Meeting call to order. >> Council member Bez Anderson >> here. >> Council member Chapman is absent tonight. Council member Clayton >> here. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn >> here. >> And Mayor Moore >> here. >> Please stand for a silent prayer moment of reflection. We'll
now salute the flag. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> As comply with the Open Public Meetings
Act, chapter 231 PL1975, adequate notice of this meeting has been provided in the following manner. The annual notice was forwarded to the Asbury Park Press, the coaster, and the Star Ledger on January 15th, 2026, and posted on the bulletin board the same date. All noses are on file with the city clerk. We're now on special event applications from
recreation director Licia Floyd. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. There are five applications before you and five wedding applications. All of the special event applications are returning events. Are there any
questions? >> Thank you. >> All right. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. We're now on to Marrison City Council. Uh first up, Council Member Bez Anderson. >> Nothing from me. >> Thank you, Council Member Clayton. >> Nothing at this time. Thank you. >> Thank you, Deputy Mayor Quinn.
>> Yes. Uh, I want to thank a few people for this weekend. Um, I'm glad there's so many people here to hear this. So, Ezrey Park is the only municipality in Mammoth County that has two code blues. What that means is we house people who are unhoused during storms. Uh, we house
them in two places. Trinity. So, I want to give a huge shout out to Father Chase. And the second one is Mercy Center. I want to give a shout out to Kim Godano if you just want to stand. There are 53 municipalities in Mammoth
County. Of the 53, about five, and we're two cuz we do it twice, are the only ones that do code blue. And the reason that that was really important this weekend because code blue goes from about 7:00 p.m. to about 6:00 a.m. But people need someplace to go during the
day when there's a blizzard. And so I want to thank our fire department for picking everybody up, putting them in the transportation center and putting the heat on. So thank you to our fire department and I really hope towns in Mammoth County start to step up their
code blue and start picking up so Asbury doesn't have to have two and some towns could just have one because most towns have none. So I want to thank our fire department, Trinity and Mercy Center for really really coming through the seats. That's it.
>> Thank you, Mayor Moore. No, >> Amy, good job. Uh, I wish some of the towns would step up also and stop bringing people to Asbury Park because that's what's happening. These other towns are having their police departments bring everybody to Asbury Park. It's totally
wrong that no other town in this county gives a darn about people that are homeless and need shelter. So that's all I have. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh moving on to Mars from the city manager. >> Hi. Good evening. Nothing to report. Thank you. >> Thank you. And mayors from the city attorney. >> Uh yes. I I'd just like to make an
announcement for the benefit of the public. There has been a resolution added to the agenda tonight. It's uh resolution 2026-105. Um this is related to I'm sure people have read reports about the casino and the breezeway. um and a proposal by uh
Madison uh Asbury Retail for potential demolition. Um this resolution will authorize the uh city's redevelopment council who's Joe Maraziti sitting right here in the front row um to take action including um the issuance of notices of
default uh to Madison because of this proposed demolition. And I just want to read one part of it. Um, it'll authorize the mayor of the city, uh, his designates and city staff, professionals, and consultants on behalf of the city to take all necessary and appropriate actions to implement this
resolution and authorized to take such further actions as may be necessary or appropriate to protect and advance the rights and remedies of the city. Um, because the actions that have been taken uh by uh Madison Marquette have raised
significant potential for litigation. Um, I have directed, as I always do in matters involving litigation, the mayor and council not to comment uh on what's going to be happening. Anyone here is free to make any comment you want about it. That's what the public hearing will
be for. Um, and if there are questions that I can answer or Joel Marazidi, our redevelopment council, can answer, we'll try to do so. We're going to be somewhat circumspect as well in our answers because we don't want to impair the rights of the city and the position of the city in any potential litigation going forward. So, I just want to let
everybody know that upfront um before we get to the public comment period um after the presentation tonight. Okay. Uh thank you. >> Thank you. We're now moving on to a presentation by APW Redeveloper LLC for redevelopment of
block 3803, lot 1 and part of block 453, lot 1, 200 Cookman Avenue and 100 Asbury Avenue. See if that comes up. I'll start while we're getting the AV working. Good evening, mayor and council. For the record, my name is Jennifer Phillips
Smith and I'm an attorney with FBT Gibbons and we are here tonight on behalf of the applicant APW Redeveloper. EPW is an affiliate of the master developer and that is Asbury Partners. And we are here concerning an
application that will ultimately be for both subdivision and site plan approval before the planning board for the construction of a single multifamily building with a proposed 36 for sale units. Uh the building is to be located
on block 3803 lot 1 and a small portion to be subdivided from block 453 lot 1. Before we get into the presentation and as we're setting up um I want to be clear about what this is not. This application involves the redevelopment
of what is currently a surface parking lot. This does not involve the demolition of any buildings or any structures whatsoever. Uh you will hear us say the word carousel because the building is proposed to be named carousel uh or maybe named carousel but
just so for the public is clear it has nothing to do with the historic building on the site and nothing is being demolished as part of this uh application. Uh what it is proposed is just the redevelopment of a portion of what is now a surface parking lot. So as
we get in this is one step in the process. I know the council's well aware, but I know we have a crowd tonight. So, just to explain kind of where we are. Any project within the waterfront redevelopment area goes before the TRC that we did for this project. We were there twice. We
presented this application. And the TRC had pretty significant comments about the aesthetic of the building which we addressed with changes to the design of the exterior which you will hear tonight. And we actually brought those changes back to the TRC as well. Now, we're here at the council to make this presentation. Ultimately, the council
will decide uh if this may progress to the planning board by adopting a subsequent developer agreement, but my understanding is that action will not be occurring tonight. It's just a presentation this evening. Uh once there's a subsequent developer agreement in place, we would then proceed to the planning board where there will be
another public hearing. So, as we get into that, just to kind of explain where we are in the process, I have two uh presenters here this evening. We'll be doing civil engineering first and then we'll transition to the architecture. So with that, I would ask Lena to please introduce herself to everyone and then
begin just going over the general layout of the proposed project. >> Good evening. My name is Lena Borda Veron. I'm a senior project manager at French and Perllo Associates and I'm the civil engineer for this project. Um actually Michael, if you could maybe
pull up the minor subdivision first. As um Jennifer mentioned, we're here for both a subdivision application and a um site plan application. Currently, there is a parking lot on block 3803, lot 1
and block 453, lot 1. Um what we're proposing to do is to essentially move the lot line between those two properties. Move it by approximately.16 acres so that block 3803 will become
slightly larger and block 4305 will 453 will become slightly smaller. Um, this will allow the future development of the property as you will hear me talk about. >> I also go ahead.
>> I also want to note that the current property has two easements on it. There is a easement immediately adjacent to Wesley Lake, which is an easement that's 35 1/2 ft wide, and that's an access and
utility easement to the city of Asbury Park. And then adjacent to that easement is a 25- foot wide vehicular access easement. Both those easements would remain in the proposed condition. So even after the subdivision, they would
continue to be maintained. So the property fronts uh Wesley Lake and in elevation it goes up towards Cookman Avenue. It varies from approximately elevation 6 and a half to 9 and is also located in a flood hazard
area. So that is what informed our future site design and how the proposed building and development is oriented. Uh after the subdivision both properties will comply with the bulk requirements. So there are no variances sought for the
subdivision. Should I go into the site plan at this point? >> That's perfect. Thank you. >> Okay. So, as I mentioned, the site slope to slopes towards the Wesley Lake and uh it is located in a flood plane
based on the NJP rules. You use the FEMA map and then you add another 3 ft on top of that which sets up the elevation the flood hazard area of 13. The DP also requires us to put our vehicular access
as far in height as possible. So that happens to be at the corner of Wesley Lake and Cookman Avenue. So in considering those the flood hazard elevation as well as traffic safety and access that is where
we placed the vehicular access drive which is the furthest north on Wesley Lake Avenue. From that point on um we designed the building such that the parking areas will be elevated 1 ft above the flood
hazard area and then the the uh residential building residential floors above are even further elevated to be further protected. Um as was mentioned earlier this has 36 residential units. Based on the ordinance we would be
required to provide 54 parking spaces. Um we are providing 58 parking spaces within the garage. So all our parking is internal of the building where that vehicular access easement is that I just described. We are proposing
to maintain the easement but block the access with ballards um so that the public just can't drive through it but the ballards would be removable if the city wanted to remove it in the future. And that was recommended specifically by the TRC to
not have uh free flowing vehicular access through that point. >> Right. So we have also submitted to the NJDP for the CAFRA compliance review back in June of last year and the review is pending. The project was designed to
conform with the storm water management regulations as well as the flood hazard regulations. We have also worked um on the plans to prepare a comprehensive landscape package that was further supplemented after the comments from the TRC.
Um we have designed a lighting plan that will comply with the uh streetscape requirements of the redevelopment plan along the city streets. And we're also proposing to upgrade the fixtures in the
parking lot to remain. Um those would be just temporary fixtures but they would be improved as well. All utilities will be connected to the existing city utilities. >> All right. So keeping in mind the site
constraints that we had the the easements that are in place and the flood hazard, the building has been designed to comply with that. And now I'll turn it over to Michael Lawson who could show the exterior of the building kind of the the hard work that has gone into the aesthetics of the building at the
request of the TRC. >> Thank you so much. Uh my name is Michael Lawson. I'm a principal uh architect at Manow and Wasco Architects and Planners and I'm so happy to be here to present this project to you. So as Lena and Jennifer have discussed, this is a project that is on the uh existing uh
parking lot uh at the carousel site. Um, and you'll see that we are naming a carousel. So, you'll see that on many of our drawings as we go. I'm just reorienting everybody to kind of where we were located on the site as Lena had described. We have Leslie Lake uh planned south here. We
have Leslie Lake Road, which is the access point and essentially our main frontage. And then we have Cookman, which we have located a secondary main entrance on there to activate that streetscape as much as possible because that is one of your main streets through Haspberry Park. You'll notice that also
we have stepped the building in different ways to conform with the redevelopment plan, the waterfront redevelopment plan. And we have a five-story building, but in certain portions of the site, it's only one story where we're stepping the building uh above the parking that's located on
the ground floor. You'll see that in some of the elevations and the renderings that we'll share with you in the next few minutes. Some of the other features that you can see here is that we have a rather wide uh landscaped front yard um with a gracious setback
here that allows for really some great landscaping and some buffering uh along Wesley Lake Road as well as we have private terraces in different locations as well as a rooftop uh terrace that will be for the the all the tenants of the building.
I'm just going to reorient everybody here. Wesley Lake is now on this side of the of the sheet. Wesley Lake Road is above us and Cookman is along this side. And this I'm just showing you what the ground floor uh plans look like. As I described before, we have this
landscaping area in that front yard. We have a a ramp that takes us up to the front uh lobby space with stairs as well. Really creating a a nice entry uh procession into the building. Um, once you get into the building, we have a
small lobby space and an elevator that takes you up to the the the higher portions of the building. As we discussed uh previously, we do have 58 total parking spaces. Every single unit does get a specific parking uh space in here. Some of them do have tandemss.
They operate just like a driveway would uh on on a residential street, but each of these tandem parking spaces would be dedicated to a single unit. um so that you don't have issues with people having to move or anything like that. We think that that works rather nicely for this
for this project. As I described before, we have that secondary entrance, main entrance to the building off of Cookman because we do think that we need to activate that streetscape as much as possible. And we have some really great landscaping um as well as all of the
brick work um and streetscape features that are required of us in the redevelopment plan. As we go up the building, this is where we stepped the building. And you can see how we visually created all of these uh rooftop terraces above that uh parking
podium. Here you have for each of these units, you have a rooftop terrace on here with great views. And it almost acts like a backyard for the some of these units. In the in the building, we have 36 units as Lena described. Four of them are
onebedrooms and 32 of them are two-bedroom units. As we go up the building, the building stacks. Um, so you have same residential building, uh, residential units on each floor. We have, uh, balconies in certain
locations. If I go back, balconies in certain locations on either side of the building for each of the residential units as well, um, that are great amenities for these these tenants that will be living here. As we get up to the top floor here, this is where we have
our rooftop terrace and rooftop amenity. Um, we worked diligently with the TRC to make some modifications here to buffer different areas from the mechanical areas that would be required uh for the condenser units on the top floor. The condenser units will be screened by the
parapit walls and will be centered in the middle of the building. So you won't be able to see them, but we did uh want to make sure that we had some plantings and we pushed some of the seating further away from that to mitigate any sound that might be heard. Um and that was something that we discussed with the TRC.
So as part of the presentation to the TRC, we we looked at what are some of the buildings and the aesthetics that we wanted to pull from to create an architecture for this site that might be slightly different than some of the other town homes and condo buildings that are in its immediate vicinity. And
what we looked at was some of the buildings that are in Asbury Park that have the red brick and are more of this industrial feel. They have large windows. Um they have a really great aesthetic with how they're combining materials in terms of the red brick, but
also maybe uh some uh lapboard siding and those kinds of things that really creates a cohesive and nice pallet of materials. From there, we dis we uh really dissected this and and tried to implement materials that were consistent with that vision. And that includes
brick veneer um a combination of two colors of uh whether it's fiberment siding or board and batten siding. One is an arctic white, another one is cobblestone, and then another one that's timber bark.
Each one of those is in the beige family and is not any grays. we understand, you know, the aesthetic. Uh we wanted to be uh a warmer pallet of materials. We also uh looked at uh incorporating a copper uh metallic uh metal roof in certain
areas um to kind of give uh presence and and look at what the carousel was. You know, yes, that has a patined metal roof, but in its very original state, it was then a a copper metallic color. And we are looking to do that color. It won't be actual copper, but it will be
the color of of copper, which we think is a good kind of saying, hey, we're right next to the carousel. We're right next to uh that property, and we want to make sure that we're we're paying tribute to it in some way. So, this is then the building that we are proposing. This is uh looking at the
corner of uh Cookman and Wesley Lake, Wesley Lake Drive. Here you can see the different materials that we're using. We are using that red brick at the base of the building. And then we transition to uh board and batten at the corners as well as lap uh siding in other
locations. We do have certain architectural elements uh that create a sense of scale on the site and break down the building. We worked with the TRC and with your professionals uh to make several modifications here in terms of the brick peers uh the locations of
where we're stepping up the the the brick on the building um but also you know the materials and the palette of colors as well. That was something that we worked uh very diligently with with the TRC on. You can see that these are the entrances to the building. The one
on Wesley Lake Drive on this side and then the one on Cookman on this side with uh with a great presence on both of those streets. Here is looking from the walkway along Wesley Lake. Um here you can see the
stepping of the building going from one story to five stories. um which we believe is compliant with the redevelopment plan. You can see how we have a nice rhythm of peers and and openings at that base and brick brick base of the building. And you can see the terraces that are located uh on top
of that brick uh on top of that parking podium. You can also see the large setback that we have on Wesley Lake Drive um with the nice landscaping and manicured landscaping in that location. This is then the the image looking um
from Cookman. And you can see here we still have that stepping going from one story to five stories. And we have that entry uh along Cookman uh to give that that the building presence along that street. All the materials wrap around the entire building and are high quality
um on each of the different facades because we do feel as though this building will be viewed uh from each vicinity. So the the one thing that I did want to just discuss um which is something that we know Aspay Park is very diligent on and and it's something that you guys
look into is the sustainability features that are incorporated within the building. Um the building has several different um areas that we are hitting those sustainability features. And I'll just go through very quickly some of those things because I I know that that's important to the city. So this is
a redeveloped area. It sits on a um on on a vacant uh uh parking lot. Currently right now it is transit oriented. We are providing 10 bicycles in the base of the building for bicycle facilities. We are providing electrical charging stations
as is required by us uh for for the the tenants. We have 15% of our required parking. We'll will have EV chargers. We are reducing uh light pollution uh by making this uh project dark sky compliant. We are providing environmentally favorable materials when
feasible. We are constructing and and creating demolition waste management practices that will reduce by 75%. We are creating low emit we are using low emmitting interior materials. We have a smoke-free environment. We have low flow fixtures and low e- coatings for the
windows. We have um high standards of insulation. Um we have individually uh controlled HVAC's and programmable thermostats. We allow for unit daylighting, allowing light and air into the units and not creating overly deep units in in the uh floor plan. And we uh
are providing energy star fixtures and light fixtures that are 100% LED. So, this hits a lot of the sustainable features and is and um we are providing that we will be uh uh up to the level of lead silver um but we won't be getting certified as is required by the city.
>> I think that hits on most of the different things. Um, actually one one other thing. We did uh receive the memo from the technical review committee. Um, we didn't see any issues with the things that were incorporated in there, the notes at the end. Um, and many of those things have been actually incorporated already into the presentation uh
tonight. So, thank you. >> Thank you. I do not have anything further for either of the presenters, but the council has any questions, obviously, we're here to answer them. >> Okay. I have one question to start off
with. 36 units, four onebedroom, 32 bed, 32 twobedrooms. Most of the units will have dens. Will the dens have windows because dens becomes bedrooms and I'm not a big fan of with bedrooms without windows.
So, the dens are located, and we can look at that in the plans right here. The dens are located in the rear of many of these units. Um, and they do not have closets, and they and they do have a door on them. Um, but they are not supposed to be used for uh bedrooms.
>> Do they have windows? >> They do not have windows. >> Thank you. >> That's a problem. And I know it's going to be a problem at the planning board with past things just because, right, they're not supposed to become bedrooms, but they do become bedrooms. And again, I'm not a fan of bedrooms without
windows for many reasons. We understand that there might be some ways that we uh figure that out in the in how we restrict the the actual tenants or or the deeds and and those kinds of things. So, we've worked with the city in the past on that. So, we'll work with you again.
>> Okay. Thank you. I'm gonna Jen beat the same drum with um lending itself to some sort of sculpture or mural or engaging some sort of local artist to do some sort of art on the building.
>> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> I think you covered everything. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, councelor. >> You can stay here if you want because some of the questions may be directed to you when we start the public session.
And Kevin, a lot of people did walk in after you made your opening statements as far as what we're going to do tonight, how we're going to conduct the meeting and how we have to conduct the meeting, unfortunately. So, if you could repeat both, I'd appreciate. Sure. Um
for those who came in late, uh there is a resolution that was added to the agenda uh today. The copy of it is over the table. Um this resolution is related to the uh proposal by uh Madison Marquette to potentially uh demolish the
breezeway or casino. Um what this resolution will do when it's adopted by the council, it'll authorize the city's uh redevelopment council. This Mr. Joe Marzini is sitting here in the front row to issue notices of default uh to
Madison um and to uh I'll read this part authorize the mayor, his design and staff, professionals and consultants um to take all necessary or appropriate actions to implement this resolution and are authorized to take such further
actions as may be necessary or appropriate to protect and advance the rights and remedies of the city. This is specifically related to the Madison Marquette project. Uh because I I know many of you read about this and heard about this because this action by
Madison Marquette raises the significant potential for litigation. Um I've directed the mayor and council not to comment on on the the matter because there could well be pending litigation. Uh that does mean that if you're restricted, you're all free to comment
whatever way you like at at public session, public comment period. Um to the extent I can, I I'll try to answer questions. Uh Joe Mariti, our redevelopment council, will try to answer. We have to be somewhat circumspect as well because of this potential for litigation. Just want
everybody to know that uh up front. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> We're now on to the public participation portion of the meeting. May I have a motion to open the meeting to the public? >> Move to open. Second. >> All in favor? I >> public participation portion of the meeting is now open. Any member of the
public who wish to speak, please use the microphone and please state your name and address for the record. There will be a 3minut time limit for each speaker. >> Hi everybody. Uh my name is Caitlyn Dabney. I've been in Asbury for about 20 years now. One of my biggest concerns
>> just need your address. I'm sorry. >> Oh, I'm sorry. 400 DA Drive. Thank you. >> Uh, one of my biggest concerns with a lot of the redevelopment that's happening is none of the historical integrity is being maintained. A lot of these places look cookie cutter and we're going to potentially lose a really important, beautiful part of our town
and it's a shame that Madison Marquette really hasn't been held accountable for maintaining buildings like that and also Paramount. So my question to the board is what are we doing to try to make sure that things that are coming into our town are maintaining the historical integrity and not just kind of getting
whitewashed and looking like another I don't know builtup shore town that doesn't really have any history. It's one of the things that has made Asbury Asbury and brought people to our area. And I feel like we're really losing that for condos. like we should be maintaining green space and putting
parks in and dog parks and maybe putting things over here like little markets or things like that to kind of boost up the accessibility not just for people buying multi-million dollar condos. That doesn't really help everybody. I don't think something like this is going to be beneficial. It doesn't add value in my
opinion. There's another cookie cutter building going in that looks like another set of condos that is being built all over the east side. And if they want to build something like this, maybe redevelop the west side, add value over there, bring property values up over there, but that's just going to
look like two blocks over in another set of condos. So, please try to maintain our historical integrity in this town and not just have it washed away by something like this. I don't need more time. That's all I need to say. Okay, I can answer part of that because
it has nothing to do with Mass Marquette. Uh, this redevelopment plan was done in 2002. It's a legal binding document that cannot be unilaterally changed. Both parties would have to agree to change
it. The good thing, and people don't realize this and they're going to say, "Well, that's good more. It's better than bad." Uh the good thing is like the original plan called for 3,400 units. There's going to be built less than 2,000. So a lot of places where this lot
they could have gone eight stories. They've gone smaller. So and by right we can't stop them legally. By right we cannot stop them. >> Can I claim my time? >> You can ask one question.
If this was done in 2002, who's here and still alive to kind of rectify this and come represent people who signed that that maybe need to readress how the town has changed and what the needs are now versus what they were in 2002. >> You're you're correct. Unfortunately,
there is no parameters put into the agreement uh to time frame, bonds, anything like that. So, we're we're stuck with an agreement. None of us were here for >> for how long? >> 30 years. >> We're almost there.
>> Yep. Okay. Thank you again. >> Hi. Uh my name is Heather Fowler. I live at 1018 Fth Avenue. Um I outside of what um Kate had mentioned which I think was
very well put um in regards to this plan um I do see that you're going to be taking up a lot of the public parking that is has been accessible. What are we going to do when half of that parking lot is gone? We have a very bad parking problem especially by the ocean front.
Are we just going to let it bleed into the neighborhoods that are already stressed for land space? You know, I do understand that we're going to be putting in um you know, an easement so we can kind of like move some stuff around. Awesome. Fantastic for you guys.
Not for me, but um you know, not every single person is going to have that parking spot. People visiting are not going to have a parking spot. We just lost um do you have the numbers on how many parking spots are going to be taken up by this um by this development?
