Leaving Ocean Grove to explore A. Park 2014. This route heads north through the beloved indoor-outdoor Casino to the AP boards. To the left is the ocean. Will the planned OG North End be as welcoming as it is in this photograph–open air, views all around, open to all? Meet and greet in all directions. Or will it become Asbury Park South? Click to enlarge. Note the White Whale (pink in this photo) burned down on April 13, 2019. This is an alternate route after midnight connecting AP and OG without any locks . A. Park owns the Casino building. Paul Goldfinger photograph. 2014.
As for girls in their summer clothes, since 2014 when this image was obtained, the bottoms have gotten higher and the tops more revealing. ..It’s’ all good and now rated PG–at least in A. Park; maybe PG- 13 in the Grove.
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.
For the last ten years, the North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP) has been kept under wraps for obscure reasons. Instead of moving ahead with something that would be good for the town of Ocean Grove and for this region of the Jersey Shore, that large dirt zone has been allowed to fester by the Neptune Township Committee.
Why do you suppose the Committee would stick with a flawed and failed project? Whose side are they on—the developers or the community of Ocean Grove.? Since this plan was approved, no re-developer has ever been chosen. There is no re-developer’s agreement.
When that plan was conceived in 2007 , it was said to be immediately necessary to bring that property to life. It was called an “area in need of redevelopment.” For some reason, the Township decided that the property owner, the Camp Meeting Association, was incapable of developing that valuable piece of land on their own. They said that local government must take over.
The Township Committee ruled that the zoning had to be changed from 25 single family homes to a major commercial enterprise with 165 residential units—mostly condos, plus a hotel, stores, and an underground garage.
Was anyone fooled by that nonsense? Even a blind man could see through it. Did we really need to turn the OG North End into Asbury Park South? Was that going to save the town? Or was that going to save Neptune Township?
The misguided concept was approved despite the Planning Board’s Master Plan for the “historic district.”
Everyone knew that it was just trickery to allow developers to make a ton of money once the zoning change had been allowed. What is the motive for the Township to turn its back on its citizens? Is it only about ratables? Are there other variables such as special treatment for certain OG investors or for CMA trustees? It’s ironic, but many of those 25 properties were originally earmarked for CMA religious leaders.
This is what the NJ Land Use Law said back then about redevelopment projects: “Historically, redevelopment was primarily envisioned for totally deteriorated, blighted urban ghettos.”
For the last ten years, our elected officials have allowed the NERP to fester while developers figured out what to do, and there still are no answers and no progress. The only one who spoke out in support of the people was Mary Beth Jahn, former Committeewoman, who was forced out by her own party.
On January 1, 2018, a new administration will be sworn in, including a new mayor. It would seem like an opportune time to do something which should have been done years ago: They should nullify the NERP and restore the original zoning.
Then maybe the CMA will start construction on those 25 homes—something which should have been accomplished a long time ago. By now we could have had a beautiful residential area at the North End, with off-street parking.
Below are some notes about redevelopment plans per the New Jersey Land Use Laws:
a. ” No permit for the erection of any building or structure shall be issued unless the lot abuts a street giving access to such proposed building or structure.
b. “A delineated area may be determined to be in need of rehabilitation if the governing body of the municipality determines by resolution that there exist in that area certain conditions (pick one) such that:
“The owner cannot be found; unpaid fines and taxes exist; code violations cannot be rectified;
“—-or land that is owned by the municipality, or unimproved vacant land that has remained so for a period of ten years and that by reason of its location, remoteness, lack of means of access to developed sections or portions of the municipality or topography, or nature of the soil, is not likely to be developed through the instrumentality of private capital.” Source Hill Wallack, LLP
The truth is that the special designation of “area in need of redevelopment” should never have been granted by the Neptune Township Committee in 2007.
There was no reason to think that the CMA could not have brought their property to life without government help under the original zoning.
Here are two links that address public opinion on this matter:
Condolandia at the OG North End (As seen from Surf Ave.) Blogfinger photo. March, 2015.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor , Blogfinger.net. 2015
For years the North End of Ocean Grove remained undeveloped by the OG Camp Meeting Association, the owners of the property. The land there was zoned for single family homes, and that seemed to be appropriate considering the Master Plan’s sympathetic attitude regarding the historic district.
In 2007, the Neptune Township Planning Board agreed that the Township should establish a “zone in need of redevelopment” at the North End, but they did not argue for a change in zoning. The Township then ordered a redevelopment plan to be drawn up.
