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Former Housing Authority and municipal court employee Rosalie Skinner is known around as ‘Judge Judy,’ due in part for 93-year-old’s life long tenacity for protecting her Asbury Park neighborhood.

The 93-year-old was the first to speak up during this week’s Asbury Park West Side Choice Neighborhoods Transformation Plan meeting.

“That building didn’t used to be like that,” the 50-year-long Lincoln Village resident said. “People are coming in there doing anything they want to do. People come there at night time and bring their garbage from other households. There’s not enough room for us.”

Skinner went on to speak about the quality of life within the public housing structure, giving a first hand account of what needs to be improved.

“We know about these issues and that is the reason why the Housing Authority embarked on this plan,” said Woo Kim of WRT Design, the planning consultants working in conjunction with the City and Housing Authority to create a plan to revitalize the southwest neighborhood. “They know that Lincoln Village is a distressed public housing site that needs to be redeveloped. But if we just tear down public housing and put back brand new public housing we haven’t changed anything. So that’s why we are going through this process.”

The plan, funded through a $500,000 Housing and Urban Development [HUD] grant, aims to transform the neighborhood into a place of opportunity and economic growth. City and Housing Authority officials have been working with a team of stakeholders and residents to create a comprehensive vision.

Collaboration began in September with a data gathering input meeting and was followed up in November by a needs assessment meeting and the launch of surveys in Lincoln Village and throughout the city. Working groups were formed to discuss housing, employment, education, youth, public safety, community health, and transportation and placemaking topics.

This week the 165 total survey’s findings were unveiled and smaller groups were formed to specifically address Public Safety, Housing, and the Neighborhood

“Now is the time to dig in and figure out what the needs assessment mean for the working groups,” said WRT’s Laurel Schwab. “It wasn’t a perfect survey, it was a great survey but it is one tool to help with the planning efforts and to generate some discussion.”  

From the survey:

The West Side Choice Neighborhood is at a pivotal point. Results from the recent surveys administered by Interfaith Neighbors and Monmouth University show that the community is experiencing positive growth and residents are eager to contribute to the momentum. While there still are many challenges, residents report feeling more optimistic about the current and future state of their neighborhood.

Lincoln Village respondents say they are under-employed and have difficulty accessing jobs and programs.

The community struggles with a lack of awareness of programs and services that are already available.

Many residents are renters, and a majority have lived within the community for over three years.

Expanding affordable housing options throughout the entire city is an important part of providing housing for the many different types of households found in Asbury Park.

Overall, parents are satisfied with the education system. However, local schools are underperforming compared to the county and state.

Respondents find the top two most pressing challenges facing young people to be: Not enough to do after school, and exposure to gang activity.

The biggest barriers to employment are access to jobs and skills building.

This plan sets forth strategies that aim to erase the entrenched disparities between the East and West sides of the city.

There is still time for members of the public to join the process, officials have said. A draft plan is expected to be completed by year’s end. For details about the survey’s findings and the plan process, click here.

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