>> I don't know the answer. >> Yeah, >> you should. >> Yeah. So, and I apologize because the way this is set up my back. >> No, that's fine. >> Okay. So, uh I will start by saying that there is an application currently pending before council that would allow
for >> Okay. Wait, wait. I was going to answer that part. >> Okay. She she asked you a question. How many parking spots? >> Okay. That I'll ask Lena to see if we can >> is the But is there also a plan for making up for that? >> That will be answered. >> Yeah. Mayor, if you want to while Lena
is counting, if you want to answer the first part. >> So, the master developer has two plans in front of us that haven't been presented yet. >> Yeah. >> One close to this north end, one close to the south end with two two parking
garages. Mhm. >> So that is going to take over the, you know, on level lots that never had to be built, but they built them because nothing was being built. >> Yeah. >> So to make up for that, they're proposing to build two parking lots.
>> Are those public parking lots? >> Excuse me. >> Are those public parking lots for the >> combination? They're going to I think the one on the south end is like say 300 and some spots and 28 are dedicated to the Okay. Is this parking lot going to be publicly
owned by the development company or is this going to be owned by the city of Asbury Park or Madison Marquette? >> By the not by Madison Marquette, by the master developer or whoever they choose. >> Same as they are now. So, okay. So, this they're not run by the city now.
>> Okay. Well, that's what I'm just curious about. >> Right. >> Thank you very much. And I hope that you guys make the right decision for the entire city. >> Thank you. Uh, good evening. Uh, Bob Zookerman, 600 Hex Street in Asbury Park. Um, I came
here originally tonight just to thank you for uh putting a resolution on the consent agenda that reappoints me uh to the planning board. Um, I received a call from Barbara Kurszac, our our esteemed chair a couple weeks ago that
there was some kind of snafu. Um, and I was the last year I was the first alternate and I was supposed to be promoted, but instead I was demoted uh off the board completely. So, um, so uh I want to thank you all for uh for your faith in me um as a planning board
member and um as a planning board member, I will not comment at all on the presentation. we just saw because that will um obviously come before us. But I do want to um have take the opportunity tonight uh because this has been in the
news for the last two days um about the proposed uh demolition of the breezeway uh that Madison Marquette has um undergone. And I just want to say that um there's a lot of information that's floating out
there sort of in the ether and I'm sure I have no doubt that a lot of it is incorrect and that's because there are opposing uh viewpoints that are being shared all over social media. So, there is something that I'd like to suggest
and I understand from from our city attorney that um you up on the panel, the mayor and the council um have been instructed not to speak on the subject, but maybe we can get our our council, our redevelopment council, um to host
some kind of town forum. Uh when I was on the council up in South Orange uh several years ago, when we had a really hot button issue that everyone was interested in, you see the attendance tonight, uh we would host some kind of
forum to explain what's going on, to explain our options, um talk about the different options that the city has. and we could invite Madison Marquette uh to the forum if they if they choose not to attend that's on them. Um but you know I
I think that uh shedding sunlight on this issue um for everyone in the community I think is really essentially important. Um and so I I just want to throw that recommendation out there. Uh do with it as as you please. And I'll just end with saying that um just from a
personal perspective, I'm completely against uh the demolition of this breezeway. Um it is an iconic structure that yes needs to be rehabilitated and re restored, but it with with fronting u
the other side of the boardwalk with convention hall. It's it's iconic. It's what helps make Asbury Park Asbury Park and we need to do everything we can to keep it. Thank you, Bob. And uh we apologize for the snafu of not yet. And we wish that
was the only snafu we were looking at. >> Let's not be shy. >> Hi. I will go. Uh I'm terrible at public speaking. I don't want to be here. Uh I just learned about this literally. Oh, hey. Hi. I'm Sean. I live on 4003rd Avenue in the robot building. Um, it's really cool to be able to identify a
building because of some identifiable thing like that. I know you just described the carousel building as if you were going to do something unique that looks just like every other building that I've seen. So, I just want to throw that out there. I do not like how that looks. Uh, I don't want to be here. I don't want to be doing this. I just learned about this. I have been coming here my whole life. I've been
living here for three years. Uh, this place fixed my relationship with art. I have a bachelor's of the fine art. Like the only reason that I thrive here is because of the community here and because of all the people who live here. Uh Jen, who I don't see here, is a heavy user of the carousel building. There's so much art there. There's it's just such an active community and I just love
everything about this place. I cannot stand seeing what has become of it in the last three years. Just in the three-year window that I have lived here, I have seen this place change in what feels like historic ways. I've gotten to known people who have lived here their whole lives. I've gotten to hear their tales on how this place has
changed over the last multiple decades and in the sense as you guys had mentioned before the people who are here when this decision was made with what what Madison Marquette is that what their name is >> none of them are here so we're all dealing with something that we had nothing to do with this is just one long
wellplanned takeover it feels like and is there anyone here from Madison Marquette that says a lot they don't give a [ __ ] about this place and I do apologize sorry for the lang language buddy. Uh, if you guys say that art saved Asbury,
if you guys say that the gay community saved Asbury, if you guys say that uh, uh, music, duh, the obvious one. Sorry, I went to school for drawing. Uh, if you say that art saved it, if you say that music saved it, if you say any of this stuff, save it. The only thing that's ruining Aspberry Park is
overdevelopment. This is ridiculous. And there's no one here from Madison Marquette for me to direct this to. So, I'm just going to say this generally to the room, and I don't mean it, but I yield my time and you How do you follow that? >> Hi, >> Kristen Omera, your neighbor from Ocean
Grove, 107 and a half Cookman, formerly uh 2nd Avenue, Asbury. I've only been uh I wish I were as eloquent as my predecessor. I've only been a Monmouth County resident for five years. But I've been a wannabe since I was 18 when I wandered around hoping to spot Bruce
Springsteen and fell in love with Asbury Park. The way it felt magical, edgy, and haunted at the same time, unlike anywhere else. I've often heard people say, "Keep Asbury Park weird." And I echo that. With so much development happening around us and so much changing
in our country, it feels like we're becoming untethered from norms, traditions, laws, and even beloved structures that make a place feel like home, like it's ours. The casino, the convention hall, and the steam plant are symbols of that sense of place.
That's part of why I moved here. That's why the idea of a wrecking ball anywhere near the casino feels sinister and incomprehensible. And yet, disturbingly in step with the destructive climate we're all living through right now, your own redevelopment council has said
that the language of the 2010 agreement limits the legal options of the city to respond to the breaches of the agreement by Madison Asbury Retail and that you are deeply disappointed in this pattern of behavior. I understand that you
inherited that agreement, but what your constituents need to see is visible action to protect the landmarks that define this city. So, I want to ask directly, will you commit publicly to using every tool at your disposal to
protect these places? I'll take the answer on that one. Uh the answer is that's why uh there's a resolution on for tonight to give uh the mayor and council and redevelopment attorney all the tools that we can use
uh to address this this um demolition proposal. >> Thank you. At minimum, I strongly urge you to formally document and reaffirm the historic significance of the casino carousel, convention hall, steam plant, and all related structures, including
the national register and state level status were applicable. Confirm on the record any state or federal protections or easements that may already apply, and make that information easily accessible to the public. I agree that transparency is really key here, and I love the idea
of a public forum. trigger all applicable local preservation and demol demolition delay tools before any permit is considered and if necessary pursue state level review or court action under those laws to enforce Madison Asbury retails
obligations. We're asking you not just to manage a legal agreement but to safeguard the strange, beautiful, and irreplaceable Asbury Park that people like me fell in love with and chose as home. Please do everything in your power
to keep Asbury Park weird. >> Thank you. >> Hi, Katherine Healey, 3058th Avenue. Um, first, thank you for the resolution and thank you for your commitment. um here really just to put me and my neighbors discontent. I'm going to say Asbury
Partners as a whole on record as we've sat on 8th Avenue and listened to the incessant construction for years. a maddening orchestra of pile drivers and power tools Monday through Saturday, often kicking off before 7:00 a.m. We're
forever reminded that Asbury Partners or whatever they're rebranded as now get things done around the clock when they want to. Or should I say they move quickly when they're able to rake in fast money. But when it comes to anything community focused, beautiful,
or what the people who live here actually want, it always seems like their hands are tied, doesn't it? Being in Asbury for the past 30 years has been full of heartbreak for countless reasons. But the poorly managed redevelopment
of these entities is at the top of the list. We're not just losing national history by allowing the disappearance of so many historical buildings. We're losing the few indoor places we have in this city to gather with our neighbors and loved ones, to have a shared
history, to hold something unique and precious. The loss of these buildings embody and symbolize the loss of something so much greater. Our voices having any say in the direction of our city and where we invest our care. As an NIH paper on neural architecture
explains, historic buildings are not merely physical structures, but are repositories of communal or collective his history and memory. When we lose historic buildings, humans experience an erosion of identity. This loss of heritage can lead to a weakened sense of
self and cultural pride. There is also economic hardship in losing historical buildings. Damage to heritage sites impacts tourism and traditional crafts affecting local economies. And lastly, removal of these historical buildings
contributes to social instability. Heritage loss can exacerbate social tensions and contribute to a conflict. What a mirror all of this is for the larger societal issues at hand today. Oh, I have my photo. Um,
a photo of my grandmother with her friends on the 4th Avenue beach with Convention Hall being built in the background. This is less than 100 years ago. These buildings are not that old. Yet they have been purposely neglected so badly in the past few decades that
they all stand at risk. It's maddening to have such widespread disapproval of companies practices in our hometown and yet be constantly told there is nothing to do. We all know everyone on this council inherited a bad deal or deals if
we count the 2011 special assessment. So I stand here tonight to say we see you Madison Marquette. We see you, Ear. And although you've pushed so many of us out of this city, there are still so many of us that care about this city.
Okay, hold on one second. Thank you, Miss Heli. If you or anybody else in this room or anybody else in this town, here's a contractor starting before 8 or working past 5 and do not call the police or the
city manager, you're doing us all a disservice. I cannot ride the streets all day and all night looking for it. But if you live there and you hear this, let us know and it will be stopped immediately. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Uh good evening. I'm K. Harris, 7 Cornell Avenue, Neptune. I'm sorry. Uh, but I did grow up in Asbury Park, graduated from Asbury Park High School, but as an adult, I could not afford to come back to Asbury Park. So, that's why I'm in Neptune. I'm also the president
of the Asbury Park Historical Society and the Asbury Park Museum. And I would be remiss if we did not take a stance on what is happening to our city. And even though I'm a tenant of Madison Marquette, I'm very very disappointed they have
actually allowed our structures to deteriorate the way they have such that they're in a place that they want to actually demolish it. When I started my business on the boardwalk in 2005, that's like 20 years ago. I was imagining, wow, 20 years from now, we're
really going to be doing that's when they had the ribbon cutting on the boardwalk. Asbury Park is back and ready to move forward and if anything we seem to be moving in the wrong direction and even with respect to the development and the gentrification that's taking place.
One of the concerns I have about about this project I noticed it's two bedrooms. Why aren't there three bedrooms? Where is their housing for families so that they can populate the schools again? So to me, you can tell the kind of market that they are
targeting at this point. And I think we really have enough of those. I applaud the people who spoke before me where we need development for regular workingclass people and families to grow as as it was when I came up. And with
respect to the um breezeway, it's unfortunate the convention, the casino itself should not have been demolished. I know the roof was falling in, but all those facets, in fact, I have pictures of all of the brick work that was taken
off and supposedly sto restored. So, what about that? What are the plans? If they're planning on taking down the breezeway, what are they planning to replace it with? Is it going to be open? That there's so much we really need to know in terms of a conversation of what
their vision is. Um, and there's so much um, in terms of even the casino and there's so many opportunities for what can happen in this place, but I think we just don't know enough about what about what their plans are and we definitely
need to continue to advocate for the um, the restoration and retaining the few historic places that we have inclusive of the Paramount. And even though it seems like they're going to be moving forth the Paramount, I'm also extremely concerned about the convention hall
and it's such a value. It's a jewel of Aspberry Park and we can't afford to let more year years go by. Next thing you know, that'll start to crumble. Then they'll want to take that down too because oh, it's too expensive to renovate. So that's all I have to say. 5 seconds left.
Thank you. >> Hi, uh, Jameson Miller, 400 Delay Drive. Um, I don't want to just hammer in everything else that was said before me. I appreciate the resolution that you all are putting together. I urge you to use
every tool at your disposal to keep the casino. Uh, I've been here since 2012. Uh, and used to be one of my neighbors, actually. Um, it's it's tough. I try to show up enough
times. I I don't ever get up here. It's tough to see the lack of a need for high-end condos in this city. And I feel like every time I come here, we have another presentation. You guys did a great job and everything, but it's another presentation of more high-end condos.
And like Kay said, there's no family units being built. There's always just development and it seems like it's Ocean A, Kingsley, Cookman. Uh there's not much about redevelopment of the west side and there's nothing to take in
families. Uh it is stressful to see what direction we are headed and I I don't understand what the limit is on how many high-end condos that we can be putting in over the course of a fiveyear period. And that that really is disheartening to
me living in a a building that's going to be 100 this coming year. Um, you know, seeing all that is brought to this community and only seeing these kind of cookie cutter things that are going in and being proposed almost every time I'm
here. So, I I just wanted to comment on that. And uh but first and foremost, keep all of our historical structures, specifically on the boardwalk, the carousel, steam plant, casino, convention hall. Uh the willful neglect
of Madison and what's going on is is just very disheartening and you can tell it is to everyone in this room. So, thank you. >> Thank you. How are you tonight? Richard H. Richer from Bradley Beach, the city manager. I'd like to ask you a
million dollar question. The state can I talk? >> Yeah. >> The state funds what's about to go towards the Panama Theater. Now, be honest. That money is in hands of Master Marquette or the city of
Edbury Park. >> Mr. Van will finish all your questions. Okay, >> we'll answer them. >> All right. Let's hope the state money that the city received for the evation of the PMA theater and part of the convention hall do not
go in the hands of Master Marquette >> cuz I don't trust them one bit. >> They are evil people. >> Is that is that all your questions? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> No, the money is not in Mass and Marquette's hands. the money's given to
the city of Asbury Park and then the city decides. We look at what they say they spend it on and if it fits the criteria then we reimburse them. If it doesn't they don't get paid and they're well aware of that and yes the money is going into right now to try to fix the
exterior of the paramount to keep the elements out >> right on the north end of the boardwalk if you come from the air. >> Mr. You told me that was all your questions. Ah, one more. One more. If you're coming from the north end heading south, if you look up at the P theater,
they got nuts holding the concrete from not falling. And the one side looks in really bad shape. You know, >> you're absolutely correct. >> I hope they can fix it. And I saw in the paper last week in the COA that they're
going to start doing that. We have bi-weekly meetings and so far so good. And if it goes off the tracks, we can always send the money back to Trenton. >> Okay. >> They don't get it. >> Thank you. And let's hope the state will
take over conventional law and fix it. >> Thank you. Thank you for listening. Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Kevin Strickland. I'm at 11:09 Second Avenue and I'm here to lighten up the subject matter a little bit. So, I'm here to
talk about Little League Baseball and the fact that we're going to have a pancake breakfast to raise funds for the Little League of Asbury Park that's been here since 1955. >> And I want to extend a personal invitation, and they usually show up anyway without this,
>> the mayor and council to come. And anybody in this room that would like to come and have a couple of flap jocks and support the kids of Asbury Park, I'd invite you as well. It's going to be on Saturday from 9 to 12 at the um the Salvation Army building at 605 Asbury
Avenue. All right, I do have a second piece of good news and that is that the US Soccer Foundation has funded and approved a soccer pitch to be built behind the high school. So, we're working with the school district and the US Soccer
Foundation to build a soccer pitch for the Asbury Park kids in another sport to support the kids of Asbury Park. And as a component of that, we're looking for support from the city to
come together with the school district to put this dance floor to work. So, we have some meetings set up to follow up on that. But anyway, I just wanted to make that formal announcement. I did the same thing at the board meeting when we had uh the board meeting there last week. Thank you very much.
>> Hi, my name is Spencer. >> One second, please. Sorry, >> Kevin. Uh myself and I'm sure the entire council and probably 90% of the people in this room want to thank you for all you do, not only just for little league, but uh being Santa Claus every year
and convention hall brought in question was going to be there or not because my chair sits in that building. >> But again, thank you for all you do. Hi, my name is uh Spencer Pelis. I'm at 1018 Fifth Avenue. Um I think if there's one thing I've been heard echoed is that
we need more uh discussion and just need to know what's going on because I'm happy that there's things in place that are trying to protect uh the the breezeway. But it's also been a very long time. And even though there's obviously some misinformation floating around and this and that, whatever, I
think the general fear is very justified that it's first the breezeway, then the casino, then convention hall, and it's just Madison Marquette. Oh, woe is me. How could this have happened? Like, we all know what's happening. We have a billion dollar developer that can just wait it out until all the locals die at
this point, and then they can do whatever they want with it. And it's really concerning. I want to see more Little League groups. I want to see more families and history of Azir Park State. I don't need to see new development with fake copper roofing to help emulate what
was once there. Um, so just please keep that in mind with your decisions moving forward. >> Thank you. >> You know, I thank you and I'm going to correct you on one thing. I don't think I'm going to get myself in trouble. If I do, oh well. They're not a billion dollar corporation. They're a 7.5
billion dollar corporation. My >> Hi, I'm Gabriella Cuchinada. I live at 2096th Avenue. Um I bas basically agree with everything that was said today about the uh preserving historic buildings. I did sort of come as a
member of the shade street commission and um regarding the development that was planned today or or was um presented today. I just wanted to ask um you to consider where there's a opportunity to make the sidewalks a little bit
narrower. Where I live on 6th Avenue, 7th Avenue, 8th Avenue, there was a decision made to put 7 feet 7 foot sidewalks. They're now sixoot sidewalks. um and replace all of the 6T or 7 foot aprons with concrete pavers
where I we've been asked to get grants to to reduce the heat island in Asbury Park and at the same time we are creating more and more and more heat islands. There are things that can be done that will not
destroy the the vision that is in in the redevelopment plan. We can have five and a half foot sidewalks that are exist most places. When I think of what was built at Tall Brothers there, I think there's like a 20 foot sidewalk that could all have been green space. That
could have all been plantings. It there there is actually no reason not to have wider aprons. We're giving these poor trees this little 4ft section to grow and we don't need 7 foot sidewalks. Especially where I live. I don't need
there. There are people walking their dogs in the winter and even in the summertime, people with families, they can go three by three. They don't have to go four by four. And so I am I know there are people here from the planning board. I'm asking you where you can make
adjustments, where you can make aprons wider, where you can keep the aprons green. Please do it. Where you can give the trees a little bit more opportunity to actually survive. We've just done a tree inventory. We're going to present it to you tomorrow. Um, and in that we
found that most of the trees in Asbury Park are struggling and especially close to the beachfront and when you give a tree this I mean it's terrible what they've done on Cookman Avenue in front of those town houses those trees could have they put this gigantic sidewalk. So
please take that into consideration. Please make, you know, reduce the heat island, allow trees to survive, and and that's basically why I'm asking. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Good evening, Reene Flimlin, 506 8th Avenue. My husband, Enrique, and I are here. We got married here over 20 years ago. Uh we're big taxpayers with regards to our home. The taxes are through the roof. Not quite sure how much longer we
can stay. Actually, I moved out of Montlair and came to Asbury Park because my taxes in Montlair where I raised my children were so high. And when we purchased in Asbury Park, we said, "Well, we'll need residual income just in case they get astronomical." And they
are astronomical. And thank God for the residual income because I have lost my neighbors on the left, the right, across the street. They're all gone. They couldn't afford it. Uh that's with taxes. With regards to the development that was proposed tonight and the
sustainability aspect of it, it was said when you can or when you're able to from the architect. What does that mean? >> You want to answer? >> Yeah, that's the architect. >> So when it's feasible to
>> What does that mean? So when it becomes when it becomes feasible to actually do that. So we're at this point in the approvals process. We're not going through each and every uh item that can be documented in that way. Um when we come to permit drawings
which the uh uh city gets to uh look at and make sure that we're conforming with the approvals that we achieved. They'll be going through and making sure that we hit those markers. And in the checklist that we have to provide to the city, it
more in depth looks at what different items we are doing. Um we're just saying that when it is feasible to do so, we're not doing it all the time, but we are hitting that lead silver uh credential. That is >> But you're not looking for certification on lead silver. >> We are not seeking certification,
>> right? So why wouldn't you seek certification? >> That is uh a very lengthy process. Um, but we're hitting the targets and we're going to be uh doing a checklist that will be done by a certified professional uh that hits those markers.
>> Excellent. So then with regards to uh Madison Marquette Boardwalk, beautiful convention hall where they took off all of the beautiful wrapping years ago and it was lost and nothing happened there.
And as I go through convention hall now, I peek into where, you know, they used to do the roller skating and stuff and it's all boarded off and I've noticed beautiful lamps and uh beautiful architectural pieces coming down. And
I've asked, oh, is is that going to auction? Is that going into storage? We'll take care of it. So when the city says we've got our eye on it and we're watching piece by piece what they're doing, is there actually somebody in the
city that represents the community's interest with regards to what Madison Marquette says they're doing on these structures? Like do we have >> Okay, I'm going to give you a couple more seconds. >> Yeah, that's pretty much it. That's that's pretty much it. I just want to
know like how we can be more proactive cuz I remember Tom Pavinsky, my neighbor, eight years ago coming up. >> Oh, Tom. Hey. He walked up here eight years ago and said, "I can't I imagine they're going to take down the casino one of these days." And everybody was
like a gas like, "Oh, that would never happen." And here we are today. So, what I'm saying is it seems like we're we're not proactive. We're always catching up to what they're doing. We don't seem to have our eye on it the way in detail
that we might like or might be to our community interest. That's all. >> Yes. Shipo and the state are in charge of making sure anything in convention hall that is historic is preserved.
>> Shipo. >> Yeah. State Historical Preservation Office. >> Thank you. >> State Historic Preservation. >> Okay. >> And I assume I can say this or Joe can say, you know, this isn't this uh relationship hasn't
Joe. What? We've held them in default. So I'm at a loss. >> So can you just say that we've held them in default? I'm saying this is not been this has been an adversarial relationship. Is that a stand here? >> I'm not going to say anymore. >> I'm Joe.
I have the honor of being special redevelopment council in the waterfront area decision and uh the deputy mayor is exactly right. We have an ongoing adversarial relationship with uh Madison Asbury
Retail. Thank you. Madison Asbury Retail to be distinguished from AR, formerly Starfield, two different entities. Madison Asbury Retail has control of all
the assets along the boardwalk. Pavilions, golf course, the water park, uh the convention hall complex, the arcade, Paramount Theater, the casino, breezeway, and all of that. And those
assets were transferred by the city in 20 in 2002 actually to Asbury Park and then in 2010 the city at that time entered into a
subsequent developers agreement with Madison Asbury Retail subsidiary of Madison Marquette uh to transfer all the so-c calledled called retail assets, those along boardwalk, pavilions, and so on to
Madison under provisions in that agreement that have been referred to that were negotiated back in 2010 when the negotiating leverage of the city was different than it is today and the
document somehow somewhat reflects that. So we have been in constant struggles with Madison Asbury retailer and their and the parent company to hold their feet to the fire. And over time we
have issued a number of notices of default uh and one of them in particular dealing with the failure to proceed with the the next steps with respect to the breezeway. Okay.
>> Uh we did that in 2023. Uh and prior to that there were a series of notices of default that related to the convention center complex. Um we have uh been engaged in negotiations
with respect to the the grant that was referred to earlier uh to provide some of the funding uh for the uh security of the exterior as the mayor said of Paramount Theater. It's been a struggle
uh to get to the agreement to transfer on a a a very strict basis funding after they do the work. The the understanding is that we will have an agreement with Madison as retail which we're struggling
to negotiate. uh that will provide an identification of what exactly they're going to be doing on Paramount Theater uh to uh secure the structural for that building and also provide water.
uh those improvements will be made at the expense of Madison County retail and they will be reimbursed only once the inspections made by citizen here to verify that those particular
improvements have been made as they are made. Uh and that is something that we hope we will have before the council in at the next meeting. That's the promise. We have some attitude detail with
respect to theater and uh uh we are as the deputy mayor said it's a it's a an adversarial position point of negotiating an agreement that provides a grant a grant uh to to this
entity. So it's a struggle and it's something that we spend a lot of time worrying and working working on and it is something that
seriously I I spent my years in this summer that means a lot to me this facilities Thank you. >> Hello, this is Frank Cuchinado, 2096th Avenue. A couple questions. One is I
hear this term default being thrown around all the time. And what do we mean default? Are they being penalized? Are they being fined or just throwing a letter at them saying, "Oh, you're in default. You're in default. You're in default." What what what are the consequences of the default? If if we go
through a red light, we get a ticket. we have to pay a fine. If we don't pay the fine, we go to jail. I mean, what is what are the consequences to hold Madison Marquette's feet to the fire? So, so that's the first question. The second question is we hear this thing
about the 2002 plan. It's a 30-year plan. What happens in 2032? Can we say goodbye to Madison Marquette? What happens then? So, there are my two questions. Is it not working? Can you not hear me? Can you hear me? Couldn't hear me before.
>> Uh, >> those are very good questions. And the issue about what happens with a notice of default is it is a prelude to a lawsuit. That's a very big step for this community to take. is something we are constantly looking at and looking for
the best basis uh for a uh a basis to do that. A lawsuit can get you into a situation of unintended consequences and be long and expensive and not provide an immediate result. Um your second
question, please remind me of your second question was what happens in 2032. What happens in 20 2032 with Madison Marquette with Madison Marquette, Madison Adamsbury Retail? Um, they own these buildings. This this is private property. They own these
buildings. So, we have uh a limited period of time to make sure that they do not cause demolition by neglect of these buildings. So that is one of the consequences of the decision that was made uh in 2002
to transfer ownership of these facilities to a private entity. There is been mentioned the Shipo easement state historic preservation office. It's a division of NJD and there is an easement
uh that requires preservation of the convention hall complex. It does not apply to the breezeway, the casino, the carousel buildings. It only provi applies to the conventional complex
which is on both the state and national register of historic historic sites. So there we have attempted uh to engage uh the shipo entity to take some leadership
here and step forward. Um we've had meetings with them. Uh they are uh in a position of of I should tell you something else that's happening and that is that Madison Aspbury Retail is
seeking historic uh tax credits. No, you you should No, that that's something that we hope they get. Let me tell you why. >> Because and combined with a a new program in instituted by the Murphy
administration uh under what's called the cafe program, a new program, EDA manages it, the cultural arts facility expansion program, cafe, and they're looking to get tax credits there as
well. Hopefully they succeed because if they do, they will have a fund of multi-million dollars to do what needs to be done to these facilities. They have indicated that they have big plans
and there's been sometimes this has been in the newspaper that they have big plans to transform these facilities. convention hall complex. I see keep saying complex that includes the arcade, Paramount Theater, and Convention Hall
itself. Uh and um at one point they're telling us, I don't know if this is still the case, that it would also apply to Carousel uh breezeway area uh to transport it into the to a music uh
venue, destination venue for the Northeast. This is the this is the promise that hasn't been kept yet, but they are on the verge of knowing yes or no about these applications. And if they
do uh get that, that would obiate the need for the city to take the steps that would normally be taken uh with respect to a notice of default. And we have to be mindful of those other bigger issues that are going on.
Thanks, Joe. >> Hi, I'm Celia Marice. My husband, Keith Johnson, and I have a property at 614 6th Avenue and 1410 Bond. Um, in regards to the liability and maintaining one's
properties, um, our neighbor was at 612 6th Avenue, Roger Hall. Unfortunately, he's passed away and is no longer with us. He was in a situation where he could not maintain his home and it was in horrible
disrepair. As such, in maybe 2016, 2017, his home was condemned by the city of Asbury. They threatened to take possession of his home because he didn't have the wherewithal to
upgrade it, keep it going. Um, so if that's the case, why is the city not able to also have legal ability to take possession of the buildings that are also in disrepair? If they could do it to a taxpayer, my
neighbor, why aren't we able to do it to other entities? So condemnation is that word is used two different ways in uh public law. One is when you condemn a building because it's unsafe and it needs to be repaired or
condemned or taken down. And I think that's what you're describing. And that's a different process uh than the way condemnation is often talked about. uh in other contexts in terms of condemning these facilities and
acquiring them that's a very complicated process that requires uh appraising the value of the properties attempting to negotiate with the property owner. I'm speaking generically now I'm not speaking about these particular
facilities but that type of condemnation requires that the city compensate the property owner. remember uh I said this is private property so it's a question of uh determining whether the city has the financial wherewithal to do that
>> but if they were able to threaten my neighbor >> and then why are we >> that condemnation that you're talking about with your neighbor leads to demolition that's that's the and we
don't want that we don't want that kind of condemnation That's grass. >> That's true. >> Hello, I'm Joe Weeny. I'm from 10003rd Avenue, apartment 311. I'm definitely not for public speaking, but let me toss
some things at you. Um, this section of the boardwalk is called the waterfront boardwalk area. Is that allowed to have housing? Because that's what Madison Marquette wants is condos. Is that zoned to never have housing?
I don't know. So, that that's one thing. Um the other is that um the board or planning committee in uh let's see, January 31st of 2024 talked about green spaces and maintaining those for the
city for recreation. That is definitely not happening. Um, what else? Um, the repair of the casino building, breezeway, whatever you want to call it, is not rocket science. When
there is a bad beam or something, I in my house, they sistered it. They put another beam alongside of it. There is no reason that they can't put iron structures that are right next to the other ones that can hold it up. It pennies for them. And they certainly can
do it. So there is no reason not to. If they do get to build there, press hard that they can't move closer to the ocean because you have to leave a little piece of the building. Make sure you did not GPS does not matter. Piece of building must stay so that way you prove you didn't get closer. Now the problem is
now they're in the flood zone and all the other things and that may present prevent them from building there, which is what we want to do. We want to push that at them because they're in they're higher flood plane than the other ones and their insurance would be astronomical. Um, as for this building
with copper-l like things, it'll never have a patina. Why would you do that if you want to be like the carousel? Put something that gets a patina. Don't put on like plastic copper. I I don't see that. Um, what else? Let's see. The other thing people have said over
and over and over is that we have to keep buildings up the code. Um, did is that negated by your agreement? Because in 2023 of May they closed the walkth through so they knew it was hazardous but they did not keep it up the code.
Did they paint a trust? No. See if they spent up pennies since then except putting up the stansions to stop you from going through. They knew, you know, was not safe and they made no corrections to the situation. I bet they spent nothing. Thank you very much.
Thank you. >> Anybody else like to be heard about this the presentation >> announcement or by time? >> No. >> I can't get up again. >> No second time. >> No. >> Can I just ask one question? >> No.
