ASBURY RADIO ARCHIVE OF ONLINE STORIES

EVENTS OF 2012 CONFLICT WITH CANDIDATE'S PROFILE

OK today is Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024.

Only 13 days left to vote!

Only TWO more shows.

But we'll probably hit the air whenever necessary - like when you have an important comment to share on the air and it won't do to simply post it or on the FB Asbury Radio or Asbury Radio pages.

We emailed candidate and Councilwoman Eileen Chapman of the Asbury Together ticket, this morning, since they were invited a week or so ago now. We want to cover this campaign in a balanced way and urged her accordingly.

Similarly, we've asked the opposing party, AP ACT Now, to answer more questions pertaining to its claim that fellow candidate and former councilman John Loffredo obtained a AAA rating for the city during his earlier terms. We need an explanation from the party as to why the city's usual rating agency, Moody's, has no record of ever granting the City a rating any higher than Aa3.

Our next question for that slate is also for John Loffredo, who during his current bid for councilman has promoted his previous leadership on the council on financial matters. Yet, in 2012 during former councilman Loffredo's last term in office, the City was accused by its own chief financial officer of attempting to violate a state statute by bonding for the payment of a delinquent health insurance premium, thus saddling city taxpayers for years and incurring bonding and borrowing costs.

The CFO, who asked not to be named for this report because he wants to put the matter behind him, expressed his rage in a September 2012 letter to the Asbury Park Press, after he felt the city through the media had scapegoated him, accusing him unjustly.

The letter read in part, "There was not a 'mistake' regarding the understatement of the Employee Health Insurance Appropriation. This was a deliberate move suggested by the auditor to the City Manager, and subsequently planned by them. The impact of that payment on the municipal tax rate would have been close to 25 basis points, and I guess that led them to that unusual move, prior to next year's municipal elections."

The CFO told AsburyRadio that the city had given him an ultimatum to basically go along or get out. The CEO rendered his resignation immediately. He had served only 9 1/2 months.

"After overcoming the surprise of such a recommendation coming from an auditor, I adamantly opposed what I saw as an ill-advised plan," the CFO went on. "Deliberately decreasing the size of an appropriation with preconceived notions for afterwards requesting approval of an emergency authorization is a clear violation of NJSA 40A:4-1 (the Budget Law). Thus, when presented with the option of leaving the organization I chose so, rather than signing a budget containing violations to the law."

The CFO also paraphrased then-Councilman Jimmy Bruno, saying poor planning or lack thereof does not constitute an emergency, a message the CFO wrote that he had had to repeat on many occasions to some department heads and key staff.

Was there a better way to handle the so-called emergency - one better for taxpayers? "According to calculations of the State Monitors that oversee the City's finances, migrating to the State Health Benefits Plan would provide savings in the range of $1.2 to $1.4 million, and that is the path," wrote the CFO that he recommended. And, he emphasized that would have been a "better alternative to bonding."

Finally the CFO summarized his position in AP as an "uphill battle marred by an unnatural and permanent crisis management."

With all of this to digest and more, I'm hoping to hear from some viewers and candidates with their thoughts on all of this input. Come on, voters - This is your time to raise your voices!!

Please share...
Maureen for AsburyRadio - the Voice of Asbury Park
Independent Journalist/Broadcaster/Podcaster/Columnist


MOODY'S: NO AAA EVER FROM US

OK, today is Monday, Oct. 23, 2024 and the AP ACT NOW slate has not answered our first question - What agency granted Asbury Park a AAA credit rating, as you stated in your first campaign press release of this election season?

Since the voters need accurate answers before they go to the polls, AR checked with the City's GoTo agency for its ratings. We inquired with Moody's.

According to the Senior Communications Strategist at Moody's, the City of Asbury Park has never received a rating above Aa3 from Moody's. The City has never received a Triple A rating from Moody's.

Did the city hire a different rating agency? If so, who? And what year or years did they grant the City a Triple A rating?

While waiting, AR will go ahead with additional questions in view of Election Day Nov. 5 closing in.

Asbury Radio - The Voice of Asbury Park


Convention Hall Safety Questions Continue

At right is an exterior shot of Asbury Park's Convention Hall on its southeast corner.

