Hymns are played by Phil Smith and sung at the Founders Park fountain dedication.  Paul Goldfinger photo July 27, 2019. © Sometimes  religious and local themes merge in the Grove.

A large crowd at a 2013 Doo Wop concert. Where should all these night-time visitors park? Paul Goldfinger photo. ©  Shaboom, shaboom.

The OGCMA , a remarkable and unique organization, is in the awkward position of being irreversibly woven into the fabric of Ocean Grove, NJ—the Town.

The CMA is a private entity, and as such, it rarely offers much information publicly  regarding  its attitudes and plans, especially as it pertains to the town.

But as much as it wants to be private, it is often part of the conversation about parking, zoning, crowding, tourism, historic preservation, commercialism, etc.  And sometimes it does go public, as when its spokesman threatened to sue the town if they so much as discussed permit parking.

As another example, it dropped out of its official role as Co-redeveloper of the North End Redevelopment Plan where it is the land owner. But it still is in the middle of that controversial situation, raising questions as to how much it cares about the town of OG and the life styles of its largely secular residents—- the largest faction in town.

A former CMA President told me during an interview some years ago that “the CMA cares little about the town’s problems—it is all about its religious mission.”   And, of course, that is understandable, but they cannot avoid some public concerns, and they do recognize that.  They are also residents and building owners and tax payers.

Which brings us to parking. We know the CMA cares about parking, because they worry where all their religious tourists will park, and their growing programming will bring thousands more to town in 2020 as they strive towards a year round presence.

But now, they evidently see red lights flashing with the arrival of the BPA. At the Committee meeting on Dec. 9 they sent President Badger who announced that the CMA will “fund and conduct its own parking survey in the near future.”   They have already selected a company to perform a “parking assessment.”

But despite the optimistic spin of the BPA, Badger told the  Coaster reporter that the CMA is opposed to the BPA plan because “it would fundamentally change the town.”  He also is quoted as saying, “There are many aspects to the parking problem in OG since it is not only a bedroom community, but also one with an active beachfront, a business district and events scheduled.”

Yes, but other shore communities with the same descriptors don’t have the large CMA presence which Badger doesn’t mention in his “aspects” description above. This is not a typical shore town because of the CMA.  So let’s define the problem accurately.

And now the Mayor has asked that all proposals be “examined by a joint task force of the OGCMA, the BPA, and the Chamber of Commercials.”

How about the Groaners?   Evidently the Mayor thinks that they have nothing to add despite their efforts in the past on parking.

She said, “There is no perfect solution that will make everybody happy.”

That is true, but the CMA’s track record tells us that they won’t be happy unless a plan provides them with all the parking that they need.

* All quotes are from the December 12 edition of the Coaster.

Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net

Mel Torme´ with the Marty Paich Orchestra