[AsburyPark] fight for your civil rights

[jerseykev]

REVITALIZING A CITY Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 04/30/06 The city has declared six redevelopment areas: four on the waterfront and two downtown. Two are generating the greatest interest right now: Beachfront North Phase II and Broadway Arts Center, part of the Broadway Corridor zone. Up next is Beachfront South. Pier Village, a residential and retail development on the oceanfront, recently received Planning Board approval for a second phase, featuring more apartments and one store, while the city has reviewed conceptual plans for the hotel/campus zone. Meanwhile, the city is reviewing applications for the Broadway Gateway zone. BEACHFRONT NORTH PHASE II WHAT: About 185 condominiums are planned where some 36 homes, rental units and lots stand along three streets, immediately south of Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, a county park. A two-story public pavilion also is planned at a cost of $2.5 million in addition to the cost of land acquisition. The total developer's contribution to streets, lighting, sewers and other improvements is about $6 million on a project estimated to cost between $90 million and $100 million. WHERE: The Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace, Seaview Avenue neighborhood. PURPOSE: City officials maintain the project is necessary to remove substandard housing, to create a better link to Seven Presidents park, and to establish a strong link with residential neighborhoods east of Ocean Boulevard. EMINENT DOMAIN?: Condemnation complaints have been filed against 24 of the 36 property owners. Developers have indicated they are negotiating with a third of the property owners. SUPPORTERS: Construction and other trade workers likely to get work from the job, and municipal officials. OPPONENTS: Include members of the Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace, Seaview Avenue Alliance who have been successful in lobbying many groups and residents from other communities to support their cause, including the Institute for Justice in Washington and the Sierra Club. WHAT'S NEXT: Awaiting a decision from Assignment Judge Lawrence M. Lawson, sitting in Superior Court in Freehold, to see if he will allow the city to go forward with eminent domain or if he will dismiss the condemnation complaints, as the residents seek. He also can allow them to gather evidence against the city for a larger hearing on the issue. BROADWAY ARTS CENTER WHAT: A commercial and residential mix including retailers, art galleries, two theaters, cafes and about 500 housing units within the Broadway Corridor redevelopment zone. About 100 housing units would be affordable units. The development represents an investment of $100 million to $150 million. The developers will make $7.1 million in improvements to the two theaters before donating them to the city. WHERE: The project is bounded by Second Avenue to the east, Belmont Avenue to the south, Union Avenue to the north and Liberty Street and Memorial Parkway to the west. The project will front on Broadway and wrap down Memorial and Liberty for a block. PURPOSE: To restore what city officials have described as the blighted condition of a main commercial area, to create an artistic hub with a link to the oceanfront, and to offer more affordable housing. EMINENT DOMAIN?: The developer, Broadway Arts Center LLC, has acquired more than 90 percent of the necessary properties without the use of eminent domain. Todd Katz, managing director of the project, said he prefers negotiating with private owners to buy the properties, but the city late in February authorized the use of eminent domain for any holdouts. SUPPORTERS: Among the supporters is Gabor Barabas, co-founder of New Jersey Repertory Theater and director of the Long Branch Arts Council, who has been working for at least five years to make the arts zone a reality. OPPONENTS: The Rev. Kevin Brown and his Lighthouse Mission, together with Gopal Panday and his wife, Kavita, who own Rainbow Liquors, have filed a lawsuit challenging the city's right to use eminent domain to acquire properties in that zone and challenging the state's authority to grant permission to use that power. WHAT'S NEXT: The developer will work with the leasing agent to lease to tenants as the lawsuit winds its way through the legal system.   Reverend Kevin Brown is a candidate in the Mayoral election of Long Branch next Tuesday.  His name appears on Line One. Viva la REV solution! YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "AsburyPark" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.