Sign this petition today to let Wildwood officials know that you want Downtown Wildwood preserved as a Commercial Entertainment district! Speak out against the demolition of Pacific Avenue, Randyland at the historical Woolworth’s building, and the construction of cookie-cutter condominiums! (Please designate, when you sign, if you’re a local of Wildwood, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, or wherever else!)

• Check out this video of the 2021 Wildwood Christmas parade on Pacific Avenue, passing by Randyland, to get an idea of the community who come together in Downtown Wildwood, and the viability and potential for Pacific Avenue as an area of family entertainment, fun, and commerce! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuJDGCQlvSc

Downtown Wildwood, on Pacific Avenue, is a historic district of the famed and unique New Jersey boardwalk town, that in past decades hosted a thriving collection of stores, restaurants, and nightlife venues - including many of the Earliest rock-and-roll venues during the Doo-Wop era. Currently, it hosts a collection of restaurants, as well as Randyland, at an as-of-yet-not-opened former Woolworths, where Randy Senna, one of the preeminent global collectors and curators of historic vintage arcade equipment, houses his vast collection of amusements. Randy has been prevented from opening this classic arcade palace, presumably due to a fear of competition from larger nearby businesses. However, the City of Wildwood, in cahoots with a private developer, is seeking to raze this historical neighborhood in order to construct generic condominiums. Downtown Wildwood should be kept, and classified, as a commercial entertainment district!

• Recently, the Wildwood government has entered legal documents announcing their intention to utilize a convoluted series of Eminent Domain laws to reclaim a number of city blocks in the historical Downtown Wildwood neighborhood - from 26th Street to Cress Avenue - seizing the property from local property owners and demolishing historical buildings in order to construct a series of generic, private condominiums - surely to be marketed as overpriced rental properties for tourists.

Downtown Wildwood is first on the chopping block - with Randy’s block, and the two adjacent Southern blocks being specifically targeted.  While officials have camouflaged this intention with the subtle implication of neutrality, they have made an effort of making meetings discussing this process difficult and nearly impossible for the average citizen to attend, presumably in hopes of quietly ratifying these measures and implementing this demolition without the approval (or knowledge) of concerned citizens. It’s essential for Wildwood citizens to make their voices heard - and for Wildwood visitors who care about preserving and honoring the unique nature of this unique vacation destination to speak up in protest of this decision; to demand that the Downtown Wildwood district is protected and TRULY revitalized with citizen controlled, proven leisure and vacation destinations, rather than silent tracts of generic, overpriced housing. Sterile, shoddily constructed housing is not the solution to urban blight; funding for unique, dynamic eatery and entertainment venues to both attract tourists and stimulate the local economy is the solution.

The process that the City of Wildwood is using to reclaim this property begins as criteria is cited and voted on by officials to deem a certain area “in need of redevelopment” When this vote is approved, citizens have 45 days to challenge it in court (local citizens have largely and intentionally been kept out of the loop for this process.) If this process moves through the courts, the City will begin to pressure, cajole, and strongarm local property owners to sell - and if local property owners refuse, the city can implement Eminent Domain procedures to simply seize the property from under property owner’s feet Many people with roots in Wildwood may remember similar stories - of senior citizens being pushed out of their homes by greedy developers with no interest in sustaining and nurturing community and culture through a process of constant harassment. This is deeply unjust, and Wildwood citizens can and will raise up their voice to stand against it!

Over the years, Wildwood residents and tourists have seen the city change. While a certain level of cultural shift and necessary structural upgrades to existing infrastructure is natural, many locals and visitors who understand the completely unique aesthetic and culture that sets Wildwood apart from other Jersey Shore towns, have been remiss to see shops, restaurants, and beautiful historic Doo-Wop motels and Victorian houses demolished in order to construct generic, soulless, and sterile looking condominiums - owned by out-of-State landlords who charge exorbitant rates for tourist rentals. This serves to price out locals and tourists alike from living and visiting Wildwood; while inflation is natural, replacing businesses with condos not only serves to increase the taxes of Wildwood residents, and remove job opportunities for locals, but is making Wildwood harder to afford for the average family vacation, making it more akin to other overpriced and generic beach destinations. While this construction might provide short-term benefit to a select few real-estate developers (often from out-of-State, with no real emotional or financial stakes in the continued success of Wildwood as a vacation destination,) it proves to erode the Wildwood economy in a long-term fashion, diminishing repeat tourism, taking money out of the pockets of local business owners, and dimming the bright light that Wildwood is known for.  The soul of Wildwood is centered in it’s worldwide fame as a completely one-of-a-kind family vacation destination - kept up by a valuable community that holds the torch for continuing a tradition of safe coastal fun for people of all ages - a particularly potent and unique atmosphere of magic that keeps generations of families returning every year to pass on their traditions.

If Wildwood’s unique atmosphere is replaced with sprawling tracts of generic housing - the tourism will stop. Wildwood should never lose its sense of identity and magic. Wildwood citizens should be aware that their VOICES MATTER - that they can stand up to collaboration and interference from out-of-city, out-of-state real-estate developers, and demand that Wildwood is protected and replenished in order to create opportunities for average citizens to work and maintain jobs. Downtown Wildwood, if respectfully treated as a boardwalk-adjacent commercial entertainment district for shopping, stores, and leisure, can become an anchoring point for the community - and a space for the residents of Wildwood to demonstrate to neighbors and visitors alike the singularly electric culture, community, and vitality - and to secure the successful future of - one of the most unique beach destinations on the planet.