If you look closely, you'll see a small horizontal object affixed to the vertical stanchion, which one observer half-jokingly asked, "Is that a band-aid?" I later learned that it is actually a tool used by engineers to monitor the growth of a crack in a surface.

It and others are likely the justification that structural engineers would give for their reluctance to offer the city any assurances that the Convention Hall complex is safe for the public to enter. The resolution has been renewed annually since Aug. 26, 2021.

LINK: City plans another default notice to developer

As late as Gov. Phil Murphy's second inauguration on Jan. 19, 2022, the city was allowing the public to gather in the arcade portion of Convention Hall, including the governor himself to celebrate his second win. It was a relief -- sad, but a relief -- to see the complex closed to Sea.Hear.Now visitors and the public last fall, although as I recall the arcade was open to concert goers. A strange logic there. Could the city have found an engineer to clear sections of the building safe from falling debris?

Comment via e-mail: asburyradio@maureennevin.com


Jay Sugarman Shows His Cards

From an iStar press release:

"iStar will contribute its remaining non-ground lease related legacy assets, the largest of which are Asbury Park and Magnolia Green, and approximately $400 million of its SAFE stock to SpinCo. By retaining certain assets and pursuing their orderly monetization, SpinCo will enable iStar shareholders to capture their potential upside value."

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 -- The picture of what iStar and its chair and CEO Jay Sugarman had envisioned for his next challenge is coming through much clearer now – after following SEC filings since 2019.

How did Jay's ground lease baby, trading as SAFE, and his Asbury Park holdings, become the stuff of shares, I pondered far longer than I should have? You see iStar is what investment funds call a Real Estate Investment Trust (or REIT), instead of betting on equity shares investors own shares in the trust. I couldn't see the fund's individual holdings – i.e., Convention Hall say, or the Paramount Theater. Hence, AsburyRadio's endless hunt through a cyclone bomb of SEC filings, which have slowed a bit now, as Jay's share transfers of STAR shares for SAFE shares have predictably wound down. And, iStar (STAR) holders have come out of the woodwork to protest their share price, attracting the interest of certain Louisiana-based K&SF law firm. The group is headed by the former Attorney General of Louisiana Charles C. Foti, Jr, whose credits include:

And, investigating and apprehending numerous contractor fraud criminals in the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in United States history, Hurricane Katrina.

General Foti's arsenal of legal researchers are weighing whether its estimated 37 cents per share offer from iStar is a fair price for the shareholders to be getting for their iStar shares, which include the non-ground lease assets of Asbury Park and Magnolia Green (we'll check the former out later). By non-ground lease we take those assets to be what we know as our boardwalk, from Loch Arbor to Ocean Grove, and a few blocks westward all along the highly valued Atlantic coastline. General Foti is understandably scouting for some iStar shareholders, who may have been best described by the investor magazine Seeking Alpha: “To say STAR holders were disappointed, is perhaps an epic understatement.”

As we have noted in earlier posts, iStar CEO Jay Sugarman was not amused to have won the redevelopment rights to AP's oceanfront like some guy in a crap game or an actual bankruptcy of the only remaining members of Asbury Partners. But the result was the same, Jay made a bad bet that the Partners, the Fishman brothers, would pay back a huge loan – and they collapsed instead.

Jay had fallen in love with ground leasing and that was where his heart was headed. The redevelopment rights to the AP oceanfront and a global recession comprised a very long detour.

So now he's moving on.

If ground leasing is a new one on you, you're not alone. In fact, Jay wrote in a little auto-bio on an individual website I came across years ago, that he actually favors investments that most people don't understand.

Coming up, AsburyRadio will explain a few of the major points in this The Big Deal!

iStar Inc. (NYSE: STAR)

Former Attorney General of Louisiana Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq. and the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (“KSF”) are investigating the proposed merger of iStar Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE: STAR) with Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE) pursuant to which iStar shareholders will end up owning approximately 37% of the combined company directly. KSF is seeking to determine whether the merger and the process that led to it are adequate, or whether the merger undervalues the Company.

If you believe that this transaction undervalues the Company and/or if you would like to discuss your legal rights regarding the proposed sale, you may, without obligation or cost to you, e-mail or call KSF Managing Partner Lewis S. Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) toll free at any time at 855-768-1857.


Why you should care about the iStar merger

January 17, 2023 - Why does iStar's pending merger affect everyone who cares about Asbury Park?

The man who controls the rights to Asbury Park's entire oceanfront redevelopment, as lead investor of Asbury Partners, is Jay Sugarman. Jay is also chair and chief executive officer of iStar, a real estate investment trust (REIT), traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol STAR. iStar invested in Asbury Partners prior to the financial meltdown of 2008. When the markets collapsed, nearly taking every major bank in the country with them, Jay's borrower went bankrupt, leaving him the redevelopment rights to Asbury Park's planned oceanfront redevelopment.

According to REIT.com "iStar owns 35 acres, or 70 percent of the buildable land in the Asbury Park waterfront redevelopment zone. iStar's first several projects will account for more than 20 percent of the city's overall property tax revenue."

It is unclear, from this statement, whether the estimate above takes into account the multiple, long term tax abatements iStar was granted by the City of Asbury Park or the advances to cover infrastructure costs.

"To date, iStar has installed more than $19 million in new public infrastructure," said the magazine. Major construction funds were provided to iStar before each individual project broke ground. More than $30 million was raised through bonds obtained by the city, for which the bondholders are to be repaid by condo purchasers through assessments leveled on each. What monitoring is in place for this long-term program?

Since Jay began his Asbury Park project he has grown another investment that he is very excited about. That company, Safehold Inc., he says, is the first publicly traded company to focus on modern ground leases. Its ticker is SAFE. Ground leases, the company says, “...unlock the value of land beneath buildings.” SAFE began trading in June 2017 and, according to the iStar website, SAFE grew to a portfolio of $2.7 billion in 2019. These are pretty lofty numbers. And the iStar 2021 Annual Report cited “exiting (its) legacy and non-core assets and strengthening our balance sheet.” Just what kind of oldies are on the agenda to be thrown out with the new regime?

Alas, last month, December 2022, iStar filed a document with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission giving the details of its merger plans for iStar and Safehold to the SEC.

A digital word search of the voluminous filing did not reveal any references to Asbury Partners or Asbury Park. But we know from the analysts' questions during the third quarter earnings call, and previous calls, some of iStar's major properties here are singled out. iStar definitely has significant holdings in Asbury Park: iStar's re-purposing of the former Salvation Army building into a wonderful hotel and entertainment center called The Asbury, and Jay's dwarfing 17-story Asbury Ocean Club Resort & Residences, which occupies the old C-8 site. How will those places be affected by the merger? What about the public pool that hasn't been built? Can the city and its army of attorneys explain it all to us?

Which brings us back to the city's recent passage of Resolution 2023-89, another attempt by the city to force Jay and his partner Madison Marquette (MM) in MMAsburyRetail LLC to comply with Asbury Partners' contractual obligation dating back to 2004 to restore and maintain the city's landmark buildings. The protracted delays in completing the required work have exacerbated the hazardous conditions that have closed access to Paramount Theater, the Grand Arcade and the Convention Hall, venues that brought tourist money to the city – and ironically to MM itself.

So it was with considerable dread that Asbury Radio read of the bright new plans Jay Sugarman has floated, plans well-supported by more than a billion dollars in credit commitments from lenders to help turn his focus toward “revolutionizing real estate ownership through ground leasing.” Of course, lots of credit can become lots of debt, too. Will billions in debt be this round of developers' excuse for not fulfilling their contractual obligations?

A stock analyst on the sparsely attended earnings call, Matthew Howlett with B. Riley Securities, brought up the only direct press mention of Asbury Park. “I get lots of questions on Asbury Park,” he told Sugarman and his Chief Financial Officer Jason Fooks.

I tried most of today to contact Howlett, because I'd like to hear the questions he got and I have lots of questions, too. And I'd like to hear from others reading my posts on Facebook and on AsburyRadio.com. I have started a new e-mail for that purpose, AsburyRadio at MaureenNevin.com.

Tell me, please, what Jay considers legacy and non-core assets? The Casino building that Woody Allen paid homage to in his Stardust Memories? The Carousel House? Convention Hall and the Paramount Theater? The heating plant? Asbury Park was such a beacon of style that it attracted the finest architects –- Whitney Warren and Charles Delevan Wetmore, who designed Grand Central Station! I really thought Harvard-and-Princeton-educated Mr. Jay Sugarman would recognize our treasures and seize this moment!


iStar to Merge with Sugarman's Prized Safehold

January 11, 2023 - from AsburyRadio

Where does that leave Asbury Park's cherished landmark buildings? Who owns Asbury Partners and all the redevelopment rights to the City's Atlantic Ocean Waterfront?

From TipRanks.com:

iStar announced the initial public filing of a Form 10 registration statement with the U.S. SEC. The Registration Statement relates to the planned spin-off of Star Holdings in connection with the previously announced proposed merger between iStar and Safehold Inc. The Registration Statement, which was filed on December 16, 2022, includes preliminary information regarding the potential spin-off.

Published first on TheFly

Dec 19, 2022, 04:12 PM

For years AsburyRadio has been asking why iStar, the lone investor remaining of Asbury Partners, LLC, holder of all the redevelopment rights on the one-mile oceanfront of Asbury Park, has been filing SEC forms that appeared to be documenting the transfers or sales of its shares of AsburyPartners. Jay Sugarman, the head of iStar, posted his preference to finish his projects in Asbury Park ASAP and devote all his time to his new love - ground leasing - right on his web page. But when asked repeatedly for the Council's impressions, inquirers got no response.

Now the reason for those filings seems obvious. Daddy Warbucks must be pulling out kids.

Tonight (Jan. 11, 2023) the council plans to pass Resolution #2023-89 to hold iStar - Asbury Partners and Madison Asbury Retail, LLC in default for failures to comply with the structural needs of even more of the oceanfront's landmark buildings than the ones it cited in a similar default resolution last year. Resolutions expire and must be reissued to stay in force.

The Asbury Park Reporter is now live streaming public council meetings on its Facebook page. The record of the Jan. 11, 2023 meeting will be posted as soon as possible.


Talking Taxes and PILOTs

Posters to the chatboard Next Door expressed concern over Asbury Park's schools funding. Michael Sodano, of movie house fame, asked residents to contact local politicians and Asbury Radio posted our reaction. No offense intended toward Mike. But someone had to remind taxpayers how we got here.

Michael Sodano

PROPERTY TAXES ARE SET TO RISE BY 24%!

Asbury Park residents, your voice matters!

Asbury Park is facing a critical moment. Property taxes are set to rise by 24% due to state funding cuts to our schools. Immediate financial assistance is crucial to prevent the burden being shouldered solely by AP residents. The impact of three charter schools and the loss of $26 million in state aid over six years have put our district at risk. The AP Board of Education has already cut vital programs and staff. We must stand together to protect our children’s education and our quality of life.

This will affect everyone—renters, homeowners, and businesses alike. But you can make a difference! Here’s how:
Contact Your Legislators Now: Tell them New Jersey’s “Fair Funding” formula that is forcing drastic cuts to our schools and causing extreme tax increases is failing us. Share your personal story of the impact from the tax increase. Demand immediate and direct aid for Asbury Park’s School District to alleviate the tax burden on Asbury Park residents. A sample letter is attached. Reach out to:
- Senator Vin Gopal: SenGopal@njleg.org
- Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul: AswPeterpaul@njleg.org
- Assemblywoman Margie Donlon: AswDonlon@njleg.org
- Dyese Davis, Chief of Staff to the 11th Legislative District: DDavis@njleg.org
Together, we can protect Asbury Park’s schools, our community, and our quality of life. Use your voice for positive change!

Sample Letter

Dear Senator Vin Gopal, Assemblywoman Margie Donlon, and Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul,

Asbury Park is at a pivotal juncture. My property taxes are on the brink of a 24% increase due to state funding cuts to our schools. This dire situation demands immediate financial assistance to prevent Asbury Park residents from bearing this burden alone.

The presence of three charter schools and the staggering loss of over $26 million in state aid over the past six years have severely jeopardized our school district. The Asbury Park Board of Education has been forced to slash essential programs and staff. We cannot stand idly by as our taxes continue to dramatically increase , and our children’s education and community’s quality of life hang in the balance.

[Insert your personal story here and explain how the tax increase will impact you, your family, and your livelihood.]

We urge you to act now. New Jersey’s “Fair Funding” formula is not only unfair but also unsustainable, leading to drastic cuts to our schools and exorbitant tax increases. I am asking for immediate and direct aid to the Asbury Park School District to alleviate this coming tax burden on City residents and taxpayers.

Your prompt attention to this matter is not just appreciated; it is essential for the future of our city, our residents, and our children.

Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Address] [Your Contact Information]

Maureen Nevin

Why do well-meaning letters like these addressing lost tax revenue for AP schools always leave out the pilot programs that allow new housing in the oceanfront district to pay no school tax and offer other builder abatements, called considerations for building along the ocean? These are in force for 50 years...(Post cut out.)

Michael Sodano

Maureen: Agreed. This is a multi-layered problem - not simply schools. Perhaps that's an element you can write in your letter AND copy the city council. Right now, however, the school budget needs to be approved by the April board meeting, and if we don't get some additional state aid our taxes WILL rise another 24%, eliminating a lot of our community who can't afford the increase.

Maureen Nevin

Michael: Why are you implying that the city council members have no idea what they're still passing into law at their bi-monthly public meetings? They are still approving pilots and tax abatements - politely called "builder considerations" - that they know will prevail for the next 50 years.

For six and a half years over WYGG AsburyRadio - The Radio Voice of Asbury Park - which I and my sponsors paid out $700 to every month for air time in order to tell everyone over radio and internet what the damage of these no-school-tax buyers were going to do to the children dependent on the public schools of this city - until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pushed us off the air, by turning the whole station off in November of 2006. You heard those shows, you were at those council meetings, Mike, where former councilmember John Loffredo would mock the show's audience from the dais by calling it the "Nevin Seven".

Most real estate salespeople, including Loffredo, encouraged potential buyers not to worry about the school system's condition and future state aid problems. They just told prospective buyers to send their children to "The Deal Schools".

Tell the council, you say, but their election campaign donors show who they listen to - rental property owners and developers!!

This is the tomorrow we warned about, Mike.


AsburyRadio Owes AP's Oceanfront Fans an Update

2/23-24/23 After sifting through every line of the city's nearly 70-page seminal document, the Subsequent Developer Agreement Among the City of Asbury Park and Madison Asbury Retail, LLC and Asbury Partners, LLC...

But you'll understand if I don't share it all with you at midnight tonight.

Highlights: The city's super gentlemanly redevelopment attorney Joe Maraziti of Maraziti Falcon assures me the city has not filed a lawsuit against Madison Asbury Retail, LLC (I will add "yet") and Asbury Partners owns none of the iconic features of the famous boardwalk. That includes the landmark buildings.

You can review (or right-click to download) the executed Subsequent Developer Agreement here.

Sure you have questions, so did we. As they say, film at 11. Please comment via e-mail: asburyradio@maureennevin.com


Much Needed Help for Asbury Park School Budget

2/12/23 Press Release from NJ Sen. Vin Gopal:

The New Jersey Department of Education released stabilization aid for six towns in my legislative district, LD-11, in the state's fiscal year 2023 budget: Asbury Park is receiving $678,526... Read the full press release

Comment via e-mail: asburyradio@maureennevin.com


5/24/2022 Podcast:
Millions for Low Rent Housing Squandered

Clip from 5/24/2022 Podcast:
City Hasn't Called Tenant Since the Story Broke

Clip from 5/24/2022 Podcast:
Landlords Get Fix-up Money, Renters Get Dumped


Is the Convention Hall Complex Safe?

You may have seen or heard about the cancellation of events at Asbury Park's Convention Hall and Paramount Theatre.

We've provided an in-depth exploration of some of the background involving the complex and details about a number of ongoing issues at the waterfront in posts which are available for you to read at our Asbury Radio blog.


City Council Election Podcast

All seven city council candidates seeking three seats up for election this November have agreed to be interviewed by journalist Maureen Nevin on her video podcast, Asbury Radio – The Podcast, over Zoom at 5:30 pm on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Three incumbents — Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn and Councilwomen Yvonne Clayton and Eileen Chapman — are being challenged by Kerry Margaret Butch and Felicia Simmons, who are running together as a team, and independents Rob McKeon and Arthur Schlossbach.

The format calls for 15 minute one-on-one interviews in a Sunday news show question and answer style. Nevin’s usual one-hour format has been extended to two hours to accommodate the seven individual interviews.

“This is not an invitation for candidates to debate each other or an opportunity for them to present their personal statements to viewers, although we do want to hear their personal, unrehearsed answers to our specific questions,” said Nevin.

