--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, traderdube <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > By JONATHAN MILLER > <http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=bylL&v1=JONATHAN% 20MILLER&fdq=19960101&td=sysdate&sort=newest&ac=JONATHAN% 20MILLER&inline=nyt-per> > Published: April 30, 2006 > > ASBURY PARK, N.J., April 29 The building, if you could call it that, > was a rusty empty box near the Boardwalk that didn't even have a name. > It was known simply as C-8, for its place on the tax maps. > > Since C-8 had become a symbol for the failed efforts to revive this old > resort on the Jersey Shore, its demolition on Saturday was supposed to > herald a determined rebirth. > > But after the booms of 91 pounds of explosives had sounded, and after > the thick clouds of dust had cleared, part of C-8 remained stubbornly > upright. > > "That thing is still fighting," said Tom Patten, an ironworker from > Oakhurst, who earlier in the week helped remove steel spandrels from the > bottom of C-8 in an attempt to weaken it. "They have a bigger mess now > than when they started." > > Doug Loizeaux, vice president of Controlled Demolitions Inc. of > Maryland, the company that oversaw the implosion, said there was too > little weight to pull down the structure because it was not a finished > building. > > "There was one portion that was 45 feet in the air," he said, but he > noted that after a few hours of work with a crane, "Now it's flat on the > ground." > > "This is an historical event for Asbury Park," Mayor Kevin G. Sanders > said in a statement released earlier in the week. "As a lifelong > resident, the C-8 structure was a failure of the past and I will be > happy to see it taken down." > > But C-8 was itself supposed to usher in a bright future for Asbury Park. > It was initially part of a $500 million project that was approved in > 1986. The developer, Joseph Carabetta of Meriden, Conn., promised to > build luxury condominiums and renovate the Paramount Theater, the > Convention Hall and the Casino nearby. > > None of that happened. > > Union strife, a fading housing market, the bankruptcy of Mr. Carabetta's > company, court fights and other problems ensured that the building was > never completed, and its rusting skeleton has stood, a block from the > water, for more than 15 years. > > After the debris is cleared over the next couple of weeks, Metro Homes, > a Hoboken developer, plans to build a twin-towered 224-apartment > building on the site. > > Although city officials had predicted that the demolition on Saturday > morning would be watched by thousands of people, only a few hundred > showed up. > > Some stood on cars. Many brought cameras, cellphones and video recorders. > > Members of a crew that had just finished making a feature film entitled > "Asbury Park" said they had taken shots of C-8 and it figures > prominently in the movie. > > A woman and six children spread a picnic blanket out on a weedy lot. At > a minute after 7 a.m., a child glared at the structure and yelled: "Do it!" > > The implosion came a few minutes later, and the blasts startled the > crowd that had gathered a block away. Most of the building sank like a > stack of dominoes. > > It took 14 seconds. > > The crowd cheered. > > But when the smoke cleared, many were surprised to see that parts were > still standing. About four floors of the northeast corner remained, and > a five-story section listed precariously at a 45-degree angle. > > The demolition was part of a new effort to revive a city, once > celebrated for its Boardwalk and gaudy amusements, that went into a long > decline after race riots in the 1960's. > > For all the widely shared hopes for renewal, however, loud disagreements > remain over how to proceed. > > Several property owners have been resisting attempts to condemn > buildings earmarked for reconstruction, like the Baronet Theatre, a > nearby deli and a bowling alley. The property owners have taken the city > to court, accusing it of "eminent domain abuse," but officials have > scoffed at their claims. > > "They bought after the redevelopment deal was signed, and they knew that > these properties were going to get taken for the redevelopment," said > Councilman John M. Loffredo, who pushed the signal box to begin the > implosion. "They're businessmen. They know what they're doing. What more > can I say to that?" > > Some business owners have also complained that the new development will > lack entertainment and amusement, attractions that made Asbury Park what > it was. > > Mr. Loffredo countered: "Times have changed. I'm just saying all that > honky-tonk is not what we're going to be putting back there." > > As he watched cranes picking over the wreckage, Kevin Feehan, 48, an > owner of the nearby Wonder Bar, reflected on the significance of the > day's events. The city still is far from completely back, he said, but > there is reason for hope. > > "This was like getting Al Capone out of Chicago," he said. "It didn't > stop the crime, but everyone felt good about it." >
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