>> Stone. >> What? >> They own the stone, too. >> Yes. Yeah, >> that's why it's planned to move there. >> So condos would go in. >> There's been no that that's that's like what somebody said before. There's so many rumors going around. I don't know where you heard that. We've never heard
that. >> Isn't it on the website? >> What it looks like? >> If it is, it's a news to me and we've had no indication that anybody's going to be building on the stone pony. Some stage fighters knocking down the stone
pony. Okay, that's that's if any cross conversations, please take outside. Just >> again. >> Um, hi, I'm Caitlyn Nasher. I live at 610 Su Avenue in Aspbury Park. Um, I just want to address the comment about
lawsuits having unintended consequences. I'm sure we all understand that. You know, we respect that you have tried to avoid that route this far, >> but at this point, inaction has very serious consequences as well. And so, I would just urge you to do absolutely
everything in your power to protect these building these buildings while they're still standing. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Seeing nobody else, I'll make a motion to close. >> Move it. >> Second. >> All in favor? Public participation is
now closed. >> We're now on to the minutes. >> Anthony, sorry. >> Hold on. Okay. Look, >> look. We closed it. We're going to reopen it for you. Nope. Nope. We're going to reopen it for you. Then it's going to be closed. >> Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Move to reopen.
>> Cat Vanderwin. Um 404 5th Avenue. Um Aspberry Park. Um, I have, I guess, been hanging around Asbury Park, um, as long as Madison Marquette has because, um, I started taking the train, uh, for
basement shows in 2002 when I was 14. Um but um I'm here specifically as a private resident and I wanted to look in um into uh the possibility of um
uh looking into h how far have we gotten into looking into designating the carousel building as a historic landmark because it is not designated as a historic landmark. but
it does have a um certificate of eligibility which means it can become a historic landmark. And one question that was kind of answered before but not entirely answered before was what happens after 2032.
We know there's nothing we can do in some capacities until 2032, but you know um there are all sorts of delay tactics and some of them have to do with preservation. So I would want to
know what have we done as a city to designate the carousel building, the casino and the breezeway as a historic landmark and can we continue looking into that in the meantime and then I would really like to know what happens
not up until 2032 but after after 2032. I can't speak to the issues regarding the uh uh the listing of the sites, but I can uh say something about after 2032 with respect to uh Madison Asbury
retail, they will still be bound by the shipo easement, state house pres state house preservation office easement uh which has which is enforcable in terms of the issues of preservation with
respect to convention hall and uh Paramount Theater and the arcade. >> Okay. >> Uh move to close. >> Yeah. Move to >> move to close. Second. >> We're going. >> All in favor? >> I >> don't want to thank the presentation.
We're No, the meeting is closed now because we closed it once and we reopened it. So, we can't do this all night long without like probably me getting sued. So, look, if everybody wants to stay for the meeting and everything we're going to
vote on, fine. If everybody wants if we want to take a two-minute break, so you don't want to stay, you can leave. That's fine. Also, I want to give you that opportunity so you're not stuck here. But if you want to stay, no problem. >> Thank you.
You came on a good night or not? >> All right, guys. Yes. >> I'm going to ask that you take your conversations outside, please. >> Thank you for listening. >> Okay. >> And God bless you.
Thanks for coming. >> Good night. >> Good night. Are you going to write about it? You want the resolution or do you have? >> He asked. >> He asked. They were on the table. >> Oh, you have the resolution.
>> Oh, they were on the table. >> Agenda. >> The agenda. >> The agenda. >> Oh, the agenda. >> We'll take it. >> Yes. >> President, you take your conversations outside, please, so we have other pressing business. outside. Please
>> clear the room. >> You should have stood up and asked for volunteers for Code Blue cuz you had a full room, Kim. >> Walked down the street, two blocks of volunteers. >> Yeah. Yeah, you should have been asking for volunteers. I should have texted you. >> That's good.
>> Go Anthony. >> We are now on to the minutes. I have the executive and regular meeting minutes from January 14th, 2026. Do I have a motion? >> Move it. >> Second. >> Council member Baz Anderson? >> Yes. >> Council member Clayton? Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn. >> Yes. >> Mayor Moore. >> Yes.
>> We are now on to the consent agenda resolutions. All matters list on the consent agenda presented collectively to the city council will be considered for approval with one vote. These matters are considered to be routine in nature and be no individual discussion of these items if discussion is desired by one or more council members. Uh then set items
shall be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately. On consent tonight, we have resolutions 202679 through 202699 with an appointment to the planning board of Bob Zuckerman, an appointment to the business advisory committee of Matthew Whan and Jamie Kelly. Do I have a motion?
>> Second. >> Council member Bazerson, yes. Council member Clayton, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn, >> yes. >> Mayor Moore, >> yes. >> Moving on to individual resolutions. I have resolution 202655, resolution approving change order number six and request to exceed 20% change
order threshold for the Asbury Park bathroom uh boardwalk restroom project. >> Move it. >> Second. >> Council member Bezerson. Yes. >> Council member Clayton. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn. >> Yes. >> Mayor Moore. >> Yes. And this was rewarded. >> Yes. To no extension. Yes.
>> Resolution 2026 100 resolution authorizing payment of bills. Move it. Second. Council member Anderson. Council member Clayton. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn. >> Yes. >> Mayor Moore. >> Yes. >> Resolution 2026101. Resolution authorizing the county of Mammoth Mosquito Control Division to conduct
aerial mosquito control operations within the city of Aspbury Park. >> Move it. >> Second. >> Council member Bezerson. >> Yes. >> Council member Clayton. >> No. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn. >> Yes. >> Mayor Moore. >> Yes. >> Resolution 2026102. Resolution authorizing uniform shared services agreement between the city of Asbury
Park and the Mammoth County Mammoth Ocean Police Athletic League to provide space within 9 Main Street, Asbury Park, New Jersey for recreation and community programs. >> Move it. >> Second. >> Council member Bezerson, yes. Council member Clayton, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn, >> yes. >> Mayor Moore,
>> yes. >> Resolution 2026103, resolution authorizing appointment to the mayor's wellness committee. The appointee is Karen Moscowitz. >> Move it. >> Second. >> Council member Baz Anderson. Yes. Council member Clayton, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn, >> yes. >> Mayor Moore, >> yes. >> Resolution 2026104, resolution
authorizing appointment to the housing authority. The appointee is David Nester. >> Move it. >> Second. >> Council member Bazar. >> Yes. >> Council member Clayton. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn. >> Yes. >> Mayor Moore. >> Yes. Resolution 2026105, resolution of the mayor and city council of the city of Asbury Park authorizing special
redevelopment council to issue updated and/or additional notices of default to Mass and Asbury Retail LLC with specific regard to the casino building for failure to meet its obligations under the subsequent developer agreement between the city of Asbury Park, Mass and Asbury Retail LLC and Asbury
Partners LLC dated June 1st, 2010. >> Move it. >> Second. Council member Bezerson. Yes. >> Council member Clayton. >> Yes. Deputy Mayor Quinn. >> Yes. >> Mayor Moore. >> Yes. >> We're now on to ordinance for introduction. I have ordinance 20261. Ordinance of the city of Asbury Park
adding a new section 3-40 to the city code to be entitled e-mobility devices in lithium ion batteries with a public hearing date of February 11th, 2026. >> Move it. >> Council member Bezerson. >> Yes. >> Council member Clayton. >> Yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn. >> Yes.
>> Mayor Mort. >> Yes. Ordinance 20262, ordinance amending the Main Street redevelopment plan with a public hearing date of February 11th, 2026. >> Move it. >> Second. >> Council member Bezerson, yes. >> Council member Clay, >> yes. >> Deputy Mayor Quinn, >> yes. >> Mayor Moore, >> yes.
>> If that is all for tonight, do I have a motion to adjurnn? >> No. >> All in favor? >> I. >> Have a good night, everyone.