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Archive for the ‘Ocean Grove historical preservation’ Category

Is Ocean Grove at risk of becoming just another Jersey Shore town?

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove history, Ocean Grove lifestyles, tagged , , on April 14, 2017| 5 Comments »

Ocean Grove New Jersey. Many homeowners in OG have done remarkable restoration work on their homes. This finial and gingerbread work is on Mt. Hermon Way.


A major commitment is required if we want a Victorian town. The cherrypicker was needed to to do the artistic multicolored detailed paint work (see the top photo.) The painter did her work in short shorts, attracting many aficionados of  Victorian colors. Blogfinger photos. 2002©

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

In a letter to Blogfinger on April 11, J. Cortese vented regarding what he sees as a deterioration in our town’s efforts to maintain historical preservation, and he sees the situation worsening over the last 10 years .

If you haven’t read his piece, here is a link:

I love you, you’re perfect, now change

Blogfinger’s writers and commenters agree with J., as do others in town, but is he correct to fear the eventual fatal decline of Ocean Grove as a very special historic place?

We agree that our election to the Federal and State  Historic Registers would be endangered if the deterioration that J. describes continues, consider this:

When we moved to Ocean Grove in 1998, the town was still in a pretty raggedy condition. Most streets had historic houses that were in serious states of decline. But you could see signs of life—indications that homeowners coming into town wanted to help bring these properties back to  life. 

We saw tremendous progress after that. Homeowners were putting up large sums of money to resurrect those irreplaceable Victorian buildings.  This effort showed results over the next 10 years where every street had multiple examples where beautiful and accurate historic work had been done. 

Derelict houses, while still existing, were no longer the main theme of our town’s architecture. Instead, most of our streets were uniquely lovely. 

This investment and commitment by homeowners is the main reason Ocean Grove looks so wonderful today as a Victorian-style community.  And Blogfinger and its supporters  are correct in criticizing Township officials, the CMA, and developers who are willing to exploit the town for financial reasons and to play fast and loose with zoning and land use regulations.

This network of exploiters produces results that yield less parking, less historic beauty, and more congestion. They are a force pushing us in a different direction. To add to the problem we have a Homeowners Association which has lost its way and a Historical Society which is barely visible in terms of preservation. The HPC is currently hiding in the shadows, and the Chamber of Commerce has no interest in the issue.  If all that continues, the town will, as J. predicts, lose what makes it so special as an authentic historic community.

We have interviewed many newcomers, and they all say, “We fell in love with this town,” and for good reason. 

I don’t have to tell you about the lifestyle of Ocean Grove now, an element that is apart from the architectual.   It is the organic component which adds a thrilling dimension to living here.  We have many children, young families, Wiffle ball games in the park, beautiful beaches, a vibrant porch culture, artistic events, etc.  We are a walking and talking town with smart, friendly citizens, and much of that stems from historic preservation.

However, not everyone in town agrees with the vision of people like J. Cortese, Kevin Chambers, Jack Bredin, Ted Bell, Blogfinger, HPC and others.  And if those forces, including citizens, elected officials, and organizations, which should be supportive, continue to turn away, the town will become something other than a Historic District.

As J. points out, many residents are just looking for a wonderful shore town to enjoy and to share with friends and family, and this one is very special and thus very popular.  And our proximity to the new Asbury Park will contribute to the popularity of OG.

Judging from the newcomers that I have met, they all want our town to continue being a place to love, but there are those who are not interested in our 19th century Victorian theme. So, although some of them will concern themselves with historic preservation, we don’t currently know how many will actually care.

We believe that most Grovers would hate to see the historic vision decline further, and hopefully most of us will stay involved and help to hammer out an aggressive plan for Ocean Grove’s Victorian survival . But will the dream be too much for too many?

REV. GARY DAVIS  from the album Harlem Street Singer

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Financing substance abuse treatment: an ongoing series looking at OG’s susceptibility to building conversions for this purpose.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove controversies, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove lifestyles, Ocean Grove zoning, tagged , on February 2, 2017| 7 Comments »

A small rehab center for short term care in W. Palm Beach Fla. Internet photo.

A small rehab center for short term care in W. Palm Beach Fla. Internet photo.

 

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor at Blogfinger.net

As we noted recently, Gov. Christie said that he would prioritize the problem of opioid substance abuse which has caused many deaths in New Jersey, especially in Essex, Ocean, Camden, and Monmouth Counties.

He is promoting a new bill that would mandate insurance coverage for such treatment by commercial companies. Federal mandates already exist for Medicaid.

Philly.com says, “While the Affordable Care Act requires substance-abuse coverage, New Jersey could account for the federal law’s potential repeal by passing state legislation.” (Source article by Philly.com reporter Maddie Hanna.)

“If the federal law goes away, it reverts to whatever the old state law was,” said Joel Cantor, founding director of the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University.

Very few states have such laws. The N.J. proposal would provide for inpatient coverage for up to 30 days for those who qualify. There have been some objections about the emphasis on inpatient vs. outpatient care. The Laingdon proposal for Ocean Grove would seem to fall under the heading of outpatient care, although maybe the housing component would categorize it as inpatient care. Regardless, increased funding would increase the pressure to create more such services for those who would be housed while undergoing treatment. (This is the model described for the Laingdon/Sprout concept.)

Our town would be a perfect location for places to house clients after an inpatient admission or for outpatient care.  We have old hotels/boarding houses as well as homes (especially multi-family) which could be used for small residential operations doing short term care.  But if there is an explosion of investment in such facilities in NJ, the article says that there will be zoning battles around the state (see quote below.)

Here is another quote from the Hanna piece, “There is an inadequate supply of substance-abuse treatment services, period. Not just in New Jersey, but around the country.”

“Others spoke Monday of challenges to opening treatment centers, including zoning battles. ‘I used to have a saying: It’s easier to open up a gentlemen’s club in this state than it is to open up a drug and alcohol treatment program. And that’s not far off from the truth,’ Tom Allen, co-founder of Summit Behavioral Health, told Senate lawmakers.”

It’s important for those of us who care about the Grove’s future, our lifestyles, our  historical preservation, and our home values to keep an eye on zoning approvals and to take them seriously as precedent-setting events.

We cautioned about the zoning manipulation that allowed Mary’s Place, but hardly anyone seemed to care. And, even though the Laingdon application was withdrawn, we need to stay alert.  The key will be the Zoning Board of Adjustment use variances

BARBRA LICA:

 

 

 

 

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Deceit and duplicity at the HPC:  Historic Preservation Commission refuses to provide Blogfinger readers with the truth.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove controversies, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove history, tagged , on January 23, 2017| 2 Comments »

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By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

One month ago we began reporting on the efforts of Neptune Township to change the  guidelines that the HPC uses to protect Ocean Grove’s historic designations.

At the Township meeting,  Dec 12, 2016, where those new guidelines were presented, members of the HPC expressed serious concern when they went to the microphone to protest.  But those comments were unofficial, and Deborah Osepchuk, the chairperson of the Commission, promised to review all the changes and to present an official HPC response.

 On Dec. 13, we posted an article about the meeting and we said, “The HPC itself made no formal announcement about their opinions, but it is our understanding that they are not pleased with the changes.  Don’t they have an obligation to inform the OG public about their concerns?”   Later that day, the HPC voted to draft a statement speaking out against the guidelines.

The Neptune Twp. web site says this about the HPC:     “The current members of the HPC are dedicated to the goal of sharing information about the benefits of preserving Ocean Grove’s heritage and to ‘Recapture the Spirit of Ocean Grove, with all residents.”

At Blogfinger we wrote a series of articles on this subject, calling it “The HPC War” and  we sympathized with the HPC.   We asked Ms. Osepchuk  to send us the official HPC response for our readers to see. She said she would.

The next day she did an about-face and said that she would not provide BF with the requested information  on advice from the HPC  attorney .  The legal reason given was unbelievable, and we posted a piece on 12/16 on the subject of the “silent treatment” offered by the HPC.

We urge our viewers to re-read that post (linked below)  and to especially read the comments:

 https://blogfinger.net/2016/12/16/hpc-muzzled-no-more-public-statements-to-the-media/

Ms. Osepchuk said that she was not allowed to communicate with the media, but if you look at the Coaster on-line, you will find an in-depth interview with the HPC dated Dec. 14, 2016.  The HPC had indeed made up its mind . The Coaster reported that: “HPC Chairperson Deborah Osepchuk said the Commission was ‘absolutely against the changes.’”

So what we have here is duplicity on the part of the HPC. *

We contacted the Chairperson again a few days ago and inquired if there was any progress regarding the guidelines issue.  She said that there was none and she didn’t mention that there was an official HPC position and that the matter had been discussed with the Home Owners Association and with the Coaster.   This is deceit by omission.

She also didn’t tell us that the HPC would present their official position regarding “the HPC War” to the HOA meeting next week.   Instead she said, “We’ll be talking preservation and the importance of guidelines at that meeting.”

It looks like the lawyer for the HPC advised them to specifically ignore Blogfinger,  but that it was perfectly OK to give out the information to the Coaster and to the HOA.  Is that possible?  Maybe that lawyer should comment here about what seems to be atrocious legal advice to the HPC to selectively ignore a request for information from a member of the press.

 The HPC is an arm of the Neptune Township government and its denial of our request appears to be a violation of the Freedom of Information Act and a rude stiff-arm to the only media source totally devoted to Ocean Grove and totally based in the Grove.

Why would the HPC deny Blogfinger news that belongs to the people of Ocean Grove?  We can speculate, but the bottom line is that 50 people at the HOA meeting will hear the news next week, but we get an average of 5,000 to 7,000 views per week and higher on Blogfinger. 

 The only explanation is  fear—they don’t want to expose their opinions to the scrutiny of the BF  viewers,  because we allow you-the-people to challenge them in our comments section.

This is disgraceful, and it puts the HPC in an alliance  with the untrustworthy HOA and with the Coaster—a publication that could care less about our town.  I used to admire the HPC, but no more. Blogfinger will watch them with suspicion.  There’s something fishy going on over there.

*Dictionary.com     Duplicity is deceitfulness in speech or conduct, as by speaking or acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter; double-dealing.

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First reading of changes to the HPC Guidelines. This will occur at the Township Committee Meeting on Monday, December 12, 7:00 pm. Objections being voiced.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove news, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged on December 11, 2016|

 

This is why Grovers need to pay attention to HPC issues. Blogfinger file photo. ©

This is why Grovers need to pay attention to HPC issues. Blogfinger file photo. ©

The  Township Committee is having a first reading of the new HPC guidelines this Monday at 7:00.  The Historical Society sent out an unsigned email stating,
“These new guidelines are very damaging to the historic district and threaten our historic designation. I’m hoping to get a good showing at the meeting to voice our concern.
The draft can be found on the township web site under committee agenda for Dec. 12. Scroll all the way to the bottom .
Thanks for any help you can offer.”

Below is the official announcement by Neptune Township regarding the HPC guidelines ordinance:

ORDINANCE NO. 16-45

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF NEPTUNE BY AMENDING SECTION 508, ENTITLED, “HISTORIC PRESERVATION DESIGN GUIDELINES”

WHEREAS, the Historic Preservation Design Guidelines have needed amendment from time to time based on changed circumstances,

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Township Committee of the Township of Neptune in the County of Monmouth in the State of New Jersey that the Land Development Ordinance, Volume II Section 508, entitled, “Historic Preservation Design Guidelines” is hereby amended as follows:

§508 – Historic Preservation Design Guidelines.

c. The Design Criteria in Guidelines: The aforesaid Guidelines, also known as the “Ocean Grove Historic District Architectural Design Guidelines for Residential Structures” are hereby adopted as an integral part of this Ordinance and incorporated in the Ordinance by reference to the Guidelines available as part of this Ordinance for review in the Clerk’s Office of Neptune Township. Future amendments to the Guidelines, where minor in nature; that is, not amending the entire Guideline document, may be amended by Resolution with all dates of amendments noted in the Guideline document.

All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances that are inconsistent herewith are repealed, but only to the extent of such inconsistency.

The amended Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and the publication as required by law.

APPROVED ON FIRST READING: APPROVED, PASSED, AND ADOPTED:

___________________________ Richard J. Cuttrell,
Municipal Clerk

___________________________ Kevin B. McMillan,
Mayor

 

Editor’s Note:    

Here is a link to read the guidelines:

www.neptunetownship.org/agendas-minutes/township-committee

Click on Dec 12 in the agenda column and then scroll down to Ordinance 16-45 and then keep scrolling down and you will find the Guidelines dated October, 2016.

But where are the latest changes?  Is there an official document that enumerates the changes?   And who wrote these Guideline changes and why?

Someone sent us a notice from the OGHOA which said, “A key change will limit application of the design guidelines to the street-facing facade only of a building. The result of this change alone is not difficult to imagine. The sides and backs of homes could be faced with different materials, and historically appropriate materials would no longer be a requirement on non-street-facing facades.”  

—Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

 

ETTA JAMES

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Thornley Chapel—currently being restored.

Posted in Ocean Grove architecture, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, Ocean Grove historical preservation, tagged on May 9, 2016|

Thornley Chapel. Ocean Grove. By Paul Goldfinger. ©

Thornley Chapel. Ocean Grove. By Paul Goldfinger. Silver gelatin darkroom print. ©  c. 2005

JANUSZ OLEJNICZAK   From the soundtrack of the movie The Pianist:  Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor.

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OGHOA meeting on Saturday—a sharp turning point downhill.

Posted in Blogfinger editorial, Ocean Grove controversies, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove RSIS issues, tagged on March 3, 2016| 11 Comments »

OceanGrove-WelcomeSign

The HOA held a meeting on Saturday, Feb 27, 2016. In attendance were Blogfinger reporters. It was a turning point for Ocean Grove. Several HOA board members stood shoulder to shoulder with two Neptune Committeemen   (Bishop and Rizzo) and told the audience, in so many words, that they will continue promoting condominiums and commercialization without parking in Ocean Grove.

They pontificated about the RSIS, filling the room with jargon and gibberish, but they failed to explain that offering Ocean Grove an exemption from RSIS regulations will result in unfettered condo conversions, including not only big multifamily buildings, but conversions of smaller multi-family houses all over town. They never honestly explained why they support the RSIS Special Standard, and nobody pressed them to do that.

For those of you who want Ocean Grove to be a charming family-oriented historic town with single-family house zoning, your vision will never happen. If you want a low density town without crowding and congestion, your desire will never be realized. If you want a town where developers and politicians do not prevail over the citizens, you will never see that thanks to the OGHOA Board. It was their responsibility to protect our town, and they have failed at that.

The corruption of the HOA was made clear at that meeting. Ocean Grove is on its way further  downhill, led by the HOA, the politicians, and the developers.

It’s time to pull the plug on that miserable organization. Only an insurrection can turn this around, because presently, there is no group in town to stem the tide. The town will change for the worse and few will try to stop the inevitable.

Ocean Grove is doomed to becoming an ordinary place, and that will disappoint many of you who have taken pride in the unique promise of this historic town and who have invested your lives and money in a dream.

Blogfinger will report the news, but we will not waste any more of our time with the feckless HOA, because the citizens have remained apathetic despite our efforts. At present, there seems to be little cause for optimism.

You should all read Jack Bredin’s comprehensive and unique discussion of the RSIS matter. It is disgraceful that his motion at the meeting was tabled due to a vote by the members.

 

Paul Goldfinger , Editor @Blogfinger

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OGHOA betrays the people of Ocean Grove as it supports the RSIS application

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean GRove parking issues, tagged , on January 21, 2016| 9 Comments »

OG civil war canon is aimed towards AP. Let's turn it around to symbolize the betrayal by Ann Horan and her HOA gang of nine. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©

OG civil war canon is aimed towards AP. Let’s turn it around to symbolize the betrayal by Ann Horan and her HOA gang of nine. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©

Editor’s note:   Some of you may have missed this piece when we posted it last month on Christmas Eve. It is about how the Home Groaners Association has taken the side of developers regarding RSIS. 

Moving this piece to the top is needed because the OGHOA is about to present a “forum” on this subject.  But they should not be moderating this forum because their main purpose is to defend their anti-Ocean Grove position regarding this topic. 

If the forum is ever held, keep in mind that an unbiased presentation is not possible under the auspices of this group who would back the conversion of old rooming houses and hotels into condos, and if you think that there are no more such buildings in town, here is one at 17 Embury Ave.  that so far has slipped under their radar.  I passed it today quite by accident.  Jan 21, 2016.  Ocean Grove, NJ

The Seacrest Manor is on Heck Avenue at Embury-a choice location. Blogfinger photo Jan 21, 2016

The Seacrest Manor is for sale at 17 Embury Ave. —-a choice location. Paul Goldfinger photo Jan 21, 2016  I told my wife never to put me into a place with the word “manor” in its name.

The below post was originally published on Dec. 24, 2015:

In a memo to its members the OGHOA President Ann Horan declared “The HOA supports the township’s effort to secure a Special Area Standard for Ocean Grove.”

In her long note, full of head-spinning irrelevances, Horan tries to create fear and confusion by discussing standards that have nothing to do with our current situation including sanitary sewers, yellow striped boxes, parking stalls , etc.  She says that enforcing the RSIS rules in OG would be “a disaster.” This outrageous and fearsome  characterization is based on absolutely nothing.

The truth is that the special area under discussion is only about off-street parking and street widths. The latter is not even an issue, because our street widths are pretty well set.

Not only is the HOA betraying historic Ocean Grove by this announcement, but they doubled down by sending a letter to the SIAB in Trenton explaining why it is essential that the new standard be adopted “in order to prevent a bad situation from becoming worse.”

The explanations by Horan in these two documents are outrageous and plain wrong. She can’t even get the date of last week’s meeting correct.

The people of Ocean Grove need to insist that the HOA do the right thing before we are inundated by more condominiums, townhouses, conversions to apartments, big buildings like Mary’s Place, etc.

Blogfinger has explained our position already to our readers pointing out that granting the requested exemption will open the doors to developers. We want the RSIS regulations to be retained for all structures in town except  for single family homes.  Horan doesn’t seem to understand what we are talking about.

The Editor’s note below regarding the position advocated by myself, Jack Bredin and Kevin Chambers sums up our views, which are opposite that of the HOA:

Editor’s Note:  Here is the “hook” regarding the RSIS rules.  If someone wants to put up a condo building with the RSIS standards in place, then it will be impossible for them to comply, because they would have to put the parking on their lot or lots. Since that would be impossible in most situations, then a single family house or an empty lot is the only option. 

Single family houses should get the exemption from the State because if someone wants to put up a single family house, there will be no room for the required driveway and parking. So the exemption for them would create a single family Victorian house with no driveway or garage, a situation that is not only historic but is very Grovey.  —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

 

We know that this subject is a bit hard to understand, but here is another practical example, different from above, taken from the perspective of what the HOA and the Township are advocating:

Suppose the HOA/Township viewpoint is accepted by the SIAB, and the exemption is granted for every project in town. The next time a developer buys a derelict old inn, razes it, and proposes condos, they will be permitted to do so without having to supply any parking.

So all the people who live in that condo building will be looking for on-street parking along with their friends, party-goers, and relatives, resulting in reduced parking for residents and increased congestion for that neighborhood.  Every new multi-residential structure that is permitted will negatively impact our lifestyles and endanger our historic designations and and our town’s character.

It is as simple as that, so don’t be mesmerized by Ann Horan’s unbelievably disloyal and destructive position on behalf of the HOA as she stands shoulder to shoulder with the Neptune Township Committee, supporting their phony rationale for requesting the Special Area Parking Standards.

STUFFY SHMITT.  This song is about good ideas…something the Home Groaners  should find out about

 

 

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Work begins on the North End boardwalk. Does it evoke happy thoughts and happy talks?

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove beachfront, Ocean Grove boardwalk, Ocean Grove boardwalk restoration, Ocean Grove historical preservation, tagged on January 15, 2016|

Ocean Grove boardwalk being ripped up at the North End. Paul Goldfinger photo © Jan. 15, 2016. Blogfinger.net

Ocean Grove boardwalk being ripped up at the North End. Paul Goldfinger photo © Jan. 15, 2016. Blogfinger.net   Click to make the scene bigger.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.

Ripping up history is the antithesis of archaeology, but here is a destructive endeavor for a good cause.  Here is a happy sight, but perhaps with some nostalgia as well. It is an ambivalent sight of those old boards being ripped out after Sandy did her evil deed in October, 2012.  Maybe someone will reclaim those boards and make a trendy addition to a house in the Hamptons.  Asphalt will also be chopped up.

How many of you have walked on that North End boardwalk and have happy memories of it?  How many of you have sat on that nearby beach writing love letters in the sand while gazing up at the families and children and visitors biking, strolling, socializing or jogging by?

But in the end we will have a new Trex boardwalk there, except for the most northern part where cheap wood will be placed in anticipation of the implementation of the North End Redevelopment Plan; that planned monstrosity which  will crowd out some of the happiness over there.

However when the work on the boards is over in two months, things will pretty much be the same.

LEON REDBONE

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Neptune Township to testify at State meeting in Trenton requesting a special standard to avoid State regulations about parking and streets in Ocean Grove.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove beachfront, Ocean Grove boardwalk, Ocean Grove feature article, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove history by Blogfinger, Ocean Grove Homeowners Association, Ocean Grove in the news, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, tagged on December 12, 2015| 4 Comments »

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By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger

The New Jersey Site Improvement Advisory Board (SIAB) will meet briefly on Thursday, December 17, 2015 in Room 129 of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.  The meeting will begin at 10:AM and should be over by 10:30 AM.  The agenda is attached.

Immediately following, the streets and parking committee will discuss the special area application for the Ocean Grove neighborhood in Neptune Township, Monmouth County.  This meeting should end by noon.  If more time is needed for testimony, the committee will meet at a later date.  Note that there will be an opportunity for public comments.

This is a chance for citizen activists to voice their concerns that an approval of the Neptune application might make it easier for condo conversions without parking to continue in Ocean Grove.

And,incidentally, Blogfinger will attend the meeting, and jack Bredin, our researcher will present a novel idea to the sub-committee.  Some of you should come just for the shear spectacle of it all. Maybe the Home Groaners will show up along with other do-nothing representatives of OG’s citizens including the Township Committee.

 

NEW JERSEY SITE IMPROVEMENT ADVISORY BOARD.  Streets and Parking Committee:

Meeting Agenda for Thursday, December 17, 2015

CALL TO ORDER

OPEN PUBLIC MEETINGS ACT

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

OLD BUSINESS

  1. Ocean Grove proposed standards to be discussed by streets & parking committee

NEW BUSINESS

BOARD MEMBERS COMMENTS

ADJOURN

LINKS:

BF link “secretive Neptune Twp”

BF link on special standard part 2

BF article Nov. 21, 2015

Take a look at the link below and pay attention to the permitted uses in the historic district, especially the ocean front area. This is what was submitted to the Federal Government  in the 1970’s  when permission was requested for the historic designation. What would they think now  if they saw the NERP plan and the condos in that area?

OG special area app appdx part B

Below is a portion of the above document (screen shot)  which describes how the North End was when Ocean Grove was first developed—-this is the true OG history which should be emulated with the same spirit, including nothing residential east of the boardwalk and nothing west either, although a hotel was later built over there to the west.

Screen Shot 2015-12-12 at 11.33.18 AM

 

Do you believe that “anything goes” when it comes to Ocean Grove zoning issues?    Well, most Grovers do not trust the Township to do what’s best for OG.  You might consider going to this meeting.

As Frank Sinatra once said, “Anything Goes.”

 

 

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What is the price of nonsense? The RISS application is worthless.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean GRove parking issues, tagged on October 1, 2015| 10 Comments »

Speaking of density in Ocean Grove, do you think more condos will do us any good? Paul Goldfinger photo 2015 © Blogfinger.net

Speaking of density in Ocean Grove, do you think more condos will do us any good? Paul Goldfinger photo 2015 © Blogfinger.net

How much do you think the Township paid for the 31 page RISS application for a “special area standard” prepared by Jennifer Beahm,PP, AICP,  of CME Associates?  Whatever the amount, and it is probably a lot of taxpayer dollars, the Township should ask for a refund because it is nonsense; because those 31 pages are a hoax.

The Township has asked the State of New Jersey to carve out Ocean Grove from the RISS standards.  If the State approves, what will OG get?  The RSIS standards require that off-street parking be provided whenever a developer wants to construct a multi-family building which, most of the time. means condominiums or perhaps another  Warrington-style conversion (rest home to hotel.)

Therefore, if this waiver is granted, the next time condos are proposed and given a variance or just an OK from Town Hall, there will be more cars on our already crowded streets.  What a deal!  This approval will allow condos in situations when single family homes would be built instead, as preferred by most OG citizens and by our Master Plan.

The application asserts with a laborious analysis that Ocean Grove has enough parking to meet its needs. It even mentions the hundreds of spaces that Grovers can find nearby in A. Park and Bradley Beach. Essentially they argue that we don’t need the RISS because we don’t need that off-street parking when condos go in.

After all, that has been the MO for years here. Just build it  and then let all occupants  park on the street.  Do you suppose that the Township’s  decision is influenced by the fact that off-street parking is really hard to do in Ocean Grove for reasons of space and is really expensive for developers to provide?   When were any of those earlier condo decisions done to benefit those of us who already live in this town?  Did any of those projects produce a result that was good for our historic/architectural goals, density goals or quality of life goals?

The application argues that OG is quite built-up already, so there won’t be much of that type of activity occurring anyhow. If so, then why bother the SIAB  (Site Improvement Advisory Board) with all this?  Why not just let things be the way they are?  After all, which is better for our town’s historical designations:   more condos or more Victorian style single family homes?      These people talk out of both sides of their mouths in order to achieve a hidden agenda.  It’s the only explanation that makes sense.

The ridiculous part of this sad story is that Neptune is lying to the State as to the reason for the waiver.  The application is full of bull&#  that the waiver is essential to protect Ocean Grove’s historical heritage and quality of life. OMG, they say, we can’t abide the massive amounts of curb cuts that will be needed for the off-street parking.  They  say that curb cuts will reduce the amount of on street parking and threaten our historic designations.  How absurd is that?  I have seen apartment houses in Asbury Park that offer underground parking for many vehicles using one or two curb cuts.   Do you think a net decrease in street parking spaces would be the result of that?

