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Archive for the ‘Ocean Grove opinions’ Category

Latest North End/DEP information…

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove environmental concerns, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged , on October 27, 2020| 1 Comment »

Speaking of environmental: Will the North End Plan take care of increased ground water that could pollute the ocean and the lake? Blogfinger photo.

 

By Paul Goldfinger,  Editor @Blogfinger.net.

October 26, 2020.  Ocean Grove, NJ

 

The DEP application has been held up for months now; we don’t know all the details about what is delaying approval, but our last communication with the DEP  (Oct. 8)  is linked below.

In it, the DEP Press Officer told us:

“Paul, nothing has been approved at this point. The fact that the application has been deemed complete only means the DEP has been provided all the required information to now put the proposal up for public review and comment.”

 

North End update on Blogfinger Oct. 8, 2020

 

I have also checked the latest DEP Bimonthly Bulletin, but there is nothing there about the North End application. I will look into that further.  If nothing else, Blogfinger will shine a light on the opaque and sneaky OGNED.

Remember when they came to the Groaners’ meeting, refusing to answer certain questions, and the Groaners supported that censorship?  What do the Groaners stand for?

We have reached this point without any updated public statements on the subject by Neptune Township, the CMA, the Home Groaners, or the opaque and secretive OGNED.  The bottom line is that nothing has been approved yet, and public comments will have to be solicited.

The letter below, dated Oct. 20, 2020, is written by the Lomax Consulting Group which has been representing OGNED, the self-proclaimed North End Re-developer. We believe that the letter was sent to everyone who owns a home within 200 feet of the North End project.

The letter was shared with us by an anonymous source.  He/she says, “Just received this updated notification of the application for a CAFRA permit for the north end.   The only difference from the original one received in March is the location now includes Part of Lot 5 and the End of Beach Avenue which were not on the original application as well as the NJDEP File Number.   There is no change to the plan attached to the application.”

Click on letter and site plan for easier reading. 

Note that the letter doesn’t spell out the process whereby public hearings might be held.   The only way that the fraudulent aspects of this application might be exposed is if knowledgeable OG organizations or individuals formally contact the DEP to request hearings to be held in the Grove.

In a normal town, the Home Owners Association would step up and make sure that the interests of  OG residents are represented, but our HOA is useless when it comes to advocacy in the face of dangerous issues such as  what OGNED, CMA and Neptune Townships are planning for the North End.  But if anyone does want to formally request such an inquiry, they need to send a letter with return receipt requested.  

As we have pointed out, the plan which Lomax submitted to the NJDEP is not the one approved by the Neptune Township Committee back in 2008 which included 165 condominiums.  And it is not the one which Mayor Rizzo carelessly signed off on in her “Redevelopers Agreement” with OGNED last year.

 

Site plan submitted to NJDEPfor Block 101, lots 3&4, parts of loat 2 and 54, and end of Beach Avenue

 


Editor’s note:   Read that letter.  They don’t mention an “underground garage,”  only 140 spaces  “covered by a podium deck..”  The total parking is 155 spaces.  Where are the other 15?

They also mention a “historic hotel.”  That is clearly nonsensical and dishonest  terminology.

Speaking of “historic;”

 

The Lenape Indians probably were in Ocean Grove back when, so tents are truly historic for the North End. And so were bikinis on the beach.  Let’s turn the North End into Tent Village II. Source: Google says so.

 

And they say, “The project will not result in the adverse impact on environmentally sensitive areas”  Really?  Are Wesley Lake and the Atlantic Ocean “environmentally sensitive areas?”

 

Let’s not let Ocean Grove slip slide away:  

 

PAUL SIMON    2011 in London at the iTunes Festival

“Slip slidin’ away
Slip slidin’ away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you’re slip slidin’ away.”

 

 

 

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Better Parking Alliance (BPA) plans 3 community meetings. Here is their flier.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove opinions, Ocean GRove parking issues, Ocean Grove parking problems, Ocean Grove parking: games people play, tagged , on February 22, 2020|

Additional info from the  BPA:

“In response to people’s requests that the BPA provide more opportunities for in-person discussion of parking challenges in Ocean Grove, we’re offering the following Open Forums for discussion.

We’ll start each session with a review of the BPA’s proposed pilot program designed to alleviate growing congestion on the north side of town. We’ll then transition to exploring group ideas to improve parking for all who live, work, and visit Ocean Grove. We invite you to help us find viable solutions to this growing problem.The Forums start Saturday, March 7. Details follow, and you can sign up at BetterParkingAlliance.EventBrite.com.

If you need to reach us, just email us at BetterParkingAlliance@gmail.com.
Thank you again for your interest in improving parking in Ocean Grove. We hope you’ll be able to join us at one of the sessions on March 7, April 4, or June 6.
Andy Levine
Better Parking Alliance

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Editorial by Jack Bredin, prepared prior to the June 22 OG Homeowners’ Association meeting about the North End.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged on June 18, 2019| 3 Comments »

North End Area in Need of Redevelopment Blogfinger photo ©

 

By Jack Bredin, Ocean Grove resident.

June 17, 2019.

 

In 2018, the Township Committee:

a. Withdrew the 2008 (10 year old) public North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP) prepared by the Neptune Planning Board for the Township Committee.

b. Withdrew the title of “Co-Redevelopers” from both the OGCMA and WAVE.

c. Approved a 2011 private plan prepared by Shore Point Architecture for WAVE that the HOA took credit for negotiating with the CMA.  However, the Township is processing it as if it were a public plan.

That plan is now the OGNED plan that includes the Pavilion building in one section of resolution 18-395, but does not include the Pavilion in another section of the same resolution (Attachment A, dated 11-26-2018.)

d.  OGNED is now designated as the exclusive Conditional Redeveloper.  But it will become the Redeveloper when a Redevelopers Agreement is signed with the Township.

In 2019: The Township Business Administrator reported, “All issues regarding the OGNED plan have been worked out,” and a Redevelopers Agreement is ready to be signed.

It is clear that the Township Committee has already approved the private development plan prepared by WAVE for OGNED.

The next step is off to the Planning Board, and they will decide if the new OGNED plan is the same plan they prepared with Planning Consultants T&M Associates for the Township Committee in 2008.

Of course, it is not the same plan, but they will say “it is,” or they will be replaced

What is the Ocean Grove Homeowners Association’s role in all of this?

With a favorable response at the June 22 meeting of the HOA, the Township Committee can say, “The Home Owners of Ocean Grove support the high density WAVE/OGNED plan.”  After all, they supported the first 2008 plan and took credit for negotiating the new plan.

But to make the record clear on this matter, the Homeowners Association at their upcoming meeting should entertain a Motion of the Membership that they approve or do not approve the OGNED plan for the North End.

As to the HPC, they only make a recommendation, but the HOA represents the “conscience of the community of Ocean Grove” as well as the “will” of the people.

Is there any hope for Ocean Grove?

 

Editor’s note: HOA members—be sure to demand a vote as to whether the group wants to support the plan presented to them by Mr. Gannon.

That vote should only take place after all audience questions are answered and discussed.

And make sure that the individual who is presenting the plan is giving you confidence that he can be trusted to do the right thing  for the residential and historic town of Ocean Grove.

Paul Goldfinger,  Editor  Blogfinger.net.

BAN THE PLAN!

 

THE PLATTERS.   Perhaps the HOA leadership will say they’re sorry for supporting the Township on this:

 

 

 

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Deception…

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged , , on December 22, 2018| 5 Comments »

Jack Bredin is covering the home front for Blogfinger these days.  Here he is with a North End bulletin:  a commentary on the Township Comedy Meeting of  December 20, 2018—the last opaque words for this year from this gang that can’t shoot straight.*

“The Approved NERP was for 165 units.  After approval it was put into cold storage for ten years.

“Since then, the Mayor and the Township Committee, the Mayor’s Re-development Committee, the OGCMA, the OGHOA, the former Re-developers, and the new Re-developers, have all said the following :

‘There is a new Re-development Plan that cuts the proposed density 50%, down to 80 units.’

“Early this month the Township Committee reported they were voting on this new plan,  and they did.  And, the Mayor signed off on the plan they voted on.

“At the Dec. 20, 2018 meeting, an OG resident from Heck Ave (not Jack Bredin) said to the Committee:   ‘The Township website is not clear as to what plan was approved at the last meeting.’

So, what plan was approved?’

“The answer from the Township Attorney was,  ‘The 2008 plan was the only plan we were ever considering.’ “

* “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight” is the story of Papa Baccala, a Brooklyn Mafia boss, and Kid Sally Palumbo, a would-be capo who “couldn’t run a gas station at a profit even if he stole the customers’ cars”.

This Broadway tune is the perfect backdrop for the comedy of errors described above by Jack Bredin.  We have Zero Mostel with a ditty from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”   It goes to show how local government around here has deteriorated since the days of the Roman Forum when Jack was a prefect in a short skirt.

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Gobbledygook Part II: Township lawyer tries to offer a lucid explanation of the current North End Resolution.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove new business, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged , , , , on November 30, 2018| 3 Comments »

The Township Comedy needs to shine some light on the current Resolution so OG citizens can see the gobbledygook.   Paul Goldfinger photo.  OG beach. September, 2018. ©

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net

When Jack and I  first read the new North End Resolution which was passed on Nov. 26, 2018, we looked at each other and asked, “What is this?”  It wasn’t clear what the main point of the Resolution was.  It included an itemized list of over 30 important elements of the plan, none of which were explained in detail.

It not only wasn’t clear as to what the Resolution was all about or why it was necessary, but it was impossible to figure out if the Resolution was attempting to actually pass the “new” 2018 North End Redevelopment Plan.

Here is the official title of the Resolution #18 -395 as obtained from the Neptune Comedy agenda:

“Authorize the execution of a conditional designation and interim cost agreement with OG North End Development (OGNED) including provisions for a deposit of project funds to defray costs incurred by the Township of Neptune in connection with the negotiation of a Redevelopment Agreement, pursuant to the local redevelopment and housing law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1, ET Seq.”

Got it?

We thought the language was gobbledygook, and below is a link to Part I of our discussion of the Resolution.

Gobbledygook Part I regarding the North End resolution 11/26/18

The Township Redevelopment Attorney for the “Proposal” did speak to the  public at the Comedy meeting, and some of his quotes are mentioned  (below)  in a Coaster front-page article dated Nov. 29, 2018

Isn’t it interesting that none of our elected officials tried to explain the Resolution to the public–instead the Neptune Comedy brought their hired gun out of the shadows and asked him to explain the Resolution to the citizens.

Below are some Qoaster quotes from the Township Redevelopment Attorney Joseph Maraziti of Short Hills.   He said:

“It’s important for the community to understand the project.”

“…this is not  a redevelopment agreement but part of negotiations towards a redevelopment agreement with Ocean Grove North End Development LLC.”

“There will be many topics at many levels discussed and resolved (in the agreement.) Nothing is even resolved at this time.”

The Coaster reporter said, “Redevelopment of the long-neglected North End of Ocean Grove took a step forward this week when Neptune officials approved an official agreement that is expected to eventually result in a comprehensive redevelopment plan.”

Mayor Nicholas Williams of Neptune Township. What will his legacy be? By Paul Goldfinger ©

And finally, Mayor Nicholas Williams cleared it up by saying, “This is just the first step and that’s where we are tonight.”

So, Mr. Mayor, you say that ” ‘this’ is just the first step,” and now that we all know what the meaning of “this” is,  we can  be reassured that we now understand the Resolution.

Last June we posted this Mayor’s photo with the lead-in:  “Portrait of a leader who represents the electorate or just one of the boys?  What will Nicholas Williams legacy be?”

What do you think?

SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS:

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Gobbledygook at the Township Committee meeting to occur on November 26, 2018.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged on November 27, 2018| 7 Comments »

Are they kidding?  “Le Dejeuner Sur L’herbe” by Yue Minjun. Paul Goldfinger photo. Princeton U. Art Museum.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor  and Jack Bredin, citizen activist, reporter and researcher for Blogfinger.net

There will be a resolution on the menu for the November 26 Township Committee meeting regarding a new plan for the Ocean Grove North End.  The language is such that it will be very difficult for any of you citizens who are not lawyers to know precisely what is going on.  The resolution is long and has multiple parts, and they probably won’t read the whole thing at the meeting.

But either way, it will leave your head spinning due to lack of transparency and lucid explanations of what it all is about.

As you know, a North End Redevelopment Plan was approved in 2008 with the CMA and WAVE designated as co-redevelopers.  Over the years, the principles could not figure out how to make the Plan happen.  In 2015 Randy Bishop presented  a scaled-down  plan, but that was never approved.  Until now, only the 2008 NERP has been valid.  But now, with this resolution,  the Township is  re-introducing the “Randy Bishop Plan.”

About 6 months ago,  the President of the CMA said that a new plan would take effect soon. Lately a new redeveloper  (OGNED) appeared on the North End scene and has been “negotiating” with the Township.  That group is called Ocean Grove North End Developer. It is a “joint venture”  consisting of WAVE and a few more LLC  players.

If you want to read the entire new Resolution, go to neptunetownship.org and click on agendas/minutes.  Then click on Township Committee and choose the agenda for Nov. 26, 2018.

In brief, the title of the Resolution #18-395 says “Authorize the execution of a conditional designation and interim cost agreement with OG North End Development (OGNED) including provisions for a deposit of project funds to defray costs incurred by the Township of Neptune in connection with the negotiation of a Redevelopment Agreement, pursuant to the local redevelopment and housing law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1, ET Seq.”     Got it?

We can tell you some of the provisions, but the Resolution is full of more holes than a bagel factory.  Here are some of the  components:

a.  The project site is now 3 acres, not 5 acres as before. The entire new plan  is about half the size of the original 2008 NERP.

b. The new “Proposal”  calls for a mixed use development with a hotel, 36 condos, 10 single family homes, 9,000 square feet boardwalk retail, 20 surface parking spaces and a 144 car “subterranean parking structure.”  There also will be “public open space, view corridors and a promenade along Wesley Lake.”

c.  The Township Redevelopment Committee has “vetted the Proposal.”

d. The Township has decided that OGNED has the “necessary experience and qualifications” to implement the Proposal.

e. The Township and OGNED must negotiate a Redevelopment Agreement.

f.  CMA, the land owner, is no longer designated as a co-redeveloper, as requested by WAVE.

g. With this Resolution, OGNED is designated as the “Conditional Redeveloper of the Project Site.”  This is pending further negotiations involving the Township. If they cannot agree to a Redevelopers Agreement, then the deal is terminated.

We are concerned that the proper redevelopment legal procedures are not being followed as this “new Plan” is propelled into reality by this Resolution.  Of course, we are not lawyers, and wouldn’t it be great if the Home Groaners hired an expert to vett this stuff for we the people?

We are just scratching the surface, but our concerns include:

A.  Why were there no public meetings/input prior to putting this gobbledygook on the table.  The public deserves a transparent  explanation, in detail, to understand what this is all about.  Why isn’t normal English used–for example, what are a “conditional designation, a conditional redeveloper, and an interim cost agreement?”

B.  What is the relationship of the original (2008 and still in effect) NERP to this new “proposal?”  Could the OGNED developers decide to change their minds and shift gears back to the original  and larger NERP provisions?

C.  the Resolution says that the original 2008 NERP has been “amended from time to time,” but that is not true.

D. A sketchy presentation of the “new proposal” is found in the resolution, but does this Resolution pretend to officially approve the “new proposal” now?   The title doesn’t say that.

E. Is there an engineering estimate of the cost of this project?

F. The resolution gives OGNED exclusive negotiation rights with the Township.  Why has there been no bidding requested to let other developers have a chance to get this project? The redevelopment law requires bidding.

G. Terminology:  What are the definitions of: “concept plan,” “consent agenda,” “option agreement,”  “interim cost agreement,” “pre-submission forms,” and “preliminary plans?” And what is the definition of the “Proposal?”

Does approval of this Resolution indicate approval of the new “scaled-down” North End Re-Development Plan?  There are 34 items listed as part of the “scope” of the plan, and there are few details.  So how can such a plan be approved now?

H. It’s been ten years.  The Township owes it to the people of Ocean Grove to reconsider the out-of-date “Zone in Need of Redevelopment” designation.  Why should these developers with their new “Proposal”  be given a free ride to overthrow the original single family zoning?

There is nothing about that property that would make the North End site in need of re-development. The CMA and OGNED are perfectly able to develop that area without local government handing them zoning relief.

I.  And finally, after 10 years of diddly-squat at the North End, are they kidding??

JESSI ALEXANDER  “So Wrong”

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Is Neptune Township planning to dump WAVE as re-developers of the North End? Breaking news on Blogfinger.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged on March 14, 2018| 6 Comments »

Mayor Nicholas Williams is now involved in the train wreck called the North End plan.  Blogfinger photograph. December 2017 ©

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger and Jack Bredin, Reporter and Researcher @Blogfinger.

At the Township Committee Meeting on February 26,  2018, Committeeman Brantley said, “At our next meeting we will have some big announcements to make regarding re-development.”  Neptune has a number of areas in need of redevelopment, including the OG North End.

At the Committee meeting of March 12,  2018,  Mayor Nicholas Williams reported, “We have been showing developers around town and telling them what we should like to see developed, and they are making proposals on what they would like to build.”

Then he went on to say, “There are two developers interested in the West Lake Avenue and the North End (OG).  We have a meeting next week with WAVE and the Redevelopment Attorney.”  Will WAVE be informed that they need to “fish or cut bait?”

This reminds Blogfinger of a photograph (below,)  posted on our site,  of Committeeman Michael Brantley showing the North End property to unnamed developers on July 27, 2016.

This Blogfinger photograph of Dr. Brantley giving a tour of the North End to developers. July 27, 2016. ©

This sounds to us like the Township may be fed up with the interminable delays regarding WAVE and the North End project which has floated like flotsam in the Atlantic Ocean for nine, non-transparent years, leaving an ugly ocean front dirt lot for Grovers and visitors to admire.

During the public portion, Jack Bredin went to the microphone to say that any meetings regarding this “area in need of redevelopment” should be open to the public. He stated that there are procedures and rules spelled out in New Jersey Land Use Laws regarding such transparency.  He said that if he were the mayor, he would never be showing developers around and/or having “private discussions in the back of some limousine”  about the project because “that would give the perception of an impropriety.”

Note that the Redevelopment Attorney was not present at either the February 26 or the March 12 meetings.

It’s time  for the Committee to do what’s best for the town and break off its relationship with WAVE, even if breaking up is hard to do.  And while they are at it, it’s time to cancel the Revelopment Plan and follow the Master Plan for single family homes on that property. All New Jersey Land Use laws should be followed and all future discussions on this issue should be held in public view.

NEIL SEDAKA:

 

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Asbury Park developer has big plans.

Posted in Asbury Connection, Asbury Park Connection Photo Gallery, Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, Photograph by Bob Bowné, tagged , on February 14, 2018| 4 Comments »

“Ice Palace” by Bob Bowné. Asbury Park Carousel Building. January 2015. © Special to Blogfinger.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor  @Blogfinger   Re-posted from 2015.

iStar is the newest developer for the A. Park oceanfront 1 1/4 mile strip. Others have come and gone, but iStar seems to be confident in their plan to create an amazing strip of 20 mixed use projects including a 110 room hotel to be finished this summer and a new 34 unit condominium complex.

Vive condo project sold out in one day in 2013 and then repeated the feat for phase two. I love to walk by Vive; its design, colors and layout seem so inviting to me. Grovers need relief sometimes from Victorian architecture.

Asbury Park is going places with professional creative planning and above-board management.  What a difference when compared to the wannabe North End project in the Grove.

Undoubtedly those Ocean Grove developers want to hitch their wagon to an iStar and create Asbury Park, Jr. at the OG North End.  But they are so proud of their plan that they are hiding under their beds while waiting for the shenanigans to slither through.  Don’t hold your breath for the names behind WAVE to be revealed. They seem to be  ashamed of their project—it’s been dormant since 2008, and an ugly site remains.

TONY BENNETT AND THE RALPH SHARON ORCHESTRA AT CARNEGIE HALL  (1962)

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Just wondering: Why do we pay taxes on land that we don’t own?

Posted in Ocean Grove opinions, tagged on November 21, 2017| 7 Comments »

 

Neighbors watch the neighborhood. Blogfinger.net

 

From Natalie of Ocean Grove:

As a newcomer to the Grove, I just received my property tax assessment for 2018.  Our property was assessed at $200,000 for the building and $310,000 for the land.   My taxes will be about $10,000.00 in 2017

I realize that arrangements such as ours, with the building owned by one person and the land by another, can be found elsewhere.  But is there any legal precedent for our paying property taxes on land that we do not own?

As you all know, we also pay a lease fee to the CMA  for being allowed to have our home on their land, so it is clear as to who owns the land.

Why doesn’t the CMA pay the land taxes?

Then, when you sell your house, they can realize the appreciation on the land.  Now we get to realize the appreciation, so maybe it doesn’t make any difference.

But do any of the BF readers know about legal precedents in this regard?

AL JOLSON with an alternative to high Neptune taxes:

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Just wondering: What does the OGCMA have up its sleeve? What about the North End flood zone?

Posted in Ocean Grove North End Redevelopment Plan, Ocean Grove opinions, tagged on August 3, 2017| 1 Comment »

September in the rain. The beautiful Founders Park,on polluted Wesley Lake,  is near the North End zone. The OGHOA had proposed new parking at lakeside. Citizens must be vigilant! Paul Goldfinger photo in Ocean Grove ©

From Alberttrotter    (aka “Albert 4-T’s”)

“When it comes to the OGCMA, who knows what they have up their sleeve?  With new flood maps, WAVELAND (i.e. the North End Redevelopment site) is in a flood zone, and they are still trying to justify having that built.”

EDITOR’S NOTE—— Albert Four T’s:   The North End Redevelopment Plan (NERP) remains under wraps by WAVE (supposedly the developer along with the CMA.)

The Township Committee, which is in charge of the Redevelopment Zone, has yet to reveal the identities of WAVE  investors, despite longstanding promises to do so.

We are skeptical that most of the Committee knows anything about this subject. Who are the string pullers? We have suspicions, but the CMA is definitely involved.

In the past, the township Clerk told us that all approvals for the project, including environmental, have been obtained but we do not believe that it is so.

Keep your eyes on certain components including the fate of Wesley Lake, the planned North End hotel, the planned underground garage, and the precise number of condominiums.   —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor

ANNIE LENNOX

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Tell it like it is. A new paradigm for parking in Ocean Grove. Parking is not really the issue–it’s about the lives of those who live here.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove land use issues, Ocean Grove lifestyles, Ocean Grove opinions, Ocean GRove parking issues, Ocean Grove parking problems, tagged on June 17, 2017| 4 Comments »

Back then the CMA controlled all parking in the Grove.  If that parking mandate was not outrageous,  then why not  the new paradigm?

 

Parking in the Grove. Resident parking should come first. Everyone else can find a way. Blogfinger photograph. 2015.

By Paul Goldfinger,  Editor @Blogfnger.net

Until 1980, the Camp Meeting Association ran the town and could command everyone to move their cars out of town on Sunday.  But they are no longer in charge, and Ocean Grove is now similar to other Shore towns when it comes to parking, except that we have few garages and driveways.

There are a finite number of parking spaces in the Grove and a finite number of residents.

Those people who live in this town and who pay to live here—owners and renters—-should receive a special status which gives them top priority for parking spaces.

The Township should  promise that residents will be guaranteed a parking space whenever they need one.  This can be done by allocating special reserved spaces for them.   All others who come into town including tourists, shoppers, church-goers,  and beachers will have to compete for the remaining spaces.

Where is it written that parking is a democratic process?  Favoritism for residents is essential to maintain life styles and functionality for those who make this town their home.  They deserve that privilege, and everyone else is on their own.

Many ideas can be implemented to help those non-residents who want to visit here, and those ideas involve reducing the number of visitors with cars and adding order with metered parking.

Yes there would be some wrinkles to iron out, but this favoritism offers a foundation for solving the problem and a chance to reclaim the town for the home-boys and girls who favor a comfortable, family style, non-congested, historical, small town atmosphere with air, light,  space, and parking.

Petition the town, wave a magic wand, and voila—our home values will go up and our town will be better.

BILLY JOEL ROYAL:

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Diagonal parking is no bargain and creates dangers.

Posted in Blogfinger Presents, Ocean Grove lifestyles, Ocean Grove opinions, Ocean Grove parking problems on June 14, 2017| 2 Comments »

Giant truck Main Avenue near OceanAve. Ocean Grove, June, 2017. By Rich Amole, Blogfinger staff. ©

Soon the Township will try to squeeze a few more diagonal  parking spaces into the residential  part of Main Avenue near Firemen’s Park all the way to the “gates.”    That will be ugly and risky and will not help the residents of Ocean Grove with their intermittently disabling  parking issues.  We all have tried to enter Main Avenue from one of those side streets located where diagonal parking already exists  (such as New Jersey Avenue at Main.)  It is discouraging, dangerous, scary and difficult because oftentimes the driver cannot see what is coming as he plans to enter Main Ave.

But also, as Rich Amole points out in the photo above, huge cars/trucks  often occupy those diagonal spaces, and that can cause a problem as a car driving on Main has to go around that big vehicle.

