Ocean Grove. 2011 © Paul Goldfinger photograph. Yellow warning flag is flying.This article was posted in January, 2020, but it references events in 2019: Re-posted now 3/24 because it needs to be… now.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor Blogfinger.net
Modern Ocean Grove History:
“Something familiar,
Something peculiar,
Something for everyone:
A comedy tonight!
“New complications,
Nothing portentous or polite;
Tragedy tomorrow,
Comedy tonight!”
*Stephen Sondheim: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Raise the curtain at the Neptune Theater of the Absurd. The stage is set for a tragedy:
Jack Bredin attended the Township Comedy’s meeting last night (August 2019,) and his conclusion is, “Ocean Grove is being sold down the river.”
After hearing OG’s Carol Rizzo, the 2019 Neptune Township Mayor, effusively praise the “new” North End Plan, Jack sank down in his chair—He says that all hope seems to be lost as this show unfolds with its final acts waiting in the wings.
This drama about the historic town of Ocean Grove is now positioned to move forward in a direction that will be accepted by all the power players, leaving the residents of the Grove hung out to dry. Once the contractors’ trucks begin to stir up the dust and clog our respiratory tracts, while creating a nightmare of congestion and a cacophony of noise, we will wind up with a large scale version of the Greek Temple on Main Avenue—a variation on a theme as the promise of historic small town OG may forever be lost.
And along with it will be the hopes for a pristine Wesley Lake, now known by all concerned as a “retention/detention basin.”
Let’s consider the players in this Greek tragedy known as “The North End Revelopment Plan.” We have the main actors at the Neptune Township Comedy along with the Chorus consisting of the Home Groaners, the Camp Meeting, the Chamber of Commercials, the Historic Preservation Commission, the Planning Board, and The Wesley Lake Commission.
And providing the backdrop and script for this scandalous performance, there is the main villain of the piece—secretive developers lurking off stage while pulling on the puppet strings.
Here is the cast of characters:
a. The Neptune Township Committee: Mayor Rizzo of Ocean Grove, who has swallowed the Kool Aid, will lead those Neptuner sheep to unanimously approve the new plan. She has appointed Committeeman Michael Brantley to take her place as the “Class one” member of the Planning Board.
She has abdicated her key role as the protector of the people at the PB. Brantley is a Neptuner through and through and he will order the PB to approve the new plan unanimously.
Once upon a time there was a Committeewoman who favored single family zoning at the North End. Mary Beth Jahn stuck her neck out for the best interests of the people and the town, and she was beheaded by the Monmouth County and Neptune Democrat Party.
The Neptune Comedy is indifferent to the people of Ocean Grove, and one-party rule prevents any chance of changing the ending of this tragedy.
b. The Rule of Law: Normal procedures regarding land use law have been routinely violated in Neptune, but that crowd, along with their OG allies, does whatever it pleases. And they are aided and abetted by favoritism offered by key unelected bureaucrats at Town Hall.
c. OG Home Owners Ass. We don’t know their motives, but this group of turncoats continues to back the developers and Neptuners regarding the North End. The late Ken Buckley who was on the HOA Board and the HPC told Jack that the HOA is “backing the Plan.”
d. Developers: (OGNED) Some of these people are connected to OG, but despite that, they conspire, whenever possible, to exploit the people of OG for profit. They are favored at the Mother Ship with zoning manipulations including those that increase congestion and ugliness in town: condos, Greek Temple, Mary’s Place, parking torture, etc.
e. Camp Meeting Association. They have removed themselves as redevelopers, but that is just cosmetic. The President of the the CMA told us publicly that his organization has been involved in negotiations to move the NERP forward. They have control as the land owners, so they are focused on making money. They seem to have little interest in the OG residents community or the historical designation of the town.
f. Chamber of Commerce: In many US towns the CC is community minded. But this crew only cares about two things: profits and tourists. They never get involved with community issues such as the North End. For them, the commercialized North End Plan will increase their membership as they continue to close Main Avenue for mindless tourist events and crowds.
g. Historic Preservation Commission: When they are not hiding under their beds they have stood by while the Neptuners seek to take over their guidelines on behalf of developers and contractors.