It was the Township Committee which decided that the existing zoning should be changed to accommodate the new North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP) which would permit multiple uses for those 5+ acres including condominiums, single family homes, a hotel, commercial components and an underground parking garage.
Overriding the existing single family zoning was allowed under state law* when a “zone in need of redevelopment” has been declared. The goal of such zones is to bring back portions of New Jersey cities and towns which were considered to be so blighted that only government could restore those areas for the good of the city/town.
What did the Neptune Township Planning Board find that would justify the new designation? If you read the NERP plan, you will see a tortuous explanation to justify the new zone as something good for the town, with advantages outweighing disadvantages.
Whatever the rationalizations were, they led to a plan (NERP) that was turned into Neptune law in 2008 and which was supported by the Ocean Grove Home Owners Association, the Historic Preservation Commission and the Camp Meeting Association.
Once that happened, it was supposed to set in motion a sequence of events beginning with the formal choice of a redeveloper by the governing body (Neptune Committee.) That redeveloper was to sign a contract which detailed his obligations. We don’t know if such a contract actually exists.
We know that the redevelopers were chosen, not by the Township, but by the CMA who owns the property. The redevelopers who were named in 2008 consisted of the CMA itself and a group called “WAVE.” The Gannon company has been revealed as part of WAVE, but no other names have been disclosed.
We plan to post a series of articles on how this plan evolved, and the next one will be a review of what happened when the Township approved the redevelopers at a Committee meeting in June, 2008.
Our purpose is to inform the citizens of Ocean Grove as to what happened to bring us to 2015 and to figure out exactly where we stand now.
And then maybe some way can be found to block the commercialization of the North End.
We will also take a look at the Master Plan to see how it compares to the NERP.
By way of introduction, here is a quote from the Neptune Township Master Plan of 2011 regarding Ocean Grove–the “historic district:”
Goal: “To preserve the historic character, livability and property values of historic structures and neighborhoods by maintaining and rehabilitating historic housing, preventing the deterioration and demolition of historic structures, and encouraging new construction that is compatible in scale and design to the physical character of the surrounding neighborhood.”
* HillWallak.com notes on NJ redevelopment law: “As part of the plan, the municipality has the power to enact a redevelopment ordinance which can override the existing zoning for the area.”
KATHY BRIER. This song is dedicated to the OG Home Groaners Association that wanted the NERP in 2008, and now they say otherwise. What a shame they didn’t have the courage to oppose this plan when they had a chance to mobilize the citizens of OG and stand strong.
From Boardwalk Empire, HBO hit series. Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks won a Grammy for the soundtrack.
A new law suit is brought against the Neptune Township Planning Board for approving a fraudulent North End Redevelopment Plan.
The July 3 Coaster explains in a page one article that the Planning Board and the Township are unaware of this suit. Blogfinger has been reporting on this issue for at least 17 years, always in opposition to the NERP, (North End Redevelopment Plan,) a plan which we have found was fraudulent since the beginning—2008.
And over the years many related issues have emerged in the hopes that the NERP might be cancelled by the Township Committee and/or the Camp Meeting Association.
So now, once again, there is evidently another law suit in addition to our years of complaints, most of which are not reviewed in the Coaster article today July 3, 2025.
What are mentioned are the complaints in the new suit which according to the Coaster are about: approval of two single family homes in a place forbidden by zoning, obstruction of Wesley Lake views for Surf Avenue residents, and failure to allow the HPC’s rulings about the North End to be enforced on the developers.
The Coaster says that the suit was brought by two lawyers from town who are associated with the Ocean Grove Community Association Legal Committee.
But now those lawyers, Barbara Burns and Robert Ignato, who had been raising funds for this suit, say , according to the Coaster, that they have hired a lawyer to carry the ball from here. Meanwhile the North End Redevelopment site continues to sit idle.
Below is one of our many prior posts on this subject . This re-post is dated December 2019 which describes one of many examples of outrageous previous actions by the Neptune fraudsters.
By Jack Bredin, Blogfinger reporter tells us about the North End Planning Board approval meeting of 11/13/2019:
December 11, 2019. Blogfinger.net post.
The Planning Board is a quasi-judicial body, exercising functions of a judicial nature as a guide for official action.
Members of the Board act as judges and cannot talk in private with someone that has a case coming up before the court, or in this case, the Planning Board.
When Planning Board Vice-Chairman Paul Brown was called on to vote, he said, “I have been meeting with Jennifer Krimko*, so I am convinced that this is all being done properly.”
The Boards’ Attorney said nothing to correct this protocol error.
