11/28/23 Public meeting about parking. See link below. Remember that history repeats itself. We should learn.   Paul Goldfinger Editor and Photographer. Blogfinger.net

By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Editor Blogffinger.net.  11/15/25:

We were not at the  11/10/ 25  Neptune Committee meeting, but there are minutes at the Neptunetownship.org site regarding metered parking.

It seems they have cancelled an old ordinance about meters going back to the 1950’s and they now want to place meters on certain streets in town.  Where did this plan come from?  Who designed it and how has the Neptuner Comedy brought the idea to public scrutiny?

At this meeting they were passing a “Proposed 1st Draft” for ordinance 25-29.  In it they are discussing meter fees and penalties.  We recently posted a map of OG streets that would be metered under their plan.  But it seems that homeowners on those streets would not be charged for parking.  The wording mentions “kiosks.”

Blogfinger has been discussing OG parking issues and ideas since our 2009 founding, and at no time was the problem solved, and we did support limited meters for the businesses district  down town; and at no time were any of our ideas accepted regarding supply and demand of spaces.

For those who care and know little  about parking issues in town, here is a BF link to report about a public hearing about  parking permits that is instructional from 2023:

Public hearing on parking meters. Blogfinger.net

It seems that there are more cars in the town than there are spaces.  And sometimes the discrepancy is life threatening.   I don’t have that analysis, but our idea is to reduce the supply of cars here.  We know that the worst times are on Saturdays in prime season when there are large tourist events, usually by the Chamber of Commercials and the CMA.    No other shore towns have as many mega-events as we.    All shore towns have to deal with beach parking issues, but that aspect  is unavoidable.

I see that a debate is ongoing now on Next Door. Someone suggested that the town should be turned into a gated community. Yes that would reduce the number of cars in town, but the State of New Jersey legislature  has designated Ocean Grove to be part of Neptune Township, so forget about that idea.  And a past referendum  occurred where all  Neptune voted to say “no” to OG secession.

But we can ban all mega-events. (to be defined) and thus we can live like human beings in our town during the best Saturdays each year.  A permit is required for all such giant events, and that includes street closures.   And there is no citizen organization who has been able to pressure the town to solve the problem including expert professionals or citizen activist groups like the Home Groaners.  The last time OG citizens got their way was in the 1990’s when Herb Herbst and his  Groverican HOA  fought using political power  to bring the town back from the abyss.

The CMA wishes the problem would  vanish and they have threatened  lawsuits.  They even paid for an expensive expert analysis in order to get the results they want, and they have rejected meters and stickers in the past.  They want their programs to occur year-round so they can have a “Christian Seaside Community” and call it “Ocean Grove.”

From looking at the Next-Door discussion it seems that few commenters are aware of the history of dealing with parking in this town. (Except for Paulie D of Heckster Avenue.)  They seem to be newcomers or people who just woke up from a deep sleep.  The HOA changed its name and its pseudo- officers are probably hiding under their beds again.  Even the Witches Coven has no intention to cast a spell for We-The-People of Ocean Grove.

Blogfinger has been posting about this topic since 2009.  If you care, just use our search engine.

I am planning a time-line because  this argument repeats itself endlessly, and repetition of mistakes does not constitute experience.

And now it seems like the Neptune Committee wants to crown itself “King.”, and the hell with Democracy, the Constitution, and the residents of Ocean  Grove.

Can we borrow a guillotine from the French?

Renée Fleming and Garrison Keilor.   Duets