Who are these a~~holes throwing the carpetbagger name around? They can't
be FROM Asbury Park, can they? After all, Asbury Park, the beloved
little city by the sea, a city so beloved that despite all hi jinx and
mayhem thrives with a population that is far reaching in it's diversity
and attention to the details that make for better lives for all who come
to the park. It must be those hated suburbanites, people who dare live
in mcmansions in over-stuffed towns that ignore planning and good sense
and have built up every square foot so that neighbors can stare into one
anothers yards and learn how to spend their hard earned cash. If not the
suburbanites, it must be the homeless, those poor folks who somehow
survive the winters chill and summers heat without a roof over their
heads, without a gas or electric bill...er, without electric, it's tough
to post to this fine yahoo group...unless they're hitting the internet
cafe on cookman. Oops, no cafe to speak of. So, tell me please, who are
these people throwing this carpetbagger term around so viciously. Are
they the people who forgot that the day before Mr. Weldon was arrested
Asbury was a city in ruins? How do life long residents, many of whom
work or are elected officials in the city forget what Asbury was like as
little as 6 years ago, before Paradise opened, before a whole new
population of wonderful people came to Asbury, fell in love with her
charms and put their hard earned money into the suffering city by the sea.
Rhetoric words, like irony, comedy, and just being silly are very hard
to hear when your reading them instead of hearing them. I am being
rhetorical of course. I know exactly who the fools are who are throwing
around the carpetbagger term. Fools who should be embracing ALL the
people who have come to Asbury these past 6 years and bought disgusting
rotted neglected homes. Who with their own hands had to clean out the
vermin and decay that has infested Asbury the past 30 years. The people
who have to fight inane zoning and building departments with rules and
policies that change with the wind.That have had to pay senseless fines
for fixing up those houses and cleaning up the streets. Pitiful behavior
by a few people making Asbury seem like the city that embraced black
beach and segregated boardwalks and always two water fountains. The city
with the mason Dixie line running behind main street.
You all know who you are, especially the weasel who hides behind
multiple screen names right here on this yahoo board. Who scoffs at
justice and the American way. The last council meeting was a travesty. 6
properties have been subjected to eminent domain so far. 4 at the
request of the property owners. 1, seemingly uncontested, the Empress
parking lot, and The Kingsley Deli. Mr. Keady vigorously fought for the
taxpaying citizens of Asbury Park on Weds night. Mr. Keady didn't oppose
the plan, didn't oppose eminent domain, didn't even oppose the taking
of the 2 properties. All he wanted was a fair and equal shake for EVERY
tax payer in Asbury Park. All he asked for was that each taxpayers be
given an opportunity for a fair negotiation for their property so that
the blighted city in ruins can get rebuilt. He didn't ask for more or
less condos, he didn't ask for exemptions for his friends, he asked that
a process be implemented so that the 5 men of the city governing body
can answer a simple question honestly and that all 5 men can uphold
their oath of office; that they were comfortable that every taxpayer
who's property is in the blighted redevelopment zone get a fair and
unbiased negotiated price for their property. When Rita finally went to
the mic on weds night, after 20+ years of toiling in the rotted shadows
of C-8, Rita plainly spoke the simple words that fell on deaf ears, SHE
NEVER RECEIVED ANY OFFERS, ANY VALUATION, ANYTHING FROM ASBURY PARTNERS,
NEVER. That this was proof positive to every person in the council
chambers that a fair effort to negotiate never occurred was plain to
witness, some how, 3 men on the dais, and a lawyer or two didn't care.
They voted to take Rita's property and it is in the hands of someone
else what 1 of the first 6 property takeovers via eminent domain will
receive for her property.
How men who have lived in Asbury Park all their lives, who have known
this property owner for all these years can allow this happen is
unbelievable.
It stinks and it smells fishy if you get my drift. In this era of
transparent government, when all around us greed and corruption and
blatant white collar crime abounds, the back room of Asbury Park's
business, a busy room for all of the 20th century, is busier than ever.
What is most amazing is that there seems to be so little money in Asbury
these days, and yet, the purse strings are attached to the past like
tentacles from the ocean, refusing to let go despite the fine, caring,
honest, hard working carpetbaggers who have