Then Township Deputy Mayor Robert Lane said that he had also been talking to Jennifer Krimko* about this application, and he also voted “Yes.”
There is now a dark cloud over this entire hearing.
NOTE by Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger editor:
I was at the Planning Board meeting on November 13, 2019 when the Township engineer swore under oath that the redevelopment plan being considered was essentially the same as the one which became law in 2008. This was an important pre-condition for approval of the North End project.
She said “Yes–the two plans were essentially the same” and then she walked out of the meeting without being subject to any scrutiny. The OG press, Blogfinger, had no chance to interview her. Her approval was a set-up, and she was representing Neptune Township.
But was it true? Did any independent expert review the two plans—2008 and 2019? This is essential to elicit trust in this process. Did the engineer have a conflict of interest? We think so.
* Jennifer Krimko is the attorney for the North End redeveloper OGNED.
One issue that was raised on July 27 was: “Why was Committeeman Michael Brantley inspecting the North End property on July 27, 2016, at 11 am? He wasn’t going swimming. He was dressed in a business suit and was with two other ‘suits.’ Shouldn’t he explain himself since the North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP) is a public project? Doesn’t this look peculiar?”
At the August 22, 2016 Neptune Township Committee meeting, Brantley volunteered that he indeed wasn’t swimming when he visited the North End on July 27 wearing business attire. He explained that he was there showing the re-development property to a developer who evidently was not WAVE, the developer who has been sitting on this project for 8 years.
This information tells us that the Township is tired of waiting for that derelict property to be turned into something functional, historical and beautiful. We know that despite the long engagement, the Township is not married to WAVE, because those parties never signed a redevelopers agreement.
Some of us hoped that if the WAVE plan fell through, that the Township and the CMA, especially with new Committeemen on board, would do the right thing and revert to original zoning for 25 single family homes. But evidently that is not in the cards since Brantley, the Committeeman who made the motion to adopt the NERP in 2008, is still looking for a big commercial project, and why not, since it means more money for the Township, the developers, the CMA and perhaps others who are in play to get rich on such a plan. The heck with the Master Plan and the wishes of most citizens in the Grove. Check the Blogfinger poll below from January, 2016. Click on “view results:”
Also, in our July 27 piece: The Township Attorney Gene Anthony said that he had nothing to report publicly at the Committee meeting about the North End negotiations because he hadn’t heard from WAVE or their attorney.
Well, it seems that the Township has been taken for a ride by WAVE because at the August 22 Committee meeting, the Township attorney once again reported that WAVE (represented by William Gannon III) failed to contact him with certain financial information.
The entire process continues to be cloaked in secrecy—it’s a fog that doesn’t lift, but since it is a public project, transparency should be required. But not in Neptune Township where they ignore NJ RSIS laws, where they hold secret, behind-closed-doors meetings regarding the North End, where they don’t reveal the identities of those who would develop the North End—ie WAVE, and where they don’t represent the views of those who elected them .
And, Committeeman Brantley, who was the developer that you were showing around? Why have you failed to reveal publicly that you are conducting such a search, and are all the Neptune Township Committee members aware of your efforts? And has the Committee formally put out a required public request for developers to look at the project? And, Dr. Brantley, which other developers are you speaking or negotiating with? And, finally, Dr. Brantley, how about explaining to the public why you believe the NERP to be the best course of action for the people of Ocean Grove?
Back in 2007, WAVE was handed the redevelopers mantle without such a public search process. We know that some developers did look at the project, but WAVE was predestined to be the crown prince no matter what. Consider this email to Blogfinger from a developer who tried to be hired for the job:
The Neptune Township Committee is behind the NERP (North End Redevelopment Plan). In 2007 they provided legal cover for the CMA/WAVE planners to get the zoning that would be essential to substitute 160 condos for the 25 Victorian single family homes that was the original zoning.
Our new Committeemen (2016) have now inherited the zoning charade and all that goes with it including the secrecy and the questionable motives of all concerned including the OGCMA. If the NERP gets into legal trouble, the entire Committee will be exposed including you freshmen. Is this what you entered public office to do?
We ask that the Neptune Committee give up on WAVE and cancel the phony re-development zoning, returning the Grove to single family housing at the North End.
Editor’s Note: If you enter “North End Redevelopment” into our search box at the top of this homepage, on the right, you can catch up on our many articles about this subject.
February 27, 2025.Ocean Grove rumor mill: Someone asked Committeeman Lane if he knew anything about a developer wanting to build on the beach where the “White Whale” restaurant facility had been located; see photos below.
He supposedly said that he cannot reveal anything about that subject. What? How about transparency in local government? If this quote is actually true, is a Committeeman justified in withholding this information? Could his name really be “Mr. Cellophane?”
This is potentially an explosive topic.
From the Broadway show Chicago it’s John C. Reilly:
The White Whale was destroyed in a fire on April 13, 2019. Here is a link:
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger and Jack Bredin, Researcher @Blogfinger.
The saga of the North End Redevelopment continues and has more loose ends than a Calcutta brothel. One of those unresolved issues relates to the fate of the great white whale at the North End of the OG boardwalk.
Did you ever wonder about the large white building on the boardwalk’s North End? You know, the one that used to house a restaurant and then, recently, a store that sold beach balls, suntan lotion and dollar stuff. That place is called the Pavilion Building and it is all that remains of the former North End Hotel Complex.
Like a spy with multiple passports, the white whale is also known by other names including Block 1.01, lot 3 on the Neptune Township Tax Map.
But let’s step back in time:
The Pavilion Building was built in 1909 right on the beach, before there was any zoning. It was a two story building as it is now and it was quite legal then since its usage was incidental to the recreational use of the beach.
The Ocean Grove beach is under the protection of the State of New Jersey Legislature, via the NJ DEP. The Camp Meeting Association manages the beachfront and may charge admission to cover beachfront costs.
At some point over the years, the Tax Assessor revised the Tax Map to show a tax parcel for the Pavilion Building. This was not a subdivision. It was for the purpose of sending a tax bill to the owner. The tax assessor assigned a street address in the tax book—-#4 Boardwalk.
The Township Committee has no jurisdiction to zone the beach, which is reserved for recreation by the State, without permission from the DEP. According to Township records, the lot (block 1.01, lot 3) was never subdivided and no such permission was ever given.
Although the Township Committee has been treating that parcel as a subdivision and applying a zoning designation to it, it appears that what they are doing may be illegal.
Another problem with that zoning designation is that #4 does not front on any street. The boardwalk is not a street, and all lots in any town or city in America must front on a street. The Roman Empire invented this approach, and every town planner and engineer knows this.
In 2006 the Township Committee passed a resolution to study the North End property as “an area in need of redevelopment.” The Planning Board recommended that the Township Committee designate the subject properties as an “area in need of redevelopment,” and that area included the White Whale (Blogfinger’s nickname for the building.). The Committee agreed.
To create that conceptual design, the planners used the official tax map that showed the North End to consist of 6 lots including Block 1.01, lot 3.
The Committee wrote the NERP into law in 2008. They included the White Whale lot in their NERP, and their planning consultants considered the lot to be subdivided and zoned when it legally is not.
Among the supporters of that ordinance was the OG Homeowners Assoc (OGHOA.)
The Committee then zoned the “White Whale tax parcel” that was and still is reserved for recreation, to a mixed-use commercial and residential zone. The zoning for that building was essentially unchanged from before, although the NERP contained other parcels with major zoning changes.
Thus, #4 can be used for any of 140 kinds of businesses, essentially the same flexibility that exists for the Main Ave. commercial area. Officially the zoning is “Historic District Business mixed use.”
So now, with the recent introduction of a NEW NERP concept design, the WAVE developers and Randy Bishop want to turn #4 into a 4 story building with condos, banquet hall, and businesses .
When someone challenged Bishop at last Monday’s Committee Meeting regarding #4 becoming a 4-story building with residential units on the top stories, he said “That was a mistake.”
However, the new plan was prepared according to the zoning for the HD-B-1 Zoning District that states the following: “This Zone District also acknowledges the suitability of residential uses located at upper stories of mixed use buildings…” Mr. Bishop may have been mistaken when he said “that was a mistake.”
This would make a great skit on Saturday Night Live if it weren’t for the Monday night Committee schedule.
So, let’s consider some #4 loose ends:
a. Who are the owners of the great white whale? Supposedly it is the Maplewood Ocean Grove Assoc. Inc, and what relationship does it have to WAVE? Since the NERP includes #4, then where are the owners of #4 in all this? Are they keeping quiet because they see the money to be made with a 4 story Pavilion Building?
And we are told that WAVE is the contract purchaser of the NERP site; does that purchase include #4? Are the owners of #4 and WAVE one and the same?
When do we get the needed disclosures of who are involved in financing this ill- conceived plan? Randy Bishop promised that information recently. And what happened to the signed Redevelopers Agreement? That was also promised.
b. When the owners of #4 rebuilt after Sandy, did they rebuild according to new construction standards for 100 year floods? A photo shows how low the back of the building is to the beach—-it’s less than two feet. What, no elevated pilings?
Is the work done on #4 post-Sandy legal? Does that re-construction create a hazard for the building’s owners and for future residents if the building is developed with the now permitted residential units on the top floors?
c. The NEW NERP “concept plan” shows the original 6 lots turned into one; is this another illegal subdivision? And what official map did the planners follow? The new tax map with the new lot and block numbers (check your tax bill) is “to be used for assessment purposes only,” not for designing a NEW NERP plan.
And isn’t it true that only the Planning Board can create a new subdivision? Does the Planning Board know that it will soon be sucked into another questionable zoning scheme ?
d. Why was that new subdivision done and how will that help WAVE? Do you think it might allow vehicular access to #4 which currently is not on a street?
e. Isn’t it time to challenge the conformity of the entire NERP plan? Shouldn’t the Township Committee come clean and explain all the details to the citizens. After all, NERP is a public project.
Perhaps it’s time to dissolve the whole ill conceived plan before the cotton candy hits the fan? If Block 1.01, lot 3 is an illegal subdivision, then the whole NERP might be invalid.
f. And don’t forget that the original NERP named the CMA and WAVE as joint re-developers, and that agreement is still in effect. So how can the CMA bow out of the process now?
g. Finally, why is our Mayor keeping her distance from this entire process? In fact, only one Committee member seems to be involved.
The Plan may collapse under its own weight.
So if we set this topic to music it would be something like this ditty from New Orleans by Trombone Shorty, from the soundtrack of Tremé.
“I wanna tell you about ooh poo pah doo
They call me the most
Ooh poo pah doo
They call me the most, yeah
I won’t stop tryin’ till I create disturbance in your mind.”
The NERP waxes nostalgic for the old North End (1916 in this photo) and uses that era as justification for the commercialization of the North End today. There were large structures, concession stands down the middle, crowds and congestion–and beyond, further north, is the Asbury Park Casino with its own chaos. Luckily people then came by train. From Ocean Grove in Vintage Postcards by Bell and Flynn
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogfinger.net. 7/27/2015. (10 years ago from 2025)
Many Grovers have privately thanked Blogfinger for providing information about the NERP that has been kept under wraps by our elected officials. The citizens are very concerned. The Township Committee does not bring up this subject at their public sessions. It would be much better if the Township Committee would have a town hall meeting, committed to transparency, to update OG citizens about the North End plan and to answer all questions.
There are several documents which Ocean Grovers should know about. Some quotes from those have already been posted, while others have not been revealed on this site…yet. The quotes will help you see our concerns which we have been reporting about regularly since April 2015, and intermittently back another five years. You can read the entire documents if you wish (see links and sources below). The italics are ours.
As we have pointed out, the most current relevant document is the 2015 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between WAVE and the OGCMA which we have recently obtained and reported on to a limited extent.
We offer quotes from the Neptune Township Master Plan (revised in 2011,) the North End Redevelopment Plan ( NERP 2008,) the Memorandum of Understanding (MUO–April 2015), and The Lomax Consulting Group Client Project Directory (2011-2015)
The Neptune Twp Master Plan — 2011 update:
“According to the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, a zoning ordinance generally must be “substantially consistent” with the municipality’s master plan.”
“The purpose of the Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP, 2008) is to reclaim the North End site as the northern anchor to Ocean Grove, while providing for new opportunities for employment and housing within the Township, as well as enhanced public access to the Wesley Lake waterfront and the oceanfront and beach areas of the Township.” ( This quote from the Neptune Master Plan was copied straight out of the North End Redevelopment Plan of 2008, written by T &M Planners and WAVE.)”
“A goal of historic preservation in Ocean Grove is to preserve the historic character, livability and property values of historic structures and neighborhoods by maintaining and rehabilitating historic housing, preventing the deterioration and demolition of historic structures, and encouraging new construction that is compatible in scale and design to the physical character of the surrounding neighborhood.”
“The decline of the hotels and rooming houses that previously provided summer lodging gave rise to conversion to multi-family residential uses or provided additional rooming and boarding uses for the indigent. These changes had deleterious effects on Ocean Grove.”
“Ordinance changes prohibiting similar conversions to multi-family use have limited additional deterioration and facilitated a renaissance of investment for single family housing*, bed and breakfasts and historic hotels. These types of uses, in conjunction with and as shaped by the unique lay-out and civic design of Ocean Grove are more appropriate to the scale and character of the district and provide an appropriate type of growth and evolution that preserves the character and fabric of Ocean Grove.”
“Through these efforts the Township has demonstrated a strong commitment to the protection of all properties designated as having architectural and historic significance.”
NERP : In the NERP (2008 North End Redevelopment Plan) there is a section designed to explain why the single -family home provision of the Master Plan is going to be ignored. Below is the introduction to that effort to ignore the Master Plan:
“While the Township Committee recognizes that there may be inconsistencies* relative to the multifamily expansion as referenced in the Land Use Plan element, these inconsistencies must be balanced against the advancement of the overall goals of the Township’s redevelopment and land use planning policies and the manner in which the North End Redevelopment Plan advances these objectives.”
“The Township committee also finds that while the purpose of the Master Plan recommendation limiting the expansion of multifamily housing in Ocean Grove is intended to protect the predominantly single family residential character of Ocean Grove, the North End Redevelopment Plan is surrounded by a mix of both single family and multifamily land uses and was historically used as hotel and boardwalk commercial uses.”
Lomax Consulting Group Draft “Client Project Directory” : First created June 24, 2011, but updated on November 28, 2011, and May 27, 2015.
This “WAVE at North End Destination Report” was made for WAVE by the Lomax Group, and copies were sent to a list of 14 “development team consultants,” but missing from that copy list were representatives from Neptune Township, even though this project is a public project, and the Township is supposed to be in charge (representing the citizens of Ocean Grove). Also missing from the list is the Camp Meeting Association.
This list of consultants was created for William P Gannon, Esq. representing WAVE. The other investment principals of WAVE are not revealed, but this report suggests that WAVE is in charge, not the Township and not the CMA.
We will disclose the consultants names in the future, but there is one entry that you should see now: “Construction Manager/Developer: Fields Development Group, One Henderson Street, Hoboken, NJ 070030. This revelation suggests that this company will be the one to actually redevelop the North End.
Memorandum of Understanding(April 28, 2015.) : Prepared by Jennifer S Krimko, Esq of Ansell Grimm and Aaron, PC of Ocean New Jersey. This “MOU” is between WAVE and the Camp Meeting Association. Neptune Township is not part of this understanding even though the Committee is supposed to be in charge of this redevelopment project. The CMA and WAVE are the only ones to sign this MUO, and they did so on April 28, 2015.
“In January 2007, Wesley Lake Village Enterprises (“WAVE”) and OGCMA executed a Developer’s Agreement which set forth the terms by which WAVE and the OGCMA would serve as co-redevelopers of the Subject Property.
So, the NERP, which is presented as coming from the Neptune Township Committee, actually originates with WAVE in 2007 , before the Neptune Committee and the Neptune Planning Board ever got to consider the Plan.
“OGCMA will no longer serve as the co-redeveloper of the subject property, and WAVE shall acquire OGCMA’s co-redeveloper status by assuming OGCMA’s co-redeveloper roll.” Isn’t it interesting that the two parties to the MUO have made amendments and are announcing this redeveloper change, without the formal participation of the Committee or the Committee’s representatives?
“OGCMA will permit WAVE to conduct and complete a Phase 1 (and, as applicable, a Phase II ) environmental review of the Subject Property, with such review to be completed by WAVE within thirty (30) days from the execution of the MOU. ”
“All engineering and architectural subdivision, site and elevation plans for the proposed Plan “C” development shall be prepared by WAVE at its expense, and shall be approved by the OGCMA in advance of submission to any governmental board or agency.”
“This Memorandum of Understanding shall remain in effect until the date when the amended Developer’s Agreement is executed by the parties. ”
If anyone wants to have a copy of any of these documents, you can get them from the Township Clerk by filling out an OPRA form. It’s easy to do. You can also find the NJ Redevelopment Land Use Law and the NERP via Google. Some of these can also be found on the Neptune Township web site.
Editor’s Notes:
Although the Neptune Township Committee is supposed to be managing this public project ( according to NJ Land Use Law), it seems clear that the real party in charge is WAVE.
The Township Committee has the power to end this entire process now because of the suspicious nature of the situation. The zoning changes and special designation is old news already and seems to be set in stone, but there are current issues that expose the project to charges that the law has been violated, including the new revelation in the MUO that WAVE made plans in 2007 for the North End Redevelopment before the Towship Committee approved the plan in 2008. WAVE cannot prepare a plan for a public project and then appoint itself a co-redeveloper, 5 months before the Township committee determined the land to be “an area in need of redevelopment.” In addition, since WAVE and the CMA decided that they could develop the North End with private funding, they should not have received the special designation of an” area in need of redevelopment.”
