Boardwalk blooms with new planters
Beautification group brings vegetation to beach front
The Asbury Park boardwalk is about to become even more colorful with the addition of 10 new planters.
The Asbury Park Beautification Project [APBP] is installing the steel-reinforced, concrete planters along the boards from North Beach down to the Casino tomorrow, project head Steven Brunner said.
Brunner and Daniel Baum together comprise the APBP, which was formed last year with the goal of beautifying the city.
“I run down the boardwalk and go through Ocean Grove, down to Avon and beyond, and everyone has planters,” Brunner said. “Asbury Park doesn’t have anything on its boardwalk, nor does it have dunes.”
Brunner decided to spearhead a project to bring perennial flora to the boardwalk in large planters. He has been gathering funding throughout the year by holding fundraising events at Aqua, a lounge located in Convention Hall, every time there is a full moon, he said.
The planters also have sponsors, although Brunner opted not to use them as memorials for deceased family members like other towns do.
“We wanted joyous, uplifting messages for our community spirit,” he said.
The project started at the end of July last year, he said. He got the blessing of the Shade Tree Commission’s Amy Quinn and Tom Pivinski, then presented the plan to the city council, who approved the placement of the planters.
Two planters have stood outside Aqua since last summer, withstanding everything from Hurricane Irene to the Bamboozle music festival. They even became the backdrop for many television news presenters reporting live from the boardwalk during the hurricane, because the tall dune grass inside them showed how hard the wind was blowing.
The APBP’s next project will involve “the natural elements of the beach and what they have to offer,” although Brunner declined to elaborate further.