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Two local activists, who have been behind the over 10 year fight to preserve the north end beach plot of land unofficially known as Bradley Cove, have sent a letter directly to iStar Financial CEO Jay Sugarman.

In the April 13 letter, former Councilman Joe Woerner and his Oceanfront Preservation Coalition co chair Joyce Grant voice opposition to the waterfront redeveloper proposed 15 townhomes in what is now the Ocean Avenue right-of-way from the sewerage treatment plant north toward the Loch Arbor border. While the city owns the land, iStar owns the development rights.

“The only area that the city has total jurisdiction over is that north beach area,” Grant said. “That is public land, everything else is leased. Even if iStar has development rights, they don’t own the land.”

Last week, the City Council approved receipt of another $250,000 grant funding in support of purchasing the developing rights. “This is in addition to a previous $250,000 grant for open space,” Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said during the Wednesday meeting.

The parcel of land was appraised by two independent city contracted firms at $3.2 million. Brian Cheripka, iStar’s senior vice president of land and development, has said they will work with the city but his company must receive fair market value for the development rights — Cheripka has noted iStar must pay when it acquires land in the waterfront redevelopment zone.

The Garden State Preservation Trust’s recommended a $1.1 million award was previously paired with a $250,000 matching grant from the Monmouth County Freeholders.

The City Council is currently in the midst of renegotiating iStar’s Waterfront Redevelopment Area [WRA] Agreement, which includes the hope of removing the “Bradley Cove” townhomes from the plan.

Below is the letter sent to iStar CEO Jay Sugarman:

Dear Mr. Sugarman:

We write to you on behalf of a coalition of statewide environmental groups, including Clean Ocean Action, Jersey Shore Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, NJ Sierra Club, and American Littoral Society, and the concerned citizens of Asbury Park, Monmouth County, and beyond. We stand united with the City of Asbury Park, its Governing Body and its people, in opposition to the “Townhomes at Bradley Cove” development on the City’s north end beach. We advocate for the creation of an oceanfront park that will be mutually beneficial to the City of Asbury Park and iStar.

Since the development’s introduction in 2001, the opposition has been steadfast and spirited. A few indications of the public’s disdain for this project include thousands of petition signers and letters to elected officials, County and City Council meetings packed to capacity, and multiple rallies at the site with upwards of two hundred people in attendance.

The opposition has major concerns regarding this development at the north end beach of Asbury Park where iStar Financial Corp holds the development rights on the public right-of-way, Ocean Avenue. We favor the creation of a public oceanfront park to preserve open space and green acres public land, to maintain public access to the north end of Asbury Park’s beach, boardwalk and Deal Lake, and to create a living shoreline as a buffer against future coastal flooding and sea level rise.

At the same time we applaud iStar for the creative work you have done in our City, in particular the “Asbury Hotel.” The partnership between the City and iStar has been a productive one that has allowed public funds to flow through your corporation to repair the City’s infrastructure, making development economically feasible for iStar. An oceanfront park will only make Asbury Park a more enticing Jersey Shore destination.

We implore you to consider the exchange of iStar’s development rights of this area for development options elsewhere in the City. The continued partnership between iStar and the City on this issue can preserve this last open coastal area in Monmouth County and provide an increased economic opportunity for iStar.

Sincerely,

Joyce Grant and Joe Woerner

Co-Chairs of the Oceanfront Preservation Coalition

CC: Brian Cheripka, iStar Residential

For more about the Oceanfront Preservation Coalition’s campaign, visit saveasburypark.surfrider.org.

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