Neptune resident's photos put focus on run-down area
Posted by Stephanie Brunson on 05/03/06

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/2/06
BY KAREN SUDOL
STAFF WRITER
NEPTUNE — Frankly, Gail Oliver got tired of looking at her neighborhood.

Run-down businesses, including a junkyard across the street from her West Lake Avenue home. Vacant and unkempt lots.

"No other place looks like this except this section (of town)," she said of the stretch of West Lake Avenue from Route 35 to the Asbury Park boundary.

Oliver recalls a much different scene growing up before the July 4, 1970, riots: Thriving businesses come to mind along with parades down the street.

"Back then, we all had pride in where we lived," said Oliver, 54.

She misses that West Lake Avenue and wants it back.

So in 1997, armed with a camera, Oliver snapped pictures — lots of them — of the deteriorating conditions in the area. She then showed the shots to the mayor at the time, requesting that something be done about the area.

The answer? Neptune qualified for a state Urban Coordinating Council program that assisted with establishing an improvement plan for the area.

That prompted a neighborhood group to form, which eventually morphed into the Midtown Urban Renaissance Corporation (MURC), a nonprofit group considered a partner in the redevelopment project. The corporation operates an information center at 1716 West Lake Ave.

The redevelopment plan approved about a year ago calls for a village-type look with new buildings on both sides of West Lake Avenue, housing commercial space on the ground level and affordable condominiums and studio apartments above. A park is also planned.

"It's a tough neighborhood . . . there's been no private investment in that neighborhood in 30 years. Our police are out there on a regular basis," said Michael Bascom, the township's chief financial officer and economic development director. "Every other neighborhood in Neptune has seen a resurgence with the exception of Midtown."

The government had to be the driving force to restore the neighborhood because 35 years of private investment hasn't worked, Neptune Mayor Thomas J. Catley said.

But township officials have obtained input from affected residents, Catley said.

CityWorks, the Trenton-based redeveloper, is working with property owners who have expressed an interest in staying within the zone, according to CityWorks executive director Thomas Clark.

While some property owners are concerned about the fate of their properties under the plan, there seems to be little opposition. And no one disputes the argument that West Lake Avenue needs to be revitalized.

Oliver, MURC's president, attributes the limited opposition to the efforts MURC has made to inform residents, its input in the project's planning and the relationship with the township.

Kusumaker "Reddy" Kuchaculla, the 61-year-old owner of Alpha Liquor Store on West Lake Avenue, said he doesn't want to lose the store he's owned for 20 years to eminent domain. He said he's willing to relocate within the zone but would prefer to improve his property.

While he agrees the avenue needs to be revitalized, a more optimal solution would be for property owners to work with the township to improve their buildings, Kuchaculla said. He has not yet been contacted by the redeveloper, he said, but plans to fight any effort to acquire his property.

Oliver said she could have moved away. But she grew up on this street and lives in the home in which she was raised.

Her house will be destroyed. In its place will stand a state building with medical facilities. But Oliver's willing to sacrifice it for the project and hopes to relocate within the zone, she said.

"Even I got used to looking at this (the current conditions). But it was time to bring attention to this underserved area. I wasn't going to let up until it happened," Oliver said.