OG Boardwalk near the boardwalk pavilion. All photos by Blogfinger.net 6/21/21   Click to read the blue sign which is stuck in the sand adjacent to the boardwalk near the Pavilion. It says, “Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, God’s Square Mile at the Jersey Shore.”

By Paul Goldfinger, MD.   Editor  Blogfinger.net.  6/21/21.    Re-post  October 2025.

” The Green Acres program requires that privately owned land be dedicated to public recreation and/or conservation purposes.”

In exchange, the land owner receives a tax exemption.

What “privately owned land” in Ocean Grove does the sign above refer to?   Does it include the boardwalk, the beach, the land just west of the boardwalk (where the Green Acres sign resides)  and the ocean out a certain distance?

Is it OK to have baptisms on the beach and open religious services in the boardwalk pavilion?   Is that appropriate under the heading of “public recreation?”

What if the Hare Krishnas wanted to have a festival open to the public on the OG beach or boardwalk?  Can the CMA say “no?”  Would the Neptuners say “yes” in order to be fair and equal to everyone?  It’s likely that the Neptuners would defer to the CMA.

Hare Krishna International. Their web site.

Is  the OG boardwalk  a private property  or a public recreational thoroughfare?   If it is for the public*,  then there should be separation of church and state.  Yes?     Hello you lawyers out there.  I know that there are some OG residents who are attorneys and who have a keen interest in this subject.

And, whenever a new pier is built, it will also have memorials and may be in the shape of a cross. Will that be a “public thoroughfare?”

The lines are blurred and confusing. We can look back to the 2007  gay brouhaha on the boards,  but there is no clarity there.   Take a look at the “Ocean Grove 2021 Summer  Program Guide” to see the density of religious events all over town.

Memorials on the OG boardwalk. 6/21/21  They are getting more obvious. Blogfinger photo.

In 2007, the Camp Meeting Association  lost its Green Acres tax exemption for the Boardwalk Pavilion over a charge of discrimination related to refusing a gay civil ceremony in the Pavilion.

I think the question of religious events on CMA lands earmarked for public use was not discussed as part of that discrimination charge.  And it should be specifically examined now on behalf of the residents of Ocean Grove.

* In 2012 the CMA won its appeals  with the FEMA program by claiming that our boardwalk  is a ” public thoroughfare.”  As a result it was awarded public money to help repair the storm damaged boardwalk.  But wouldn’t that designation mean that there should be separation of church and state there?  Even the Feds were confused since they agreed to include the pier for federal funds at first, but later they reneged.

I was present then, and Blogfinger posted more pro-CMA articles than any other media outlet anywhere.  However, the subject of church vs state, never came up.

STEVE EARLE  AND THE PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND (NEW ORLEANS)