The no-man’s land of vacant lots and dilapidated buildings on Cookman Avenue dividing the downtown and beachfront will get a facelift before July 4th. A streetscape program of new sidewalks, curbing, lighting and landscaping will be installed by waterfront redeveloper Asbury Partners on the stretch of Cookman (shown above) between Grand Avenue and Kingsley Street. […]

Headlining Wednesday night’s city council meeting at 7 p.m. is a hearing on the 2012 municipal budget. The plan features total general approprations of $40.2 million, with a municipal tax levy increase of $3.5 million. Click here for a copy of the budget. At the 6 p.m. workshop session, redevelopment and planning director Donald Sammet will present the following: a redevelopment entity […]

A report by the Asbury Park Police Department says 30 antique copper panels once on Convention Hall were reported stolen on Aug. 2, 2011, although the general public was not made aware of the loss until last month. City manager Terence Reidy said today he was notified of the incident in August, but saw no need to […]

When the annual spring herring run soon begins in Deal Lake, larger fish and waterfowl will enjoy a feast on this forage fish. But there’s one species that won’t be so lucky. Humans. The state Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife has banned the harvesting of herring this year, following other states that are trying […]

The city council is now reviewing whether to ask voters to establish a charter study commission to consider changes to Asbury Park’s form of government. But that decision would not just put the question of establishing a five-member charter study commission on the ballot in November. It could also stop some of the council’s political […]

Reacting to the theft of thirty-four decorative copper panels once on Convention Hall, the Asbury Park Historical Society will request the city council and boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette disclose more information about the incident. At an emergency meeting on Saturday, the Historical Society Board of Trustees — several shown above — also tentatively agreed to ask […]

The Asbury Park Historical Society will hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to develop a plan of action for recovering a historic set of panels.  The panels, pictured above, reportedly went missing from Convention Hall last year. Boardwalk redeveloper Madison Marquette reported the 34 panels stolen from Convention Hall, said Celia Morrissette Johnson, president of the […]

The board of education was especially divided over one issue during budget discussions this week — the color of the new football field’s Astro Turf. After two close votes, the board determined it would not expend an extra $45,000 on a blue field. Instead, the board approved next year’s $66 million budget, which allocates $825,000 […]

With the Florida shooting death of Trayvon Martin as a backdrop, a crowd of over 300 demonstrators for social justice and racial unity gathered on the steps of the city post office this evening, as various community leaders addressed the throng. The event was initiated by a Freehold student using a Facebook page, according to Asbury Park Mayor Ed Johnson, […]

The Board of Education last night approved the 2012-2013 school budget after almost three hours of deliberation. The spending plan bears a 2-percent tax levy increase — the highest increase the state permits without a referendum. The operating budget for next year is $66,651,301, of which $6,253,002 will be raised through local taxation. Tuition from […]