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Asbury Park, New Jersey

Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, on the Jersey Shore. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 16,930.

Asbury Park was originally incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 26, 1874, from portions of Ocean Township. The borough was reincorporated on February 28, 1893. Asbury Park was incorporated as a city, its current type of government, as of March 25, 1897.

The city is widely known for its rich musical history. It is also one of East Coast's popular lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) resorts.

It was ranked the sixth best beach in New Jersey in the 2008 Top 10 Beaches Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium.

Geography

Asbury Park is located at (40.222399, -74.012098).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km²), of which 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (10.62%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,930 people, 6,754 households, and 3,586 families residing in the city. The population density was 14,842.0 per square mile (6,571.1/km²). There were 9,744 housing units at an average density of 7,416.7 per square mile (2,090.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 14.77% White, 72.11% Black, 0.32% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 6.49% from other races, and 5.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.58% of the population.

There were 6,754 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 20.2% were married couples living together, 26.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.36.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,081, and the median income for a family was $26,370. Males had a median income of $27,081 versus $24,666 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,516. About 39.3% of families and 48.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 50.5% of those under age 18 and 37.1% of those age 65 or over.

History

Early years

A seaside community, Asbury Park is located on New Jersey's central coast. Developed in 1871 as a residential resort by New York brush manufacturer James A. Bradley, the city was named for Francis Asbury, the first American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States.

Bradley was active in the development of much of the city's infrastructure, and despite his preference for gas light, he allowed the Atlantic Coast Electric Company (precursor to today's Jersey Central Power & Light Co.) to offer electric service. Along the waterfront Bradley installed a boardwalk, an orchestra pavilion, public changing rooms and a pier at the south end of the boardwalk. Such success attracted other businessmen. In 1888 Ernest Schnitzler built the Palace Merry-Go-Round on the southwest corner of Lake Avenue and Kingsley Street, the cornerstone of what would become the Palace Amusements complex; other attractions followed. During these early decades in Asbury Park, a number of grand hotels were built, including the Plaza Hotel.

Uriah White, an Asbury Park pioneer, installed the first artesian well water system. More than 600,000 people a year vacationed in Asbury during the summer season in the early years, riding the New York and Long Branch Railroad from New York City and from Philadelphia to enjoy the mile-and-a-quarter stretch of oceanfront Asbury.

The country by the sea destination experienced several key periods of popularity. The first notable era was the 1890s, marked by a housing growth, examples of which can still be found today in a full range of Victorian architecture. Coinciding with the nationwide trend in retail shopping, Asbury Park's downtown flourished during this period and well into the next century.

1920s

The 1920s saw a dramatic change in the boardwalk with the construction of the Paramount Theatre and Convention Hall complex, the Casino Arena and Carousel House, and two handsome red-brick pavilions. Noted Beaux Arts architect Warren Whitney of New York was the designer. He had also been hired to design the imposing Berkeley-Carteret Hotel positioned diagonally across from the theater and hall. At the same time, Asbury Park launched a first-class education and athletic program with the construction of a state-of-the-art high school overlooking Deal Lake.

Later years

Neither the Great Depression nor World War II were kind to Asbury Park, although in 1943, the New York Yankees held their Spring Training in Asbury Park. This was because rail transport had to be conserved during the war, and Major League Baseball's Spring Training was limited to an area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River.

In the decades that followed the war, surrounding farm communities gave way to tracts of suburban houses, allowing the city's descendants of middle-class blacks as well as whites to move into newer houses with spacious yards. With the opening of the Garden State Parkway, Asbury Park saw the travel market change as fewer vacationers took trains to the seashore. When ground was broken in 1958 to build Monmouth Shopping Center 10 miles away in Eatontown, New Jersey, Asbury Park's downtown became less of an attraction to shoppers. Office parks built outside the city resulted in the relocation of lawyers, accountants, doctors, dentists, and other professionals. The opening of Six Flags Great Adventure, a combination theme park and drive-through safari located on a lake in Jackson Township ~ and close to a New Jersey Turnpike exit ~ proved to be stiff competition for a mile-long stretch of aging boardwalk amusements. Although it was placed on the National Registers of Historic Places, in 1988 Palace Amusements was closed, and was demolished in 2004 despite attempts to save it. The complex had featured the famous face of Tillie, a symbol of the Jersey Shore.

The city's changing fortunes, together with municipal mismanagement, led to civic unrest. On July 4, 1970 riots resulted in the destruction of aging buildings along Springwood Avenue, one of three main east-west corridors into Asbury Park and the central shopping and entertainment district for those living in the city's southwest quandrant. In 2007 many of those city blocks have yet to be redeveloped.

21st century

From 2002 onward, the rest of Asbury Park has been in the midst of a cultural, political, and economic revival, led by a burgeoning industry of local and national artists. Its dilapidated downtown district is undergoing revitalization while most of the nearly empty blocks that overlook the beach and boardwalk are slated for massive reconstruction. In 2005, the Casino's walkway reopened, as did many of the boardwalk pavilions.

The year 2007 proved to be an important one, full of milestones for the redevelopment of Asbury Park. The eastern portion of the Casino building was demolished. There are plans to rebuild this portion to look much like the original; however, the interior will be dramatically different and may include a public market (as opposed to previously being an arena and skating rink). There has also been more of a resurgence of the downtown as well as the boardwalk, with the grand reopening of the historic Steinbach department store building, as well as the rehabilitation of Convention Hall and the Fifth Avenue Pavilion (previously home to one of the last remaining Howard Johnson restaurants). The year 2007 has also seen the purchase of the historic Berkeley-Carteret Hotel, which is to be restored to four-star resort status; the first residents moving into the newly constructed condominiums known as North Beach; and the rehabilitation of Ocean Avenue.

Gay resort

In recent years, Asbury Park has become a popular gay resort. Due to its proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, and the fact that it is cheaper than New York's Fire Island Pines, the city has attracted many LGBT travelers. In the late 1980s the gay bar Down the Street opened on Kingsley Avenue. In 1998 Shep Pettibone opened Paradise Nightclub near the beach. A trend of new gay clubs soon followed Paradise. Cruisin' and The Circuit have opened on the oceanfront. Georgie's opened near the railroad tracks. A number of businesses catering to gay travelers have opened downtown and on the boardwalk. The Empress Hotel is the state's only gay hotel.

Asbury Park also hosts several gay pride events, the most popular of which is the Jersey Pride Parade. The parade drew 20,000 people to Asbury Park in 2007. The Asbury Park Roadtrip Weekend, a three-day gay beach party, is now in its seventh successful year. The city is also home of the Miss Gay New Jersey pageant and gay karaoke nights. In 2004 the city performed New Jersey's first gay marriage.

The websites Gay Asbury Park, Gay Asbury Networking and TheBPlot keep track of LGBT and related events and news in the city.

Crime

Asbury Park has been plagued by very high violent crime rates for several years with many of these crimes being drug and gang related marking the city as one of New Jersey's most dangerous. However, as of July 2008, the Asbury Park Police department announced that crime levels had dropped for the first half of the year, as compared to 2007, with murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and car thefts all showing decreases. The police cited the hiring of 14 new officers since the beginning of 2007, and coordination with county and federal gang task forces, as helping with the improvement.

Based on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports as of 2004, Asbury Park had a violent crime rate of 2,136 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to a rate of 391 in New Jersey as a whole and 596 nationwide, placing it in the 99th percentile of all places in New Jersey. Asbury Park's property crime rate was 6,353.4 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to an average of 2,533.8 in New Jersey and 4,296 nationally.

In 2006, Asbury Park had a crime rate of 78.5 per 1,000 residents and a violent crime rate of 23.3 crimes per 1,000 residents, both significantly higher than the state average.

Government

Local government

The City of Asbury Park is governed under the 1923 Municipal Manager Law form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a five-member City Council, with all positions elected at large in nonpartisan elections, to serve four-year terms of office on a concurrent basis. After each election, the council selects a mayor and deputy mayor from among its members.

The Asbury Park City Council consists of Mayor Kevin G. Sanders, Deputy Mayor James Bruno, Ed Johnson, James Keady, and John Loffredo

Mayor Sanders is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bipartisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Federal, state, and county representation

Asbury Park is in the Sixth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 11th Legislative District.

Culture

Asbury Park is considered a mecca for musicians, particularly for a subgenre of rock and roll known as the Jersey Shore sound, which is infused with R&B. It is home to The Stone Pony, founded in 1974, and a starting point for many performers. In 2004 Colie Brice launched an Asbury Park-based label called AERIA Records, which was distributed by Universal Music Group. Over the past several years AERIA has steadfastly released albums by local artists such as Brian Amsterdam, St. Christopher, Agency, Juggling Suns, Colie Brice, Rick Barry, James "JPAT" Dalton, and The Hesh Inc. The next slated release is "Country Eastern" by Boston indie rock pioneer Joe Harvard, who relocated to Asbury Park several years ago.

Asbury Park gained newfound fame after Bruce Springsteen released his debut album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." in 1973. On his follow-up album, "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle," one of the songs is entitled "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)."

In the movie "Dogma" by New Jersey native Kevin Smith, God took the form of an old man in order to play skeeball in Asbury Park. This is in reference to Smith's earlier feature "Chasing Amy," wherein the characters played by Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams played the same game in what appears to be Asbury, but is actually an arcade called Fun City USA in Keansburg.

The 2002 movie "City by the Sea," featuring Robert De Niro, was shot in various locations around Asbury Park, serving as the actual setting of Long Beach, New York, where the narrative took place in the original novel. Conversely, the 2006 movie "Dark Ride," featuring Jamie-Lynn DiScala, was set in Asbury Park, although the movie was actually filmed in Los Angeles, California.

Professional wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow, who was born in Asbury Park, named his finishing maneuver, an over the shoulder reverse piledriver, after Bruce Springsteen's first album, "Greetings from Asbury Park," in tribute to his hometown.

As is the case in many other resort towns on the shore, there is a noticeable presence of beach bum culture during the summer.

In 2005, the New Jersey Music Hall of Fame was founded in Asbury Park. There are plans to build a museum somewhere in the city as part of the redevelopment.

Nightlife

Asbury Park's nightlife is primarily, but not all, rock oriented. The Stone Pony, the bar frequented by Bruce Springsteen, is still serving the rockers of the Jersey Shore. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, before going on to international fame, was the house band at the Stone Pony in the mid-seventies. On Main Street is the Saint (formerly the Clover Club), a small club that showcases local acts as well as established performers such as Ben Folds, Jewel, and Cake. Across town, on Fourth Avenue, is Asbury Lanes, a vintage bowling alley that was revamped by local artists and musicians to create one of the latest performance spaces on the east coast. It has been the setting of anything from national music acts, burlesque shows, hotrod shows, art shows and performance art, and there is still bowling. Nearby is the Baronet, a vintage movie theater which dates back to Buster Keaton.

There are also many gay clubs located in Asbury Park, most notably Paradise Nightclub and Georgies and Cruisin'-The Circuit, which is both a men's bar and dance club.

Harry's Roadhouse was a popular rock venue, and allegedly haunted by restless spirits. Bruce Springsteen frequented the club in the early 2000s.

Popular with numerous Asbury Park residents and visitors is the monthly First Saturday event. On the first Saturday of every month, Asbury Park's downtown art galleries, home design studios, restaurants, antique shops, and clothing boutiques remain open throughout the evening, serving hors d’œuvres and offering entertainment, to showcase the city's residential and commercial resurgence.

Commerce

Urban Enterprise Zone

Portions of Asbury Park are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone . In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).

Hotels

There were at one time many hotels along the beachfront. Many were demolished after years of sitting vacant, but some still exist.

Currently open:

Berkeley Hotel (formerly the Berkeley-Carteret Oceanfront Hotel)
The Empress Hotel

Demolished/Vacant:

The Metropolitan Hotel
The Flamingo Motel
The Ambassador Hotel
The Albion Hotel
The Monterey Hotel
The Plaza Hotel
The Bradley Hotel
The Atlantic Hotel
The Belmont Hotel
the Orbit Motel
the Jonathan Motel
The Asbury Charline Motel
The Cavalier

Education

Asbury Park's public schools are operated by Asbury Park Public Schools. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics are Bangs Avenue Elementary School (523 students), Bradley Elementary School (401) and Thurgood Marshall Elementary School (518) for grades K-5; Asbury Park Middle School (601) and Asbury Park Alternative Middle School for grades 6-8; and Asbury Park High School (620) for grades 9-12.

In February 2007, the offices of the Asbury Park Board of Education were raided by investigators from the State Attorney General's office, prompted by allegations of corruption and misuse of funds.

Students may also attend Academy Charter High School, located in Lake Como, which serves residents of Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Avon-by-the-Sea, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Deal, Interlaken and Lake Como, and accepts students on a lottery basis.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Asbury Park include:

Bud Abbott (1895 - 1974), straight man for comedy team Abbott and Costello, born in Asbury Park.
Stewart H. Appleby (1890 - 1964), represented from 1925-1927.
T. Frank Appleby (1864 - 1924), represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1921 to 1923, and was mayor of Asbury Park from 1908 to 1912.
Nicole Atkins (1978 -), singer-songwriter on Columbia Records.
Frederick Bayer (1921 - 2007), emeritus curator of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and marine biologist.
Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow (1961 - 2007), professional wrestler.
Marie Castello (1915 - 2008), longtime boardwalk fortuneteller known as Madam Marie.
Edna Woolman Chase (1877 - 1957) editor in chief of Vogue magazine from 1914-1952.
Stephen Crane (1871 - 1900), author of "The Red Badge of Courage".
Danny DeVito (1944 -), actor, born in nearby Neptune, NJ, grew up in Asbury Park.
Leon Hess, (1914 - 1999) oil magnate and founder of the Hess Corporation, began his business in the city.
Robert Melee (1966 -), artist.
Arthur Pryor (1870 - 1942), bandleader.
David Sancious (1953- ), early member of the E Street Band.
Bruce Springsteen (1949 -) was born in Long Branch and grew up in nearby Freehold Borough, New Jersey, but called his first studio album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J."
Margaret Widdemer (1884 - 1976) Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
Arthur Augustus Zimmerman (1869-1936), the first world cycling champion, grew up here and owned a hotel after retiring from racing.