well i just got back from asbury park new jersey
where i continue to document the re-vitalizing of this tiny city
its an interesting thing to watch unfold
while i was in asbury there was quite a bit of griping
about the 5 day cover story the Asbury Park Press did on Asbury
basically writing it up like its a crime ridden hell hole that can only be saved
by a major redevelopment and a scaring off of all minorities
and im like
um yeah
didn't the asbury park press
keep the great name
and abandon asbury park in its hour of need
to take itself and its jobs elsewhere
hmmm
and i was also like
great this kinda of press can really kick a city down a notch
when shallow folks take it to heart
but the rest of me
was like ok
i moved to crown heights brooklyn in 1981
oh you know muggings, race riots, crime, poverty, wild dogs
rats the size of dogs...just that kinda stuff...
i moved to avenue c in the east village
in the late 90's (not a total pioneer but hey it was still heroin hotel then and you really, really had to watch your tuchas on C)
i've seen cities and neighborhoods
come up, go down
come up..
so a little rough-ness doesn't scare me
what i like
and what i suspect a lot of new yorkers like
about asbury park new jersey
is that it has edge
EDGE
honey
edge is a rare thing
in New Jersey
trust me
i know
i spent the first half of my childhood in bradley beach
then after the race riots
my parents panicked
and dragged us to Rumson
where we were considered
pure poverty cause we didn't have a pool or a limo
the folks at rumson woulda rather
eaten dirt then go to Asbury
but Asbury had always been something special to me
as a kid in Bradley
i thrilled to shop in the MACY's Like "Steinbachs" department store
where i would ride the escalators and let the perfume ladies
spritz me again and again
then the rides on the boardwalk
and my beloved Palace (alas now gone) amusements
where i saved up two summers worth of skee-ball coupons to
buy the entire James Bond mini figurine set..
and Howard Johnsons' Bright Orange Walls and grilled cheese sandwiches was there anything better in the world....
in highschool
i began to embrace punk rock
a real no-no in Rumson
where no one broke out of the mold
i also began to embrace my gay side ...a bigger no no in rumson
and the only place
safe for either of these vices
was Asbury
my theatre pals took me dancing at the M&K
where punk ruled...
then we went dancing at the Odyssey a Saturday Night Fever style disco
and my heart sored at the sight of men dancing with me
women dancing with women
yes
asbury once again
offered me thrills, chills and freedom
i visited asbury often in the 23 years since i left
as if to keep in touch..
driving by the YMCA where my dad too me to swim every wed night
and watched with a heavy heart
and the ruined..devastated city
then something started to happen
a turn around
and awakening
and no it was not going to happen
in one big swoop by big developers
who later lost their shirts leaving behing an old
rusted iron dinasour of a building
it was going to be grass roots movement
led
by the gay community
champion pioneers always
and sure enough
the construction started..
the restaurants and stores began to open
the rainbow flags
waved
and then
a decade later
the big developers followed..
but the EDGE
the delicious
wonderful
diverse
risky
funky
gritty edge
is still there
and though i hope the crime
goes pronto
i hope the edge stays forever
and the diversity
i love this little city
reminds me of the lower-east-side
and the east village
great gritty places filled with history
re-paved by artists and the gay community and open-minded people
and to the Asbury Park Press
well i have this to say
suck my dick (well the one in the shoebox anyway)
