Does Asbury Park’s famed Stone Pony need saving?
There’s yet another controversy revolving around the pending revitalization of Asbury Park, NJ. This time it concerns the supposed historic value of The Stone Pony nightclub. Asbury Park is a city that, as I and many others have stated before, desperately needs to somehow be recharged. Ironically, the club’s own history is scared with financial difficulties directly related to Asbury Park’s failing economy. This includes its closing in 1998.
And just what exactly makes The Stone Pony such an historic monument? Is it because Bruce Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi played there? For similarly lame reasons, we’ve had Save The Palace, Save Tillie and now this. Hello!! What about Save Asbury Park?
Now, keep in mind that the proposal for the Stone Pony is not to close it down forever. Rather, it is to simply move it to a new location. Now, I know a lot of folks are gonna fight me on this, but what is so wrong about moving the club? It’s not like it’s some breathtaking wonder of architecture in a sacred section of the city.
Domenic Santana, the club’s owner for about 2 years now, has this ‘over my dead body’ attitude which is, in my opinion, only making matters worse. It is also an attitude that I find to be dubious at best. If Mr. Santana has always been so hell bent on not moving the club, why would he have entered into negotiations with the city’s waterfront developer in the first place?
In the grand scheme of things, the Stone Pony is just a nightclub. People talk about preserving the city’s historic past, but what does it matter if your dealing with a city that no one wants to go to in the present?
