Wouldn't it be nice if the historic lifeguard station was moved to AP beach as a new boardwalk pavillion destinantion?? Oh, wait, I forgot - AP can't maintain the historic structures they have - it would probably rot into the ocean... In a message dated 4/25/2007 11:04:10 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
oh excuse me... Judge Alexander Lehrer As for my campaign for State Senate, it's going to be even better when you all read about how Sean Kean broke the law today. Officials' tour of Long Branch beach club called illegal Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 04/25/07 BY CAROL GORGA WILLIAMS COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU LONG BRANCH — Community leaders, a historian, politicians and Monmouth County officials who focus on property acquisition, came to the Takanassee Beach Club today to spread the word about the need to preserve the historically relevant site. But, as it turns out, neither the officials nor the media, had any right to be on the Ocean Avenue property which is the focus of a family dispute. Harry V. Osborne II, a lawyer who represents Ginger Peters, a one- third owner of the property, and Jerold L. Zaro, who represents the contract-purchaser, Takanassee Developers LLC, said the developer has a lease for the property and only he can give permission to enter the site. "It is very disturbing and disturbing to hear of this tour, especially by two lawmakers,'' said Zaro. "...They are law makers,'' he said of Kean and Unger. "They shouldn't be law breakers.'' The beach club has been owned by the Peters family for generations. Sister Ginger Peters and her brother Christopher wanted to sell the valuable oceanfront land, while brother J. Scott Peters did not, although he ultimately signed the sale contract, saying he felt forced to by Superior Court Judge Alexander D. Lehrer. Since news of the pending sale was disclosed and Takanassee Developers, whose principal is Isaac Chera, revealed plans to build 21 homes there, Kean and Unger have been championing plans to preserve the 4.9-acre site which contains three buildings that were once used by the U.S. Lifesaving Service, a precursor to the U.S Coast Guard. It is one of the few remaining sites in the country with this heritage said New Jersey Historian Frank Esposito, who attended the tour. Kean initially said he would introduce legislation to fund the $14 million purchase, although the legislator said today he did not feel it necessary to go through with the legislation, given the fact that administrators of the state's Coastal Area Facility Review Act are taking a dim view of Chera's proposal. Unger said he believes the city could operate the club as a municipal beach club, as such operations are conducted in nearby municipalities. He said a formal study has not been made. "Some things in a society are more important than economics,'' Unger said. "Sometimes we put economic considerations first and we act as if they trump all other considerations'if they trump a case, "there would be no Central Park, there would be no Island Beach State Park...Takanassee trumps all economic considerations.St Both Unger and Kean believe that if Chera fails to get his CAFRA permit, he could walk away from the land, and the state, in partnership with the county and the municipality, could pick up the oceanfront parcel for between five and $10 million. The state Green Acres fund would provide 75 percent of that. But Zaro said that is not realistic. (Osborne said the $14 million price being bandied about is incorrect. Chera is offering the Peters $16 million for the property.) "I think these two gentlemen are latecomers to the situation,'' said Osborne, of Unger, who was elected to City Council in November, and Kean, who is seeking election to the state Senate. "...I just don't know where they are going to come up with the money. As far as I know, the mayor has no intention to condemn the property or put anything up in order for the city to pay for it.'' Osborne said Chera's surrender of the land is "pure wishful thinking'' on the part of Unger and Kean. "It certainly sounds nice for the politicians to say "we'll buy it' or "we'll get funding for it.' That's just not realistic,'' said Zaro, citing the state's ongoing budget crisis. "I don't think buying a beach club for $16 million is going to rank up there with all the other needs we have. The city could condemn it under eminent domain (but) I can't imagine the citizens of Long Branch, who have just seen their tax assessments triple, would be in any kind of a mood to raise taxes again to buy a beach club.'' Leila Poch, president of the Elberon Voters and Property Owners Association was present for the tour. She said citizens support the preservation. "We have the chance to put the stop sign up,'' she said of razing historic properties in the city. "This is the Peters' property,'' countered Mayor Adam Schneider. "It is their life savings. It is a very valuable property. If you put pressure on CAFRA to devalue it so someone can acquire it more cheaply, I won't do it.'' Schneider added that he would love to see the property preserved but the cost is a sticking point. "At some point, there has got to be an open public discussion about whether that is the best possible use for that type of project,'' Schneider said. "I don't know that it is.'' Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. (Updated June 7, 2005) Site design by Asbury Park Press / Contact us ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
