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The grassroots group organized to halt a current boardwalk and parking lot infrastructure improvement project by iStar, the city’s master waterfront redeveloper, has organized a rally and press conference ahead of the 6 pm Thursday City Council Workshop meeting in Council Chambers at 1 Municipal Plaza [Bangs Avenue entrance].  

iStar will outline the project details during tonight’s workshop meeting. Public response and comment will be allowed during the 7 pm regular session meeting.

Save Asbury’s Waterfront [SAW] is comprised of a coalition of citizens, environmental and civic organizations that includes Clean Ocean Action, Surfrider Foundation, American Littoral Society, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, and Asbury Park Complete Streets. According to a written news statement, the group’s goal to ‘preserve and protect our oceanfront land from inappropriate development.’

“We want iStar to immediately stop its ongoing construction that is based on outdated plans approved in 2004,” petitioner Kathleen Mumma said during a Sunday morning Asbury Park Homeowner’s Association meeting held at The Complex. “Asbury Park has undergone tremendous change in 15 years and iStar’s current development initiatives on the north end no longer suits our City. Instead of developing one of the largest remaining coastal open spaces in Monmouth County, we want iStar to use its innovation and vast resources to develop an appropriate, forward-looking plan for Asbury’s Waterfront.”

iStar’s has said the project takes environmental concerns into consideration by implementing best practice standards. Among them is the up to date stormwater management system, with an increased 80 percent catch performance rate, and the planting of 1.83 acres of protective sand dunes that will feature 19,000 Cape American Beach Grass plugs and 2,200 indigenous grasses, and shrubs and flowers along a 15 feet wide boardwalk meant to keep a quieter neighborhood feel along north end region that the North Beach condos and the senior Asbury Towers.

And while no plans have been submitted for the beach club associated with the current Asbury Ocean Club high rise project, SAW members say the infrastructure project lays the groundwork for the beach club, which was approved as part of the 15 year old waterfront redevelopment agreement.

The group launched a  Change.org petition Friday that garnered close to 4,000 supporters and on Monday, they launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for legal fees associated with fighting iStar’s redevelopment, which raised $1,190 at the time of this posting. 

“I have serious concerns about the environment, public enjoyment of the waterfront, and the lack of transparency of iStar’s current construction project on Asbury’s northern waterfront,” Mumma [at right] wrote on the listing page. “The North end of Asbury Park is a rare and dynamic junction of nature and culture. It contains one of the largest remaining swaths of undeveloped open space adjacent to the coastline in Monmouth County.”

iStar’s Senior Vice President of Land and Development Brian Cheripka outlined the project details in a Monday article on this website.

The 5 pm rally will be held in front of Asbury Park Post Office, located at 801 Bangs Avenue at Main Street.

Featured speakers will include organizer Kathleen Mumma; Dr. Madeline Monaco, president of the 1501 Ocean Association on public access concerns; Kay Harris, Historical Society member and local business owner on Open Public Space; Joyce Grant, Citizens for Oceanfront Preservation – North Beach Preservation founder; Rev Gil Caldwell, a civil rights activist and  Dialogue Group founder on social inclusion and history; Pam Lamberton of Asbury Park Complete Streets on transparency & access; Diana Pittet of the Surfrider Foundation on public access and environmental concerns; Avery Grant of the NJ Environmental Justice Alliance on environmental and social justice concerns; Capt. Paul Eidman of the Anglers Conservation Network on Fish & Wildlife Conservation; a member of the American Littoral Society on environmental concerns; Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action on environmental concerns; Don Brockel, chair of the Deal Lake Commission on environmental concerns; Sen Vin Gopal and Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling.

For more about the Save Asbury’s Waterfront campaign, email Kerry Butch at  kerrymbutch@yahoo.com or Kathleen Mumma at kathleenmumma@gmail.com.

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