Beach for development, while the DEP has been looking the other way.
.
Caridadpinneiro: Of course. One of the elements that attracted us to live here is the spirituality of the town.
Regarding the sign, by pointing out that God is mentioned doesn’t mean that we are advocating tearing down the sign. It means that the roll of religion in Ocean Grove public life is a topic worth discussing.
As a newcomer to the area I have to say that there is something unique and special about God’s Little Square Mile. I remember seeing the community coming out after Sandy, young and old, all joining together. It showed me how this is a special community. While I’m not a Methodist, I see nothing wrong with acknowledging God and the role it plays in this community.
and I heard that the OGCMA will be levied heavy taxes in the near future because they are not a tax free religious organization – “they never were”…. so who cares about the beach? The state’s going to grab it sooner or later
Here we go…………………………
Jay Cortese:
The entire beach in Ocean Grove, including the land under the boardwalk and the North End pavilion building are “riparian lands.”
Riparian lands in NJ are held in trust by the State under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Protection, and are reserved for recreation, conservation, and environmental education.
The beach in O.G. is managed quite nicely by the OGCMA.
The key word here is “trust .” Can we trust the “powers that be” to do the right thing with this “public trust?”
Regarding the Neptune Township Committee, the answer is ……NO !!
J. Try this on for size: The “public trust” doctrine, which goes back to Roman times, declares that waterways are inherently public, and cannot be sold even if the sovereign wants to.
“The first U.S. court to articulate the public trust was the New Jersey Supreme Court, in a case involving oyster beds. ‘Where the tide ebbs and flows, the ports, the bays, the coasts of the sea, including both the water and the land under the water…are common to all the people,” the N.J. court said in the 19th-century case of Arnold v Mundy. Each person, it added, ‘has a right to use them according to his pleasure.’ ”
I have searched OG history books and the Internet and cannot find a clear answer as to who owns the beaches of Ocean Grove and the ocean attached, but it’s not likely that the CMA does.
One authoritative opinion has it that the CMA is granted the right to manage the beachfront, sell badges, set rules, etc. but the ownership is under the stewardship of the State of New Jersey on behalf of the people.
And even more to the point who has the power to authorize the building of condominiums or a hotel at the beachfront?
Maybe we will get some input on this from commenters.
We cannot even walk on the beach on Sunday mornings because badge people paid by CMA prevent us, even if we have beach badges.
Paul, I may be mistaken, but I was under the impression that the CMA does in fact own the beach and a certain amount of riparian rights? Can anyone verify this??