This park is found on the Southside with Cookman and Clark Avenues on two sides. Facebook photo. 6/1/23
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net. 6/1/23
This park is, I believe, the only one in the Grove with such a sign. If you look at the CMA’s Summer Guide, there is a map which shows outlines of parks, but no names are given. We have written about the subject of OG parks care or lack thereof and even about their names.
Since I live opposite Firemen’s Park I have often written about that particular park which has undergone a number of name changes over time.
But today we see that a suspicious sign has been erected in Boswell Park which has had a number of nicknames such as “poop park.” The people who live near there have objected to the nickname, but nicknames abhor a vacuum, and this park has had no name there. Some in that neighborhood have tried to offer an identity for the park and have placed a Christian icon or a fake rabbit.
It is actually a lovely space, but like Firemen’s Park, it is poorly maintained. A group of residents formed a committee to do something about how this park is used and how it is cared for. Only a few parks are well maintained in town, and those are the ones that the CMA is interested in: Ocean Pathway and Auditorium Square Parks. Founder’s Park is also well cared for, given the Fitzgerald Fountain and its gateway location to Asbury Park. And its name, dedicated to the Founders, suggests that it must be well cared for.
An ad on the internet offers Boswell Park as a place for memorial plaques. It says, “Honor someone with a memorial plaque on a bench in Ocean Grove along Ocean Pathway, Boswell Park, or on the Ocean Avenue Boardwalk.” So it seems to have a special purpose among parks, but you would never know it.
So what is the underlying story behind the new Boswell sign? Could this be the CMA flexing its muscles and providing a subliminal threat for any citizens who want to take part in the parks management, usage, and characterization? Does this sign carry a sinister message? Do you have to ask the question: “Where is love?”
Below are a few of the Blogfinger posts about our parks in recent years, and we welcome comments especially from we-the-people who have taken a personal interest in this very special public space.
CAST OF OLIVER:
OK. There is a bit of historical information on the Boswell sign, but why not in other town parks and historic sites? Not even in historic Founders Park or other information-worthy locations like Fireman’s Park which used to be named for Dr. Alday whose beautiful house still stands across the street.
Alday was an important guy and a doctor in the old Ocean Grove. Why did they take his name away from that park and why isn’t there a similar sign about him?
This is of course a rhetorical question. I live across the street and I would lay down in front of the Neptune DPW truck that tries to put up a similar sign across from my house.
No David–something fishy here. I want to know why this particular park. I suspect the CMA is flexing its muscles as the land owner to discourage those citizens who have taken an interest in that park. The real purpose of that sign is found at the very bottom.
Next the CMA may give Stokes a tattoo as they continue to manipulate the town’s history. –Paul
As OG is a “historic district,” the use of historical markers would not be out of place.
There were events that even local residents may not be aware. For example, there is a house on Ocean Pathway where two US Presidents were entertained. The Historical Society building on Pitman was erected in only 14 weeks in 1889. Thornley Chapel was the recycled drug store formerly at the Pitman building location.
I feel the usual iron markers on poles found in many places would be most suitable for this purpose. These are legible, but not so large as to detract from the site. It is difficult to judge the size of the Boswell Park sign. It seems influenced by the replaced 1923 sign at the Main Ave. gates.
Perhaps 30 years ago, I visited OG with friends who had prepared a picnic lunch. We considered this park, but found it very unsanitary as its nickname implied. Instead of benches, perhaps a few picnic tables could be placed around town.
Perhaps the sign should also say, “This park is a public thoroughfare which receives Green Acres tax exemptions for that use.”
What is the real reason for that sign?