By Paul Goldfinger photo and text.. Blogfinger.net. February 15, 2025.
Asbury Park has a train station downtown, and it is very convenient for travelers coming there and to Ocean Grove as well. The advantages are obvious. It was the railroad that was the catalyst for the crowds of religious tourists who came in the 19th century with suitcases and reservations to the many hotels and boarding houses in the Grove.
That convenience is still apparent. We have many places to rent in OG, and the train station is wonderful for those from NYC who prefer public transportation. We used to also have a New York bus which stopped on Main Ave. in town, but now you can get a bus at the train station within walking distance of the Grovarian “gates.”
The influx of New Yorkers has been going on in this area since the pandemic, and it continues. Those who visit and stay in OG look to A. Park for dining, bar hopping and music.
The Asbury part of the railroad runs parallel to Memorial Drive in A. Park and the fringes of OG. We can hear the train whistles at all hours, and many find that sound to be reassuring.
Driving along Memorial Drive, adjacent to the train tracks, you pass through the industrial section of Asbury and Bradley Beach.
It has been pretty ugly, but now you can see that area becoming residential with condos and apartments.
This vicinity near the tracks will eventually be transformed into a nice place to live. Construction has already begun. It’s like the local version of the Meat Packing district of New York City or even like Hoboken.
The photograph above was taken behind the Asbury Park High School football stadium. You can see the Allenhurst water tower, a stream running beneath the tracks, and a flock of white birds. There is a sign next to me :
I do take that sign seriously. There are some parts of A. Park which are potentially dangerous, but the crime problems there seem to be reduced. And the risk of being clobbered by a train is pretty small given the presence of the Jersey Coast Line right in the middle of town where the trains are easy to hear and to see as they roar from north to south and back.
Asbury Park continues to evolve, and it is amazing, but I wonder what the town fathers and mothers envision for that city’s future.
We will be reporting on 400 Lake, a high end condo development in A. Park where the beautiful townhouses will start at over $1 million, overlooking Wesley Lake.
Will Asbury Park become a community with an admirable mix of residents and life styles, or will it become an enclave for the rich, and we can ask similar questions about Ocean Grove, and we do.
When we first bought in the Grove in 1998, Asbury Park was a dangerous mess. But it has developed an amazing trajectory towards success.
Meanwhile Ocean Grove has pretty much failed to evolve, and it’s time for a new Master Plan which will be taken seriously and where the word “community” can actually have a meaning that we all can understand.
So, will the lion continue to sleep in parts of A. Park, or will there be a uniformly peaceful and wonderful village there.
THE TOKENS: