Neptune Residents To Rally for Funds
 Coaster Photo: Neptune residents want the state to release funds for the redevelopment of West Lake Avenue. |
By DON STINE
Neptune residents are being urged to show their support for redevelopment along West Lake Avenue by taking a free bus trip to North Brunswick Tues., April 8 to urge state officials to release money for a proposed redevelopment project.
I hope people are encouraged to go and show support for the project and help obtain the funding. This will be a great opportunity to show the state that we are behind the revitalization and rebirth of this long-neglected area, said Mayor Randy Bishop.
The bus trip originally had been planned for Trenton.
The Midtown Urban Renaissance Corporation (MURC) is providing bus transportation to the April 8 meeting of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in North Brunswick urging the EDA to release the necessary funding to begin a project in the slated redevelopment zone along West Lake Avenue from Route 35 to the Asbury Park border.
The money is for the first phase of the redevelopment project, which will be a two-story office building on the south side of West Lake Ave., between Route 35 and Drummond Ave. The building will pretty much take up the entire block, said MERC president Dianna Harris.
Buses will leave the MURC information center at 1716 West Lake Avenue at 8 a.m. Both the bus ride and lunch will be provided for free. For more information call the information center at 732-775-1110.
I believe there is power in numbers and we are trying to show strong community support and get the project moving by this summer, Harris said.
Redevelopment on West Lake Avenue is the cornerstone for economic rebirth in the Midtown area, she said.
MERC is also asking residents to sign and send letters of support for the project to the EDA and letters can be picked up at the information center or provided by calling the same telephone number.
The West Lake Avenue area has been neglected for almost 40 years. The project will serve as a model for economic growth and sustainability. Sadly in July of 1970 this community suffered civil unrest leaving a negative legacy of unsightly blight and hopelessness-rebuilding never happened, reads the letter of support.
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