And, regarding that WAVE/CMA re-development plan of 2007, that is the one that wound up in the NERP. The planner of the NERP was merely following orders as was the Township Committee. So who exactly was the mayor of Neptune in 2008 when the NERP was turned into law? Was it Randy Bishop or was it William Gannon III?
Then there is the problem with the Pavilion Building’s (#4 Boardwalk) receiving a subdivision designation on the tax map when no such subdivision ever legally occurred. That beach is public property, and only the DEP can determine its use, and, in addition, there can be no subdivision when the land does not front on an actual street. The Boardwalk is not a street.
The part of the NERP quoted above tries to justify bypassing the single-family* home goal of the Master Plan by calling the NERP a “unique circumstance” by virtue of the history of the North End. However that large commercialized and congested North End of the early 20th century didn’t kick in until 1911 when the hotel was built. Before that, it was a swimming, fishing, and recreational space for tourists and residents.
The historic OG that most of us recognize was happening from 1869-1900. The NERP historic argument says that the North End Hotel, movie theatre and other commercial amenities from the early part of the 20th century represents authentic OG history. That is a distortion designed to latch onto a “historic” basis for dumping the existing zoning.
But now, we are in the 21st century, and who gets to say that duplicating the history of a commercial zone from over a hundred years ago, characterized by major congestion and loss of openness, should be considered desirable for the future of this town in the 21st century? Back then, everybody took the train to OG. The Township and the OGHOA approved this historic nonsense/rationale in 2008, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t complain about it in 2015.
As for the NERP being “set in stone,” that may be so, unless some investigative body decides to look over the entire history of the North End Redevelopment Plan. It could happen.
Below are linksto the complete Neptune Twp. Master Plan and the NERP of 2008 . In addition, if you want to review all the pioneering articles in Blogfinger over the last five years, just look at the top of our home page to find the search box. Then type in “North End Plan” or any other key words that interest you.
“Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There” is the name of Lewis Carroll’s 1872 book. (just a few years after OG was founded.)
Alice found a wondrous world. (as we find every day at our beautiful open-to-the-ocean North End) but also Alice found that logic was reversed, as it is in the hands of all the North End culprits who are supposed to be doing right for the people of Ocean Grove.
Ya know: If you walk on our boards, for most of the distance, you cannot see the beach or the ocean. That is because of the dunes created after Sandy. People used to set up chairs near the boardwalk railing or towels to relax, get some sun and admire the view. The same for the benches that face east. But you can still do that at the North End of Ocean Grove…”for the people, of the people, and by the people .”
The beach and ocean front are supposed to be reserved for we-the-people for recreation, swimming, fishing, etc by order of laws going back to Roman times.
But the forthcoming North End development will block the views and the flow of breezes, and the light for visitors and those who live in that neighborhood.
And can this re-development plan stand up to our Master Plan? Let’s hope that the HPC can stand its ground,
But don’t depend on the Home Groaners. They have been on the wrong side of all this since 2008. And as for the Romans, their ancestors now are no longer saving our beachfront places for the folks ; no, now they are making pizza on Main Street in Asbury Park.
RYAN GOSLING AND EMMA STONE from La La Land: “A Lovely Night.”
For several years Jack Bredin has been following the goings on at the Township Committee meetings regarding the North End Redevelopment Plan. He would get up at the meetings and challenge the situation, but, except for being annoying, he was disregarded. But evidently, his concerns were noted, and on 3 or 4 occasions he was approached by Committeemen who said, “Jack, you’re the only one who cares about this thing.”
Jack was also approached by members of the OG Homeowner’s Ass. who told him that he didn’t know what he was talking about.
But Jack does know due to his vast experiences with Land Use Law fighting developers along the Palisades who wanted to put high rises up overlooking the Hudson River, destroying the views of those who had been there for ages.
Now Blogfinger has joined forces with Jack, Kevin and others who are outraged over the abuses of Neptune Township Committeemen and expert advisors.
We have an opportunity now for our citizens to show the new Committee that Jack isn’t the only one “who cares.”
We would like all of our readers to share the Blogfinger articles about the North End and the Park View Inn and other matters that you might agree with. At the bottom of each post on BF is a button that says “Email’ Just send hundreds or thousands of emails to each Committeeman and please put your real names..
