Blogfinger

Ocean Grove boardwalk. North End. 2012. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

Woodward and Bernstein are not available to Blogfinger, so we rely on local sources of information. Yesterday we interviewed our own “Deep Throat”–a homeowner from Ocean Grove with a long history in this town. Since the Washington Post won a Pulitzer while using anonymous sources, I guess it’s OK for Blogfinger.

In an interview yesterday, a Grover offered his/her opinions about a number of town issues including the suspicious mess at the North End. Let’s call this Grover “Deep Coat” (or “DC”  for short.  Let’s assume that “DC” is a him)

Deep Coat has lived in this town for nearly 40 years. He has seen it go from “deterioration” during the 1980’s and then a bright “rise” in the 1990’s and finally downhill trends in recent years.  DC recalls when the town was being improved in the ’90’s by investors, especially “gay men” who came here from New York and who invested in homes in the Grove. He says that many early investors have left or are thinking about it.

He says that “greed” is mainly responsible for “destructive” happenings that began when old hotels morphed into “flop houses” and boarding houses in the 1980’s. The next such trend was more recent when those old buildings were turned into condos without parking. He calls that the “condoization” of our town and he sees that as dangerous to the Grove’s future.     He blames the Camp Meeting Association and the the Township Committee for allowing ugly big box condo’s to be built without parking and without following the original Master Plan of 1990 to have the entire town zoned for single family homes.

Deep Coat traces the start of the condo trend to the first conversion of an old hotel near the ocean at Ocean Pathway—a precedent setting project that was done despite violating construction/zoning rules in town and over the objections of an Ocean Pathway citizens organization.  He identifies the developer who did that, but we will not provide that name at this time without verification.

He also points to the current dramatic increase in property taxes which are occurring without concomitant improved services. DC says that this problem  will be a major source of discontent that will contribute to a downward slide.

Deep Coat is a home owner who watches home values carefully. He says that there are over 60 properties for sale in the Grove and that more homeowners will be selling as they see the rising taxes and the developing downward trends including the “mess” that will occur if the North End plan is implemented as currently approved. He predicts horrible parking problems and congestion, especially  near the beach if the NERP is  built.  This may cause him to sell and leave town.

Regarding the NERP, he says that WAVE consists of Ocean Grove residents—-especially investors from the Camp Meeting Association— and that is why they are not so eager to release their names. He thinks that they don’t care about the town, and he was harshly critical when Mary’s Place was mentioned.    DC believes that a compromise could be reached to allow a significantly downsized NERP to be implemented.

Regarding the Ocean Grove Home Groaners Assoc, he says that they used to be strong advocates in this town 30 years ago, but the current version is weak-kneed and missing in action.

As for what to do about the OG prognosis, he echoes the Blogfinger position, that only a public outcry led by town groups such as the HOA joining together to fight these tendencies might be effective.    He thinks that might stem the tide, but he, sadly, is deeply pessimistic.

We asked him who the good guys are in town, and he had trouble coming up with a few names. We need more names on that list.

Smashing Pumpkins: