A sight unique to the Asbury Park experience. Blogfinger has been paying attention. Paul Goldfinger photo on the AP boardwalk, 2012 ©
The Rising (Springsteen debuts that album) in Asbury Park . 2002. Paul Goldfinger photo ©. Grovers have a growing interest in AP, but it works both ways.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
In a turnabout at the Asbury Park Council meeting last night, all four council members who were present voted to pass a resolution to support Ocean Grove’s FEMA appeal. One member was absent. According to our Asbury Park source, that individual had said that he would have voted no if he had been there
In a tight vote at their last meeting, the Council had rejected that support for OG, and that negativity caused a great deal of sour sentiment coming from the south toward our sister city to the north. Presumably, last night, they realized that helping us would help their own situation. The links between our two towns are quite obvious in terms of business and public relations. Asbury Park benefits the most from that relationship, so it is essential that they show their appreciation, and now they have given us some love.
At Blogfinger we have felt for some time that the two towns are complimentary in terms of what each of us has to offer. As a result we have been enthused about how Asbury provides Grovers a totally different experience within walking distance. We have been posting an ongoing series entitled “The Asbury Connection.” Now that the Asbury Council has seen the light, we all can resume our positive attitude toward our northern neighbor.
The relationship between the two towns is not a competitive situation at all, and visitors to this area have the best of both worlds. Asbury Park strives towards a sophisticated urban feel with gourmet restaurants, an art house cinema, interior design studios and a lively music scene with contemporary sounds. Their beach life includes jazz and rock live as well as a younger crowd. In the Grove we have a more genteel, family style environment. In the summer, we have an impressive classical music scene along with more traditional shows at the Great Auditorium. Our shops are more diverse and homespun, and OG feels more like an old-fashioned small town. Our beach life is calm and quiet, and a thong is a rare sight. I saw one a few years ago, but it was on a guy. We have a religious streak, while AP is over-the-top secular. Asbury is wet while we are dry. (Just ask the ghost of John Phillip Sousa about that issue.) So, at any time, there is something for everyone in both towns.
If Ocean Grove is able to rebuild its beach front, other shore towns around us will benefit from that. Meanwhile, both Ocean Grove and Asbury Park did relatively well after Sandy in terms of destruction, and together they should have a successful summer season as tourists seek shore towns that are ready and able to offer a terrific summertime experience this season. Not every Jersey shore town can say that, and all of us, in both towns, should find ways to get that message out.
We at Blogfinger are doing our part in attracting tourists to our BF Film Festival fundraiser on May 5 and our BF town-wide yard sale on May 11. Please support our efforts by attending the film festival and participating in the yard sale. Individuals and businesses can also help by becoming sponsors and patrons for the BFFF. More information is available by clicking the film festival and yard sale tabs on top of this page.
SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY is a performer who has roots in Ocean Grove and Asbury Park. “Mexicali Waltz” is by Southside Johnny and the Poor Fools from the new album Songs from the Barn: