The Albatross. Ocean Pathway, Ocean Grove. Blogfinger photo © 2017 re-post on the occasion of the 2021 sale.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net:
The article below was from 2017 on Blogfinger when a reader called the Albatross “..just another menace to society.” But rest assured that the recent drug raid on Oct. 9, 2020, on Ocean Pathway was at another address, closer to the ocean—-a tribute to skepticism regarding preconceived notions and stereotypes.
Ocean Pathway drug bust Oct 9 2020
2017:
From Samuel Taylor’s poem : Ryme of the Ancient Mariner:
“With my cross-bow,
I shot the albatross.
‘Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.”
But now, in Ocean Grove, Joe Grove has something similar to say about the Albatross, but he is referring to an old hotel on the Ocean Pathway in Ocean Grove, NJ.
“The Albatross has been functioning as vagrant housing. It seems the B and B’s of Ocean Grove have a 10 day stay limit for guests and to circumvent this limitation one simply has to change rooms. The Albatross is apparently applying a 90 day limitation and has basically converted into vagrant housing. The residents from the Whitfield and La Pierre are staying there under contract with a state agency.
“To have a B and B on the Pathway between the Great Auditorium and the boardwalk pavilion operating under this charade is pretty amazing. The integrity of the surrounding area has negatively impacted other residents, and the vagrants in the Albatross have definitely left their mark with cigarette butts and other trash inconsiderately tossed on the streets.
“Hats off to the owner of the Albatross which has become just another menace to society…”
There had been talk that the owner of the Albatross would like to turn it into condominiums, but we don’t know for sure. It had some moments of fame on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.
As portrayed on HBO–cast as an early 20th century hotel; which it is. Blogfinger photo of the TV showing Boardwalk Empire (HBO).
The Albatross appears in “Boardwalk Empire”
But why can’t these old hotels succeed as they did in the past? The Manchester Inn seemed successful, but the owner wanted condos….and then it burned down. Single family homes resulted. But others deteriorated like the Whitfield which was demolished and will become single family homes. One recently tried to become a drug rehab center. And yet others have become condominiums with pseudo-Victorian facades and no parking, increased congestion, and no character.
But Neptune’s elected officials should owe their allegiance to the citizens of the “historic district” and not to developers. The ideal should be a historic town that brings comfort and beauty to the residents and the visitors. It should be a place with honesty, light and air. It should attract art, music, children, flowers, teenagers, yard sales, dinner on the porches, bicyclists, film festivals, ice cream, theater, girls in summer clothes, good eateries, diversity, and more….not trash and scum in Wesley Lake, not politicians in the shadows, and not cigarette butts on the ground.
Too bad for the owners, but the dying old hotels should revert to single family homes. Why did the Township bother to write a master plan?
And what will happen to Ocean Grove in the future—maybe it will become like Ocean Grove, Australia, which now bears no resemblance to Osborne’s dream. It’s a surfers’ town now. Maybe that’s OK. Some wouldn’t care if our Grove were to drift away to become something else.
BLOSSOM DEARIE:
It’s sad that we have to worry that fires in OG might be intentionally set, but many residents think that way. Yet the paid professional fire inspectors here have always found the fires to be not suspicious, even with all of the facts given.
Are these local inspectors competent? Is there a money trail to explain why these fires are so similar? Are some people in town benefitting financially from such fires? Is this about real estate investing? If these fires are not accidental, and if people make money from these tragedies, then the problem will continue.
So now we fear for our own home’s future and we might worry that a neighborhood property near our home might tempt an arsonist.
I do fear my neighbors’ intentions as my life can become a disaster if someone chooses to benefit from having an “accidental” fire.
It really upsets me that the HOA attorney speaking to the Coaster has shared an opinion of how she assumes all Ocean Grove residents feel. How could one person assume what an entire town feels. She’s generalizing without a basis for her conclusions. She has painted a fake picture of how our town’s residents feel to the newspaper.
I moved to OG a few years ago and I am more in love with it today than when I first visited the town. Never did I think I would ever move from this magical place, but I now have the thoughts that my future residency could change – due to these continual “accidental” fires.
Those who live nearby have an albatross around their necks:
Undesirables live there now but if the owner decides to renovate for condos maybe it will “accidentally” burn down.
RRS: Doing ” a little research” is a big deal for us at Blogfinger where we have been asking, for years, for more readers to get involved in such research. It is, after all, a public service for your fellow citizens.
So thank you for the effort as a citizen reporter.—-Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
After I read this article, I decided to do a little research on how the Albatross”s guests described their experiences there. So I visited the TripAdvisor website where I found that there are 53 reviews with an overall rating of 3 out of 5 stars. As this rating might suggest, the ratings are a mixed bag with some praising old fashioned charm and proximity to the beach while others commenting on crumbling plumbing, lack of an elevator, shared bathrooms with mildew problems, a lobby area in need of refurbishment, a generally dirty appearance etc.
On the subject of the Albatross providing long-term accommodations, one recent reviewer wrote, “It seems he is housing vagrants on the third floor and up without a license (something you need to confirm) so keep an eye on your children and your wallets…” This review was posted in January, 2017 regarding a stay in August, 2016.
I believe that a B & B/hotel license prohibits stays of more than 30 days, so long term residents must vacate the premises periodically to comply with this mandate.