Neptune United is a nonpartisan, community advocacy organization committed to ensuring fairness and equality for all Neptune Township residents and visitors.
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NU is For Inclusion!
“Featuring religious displays in courthouses, public schools, state capitols, or public parks transforms the spaces that are supposed to bring us together into spaces that are divisive and make some members of the community feel excluded.” – Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Engineering Plan for Neptune Township Proposed Ocean Grove Cross-Shape Pier, dated September 3, 2021.
Rendering of the proposed reconstructed Pier, as first provided by the OGCMA on August 3, 2022.
Harmful.
The OGCMA’s history of discrimination, involvement with a national hate group, and a cross-shape pier is harmful to Neptune Township, and its residents and visitors.
Everyone agrees that Ocean Grove is a special community, one with an unusual interconnection of local government, diverse residents, and a religious land owner. Given this context and these combined factors, a cross-shape pier on Neptune Township’s Ocean Grove Beach, cannot be considered “like any other town.” For example, a cross-shape pier may not have the same impact if it were built in Bradley Beach. The OGCMA’s religious intent for the pier makes it problematic in the secular Neptune Township.
Will this cross-shape pier alienate thousands of visitors and current and potential residents a year, depress property values, and decrease Neptune Township tourism and revenues? You decide.
Construction Activities, September 15, 2022, in violation of the NJDEP Permit
Intentional Disregard.
The OGCMA’s actions betray their belief that rules do not apply to them. Their intentional disregard for regulations endangers the environment and residents, and will forever change the perception of the Ocean Grove District of Neptune Township.
The OGCMA has not applied for nor obtained any of the necessary permits. This project requires demolition and zoning permits, and an Historic Preservation Commission Certificate of Appropriateness from Neptune Township. Without these, there is no oversight on the construction. Thus, there is no way to know if the finished pier will be safe. People’s safety is something for which Neptune Township and the OGCMA should be very concerned.
Also, the OGCMA has violated several New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) requirements contained in the OGCMA’s permit, and engaged in activities that are prohibited under the 2018 Ocean Grove Beach Management Plan. The OGCMA’s refusal to comply could further impact the health and safety of our environment, and residents and visitors.