9 am September 24, Sunday, 2023. Paul Goldfinger. OG beach. Click to see the baby.

Paul Goldfinger.  Editor, Blogfinger.net

When we first came to the Grove in 1998, we were the new generation.   We had a second home on Heck Avenue, and the neighbors were mostly seniors who went to church on Sunday and carried lillies on Easter.

But then there was turn-over, much as it is today.  I noticed demographic indicators such as BMW’s and renovations/remodeling of broken down Victorian homes.  More people our age were moving in, and there were no evident social tensions at first.  But than things began to change in 2007 with the gay civil union tussle and subsequent charges of discrimination against the CMA.

In terms of governance, I became aware of the North End conflict after we founded Blogfinger in 2009, and journalist Charles Layton, my co-editor,  started writing about it. Politics weren’t out front for us, but OG used to vote Republican, and that changed also.

One observation which we loved was the growing presence of youth: young couples, small children and teenagers.  Later we met artists, musicians, yoga instructors, lawyers, computer mavens, and yes, even Jewish people.

We met Mayor Joseph Krimko on the pier. He was Jewish, an OG policeman (and later a Neptune mayor) who told us that “maybe” we could find a “minion”–ten men who could organize a prayer session.

But there were no religious issues in town, and a Jewish fellowship organized (Chavurah.) with perhaps 40 people on the email list.

But now, as you all know, there are problems regarding church vs. state. The LGBTQ is emerging with complaints and there are concerns about everything from naming a park after a historic black woman preacher to the growing attempts by the CMA to create a year round “Christian Seaside Community.”

Politically, the secular OG community is emerging to wonder about the quality and fairness  of Neptune governance with its single party rule and  where  Grover secular  concerns might be recognized.

At Blogfinger we have identified the “Ocean Grove Underground” plainly visible as youth with 2023 values from bathing suits to music to couples with kids and dogs who move into town, often as part of an enlarging 2nd home community–often from North Jersey and New York. This population drift really shifted into high gear with Covid , short term rentals, and a rising real estate market.

We “old-timers” need to make sure that the torch is passed and our town finds new ways to be diverse and to promote town-wide community.

EMMY ROSSUM: