URGENT!  SAVE ASBURY'S WATERFRONT!  MAJOR construction is ongoing right now on the North end of Asbury Park, NJ.

We seek to foster and encourage appropriate development along Asbury Park's Waterfront.
That development will: 
1. Maximize social inclusion and provide access for all residents and visitors
2. Recognize current coastal development guidelines and practices 
3. Be sensitive to endangered species, pollution and other environmental concerns
4. Be transparent during all phases of planning and implementation

We are residents who want to SAVE ASBURY'S WATERFRONT (SAW). We want iStar to immediately stop its ongoing construction that is based on outdated plans approved in 2004.  Asbury Park has undergone tremendous change in 15 years and iStar's current development initiatives on the North End no longer suit 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.  

CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING NOW:
·     Boardwalk from 6th Ave north to Deal Lake Drive is completely gone. 
·     At 7th Avenue, iStar’s new boardwalk will ABRUPTLY go from 64 FEET WIDE down to a 15 FOOT WIDE PATHWAY 
·     Some existing dunes are scheduled to be relocated.
·     Fisherman’s Lot will be paved with impervious, non-porous asphalt which could cause flooding during frequent storms.
 
FUTURE CONSTRUCTION:
·     iStar plans to also build a MEMBERSHIP-BASED POOL CLUB WITH AN EXCLUSIVE ATMOSPHERE (it is being sold this way to prospective buyers of 1101 Ocean)
·     The pool club will be LOCATED EAST OF OCEAN AVENUE, on the lot between 6th and 7th Avenues, with an entryway to the beach

WE MUST FIGHT THIS DEVELOPMENT PLAN BECAUSE IT:

-       Does not promote diversity and social inclusion
-       Discourages public enjoyment of the boardwalk and beach
-       Affects our fragile, changing coastal environment
-       Will develop one of the largest remaining coastal open spaces in Monmouth County

SUPPORTING FACTS:
1.     THE PLAN WILL DISCOURAGE PUBLIC ENJOYMENT OF THE BOARDWALK AND BEACH.
·       iStar is currently demolishing and removing the existing boardwalk on North Beach, and REPLACING IT WITH A VERY NARROW BOARDED PATHWAY ON THE BEACH FROM 7THAve to Deal Lake Drive.
 
·       iStar also plans to build a PRIVATE POOL CLUBeast of Ocean Avenue between 6thand 7thAvenues with an entryway to the beach. THIS WILL SEVERELY DISCOURAGE PUBLIC ACCESSfor walking, bike riding, surfing, and beach entry.
 
·       The final phase of iStar’s plan is to construct luxury townhomes in Bradley Cove, with access to the newly-created “exclusive” beach areas.
 
2.     THE PLAN WILL NEGATIVELY AFFECT OUR FRAGILE, CHANGING COASTAL ENVIRONMENT.
·       The CAFRA development permit issued to iStar by NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection is from 2004 -before Hurricane Sandy.
 
·       In the face of devastating climate change, THE PROPOSED PLAN IS NOT SUITABLE FOR POST-SANDY ASBURY PARK,but was “grandfathered” into an outdated 2004 permit for Coastal Area.
 
·       The plan to pave the Fisherman’s Lot (between the Ocean and Deal Lake) with impervious cover could create flooding
 
·       There are endangered animal and plant-life species that will be destroyed.
 
3.     THE PLAN DOES NOT PROMOTE DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND PUBLIC USE AND ENJOYMENT OF OUR BEACH AREAS
·       The private pool club will be an expensive, membership-only club. MOST OF ASBURY’S POPULATION WILL NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD A MEMBERSHIPbecause it will likely cost thousands of dollars each year.
 
·       The pool club is being advertised as a FREE BENEFIT FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL BUY UNITS IN THE VERY EXPENSIVE, OCEAN CLUB CONDOMINIUMS that iStar is building at 1100 Ocean Avenue.
 
·       THE REPLACEMENT OF OUR BOARDWALK WITH A NARROW BOARDED PATHWAY AND POOL CLUB WILL CREATE SEGREGATED BEACH AREAS IN THE CITY OF ASBURY PARK, BASED ON ECONOMIC FACTORS, which is directly contrary to the vision for an inclusive and diverse city.

If we use our foresight to preserve our natural resources, and restore and promote our city’s historic and cultural treasures, Asbury will anchor its status as a model city – a diverse environmental, social, cultural and economic hub.  Conversely, if we stick to outdated plans, even in the face of the many drastic, unforeseen changes the City and our planet have experienced in the last 15 years, we will mature into a cookie-cutter, overdeveloped, city stuck in economic doldrums, in a constant battle with Mother Nature’s wrath.

PLEASE ATTEND THE ASBURY PARK CITY COUNCIL MEETING
ON NOVEMBER 8TH;  iStar will present its plans to the Council at 6:00 PM SHARP!!! (opportunity for public comment will follow)