You can also send your personal views to them in the form of letters and emails.
Go to Neptunetownship.org and click on “contact us” to find the email addresses of the 4 known Committeemen. We will soon learn the identities of the other two.
The Great Auditorium of Ocean Grove. Does this look like a town in need of a special redevelopment zone? Paul Goldfinger photograph. Click to enlarge.
NOTE: 9/15/24. We received a special delivery letter today from the OGNED lawyers advising us that we could attend a special hearing later this month to put the last nails into the coffin of Ocean Grove’s beautiful North End.
The meeting will provide final approvals for certain NJDEP and HPC requirements. We won’t attend because the Blogfinger team tried for years to put a stop to this travesty, but we failed to arouse an energetic opposition among any Grover activists and organizations.
Special thanks to Kevin Chambers, Jack Bredin and Charles Layton of the Blogfinger team. The BF article below, from 2019, is just one of many, many which railed against the North End Redevelopment Plan.
Without a doubt, Blogfinger published more articles in opposition than any other media source.
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor, Blogfinger.net:
The documentation below is from the “NJ Statutes for Counties and Municipalities,” section 40A:12A-5: Determination of need for redevelopment:
2019 in Blogfinger.net:
As many of you know, the way that the CMA, WAVE, and Neptune Township were able to bury the single family zoning for the North End of Ocean Grove was to fraudulently declare the property an “area in need of redevelopment.”
That is how they justified turning that property into a commercial mixed-use zone. That is how they were able to grant permission for condominiums, an underground garage, a hotel, retail, and restaurants. Those plans contain nothing that is cultural, or beautiful, or in harmony with the environment or the wishes of those who actually live in the Grove.
All of this is contrary to the goals of Ocean Grove’s Master Plan which emphasized the residential /historic nature of the town.
Currently the latest consortium of big shots in town will push hard to begin a revised version of that project.
It’s not clear from the gobbledygook that they are putting out lately, that the changes which they are now happily promoting will avoid complications such as environmental damage, congestion, worsened parking distress, and further deterioration of quality of life for residents. Nor is it clear that those changes are legal and proper according to land use laws in New Jersey. We think not, on both counts.
If you are curious about what went down in 2008, read this to see what the State had in mind for “areas in need of redevelopment.”
40A:12A-5 Determination of need for redevelopment:
5.A delineated area may be determined to be in need of redevelopment if, after investigation, notice and hearing as provided in section 6 of P.L.1992, c.79 (C.40A:12A-6), the governing body of the municipality by resolution concludes that within the delineated area any of the following conditions is found:
a. The generality of buildings are substandard, unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated, or obsolescent, or possess any of such characteristics, or are so lacking in light, air, or space, as to be conducive to unwholesome living or working conditions.
b. The discontinuance of the use of buildings previously used for commercial, manufacturing, or industrial purposes; the abandonment of such buildings; or the same being allowed to fall into so great a state of disrepair as to be untenable.
c. Land that is owned by the municipality, the county, a local housing authority, redevelopment agency or redevelopment entity, or unimproved vacant land that has remained so for a period of ten years prior to adoption of the resolution, and that by reason of its location, remoteness, lack of means of access to developed sections or portions of the municipality, or topography, or nature of the soil, is not likely to be developed through the instrumentality of private capital.
d. Areas with buildings or improvements which, by reason of dilapidation, obsolescence, overcrowding, faulty arrangement or design, lack of ventilation, light and sanitary facilities, excessive land coverage, deleterious land use or obsolete layout, or any combination of these or other factors, are detrimental to the safety, health, morals, or welfare of the community.
e. A growing lack or total lack of proper utilization of areas caused by the condition of the title, diverse ownership of the real property therein or other conditions, resulting in a stagnant or not fully productive condition of land potentially useful and valuable for contributing to and serving the public health, safety and welfare.
f. Areas, in excess of five contiguous acres, whereon buildings or improvements have been destroyed, consumed by fire, demolished or altered by the action of storm, fire, cyclone, tornado, earthquake or other casualty in such a way that the aggregate assessed value of the area has been materially depreciated.
g. In any municipality in which an enterprise zone has been designated pursuant to the “New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Act,” P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-60 et seq.) etc.
h. The designation of the delineated area is consistent with smart growth planning principles adopted pursuant to law or regulation.
L.1992,c.79,s.5; amended 2003, c.125, s.3.
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL: “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright.”
“So long, Frank Lloyd Wright
I can’t believe your song is gone so soon
I barely learned the tune
So soon
So soon.”
