It's a slow day at work, so I spent a bit of time looking thru all the past
posts so I can
become better acquainted with the vibe here.
I moved to AP in March, and much of my youth was spent in AP and I clearly
remember all
of the great movie theaters and other architectural gems that made our city
special.
Sadly, most of that is now gone, and some of what remains is threatened.
The new condos that are going up where the Palace once stood are pretty damn
ugly if you
ask me. I'd rather look at the decaying Metropolitian Hotel then those barracks
any day.
That being said, it saddens me that our city is now being homogenized into the
same look
as every other redeveloped city along the shore. All the character is going
away, to be
replaced by a safe and in my opinion boring landscape.
Some call this progress, but I think it's a step in the wrong direction, and
sadly this
development is too late to be stopped. Thank goodness that Cookman Ave. retains
it's
original charm to a large degree. I'd hate to see it become another Red Bank,
which to me
looks like Main Street in Disney now. Just a bunch of facades hiding the past.
One of my pet peeves about the progress is our culture is how the big box
retailers like
Target and Walmart have made so many mom and pop business's disappear from our
landscape. Sure, it's cheaper to shop there, but at those stores, they don't
know my name
or anything about me. And I don't know them either.
I think this represents a great loss to the American landscape, and the death
of one part of
the American dream. Imagine if you were a pet lover, and you wanted to open a
pet store
in AP. Good luck, because it's much cheaper to shop at Pet Smart.
I applaud people in AP who are trying to fight the system, and I for one try
and support the
local retailers as much as I can. Places like Market in the Middle and all the
other cool little
stores that are on Cookman.
Once upon a time I came upon a town in Kansas called Lawrence, which had as
beautiful
and quirky a main street as i've ever seen. Truely cool place to visit.
I wish Asbury would remain a cool place to visit which would offer something
different.
We shall see...
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