And they refuse to be transparent with BF or the public. The Chairwoman won’t even speak to us regarding their situation.
h. Wesley Lake Commission, representing both sides, has stopped trying to clean the Lake and instead they support the Retention/Detention re-naming in order to allow the Lake to be used to receive increasing amounts of filthy ground water from the future North End, thus saving the developers a huge amount of money to fix the ecology of the former “Wesley Lake.”
i. The Residents of OG-–Those who envision our historic town as a lovely place with its Victorian architecture, parks, clean lakes, parking for those who live here, reduction in tourist glut, solving the Asburian invasion, keeping our streets open, nurturing of the secular community with its kids, families, retirees, diversification, etc. will be the big losers in the North End project.
“Representative government” has failed here, and apathy reigns. Only a major law suit in Superior Court or an investigation by the NJ Attorney General could close this show down.
Once the curtain closes on all this, the corruption in OG/Neptune will continue. Blogfinger will keep reporting the news, but we don’t see an alternative ending to this drama. Jack says, “Ocean Grove is a door mat; we’re sunk.”
By Jack Bredin and Paul Goldfinger: Blogfinger.net. Ocean Grove, New Jersey.
ZERO MOSTEL from the original Broadway cast album of Stephen Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO keep OG OG-like? Quiet. Mindful. Family.
Who in the OGCMA will lead our town to stay as it is and assure it does not become AP South, which is what it sounds like the plan would assure.
AP is AP. Let’s keep OG distinctly different from AP.
How can we help?
We aren’t kicking anybody in the teeth, it is just that unconstrained development has already made a bad impact on the quality of life, with damage done to the CMA’s mission of providing respite for the religious and secular peace-goers.
Our words, and opinions DO matter. We are already boots-on-the-ground.
Where are those tired, dirty boots on the CMA? Or whining lifetime Grovers who complain about reading? I don’t see them. I see a sleepy and passive non-force. Let’s see them jump into action. They are, after all, those who control the purse.
Not if, but when the Planning Board approves the plan, the only option is an appeal to the Court within 45 days.
Absent an appeal, it’s all over.
Picketing has never been seen in the Grove except for OGU protesting the CMA. It is essential that the public demonstrate regarding this issue…..but who would organize such events? Forget the Groaners. Some heroic leaders need to step forward, but it hasn’t happened in recent times; ever since the Herb Herbst era of over 30 years ago.
And, by the way, LT OG Lady recently volunteered to go undercover to document Asburian interlopers. Maybe we can team her up with Tom Selleck.
Congratulations to LTOGL for volunteering to do something tangible. At least we have one demonstrator who will be willing to demonstrate at the North End when the first shovel pierces the earth over there.
Just curious. What is the law about “peaceful demonstrations”? As construction begins, and during summer visitor time, what if we were to picket quietly with handheld signs, not engaging in conversation but just at least letting our feelings be known. Would enough Grovers be willing to do an hour or so?
Here’s an idea. Instead of people complaining solely in the cyber-world, which I will admit can be useful in getting information out… Why don’t people organize, much in the way the residents of AP have organized to fight the north end development of their town. It’s a real world example of how people coming together can, at the very least, pump the breaks and make people really look at development plans.
The powerful families that basically own Ocean Grove, those same people that will make a huge sum of money from N. End development, are counting on people being complacent. At the very least an organized group of people can put a wrench in the works.
If people want to save the town, then people need to stand up (en masse) and be heard!
We can do this, but there’s hard work, and you have to actually get off the computer and join the fight in the real world.
The right thing there is a peaceful park, where religious people can do their prayers and meditation, in the swirl of urban development. Non-religious people, like me, will smile, and take their cue. I see Midwest and PA adults and kids thrilled by their religious haven. Take that away from them, and you just have another Jersey Shore town. No one loves a cute gay couple more than me. But go west of Asbury’s Main Street, young man.
Those condos won’t be filled with Ocean Grove people! They will be filled with those “summering,” or “reducing,” as my grandmother used to say. They will be stumbling in one direction: Asbury. Our town, and yes, it is a town Virginia, needs better than that. Maybe there is a “long-time Ocean Grover,” out there who has something to say.
Bottom line, it’s all about making money for them. It’s the only logical explanation for creating a North End plan that will pack ’em in like sardines.
If the new tax revenue generated from all of the added condos and businesses are spread around and provides tax relief to existing Grovers, that would be the only positive I find in all of this. But I know that’s a pipe dream. Like all projects, it will go over budget, utilities capacity will need increasing, our roads will need repairing…. and guess who will end up paying for that?
