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Editor, the Asbury Park Sun:

An established record of achievement is exactly why I support the Forward Asbury Park team. Our city has once again become a home that we can be proud of, a destination that attracts visitors and a model of development as the comeback city of the Jersey Shore. None of it happened by accident. It took community planning, commitment and innovative development led by an honest City Council.

The Forward Asbury Park team has brought renewal to every part of our city. For the first time in 25 years, our West Side has seen investments in new infrastructure, roads and streetscape, the building of single and multifamily homes, the rise of The Springwood Center — a retail, police substation, senior center and affordable apartment complex. This month, developers begin work on new housing, retail and a community park on Springwood Avenue. These are lands that have stood vacant for over a quarter of a century.

Our Central Business District was transformed from a ghost town to a bustling hub of retail, entertainment and residential activity. The capital investment of new infrastructure now supports the best downtown at the Jersey Shore. A night out at the Jersey Shore now means Asbury Park!

Once known as blocks of abandoned pavilions and debris-littered sand, our waterfront has become one of the best beaches at the Jersey Shore. Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to our beach and boardwalk, creating revenue that is used to benefit the entire city. It has allowed us to purchase back Springwood Avenue, build affordable housing, fund workforce-development programs, rebuild our fire and police safety services and create a multitude of recreation opportunities for Asbury Park Youth — all which would have been funded by property taxes.

Our growth continues with the Main Street development plan and neighborhood renewal projects on Asbury Avenue and Memorial Drive.  Our community – residents, businesses, pastors, organizations and government officials — joined to create the Asbury Park Community Development Initiative to continue the hard work of addressing the challenges that confront our youth, families and community.

Working together, we have accomplished much. While there is much more work to be done, make no mistake — we have come a very long way forward. Together, with Sue Henderson, John Loffredo, Kevin Sanders, Greg Hopson Sr., and Will Potter, the Forward Asbury team, everyone will continue to share in the benefits and the responsibilities of making Asbury Park a great community for us all!

— Mayor Ed Johnson, Asbury Park

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to news@asburyparksun.com for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]

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