Dane, so you actually LIVE in Asbury Park, and have since the summer
of 2000–congratulations. You apparently believe that I've a problem
with your answer to "Is Asbury Park a better place to live than it was
four years ago?"; which you answer with "a resounding 'Yes.'" That's
very nice, what other issues are bothering you?
Property values skyrocketed; tell us where they've not since 2000. If
you want to credit this council for that; fine with me, just remind me
to tell you about those low tide building lots in Florida.
If you read me you'll not find disagreement on Asbury having improved,
however, I think it's naïve to believe that council managed to create
this super charged market. Unless of course they knew 9/11 was going
to happen, directly on the heals of the .com market bubble bursting
and interest rates remaining super low.
My issue with Asbury Park is with its council; they've given away the
shop because Terry Weldon, while the FBI waited outside council
chambers to arrest him, convinced them The Fishman was the only game
in town. Talk about half empty, this clown Weldon and a gullible,
naïve, corrupt or incompetent council believed in 2001 and 2002 that
no other deal could be made; are you telling me that these characters
should now be credited that "the glass is absolutely half full"?
Skip Bernstein
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Well Skip -
> As someone who actually LIVES in Asbury Park, and has since the
summer of 2000, I feel completely able to answer the question, "Is
Asbury Park a better place to live than it was four years ago?"
>
> And the answer, and I realize it's probably not one you want to
hear, but it's the truth, is a resounding "Yes."
>
> It was at my partner's insistence that we move down, because I'll be
honest, I was freaking out. Looking at him like, "Are you insane???
Buy down here???"
>
> In retrospect, it's the best - and smartest thing - we've ever done.
>
> 1. When we first came down here, downtown was literally a
boarded-up/graffiti nightmare. Save for House of Modern Living, and
etc., which we helped our friend Kris Sanchez physically open, there
wasn't much else. That's all changed.
> Galleries - coffee shops - incredible antique and designer furniture
shops.
>
> 2. Property values have skyrocketed - and many people posting have
benefited financially. Myself included. In the summer of 2000, when
we tried to convince friends to come down here - either to visit or
primarily to buy - the usual reaction was shock/disbelief/an outright
"You've got to be kidding!"
>
> The turnaround on that level has been incredible. Every weekend if
we wanted, we could have a house-full of guests - friends from NYC,
Philly and D.C. who've been down repeatedly and can't get enough. And
they'll happily stand up and say, "This is NOT the place it was four
years ago!"
>
> We've had multiple sets of friends visit one weekend and have put
bids on houses with the month. That wasn't happening four years ago.
>
> 3. Empty beaches are no longer empty. For the most part, that
first summer and the following summer as well - if I was able to throw
a rock a half a mile <Grin> I would've been unable to hit anyone.
Beaches were desolate. These past two summers? Again - a whole
different story.
>
> 4. When we first started looking in the spring of 2000, we were
told, quite directly, that the "only safe neighborhood" to live in was
from Sunset Ave. through Eighth and to the lake. Locals we knew were
shocked when we bought "on the other side of the tracks."
>
> Today, not only has our neighborhood had a COMPLETE turnaround, but
friends of ours live up and down the length of Fourth Avenue, Bond
St., Emory, 2nd Ave., you name it. Areas of town that people like
yourself probably would never have even given a second look. Well,
you should, Skip. There's been a noticeable change. You shouldn't
ignore that.
>
> 5. Beyond downtown, business has flourished. Rite-Aid wasn't even
open when we moved here. Now look at the area of developement around
The Harrison Restaurant; the stunning makeover of the old train
station; that whole corner of 5th and Main.
>
> 6. The parks are actually a place you can walk around in. Believe
you me, that wasn't the case four years ago - even in the daylight.
Would I walk through them at night today? No - but I wouldn't walk
through a park at night anywhere these days - not just Asbury Park.
>
> 7. Moonstruck was an Ocean Grove mainstay. Remember the shockwaves
when they announced they were moving to Asbury Park?
>
> 8. "Greekfest" was a public nightmare. Residents would actually
LEAVE TOWN to get away from it. It took only a short time for that
scourge to be punted out of town.
>
> So, honestly, I continue to be baffled by this portrait of utter
doom and gloom that's painted of today's Asbury Park.
It...just...doesn't...hold...up.
>
> But then again, you'd probably have to be living in the middle of it
to appreciate it the full spectrum of growth. That's not a snide or
sarcastic remark. It's, I feel, an honest statement of reality.
>
> Perhaps an outsider would see things differently. That I can
appreciate it. There's not, perhaps, enough "tangible evidence" of a
sparkling rebirth to satify those critics.
>
> But I KNOW there have been countless positive changes. Because I've
BEEN there for the bad. And that is why I will continue to declare
that, "Yeah, the glass is absolutely half full."
>
> Dane Hall
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