By DON STINE
Residents living in Neptune’s Bradley Park section have formed their own association to deal with issues confronting the neighborhood and to act as a social networking agency.
“The group was formed when quite a few residents came together after several failed past attempts. We realized there was a need for it,” said Luke Tirrell, one of the organizers.
The Bradley Park Neighborhood Association will hold its next meeting on Sat., Nov. 22 from 10 am to noon in the Neptune municipal building, Room B-11.
“This neighborhood is very well-established. Other neighborhoods have something similar and this is a distinct neighborhood and should be represented,” Tirrell, who lives on 11th Avenue, said.
He said the Bradley Park neighborhood comprises properties from Sixth Avenue to 11th Avenue and from Memorial Drive to the east to Stanley Avenue to the west.
Tirrell said the neighborhood faces a great many challenges because there are many tenants living in the area, not the homeowners. There are also some businesses.
“We also have a lot of (subsidized) population here which makes it more difficult to build cohesiveness in the neighborhood,” he said.
Tirrell said the association wants to make sure everybody is welcome
“There is such little awareness among the people living here that they have their own neighborhood. We would like to see the neighbors come out more to get involved. We all have a lot in common and need to communicate better,” he said,
Tirrell said he would also like to see the association be more involved in Neptune’s governing process.
“We are looking for people to come out, get to know each other, and development more of a sense of community,” he said.
Tirrell said a recent study by Neptune officials to redevelop the Bradley Park neighborhood as Transit Village because of its proximity to the Bradley Beach train station was not a driving factor behind creating the association.
“I think having the transit village depends on how it comes to life. Let’s see who is actually going to do something. People really don’t know what they are against or for at this point,” he said.
The association does not yet have a web site but Tirrell can be reached at 732-567-3955 or at LukeTirrell@hotmail.com
According to historian Evelyn Stryker-Lewis, the Bradley Park section was named after Asbury Park founder James A. Bradley.
Stryker-Lewis said she believes the small area was developed around the 1900s.
“Growth there was a little topsy because it was a fill-in area between other previously developed sections of the township,” she said.
Stryker-Lewis said the old Bradley Park School was the first school in the area to introduce the use of its facilities to adults.
“They taught shop and building skills to men and more of a crafts-oriented program for ladies. They also did something equivalent to marriage counseling,” she said.
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