Editor, the Asbury Park Sun,
As the summer comes to a close and fall creeps up on us I look at Asbury Park and wonder, what does the future holds for us?
It was another successful summer for the beachfront and major development is finally coming to to the West Side. The two projects on Memorial Drive will definitely enhance the aesthetics of the neighborhood while hopefully providing employment for residents. I applaud AP Development Partners for their vision to upgrade that parcel on the West Side.
The Springwood Avenue Development Project, while not perfect, is a start. While we cannot relive the past we can learn from it. The Springwood Avenue I grew up with was the a mecca of entrepreneurial opportunity for all people. Paul McEvily of Interfaith Neighbors and I spoke of the importance that minority business be part of the new landscape on Springwood Avenue.
More young people of color are working on the beachfront. But we still do not have enough minority businesses on the beach or the downtown venues. A mixture of all people would enhance popularity and profits.
Finally, if you owe taxes to the city — pay them!
The new and hopefully improved City Council will aggressively move Madison Marquette and iStar to look for more minority businesses to take part in the “Boardwalk/Downtown Bonanza.” Our city manager needs to continue to make sure that at least 20 percent of jobs on all projects around the city are given to minorities.
One only needs to read “ Asbury Park: A West Side Story” by Madonna Carter Jackson to appreciate the vitality that once existed on both sides of our city. These pictures taken by Ms. Jackson’s father Joe Carter, Sr., capture the the rich history of the West Side and the beachfront. But more important, both volumes show what Asbury Park once was: a city of grandeur, hard working people and unity.
While you won’t see shots in either volume of Bruce, Little Stevie or Southside Johnny, you will see pictures of Billie Holiday and Count Basie performing in Asbury Park. You will also see pictures of trailblazers Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Jesse Owens, who spoke at the West Side Community Center on Dewitt Avenue. I say this to ask everyone to embrace our rich, diversified past and learn from it.
A new election looms over us. Some of the current council members are no longer running for whatever reason. But as I look back at the abatement that was given developers, which took tax dollars away from our struggling school system, I ask, will John Loffredo now sell units in the area where he gave prospective buyers a tax break? He should have recused himself from the vote. In most communities it would have been a conflict of interest. In Asbury Park, it’s business as usual.
In spite of it all, we will continue to move forward. Just remember: We are not Red Bank or Long Branch or Hoboken or Jersey City. We are Asbury Park. BLEED BLUE!
— Daniel Harris III
Asbury Park
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[EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the claims in the above letter called into question a decision Councilman John Loffredo made in his tenure on the City Council, the Asbury Park Sun afforded Loffredo a chance to respond to the allegation. Loffredo, who also works as a real estate agent in the city, was given a 100 word limit to address the claim made against him. He chose to write the following as a response.]
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Editor, the Asbury Park Sun:
It is a ridiculous and ill-informed statement. What can I say? Dan Harris should take a basic governing , ethics, and finance class.
John Loffredo
Asbury Park City Council
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