OG Boardwalk near the boardwalk pavilion. All photos by Blogfinger.net 6/21/21 Click to read the blue sign which is stuck in the sand adjacent to the boardwalk near the Pavilion. It says, “Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, God’s Square Mile at the Jersey Shore.”
By Paul Goldfinger, MD. Editor Blogfinger.net. 6/21/21. Re-post October 2025.
” The Green Acres program requires that privately owned land be dedicated to public recreation and/or conservation purposes.”
In exchange, the land owner receives a tax exemption.
What “privately owned land” in Ocean Grove does the sign above refer to? Does it include the boardwalk, the beach, the land just west of the boardwalk (where the Green Acres sign resides) and the ocean out a certain distance?
Is it OK to have baptisms on the beach and open religious services in the boardwalk pavilion? Is that appropriate under the heading of “public recreation?”
What if the Hare Krishnas wanted to have a festival open to the public on the OG beach or boardwalk? Can the CMA say “no?” Would the Neptuners say “yes” in order to be fair and equal to everyone? It’s likely that the Neptuners would defer to the CMA.
Hare Krishna International. Their web site.
Is the OG boardwalk a private property or a public recreational thoroughfare? If it is for the public*, then there should be separation of church and state. Yes? Hello you lawyers out there. I know that there are some OG residents who are attorneys and who have a keen interest in this subject.
And, whenever a new pier is built, it will also have memorials and may be in the shape of a cross. Will that be a “public thoroughfare?”
The lines are blurred and confusing. We can look back to the 2007 gay brouhaha on the boards, but there is no clarity there. Take a look at the “Ocean Grove 2021 Summer Program Guide” to see the density of religious events all over town.
Memorials on the OG boardwalk. 6/21/21 They are getting more obvious. Blogfinger photo.
In 2007, the Camp Meeting Association lost its Green Acres tax exemption for the Boardwalk Pavilion over a charge of discrimination related to refusing a gay civil ceremony in the Pavilion.
I think the question of religious events on CMA lands earmarked for public use was not discussed as part of that discrimination charge. And it should be specifically examined now on behalf of the residents of Ocean Grove.
* In 2012 the CMA won its appeals with the FEMA program by claiming that our boardwalk is a ” public thoroughfare.” As a result it was awarded public money to help repair the storm damaged boardwalk. But wouldn’t that designation mean that there should be separation of church and state there? Even the Feds were confused since they agreed to include the pier for federal funds at first, but later they reneged.
I was present then, and Blogfinger posted more pro-CMA articles than any other media outlet anywhere. However, the subject of church vs state, never came up.
STEVE EARLE AND THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND (NEW ORLEANS)
Originally, all of OG was tax exempt. Monmouth Country naturally took a dim view of this and at its Tax Board decided on 22 May 1908 that a lot holder “is the absolute owner of his property as far as taxes are concerned.” “The leaseholders will not be satisfied with this decision” and a law suit was expected. The County Assessor mentioned the Auditorium and Youth Temple were exempt as was likely other structures used for religious purposes. It was mentioned in June 1908 that the beach and boardwalk, then valued at $3 million, had been dedicated as a public highway “many years ago” and therefore tax exempt.
A number of years ago I contacted the State to find out exactly what properties were designated tax exempt. They weren’t able to provide any information.
The OGCMA argued to the Monmouth County Tax Board that the parks and the setbacks on the first two blocks should be designated because they existed as paper streets in that originally the streets on the first two blocks went from lot line to lot line so the street wasn’t straight but widened as it reached the ocean.
Lake Avenue ran from the house lot line to the water line and as an avenue for the public right of way was also tax exempt.
The Township has had the duty to protect OG residents but through deception and failure to inform continues to violate the laws of this state set up to protect its residents.
Kevin Please explain the “1907 tax decision.” And please explain to us where exactly that “tax exempt” land is located. Thanks, Paul
It wasn’t just the beach and boardwalk that were part of the 1907 tax decision.
One of the other pieces of property was the strip of land that ran from the start of Wesley Lake to the boardwalk.
This brings into question as to the corruption by Township officials in establishing the Area in Need of Redevelopment for the North End using tax exempt land dedicated to the public for the benefit of a private developer.
“New Jersey’s iconic oceanfront boardwalks would be legally known as “public highways,” so they could qualify for dedicated state transportation funding under legislation that passed a key state Assembly panel on Wednesday.
“The measure, which has bipartisan support, calls for spending at least $4 million annually on boardwalk projects over the next decade using funding from New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund.
“But to make boardwalk projects qualified for those dedicated dollars, the bill would expand the official definition of what’s considered to be a public highway in New Jersey to include ‘boardwalks and promenades.'”—NJ Spotlight News 13 May 2021
Could this be why they moved the wooden nativity statues from the corner of Central and Broadway (where they’ve been forever) to the entrance on Broadway?
In 1907, the question of taxing the beach and boardwalk arose. The argument made at the time was:
“By decision of the Monmouth County Board of Taxation handed down today, Ocean Grove’s $3,000,000 beach front, the property of the Camp Meeting Association, is to escape taxation.
It was shown to the board by the association’s legal representative, Samuel A. Patterson, the valuable strip of land, with its board walk, had been dedicated years ago by the association as a public highway, and was not therefore subject to taxation.” NYT 4 Jun. 1907
How “public” this was is a question given the various regulations that remained for years. The boardwalk pavilion would be part of this highway. I understand this is now taxed after the same-sex ceremony issue.