For total impartiality, the guests will be called upon in alphabetical order according to their last names.

Nevin, who holds ten journalism awards including a first place National Press Club award, created and hosted the Asbury Radio — Radio Voice of Asbury Park public affairs and music show live over station WYGG 88.1 FM in July, 2000, and later online as well, through November, 2006. The podcast airs and is archived on Facebook.com/APRadioVoice. The radio archive is stored at www.asburyradio.com.


Podcast on Affordable Housing

APRIL 2020 -- Asbury Park has finished its Affordable Housing Plan. It's so complicated that it took eight ordinances to explain. Before the council votes it into law, over Zoom on April 22, I'd like to know how many people feel they understand the whole thing, how many at least understand what's going to happen to their zone and, of course, their questions. If you'd like to be anonymous, please PM me on Facebook/Asburyradio or email me at AsburyRadio@aol.com, with subject: AP Affordable. I'll share the results (withholding names on request) on this blog and on FB/AsburyRadio. I'm also planning an AsburyRadio Podcast on Facebook.com/APRadioVoice to get expert answers to our questions. And, I'll post parts of the plan on here at AsburyRadio.com. Watch and listen to the latest podcast here.


How do banks keep on offering us loans as debt levels soar?
The King of Debt is playing a big role. My latest national story explains.
Read it at DCReport.org.


'Exactly Back Where We Were Before'

FEBRUARY 2020 -- Residents had only three minutes each to voice their disgust for the oceanfront private pool club in front of the North Beach condominiums. Two hours after the first speaker, the last one declared the waterfront "exactly back where we were before" the redevelopment plan of 2002. [READ MORE]


Review the CAFRA Permit

Click here to read or left click to download and save the 2004 Coastal Area Facilities Review Act permit issued by the state to the city and Asbury Partners for the oceanfront redevelopment project.


Residents Simmer Over Exclusive Private Pool Club

JANUARY 2020 -- An engineer for Asbury Park's master developer, iStar, returned to the Planning Board to explain his revised findings on how the area north and west of its planned private pool, immediately east of the North Beach condos, would fare through a major storm. [READ MORE]


A Brief but Spectacular Lookback on Asbury Radio - And a Question

JANUARY 2019 -- The City by the Sea, Asbury Park, has gained enormous press since my little radio show, then called Restore Radio, first aired over the then-100-watt, 88.1fm, WYGG, in July 2000. Overwhelmed new owners of our Grand Dames of the Victorian-Era called in live, desperate for and eager to share restoration advice. The shows were archived on AsburyRadio.com and went live on the net, so residents who spent weekdays in NYC could follow the fast moving changes.

I hosted starry-eyed newcomers, excited to live by the Atlantic Ocean at prices most middle income buyers had heretofore only encountered in their dreams, super talented singers and songwriters of the Sound of Asbury Park hungry for airtime, environmentalists wanting to protect the very attractions that were drawing land developers and builders, investors proffering restorative as well as dangerously dense residential plans and, eventually, worried guests in fear of losing their properties to eminent domain.

The Institute for Justice was a frequent guest and Susette Kelo phoned the show after the Supreme Court ruled that the City of New London Development Corporation could take her modest "Little Pink House" for a large corporation's project, which never came to fruition. The court's decision came on June 23, 2005. The show went on to cover the fight against eminent domain in neighboring Long Branch and Asbury Park.

A year later, November 2006, Restore Radio, having metamorphosed into Asbury Radio - the Radio Voice of Asbury Park, was forced off the air by actions against the station by the Federal Communications Commission. The station went live again three or four months later. But every time we announced my show's impending return, the same FCC field engineer visited the station and reported violations. Even so, the FCC granted the station an upgraded 1500-watt license.

Now in 2019, podcasts seem a viable next act for Asbury Radio. What do you think?


How AP Set Building Heights for the Oceanfront

JUNE 2017 -- I saw where Dan Jacobson referred to compensating iStar for Bradley Cove with higher buildings, in his story in the Tri-City News this week. Building heights were thoroughly deliberated over many months in the creation of the city's redevelopment plan, which Asbury Partners had a very active role in forming. In fact, their agreement with the city – negotiated behind closed doors with only the taxpayers left out – became the plan! The norm is that a city develops its plan apart from the influence of commercial interests.

