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A meeting last week between city officials and the New York Consulate General’s office of the Republic of Haiti may result in a weekly satellite at town hall, according to a Friday news release.

Led by Consul General Peter Helder Bernard, the meeting was attended by Acting Chief of Police Anthony Salerno, members of the Asbury Park Police Department of Haitian descent, as well as community leader Rev Esai Destinoble of Good News Radio.

The weekly satellite would serve any Haitian or Haitian-American people in the Asbury Park area, thereby relieving the need to travel to New York. Mayor John Moor and City Manager Michael Capabianco agreed to the proposal instantly, according to the news release. 

“It’s a win-win as far as I can see,” Moor said in the written statement. “It’s an absolute no-brainer, and we’re delighted to be able to assist with the Consul General’s aims in any way we can.”

While details are still being ironed out, the proposed satellite would be held in the City Manager’s Conference Room [where the meeting took place] on the second floor of City Hall, located at 1 Municipal Plaza. Additional information and resources will be provided by municipal departments, including Public Safety, Social Services, Community Development.

The partnership could lead to a work development program where members of the police force would discuss job opportunities within the Asbury Park Police Department.

“Community ties has been an imperative of my administration of Counselor General,” Bernard said. “We want to see how we could bring the services of the Consulate General’s office to the citizenry of Asbury Park.”

The satellite will help Haitian residents address any passport or legal needs locally. Similar programs have been established via mobile satellite in several tristate communities, including Irvington and Suffolk, NY, according to the news release. There are and estimated 10,000 Haitian and Haitian-Americans living in the greater Asbury Park area.

“We’d like the community to know about what Asbury Park has to offer them as well,” Mayor Moor said. “There are resources in this building, like first-time homebuyer’s loans and the RCA home improvement program, that we’d like to get the word out about. We’d like for City Hall to feel like a welcoming and useful resource to our Haitian community.”

[Photos courtesy of Communications Director Hannah Walker]

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