Let’s face it, this has nothing to do with history or even parking,  and everything to do with greed.

The SIAB  (Site Improvement Advisory Board) is supposed to be a group of experts  that will worry about the  historical protection of our town and about what is best for the citizens. But they are being sold a dishonest tale in this application, so  let’s hope they see through the morass of double talk in that document.

I urge all of you to read the application and see how wrong it really is. If the Township is so concerned about OG history and our welfare, then why did they hide this request from us?  You can get a copy of the  document from the Neptune Clerk’s office; just fill out an OPRA form–it is easy to do.

A copy of this article will be forwarded to the NJ Department of Community Affairs.  They do want to hear from citizens of Ocean Grove.

–Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger—we need music after reading this.  It’s healthier than alcohol.

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III  (music from the movie the Aviator)

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Looking forward to the demolition of the Whitfield Hotel

Posted in Blogfinger feature article, Blogfinger opinion, Blogfinger Presents, Derelict buildings in Ocean Grove, Historical Preservation Commission in Ocean Grove, Ocean Grove historical preservation, Ocean Grove history, tagged , , on April 24, 2015| 8 Comments »

Whitfield Hotel. Blogfinger file photo c. 2013. ©

Whitfield Hotel. Blogfinger file photo c. 2013. ©

By Paul Goldfinger, editor @Blogfinger

It was in the summer of 2013 that a hearing was held by the HPC to decide about demolishing a wreck of an unsavory 130 year old hotel in Ocean Grove. The Whitfield  sits on 4 lots at the intersections of Surf, Beach and Bath Avenues.    Testimony about the Whitfield Hotel, a 54 room residential facility, revealed that all criteria for demolition were met. In addition, experts testified that the property had no historic significance. After that hearing, Code Enforcement issued a demolition permit.   We wrote a detailed article about the history of the Whitfield and about that hearing (see link below). 

The Whitfield Hotel: “A Nightmare.”

The neighbors were ecstatic to hear that the hotel would be torn down, hopefully to make way for four single family homes. Many called it a “seedy flea bag.” It was said to be a place where people who had criminal records lived.  Social agencies often sent offenders of various types to stay there for short periods, but sometimes those characters were sent back again and again.  The police were often called to the location.

The HPC hearing dealt with the demolition application, but it was not going to get involved with the fate of the tenants.  Some Blogfinger readers expressed concern about that. There are 37 comments there, and they make very interesting reading.  Here are two:

Doubting Thomas said,  “It is sad because of what it represents. Every derelict building represents the lives of people, and we should view tear-downs (as with the Sampler) from that perspective.

“And speaking of that perspective, where was the Home Owners Association special committee on derelict housing? Why weren’t they there offering an opinion? What exactly do they do besides not showing up for a demolition hearing?”

Wisher said,  “Most, I love the move-ahead, clear, and most-certainly Germanic tone of this post. It is as though no humans lived in the structure, and it is an abstract real estate construct. Maybe that is appropriate for New Jersey – dead communities. Spring Lake – dead, Deal – dead. Ocean Grove?”

After the Code Enforcement awarded the demolition permit, the tenants received assistance to find comparable affordable housing.  NJ law requires that tenants be given 18 months eviction notice, and that was done in March 2014.

So the demolition of the Whitfield cannot be implemented until at least September, 2015;  however the end is in sight.  After that, the owner will be able to develop the property, but condominiums will not be permitted.  Evidently only single family homes will be allowed to replace the Whitfield Hotel.

When that happens, the neighbors ought to have a block party, because their home values and quality of life should go up.

We hate to see authentic historic buildings torn down, but sometimes it is necessary, and Ocean Grove has lost many such buildings over the years due to fire and/or neglect. The idea is to solve the problem of derelict and deteriorating historic houses in town.  It is an uphill battle, but one that requires a team approach by those who care in Ocean Grove.

LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III  (from Boardwalk Empire)

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