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Oceanfront Preservation Coalition, activists working to save a parcel of waterfront land in the north beach area from development are organizing a rally.

“The City of Asbury Park wants to negotiate a deal to save its north end beach from development and create an oceanfront park,” the written announcement for the June 24 event said. “iStar isn’t budging. So we are going to hold a rally on their doorstep. We need your help to make this action successful.”

New York based iStar is the waterfront redeveloper that owns the right to build its proposed Bradley Cove townhomes on what is now the Ocean Avenue right-of-way from the sewerage treatment plant north toward the Loch Arbor border.  

Its Senior Vice President Brian Cheripka has said he is open to negotiating a deal as long as it its based on fair market value.

But that fair market value is where the City [as the redevelopment authority and landowner] and iStar disagree.

While Cheripka would not go on record as to exact amount their appraisers valued the development rights, he did say it is considerably higher than the City appraisal, which came in at $3.2 million by two independent firms, according to Joe Woerner, a former councilman and Surfrider Foundation member who has been at the center of the land preservation movement for the past 10 years.

Last month, he joined fellow Oceanfront Preservation Coalition chair Joyce Grant in crafting a letter to iStar CEO Jay Sugarman. [Click here for more on that letter].

The June 24 rally will be held at the proposed Bradley Cove site, located at 1701 Ocean Avenue. Participants will gather at 11 a.m. for a march to iStars local office at 1100 Ocean Avenue.

RSVP protest postcards to Sugarman can be signed and left for pickup at the following locations:

words! Bookstore (623 Cookman Avenue)

Asbury Roastery (803 Second Avenue)

Cafe Volan (501 Bangs Avenue)

Langosta Lounge (1000 Ocean Avenue)

Heavan Arts & Antiques (721 Cookman Avenue) Bookersoo Coffee (1321A Memorial Drive)

Chocolate Sage (1006 Main Street)

“We are not even sure CEO Sugarman fully understands this issue,” the organizers said in the written announcement. “So it’s our job to make sure he does.”  

To sign up for the rally, click here, and for more about the preservation efforts, visit saveasburypark.surfrider.org. To contact Oceanfront Preservation Coalition directly, email saveasburyparksnorthendbeach@gmail.com.

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