Rich says:

“Hi Paul:     Accident waiting to happen?
“Vehicle turning off of Ocean Ave onto Main  Ave. certainly does not expect that a vehicle heading to Ocean Ave. has to swerve into that other lane to avoid hitting the truck.    I  happened to be in the Grove last Saturday and did have to pass into the other lane with caution.”

These are examples of how desperate attempts to add parking spaces in a futile effort to provide for the growing number of cars in the Grove all season long and beyond in both directions can create more chances for accidents.  We need to have less cars in this small town–not more.   People, including children actually live here; let’s improve the safety profile for them.

Cancel the plans for more diagonal parking and then let’s do some real creative thinking to help the residents.

—Paul Goldfinger, Editor.

CAST OF LA LA LAND     “Another Day of Sun.”

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Township to create nearly 100 new parking spaces, but is this a “great start?” *

Posted in Ocean Grove lifestyle, Ocean Grove opinions, Ocean GRove parking issues, Ocean Grove parking problems, tagged on February 16, 2017| 18 Comments »

This is what the north side of Main Ave. looks like with diagonal parking. this scene is near NJ Avenue, and the new plan will extend this to Lawrence Avenue. Jean Breding photo, Blogfinger staff.©

This is what the north side of Main Avenue   looks like currently with diagonal parking. This scene is near New Jersey Avenue, and the new plan will extend this to Lawrence Avenue.  Jean Bredin photo, Blogfinger staff.© 2/16/17.

 

This is the north side of Main Ave. along the edge of Firemen's Park. Imagine it clogged with diagonally parked cars. ©

This is the north side of Main Ave. along the edge of Firemen’s Park. Imagine it clogged with diagonally parked cars. © Jean Bredin photo; Blogfinger staff. 2/16/17.

 

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net

In a Coaster article (Jan. 25, 2017) it was reported that the Township Committee approved “almost 100 new parking spaces”and that the Committee was “acting on recommendations presented by the ad hoc OG Parking Task Force.”  That task force has members on it from the OGHOA.

The plan includes creating diagonal head-on parking on the north side of Main Ave. from New Jersey Ave. to Lawrence Ave. The same is planned on the west side of Central Avenue from Heck to Webb avenues.

But diagonal parking is ugly. The “new spaces” are created by cramming more cars into a given space where currently there is parallel parking. Diagonal parking may be OK for commercial areas, but in residential areas it is not suitable.

On Main Avenue, starting from the eastern edge of Firemen’s Park and heading west, the diagonal parking will look congested and will visually and actually narrow Main Avenue. Currently that portion of the Avenue has an impressive and welcoming boulevard look.

For visitors who come into our historic town, they will not enjoy the same openness that currently shows off the Grove at its best with historic homes and a lovely park.   In addition the town will lose one of the few places where a bus or truck can legally pull over and give some respite for the drivers to get their bearings or have a coffee.

As for how our leaders feel about this idea, here are two quotes borrowed from the Coaster:

Deputy Mayor Nick Williams, a member of the Township’s parking task force said, “We are going to move forward with these recommendations, and I think the task force did a good job.”

Resident Joyce Klein who is a member of the OGHOA and chairman of their parking committee said, “This is a great start*  but I hope to think that this is the beginning and not the end of the parking study.” She is also on the task force.

So we will get some more spaces, but we don’t need more congestion and density as the price to pay in our residential areas while the town continues its slide downhill.  The policy makers think that this will be wonderful, but do you think these task force people are doing the right thing?

It seems that they believe that all Grovers care about is parking and that we will accept any new spaces no matter the price.   Do you think the task force gave any consideration to the appearance of our town—–how about  the more important variables such as air, space and light?   How about our quality of life?

This plan of squeezing more cars onto our streets fits in with the worrisome current pattern of more condos,  more density, and more crowding.  Making more spaces is not necessarily better than leaving those streets alone.

Who is this really helping?–the commercial and real estate interests, or the people who live here?  Help the residents  with parking stickers and do something to reduce the numbers of cars coming into town and the number of town-clogging events that are too often and create temporary paralysis for OG tax payers. Or build a parking garage somewhere.

This plan will be implemented by Memorial Day. Other ideas are also being considered, including even more diagonal parking on other parts of Central Avenue.

When it comes to policies that hurt our historic town,  if no one complains, they will soon do it again:

MARILYN MONROE   “Do It Again.”

 

 

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