The public approved a plan that called for heights to rise from the oceanfront in steps - 4, then 6, then 8 stories - so as not to block all of the subsequent buildings' ocean views. If the unfinished construction was allowed to go forward (had we not had to implode the skeleton), the new structure would have been higher as a grandfathered structure existing prior to the plan's adoption. Drafters included a paragraph explaining this point in the adopted redevelopment plan. It explained that if the skeleton structure had to be destroyed - as it did -- the new construction would be limited to 8 stories.

However, in a bit of very slick footwork, a nearly identical copy of the plan was hastily assembled by the Hoboken-based architecture and planning firm of Clarke Caton Hintz, the City's planners. A copy, which omitted the height-restricting paragraph, was substituted for the adopted plan.

Poor Mr. Clarke, his face beet-red against his fluff of white hair, was hauled into chambers at a public meeting and made to swear to basically a bold-faced lie that may have hindered his professional reputation as well. Clarke had to testify that his staff had erred, that it had mixed up an earlier version of the plan with the final version of the redevelopment plan. Bluntly, they swapped out the current plan with the restriction for one omitting it and blamed it on a mix up in adoption dates, by his office.

The swap was made so that the plan we have now grants the C-8 or former Esperanza site (where iStar plans to build its hotel/condo combination) approval to go up to 16 floors. What if iStar is prevented from building the 15 beach houses of Bradley Cove and accepts a deal for higher floors in 'compensation'? Will it get to negotiate another 16-floor building?

The manipulated plan was and is an outrage because the people of this town approved a design intended to prevent a wall of concrete condos from blocking the ocean vista. So who benefitted from this farce? Those that gain from density! No, it's not the taxpayers, because every building planned for the waterfront seems to start with a special property tax deal. More density means more residents and more costs to serve their needs.

As a working journalist who has covered municipalities and county governments, I can tell you this is not the way accountable government is run. You would not see such a switcheroo in Rumson and you will not see it in Spring Lake.

And now we're going to raise the floor limit on iStar's future projects in the waterfront? To compensate them for inheriting a pink elephant – unbuildable land? Homeowners here have to ask ourselves. Are we Keansburg by the Atlantic or Asbury Park?


VETERANS DAY 2018 IN ASBURY PARK


Former VFW Post 1333 Commander Lou Parisi and his wife Gloria


Lou is 93 now!


MAUREEN'S INTERVIEWS
ABOUT THE 2018 ASBURY PARK ELECTION

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Results: Jesse Kendle handily defeats Felicia Simmons to retain his council seat, and all three public questions are defeated.


A Brief Lookback on Asbury Radio - and a Question

OCTOBER 2019 -- Welcome to Asbury Radio! The City by the Sea, Asbury Park, has gained enormous press since my little radio show, then called Restore Radio, first aired over the then-100-watt, 88.1fm, WYGG, in July 2000. Overwhelmed new owners of our Grand Dames of the Victorian-Era called in live, desperate for and eager to share restoration advice. The shows were archived on AsburyRadio.com and went live on the net, so residents who spent weekdays in NYC could follow the fast moving changes. [READ MORE]


How AP Set Building Heights for the Oceanfront

JUNE 2017 -- I saw where Dan Jacobson referred to compensating iStar for Bradley Cove with higher buildings, in his story in the Tri-City News this week. Building heights were thoroughly deliberated over many months in the creation of the city's redevelopment plan, which Asbury Partners had a very active role in forming. In fact, their agreement with the city – negotiated behind closed doors with only the taxpayers left out – became the plan! The norm is that a city develops its plan apart from the influence of commercial interests. [READ MORE].


This is the south/east support for Convention Hall. While I was trying to take the pic (in January 2017), another woman walked up, also in awe, to take her pic. This of course was why the city sold off the beachfront, so the new owners would preserve these landmarks.


MAY 2017 -- So what did you do the other day, Maureen? Well, you could say I stalked Salman Rushdie around the Princeton campus. But that's not actually true. I was trying to get a pic of my pal Doc U with the famed novelist. Wish I had a video of his whole speech. Made me want to run home and barricade myself with my fiction. Thought you'd enjoy this one: "Power wants to control the narrative and writers don't accept that, which puts them at odds with this administration, which doesn't just want to control, but rewrite the narrative."

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