From the OG CHAMBER OF COMMERCIALS. 11/14/21
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor, Blogfinger.net
Don’t let anyone tell you that the tourist season in the Grove is over after Labor Day.
We have learned that the CMA’s financial picture has improved considerably and that they will continue their quest to have Christian programming become year round and central to the theme and character of Ocean Grove.
This event is totally commercial. The merchants will once again be closing our downtown streets. Can’t this group come up with some new ideas that would satisfy the entire town? They are not even a strictly Ocean Grove group–They are “the Ocean Grove Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Township should not give these outsiders the power to change the character of our town. They join the CMA, the Township, and the developers in trying to do that. The only group that’s left out are the largest: the residents of OG,.
I don’t see any “Christmas” on this flier. In most American towns, a great fuss is made about Christmas, and in the small Jersey town I came from, it was festive, wondrous and fun. Commercialism was not central.
Is it now politically incorrect to say “Christmas?” What the Heck Avenue is a “Holiday Festival?” Which holiday is that? Hanukkah is on its last latke on Dec 4, and Thanksgiving will have vanished in a cloud of turkey smoke. This is the one time of year when Christian themes ought to be in the public square–especially in this town.
Parking issues are just touchstones representing the ambition of the CMA to truly turn this town into a “Christian Resort” Of course, it’s a free country and they can do what they want, but citizens should resist characterizing this diverse town that way.
Ocean Grove should have its own character defined instead of the confused mish mash represented by the “festival” above. Only citizen opposition can change this trend, but there has been none of that except on Blogfinger, so what will we be when we grow up: Asbury Park South, Christian Grove, or both?
Never-mind that this town has become secular and that most of the CMA programming is aimed at out-of-towners.
The idea that we are a “historic district” is belied by the facts. Where is the historic-themed programming? We are becoming a Christian theme park.
Ocean Grove should have a real Master Plan that expresses what kind of town we are—or at least try to enforce what we have now. Or are we to be a free-for-all with the most aggressive of us taking charge such as the Chamber and the CMA?
What happened to the plan for small town America populated by diverse people with history, culture, and satisfaction for those who live here as the main theme.? Religion should generally be practiced as a part of the whole, not to dominate.
The Mayor of Belmar said that his main job was to work for the best interests of his residents. We desperately need to have a mayor who is elected by the people; for the people.
CHARLEY PARKER “All the Things You Are.”
Can this be about our town?
“You are the promised kiss of springtime
That makes the lonely winter seem long.
You are the breathless hush of evening
That trembles on the brink of a lovely song.
You are the angel glow that lights a star,
The dearest things I know are what you are.”