(Not exactly as I wrote it but this op ed piece appeared in Morristown's local paper, home of the market street mission.)
Asbury Park does not want this shelter Community is struggling to get back on feet as is BY PAUL VAIL Friday, March 2, 2007 The Market Street Mission of Morristown is trying to open a branch in Asbury Park. >From where I sit, this would be a homeless shelter, drug and alcohol treatment center, soup kitchen and used-car facility in the heart of Asbury Park, a seaside community struggling to come back after almost 40 years of serious decline. Our city already hosts numerous tax-exempt charitable institutions that serve our disenfranchised residents and people from the surrounding area. Our city does more than its fair share in this regard. We cannot afford to allow the mission to operate a facility that will bring almost 900 additional homeless and/or addicted men from all over New Jersey to Asbury Park every year. Our city zoning board initially rejected the mission's variance application to set up operations here. The mission appealed on a technicality and won. Stand Up For Asbury, a group of concerned citizens, appealed this reversal. Rather than face Stand Up For Asbury in state superior court, the mission signed a consent order allowing the matter to return to our zoning board. During the first hearing conducted last month, the city of Asbury Park learned that the Market Street Mission is not licensed by the state of New Jersey to treat drug and alcohol addiction, nor is it licensed to sell automobiles. The mission never brought this to the attention of our zoning board when it first petitioned for variances. Zoning board hearings on this matter will continue next month. Disregarding the advice of the superior court judge in Freehold, the mission scrambled to open its doors in Asbury Park a few weeks before our zoning board could begin its hearing on the matter. Our fire department had to shut the mission down last week after an inspection revealed that the shelter had no fire-preventing sprinkler system in its dormitory. It is apparent that the Market Street Mission holds the people of Asbury Park, its zoning board, state Superior Court and minimum state safety codes in contempt. Stand Up For Asbury cannot allow the mission to steamroll its way into our city. The people of Asbury Park have fought hard to bring this city back from the abyss and we still have a long way to go. Our city cannot afford to take on the additional burden of the thousands of ex-cons, pedophiles, alcoholics and drug addicts from all over New Jersey that the mission intends to bring to our home year after year. Editor's Note: The Market Street Mission declined an opportunity to write a column summarizing its position on this issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- Paul Vail is a resident of Asbury Park. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. Check out the enhanced email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/kOt0.A/gOaOAA/yQLSAA/Y2tolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
