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Editor, Asbury Park Sun,

Street construction began earlier this season on Park Avenue. What was surprising was that unlike other times when there was street repairs, the historic red bricks lining the sides of the street and the blue slate that acted as a curb was being unceremoniously trashed. Just to add insult to injury, there was no notification to residents as confirmed by the City about removing the red brick and blue slate.

Some estimates of City Historians place the red brick as being between 100-200 years old. While it is not deemed by the State of New Jersey as being “historic” it certainly has value, character and added a rich and unique aesthetic to Asbury Park’s streets. Also keep in mind, that what the State considers and doesn’t consider “historic” is hard to understand. Take this example of a Revolutionary War House being torn down because it didn’t have “historic” value according to the state, click here.

Anyone taking time out of their busy lives to contribute to the development of the City’s Master Plan ought to think very hard about this issue. The Biennial Report of the last Master Plan’s Implementation specifically cited historical preservation by creating ordinances to that end and preserving blue slate, which again, was unceremoniously destroyed along with the red brick. [http://www.nj.gov/state/planning/docs/samplebiennial.pdf, pgs 32-34.] The city obviously has ignored the previous master plan, why should we believe that they would honor our input for the future Master Plan?

A worthwhile comparison is the hypocrisy of City Hall in regards to building and repairs.  When we wanted to build a deck on the back of our house, we had to apply for a variance, present our case at three public meetings, then notify in writing every neighbor within view, as our deck was going to “substantially alter the character of the neighborhood.” The City however, can undertake massive alterations to the character of the neighborhood, without so much as letting its residents know in advance?

The Streets desperately needed to be repaved but the City should have sought public input. We have community organizations dedicated to historic preservation that the City could engage. Public notification should have been disseminated in a redundant manner by utilizing our Director of Communications, Nixle and other digital media tools.

This complete disregard for alerting the public or honoring previous public input should serve as a wake-up call to residents in other parts of the City. Particularly those that will be paved in the future, as well as those residents hoping to have their concerns taken seriously in the upcoming Master Plan – hold them accountable.

Randy Thompson

Park Avenue

[These letters 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.]

[Photos courtesy of Thompson]

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