Interesting personal tie-in to all this McGreevey business

[theboss]

I'm on a mailing list for a group of Springsteen fans that tried for years to save the Palace and other waterfront attractions on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park.

For those of who that don't know, Asbury Park used to be one of the great American resorts, hit hard times in the late 60s, collapsed totally in the 80s and is now essentially a ghost town. Anyway, they have been trying to revitalize the town for two decades, but most of the oceanfront property was tied up in one ridiculous bankrtuptcy case for nearly 20 years. (I'm not joking). Asbury Park also happens to be one of the most corrupt cities in New Jersey, which makes it maybe the most corrupt city in the world.

The Palace, the Casino, and other attractions in the town were made famous in many Springsteen songs and on a lot of his album covers and merchandise. A lot of us felt that the combination of history and nostalgia of these buildings could be central to a revitalization of Asbury Park. The Developers who finally got the land thought otherwise. They wanted to tear everything down.

The "Save Tillie" folks fought a great fight, got the Palace listed as a historical site, got several potential developers involved, and were completely stonewalled the entire time by McGreevey. He pushed through approval of the demolition of the Palace and earlier this summer, it met the wrecking ball.

Now, McGreevey is up to his eyeballs in sleaze. Among the investigation are his ties to Charles Kushner, chairman of Kushner Companies and the top donor to McGreevey's 2001 campaign for governor Kushner was charged with hiring a call girl to obstruct a federal investigation of him and his companies. Prosecutors allege Kushner paid the call girl $25,000 to videotape her having sex with a witness cooperating in a grand jury probe of his taxes and donations.

Kushner is also heavily involved in the development of the Asbury Park waterfront.

So, now it seems that we may have lost a landmark because of dirty politics.

Forgive me if I don't rush to the man's defense. He may have a D next to his name, but that doesn't make him innocent.

[latebloomer]

1. He seems to have surrounded himself with sleazebags

which doesn't speak well for his character.

(BTW, I'm a Jersey girl and Bruce fan too!) :hi:

[theboss]

2. Ever been to Asbury Park?

If so, you know what I'm talking about.

Though - in reality - I got a weird enjoyment out of the ghost town aspect of the place. It's like finding the world's biggest abandoned movie set.

[latebloomer]

4. haven't been there in years

Last time I was there, the arcade with the Fun House was still up-- late 80s?

I too find something agreeably creepy about an abandoned amusement park.

[theboss]

5. The Palace closed in '89, I think

A small part of it became a porn theater. The rest of it was empty for 15 years. When I was in college in the mid-90s in NJ, I used to drive to the shore every few months to basically clear my head. (What can I say, I find northern beaches in winter beautiful). Asbury Park was a great destination because there would be all this once-beautifl architecture surrounding you and there was not a soul in sight for miles. Of course, the rest of the town was the Wild Wild West. Only place I ever saw a crack deal take place in the middle of an intersection with a four-way traffic light in broad daylight.

[tech3149]

3. sad thing about politics

You sell your soul to run a race and can never shake the influence of that money. Sleep with dogs....