The Rehearsal Shows and Asbury Park Charities
My brother and I started our day by looking around at the ruins of what was once a booming shore resort town. The development and revitalization that is set to finally begin here this year has been a long time coming. We discussed this with a local business owner as we ate chowed on big, fat sausage-like hot dogs in what appeared to be the only joint open on the boardwalk.
For many years now, developers coming into town were met with strict opposition. The fight was mainly in the name of saving the midway-style boardwalk that once made Asbury Park the jewel of the Jersey Shore. The stubbornness of people trying to relive the good old days only proved to make things worse. The reality is this is a city that’s been overrun by drug dealings, racial unrest and poverty for decades.
Each time I come here I’m appalled by how much more is gone and how little has been built. I guess it was really just a matter of time for the misguided protests to give way to any real revitalization. Thanks to an inevitable change in attitude, the notion of grasping at past glory is slowly but surely being replaced by a vision of a new future. Something that artists, musicians and writers like me have been saying all along is Asbury Park can have a new beginning.
Bruce Springsteen has long been perceived as playing role in this by doing both the obvious and the surreal. Proceeds from the recent four ‘rehearsal’ shows being held in the Asbury Park Convention Center are being donated to many local charities. That is the obvious and something he has done year after year. Whether it be with big shows like this or more intimate engagements.
The surreal for many is the fact that he is reportedly offering low, fixed mortgages to any gay couple wanting to buy a home here. If true, it actually makes total sense to me. There are two things Bruce is known for in his career besides his music; wanting to revitalize the cultural importance of Asbury Park and being a champion to those who are socially oppressed. With this one bold move, he’d be doing both.
Some critics have said that this move is only due to Bruce being a cunning business mogal. The fact is that the gay community has been responsible for much of the rebirth coming to this town. To side with them is to position oneself with a potentially profitable posture. I say even if Bruce’s motivation is the almighty dollar, who cares. The end result is still a resurrected city.
The gentleman who fed us our tasty, albeit unhealthy lunch assured us that soon enough no one will even recognize this boardwalk. He went on to say how from now on, every six months will bring tremendous changes to the city’s landscape. Unlike other locals I’ve talked to in past years, he spoke in a positive and hopeful tone, welcoming these changes as being good for the community.
