---

The Alliance for a Healthier Asbury Park, in collaboration with the City, will hold its inaugural Asbury Park Alive event from 1 to 5 pm May 4 to promote a healthy lifestyle and strengthen community engagement, City officials announced Friday.

The free town-wide open street event will close Springwood and Lake avenues to cars, thereby providing a safe space for walking, running, biking, skating, and social activities. The free afternoon event features not only health information and screenings but youth activities, art and music.

“This initiative is being planned and executed by the people of Asbury Park,” said Alliance for a Healthier Asbury Park Project Director Nina Summerlin [shown below]. “We have partnered with local organizations, making this a truly community-driven event. The goal is to promote an active and healthy lifestyle by bringing health screenings, fitness activities and information to the community, and to literally bridge the gap between the east and west sides of the City. Our goal is for this to become an annual event.”

The Alliance for a Healthier Asbury Park is a coalition comprised of local organizations and health providers. The initiative is funded by the New Jersey Health Initiative [NJHI] – a statewide grant program from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“Health and wellness have become a major focus of our city; so much so that we launched the Mayor’s Wellness Committee in 2017,” Mayor John Moor said. “We’re strong proponents of providing more opportunities for walking and bicycling in the community, and we hope this event allows residents to see the streets in the city a little differently.”

Mobile health vans from Hackensack Meridian, Horizon and the VNA Group will be stationed at three locations along the route to encourage residents to receive free health screenings, organizers said. Fitness activities include instruction from local gyms, a climbing wall, bubble soccer, basketball, volleyball, dance and surfing. Attendees can enjoy music at three different stages, kid’s activities and games, a STEAMpark with science and math activities, pet adoptions, art installations include painting an intersection mural, skateboarding building and demos, and few giveaways.

“The open streets movement has grown all over the world, and we are excited to bring the concept here through Asbury Park Alive,” said Mike Manzella, Director of Transportation, Mayor’s Wellness Committee Chair and Alliance for a Healthier Asbury Park leadership team member. “Our event is going to be uniquely Asbury Park, with live music and art being incorporated throughout the event.”

Event passports will be distributed to encourage participants to explore the entire route and submit a completed passport for a prize, while supplies last. Additionally, a bike repair station will be available, pedicabs will serve the route allowing those with mobility issues to enjoy the event, and EZ Ride will provide shuttle transportation for seniors to access the route. Restrooms, water stations and comfort stations will be accessible during the 1 to 5 pm event.

The event also featured sth return of the annual Green Expo in Springwood Park. Organized by the City’s Green Team Committee, the event aims to educate and inform residents of the latest green practices and showcase how working collaboratively can impact the environment.

This year’s Green Expo will feature urban farm tours; guest speakers addressing clean energy programs and clean water action; electric vehicle, bike and scooter test drives; green living crafts, including t-shirt bags and seed balls; planting demonstrations; healthy food samples; and a green marketplace.

Through collaboration from the Asbury Park Police Chaplains and the local police department’s Community Policing Division, an Asbury Park Bike Safety Initiative will feature 200 helmets and 200 bike light giveaway. The initiative is supported by the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce, Asbury Park Toy Drive, City of Asbury Park Recreation Department, EZ Ride, Jersey Shore Medical [Hackensack Meridian] and Monmouth Medical Center [RWJ Barnabas].

To further incentivize youth to wear helmets beyond the event, Asbury Park Police Officers will be distributing coupons for treats from local businesses when they see a youth wearing their helmets, organizers said.

Asbury Park Alive is sponsored by RentAsburyPark.com, Home Drug Store, the Asbury Park Music Foundation, The Asbury, Hackensack Meridian, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, VNA Group, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, West Lake Pharmacy, EZ Ride, Aetna – Better Health of New Jersey, Asbury Park School District, Brookdale Community College, Interactive Health Solutions, Community YMCA of Red Bank and NJ Natural Gas.For more information on Asbury Park Alive, visit asburyparkalive.com. For more on the Alliance for a Healthier Asbury Park, visit njhi.org/projects/building-a-healthier-asbury-park. And for more about the City of Asbury Park, visit cityofasburypark.com.

———————————————————————–

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---