I wish the Township Committee would explain how their OG constituents benefit. I really would like a reason to get excited for this project. But from an OG citizen’s point of view, we see so many obvious risks…. quality of life risk, financial risk, hurricane risk, flood risk, etc.
We bear the burden, they reap the reward. Not nice.
So what’s in this project for us?
@Blogfinger – perfect reply to Lifetime Grover. (PS: Wouldn’t it be something if he lived near the imminent construction?
Lifetime Grover who doesn’t like to read: What is your position on this tract of land? I hope I put that in readable words for you.
Lifetime Grover. Your anger indicates that you are taking this topic personally.
Your comment might have some credibility if you had the courage to tell us who you are. For all we know, you may be a Board member of the CMA or even a true, blue Home Groaner or a participant in any of the other groups mentioned in the piece.
Your statement brings nothing useful to the discussion. You feel that we at Blogfinger are abusing the CMA, but all we are doing is reporting the facts about the CMA’s role as the North End landowner and as a group which has been intimately involved for years in planning the commercialization of the North End, most of it done secretly.
Jim Granelli ran for Committee on the Republican side during the last election. Hopefully Ocean Grove’s problems will be addressed by politicians on both sides. That would be refreshing.
Thanks for the info, Blogfinger
75% of what I’m reading here doesn’t make sense and sounds like ridiculous conspiracy theories.
Just another chance to kick the CM in the teeth. This would not be a historic and charming town without the OGCMA. We’d be just another honky tonk town by the ocean. This tract in the North End has stood empty and has been an eyesore for almost 30 years and every plan to develop it is shot down and criticized.
What do you people possibly want? Half of the comments posted here are unreadable ramblings.
BTW Wesley Lake has been filthy for my entire life — it’s actually a little better than when I was a kid.
It’s all part of the record.
“Fraudulent Testimony” taken under oath was used to prepare and then approve the original 2008 “North End Redevelopment Plan,” consequently planting the proverbial “poison tree” in the “Area in Need of Redevelopment.”
The “New” (reconfigured 2008 plan)that was prepared by “Conditional Redevelopers” with suggestions from the Home Owners Assoc. and the CMA also relies on the same original “fraudulent testimony.”
The two main players here are the Neptune Township Committee and OGCMA. Both have the same reason for wanting this project to be completed: MONEY. NTC will get huge amounts from taxes, which they can use for other areas in Neptune. OGCMA will demand exorbitant ground rent, which they can use to stay alive.
These developers don’t care about our numbers, they care about theirs. So let’s have a numbers rumble in the jungle. And the Neptune governance has an elitists’ view of those of us down here. I saw this in Packanack Lake where I grew up. Any legitimate concern was greeted with “OH, those Packanack People.” These small-minded, and possible racist or anti-secularists views, prevented rational long term analysis.
But the CMA still owns that seaside land. A blank pallet to paint a Methodist-leaning view. They should did back to the books about what this are means. It is less than a square mile, by-and-by. But that doesn’t mean our founders didn’t think big. Although an atheist, those men and women got it right as rain. Those church-goers are a breath of fresh air, and are entitled to the town. Me too. I’ll gladly muscle in. That reminds me, I better get to the gym.
If the argument that this area is the least accessible development area in town doesn’t play then I don’t know what else will. How will the steady convoy of heavy machinery and equipment get access? Rumbling along through town on Main all day? Where will the residents of the that area, including two rather large condo complexes and a large apartment building park during construction? Noise pollution to the max for the residents of the area. Will the retaining wall stand up to the heavy equipment? Have ground water tests be done?
Has no one EVER heard of Nor’Easters and what the damage those storms have done to that area? Isn’t at least part of this area in the new post Sandy flood plain maps? A building site next to the ocean and a lake that floods is a disaster in waiting, isn’t it? Oh well, chase the money!
Lines of cars throwing fumes into Nagles, absentee lords and ladies (hardly) here for two weekends a year, Staten Island rich kids zooming through town to get to their party condo near Asbury, every house on the North End with “For Sale” signs, and in the shadows, Democrats counting their bills. (And I’m a Democrat).
And Asbury South would be the best name for the town. Historic Wesley Lake, now a dirty pond, should be covered over as well, for sewers should not be seen, only heard from the crying voices of ghosts who once called it a boating paradise: “Fairy Island,” no more.
Wait till they see the backed up traffic on Ocean Ave and the entrances to town to visit the “condos & shops.”